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.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Anti-Semitism at Occupy Wall Street Protest
We’ve been reporting on the Occupy Wall St. protesters for some time now, but we haven’t seen any signs of racism. Until now. But are they the ramblings of a disturbed man?
National Review correspondent Charles Cooke posted video Tuesday of a young man berating an older Jewish man, calling him a bum (it seems in response to being called the same term), mocking him by asking him if he speaks English, and telling him to “go back to Israel.”
Cooke describes the exchange:
Moments after I arrived, I saw a Jewish gentleman being berated when he criticized a protester. (Shortly after my video camera was switched off, he (inexplicably) shouted the N-word at the same man.)
As you can hear in the video, the man claims to be part of a local plumber’s union. But that could be erroneous, as Cooke notes he claimed to be a lot of things: “he told me that he was white, Puerto Rican, Jewish, and African-American. I suggested he was, in fact, Confused, but he didn’t take much to that.”
Also heard in the video is that the man goes by the name “lotion man” and tells Cooke to look him up on YouTube. We did, and what we found is quite disturbing.
Rumsfeld in heated conversation with Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera's Abderrahim Foukara asks the former US defense secretary whether he made adequate preparations to avoid the thousands of lives lost in Iraq.
Part of Donald Rumsfeld's first interview with Al Jazeera after disparaging comments he made in 2004. He claimed then that the network's coverage from Iraq was "vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable".
The heated exchange erupted when the topic came to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Foukara asked Rumsfeld whether he felt responsible for the deaths of “innocent Iraqis” because, according to Foukara, the Bush administration “didn’t secure the borders” of the country and sent in too few troops.
“You keep making assertions that are fundamentally false,” Rumseld blasted. “Correct me,” Foukara replied.
That’s when the situation escalated.
Rumsfeld insisted that all of the troop levels had been highly vetted on multiple levels. “Does that make the numbers right?” Foukara interjected.
“Do you want to yell or do you want an interview?” Rumsfeld shot back. “I’m having an interview, and I’m actually enjoying this interview,” Foukara said, almost cheerfully. “You have a choice,” Rumsfeld said. “You’re being true to form.”
Foukara attempted to ask his question again. He wondered if Rumsfeld felt responsibility felt responsibility for “tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis killed by the coalition,“ as well as by the ”criminals” who Rumsfeld had blamed for much of the violence in the country. Rumsfeld didn’t even attempt to answer the question. He accused Foukara of asking him “pejorative” questions, and told him he though it was in his “being” and “nature” to be disrespectful.”
“This is not about me,” Foukara said. “If you want to attack me personally, fine, but give me the answer to the question.”
“Why should I do everything you want and you won’t do anything I want?” Rumsfeld asked.
“Because I’m the interviewer.” Foukara said.
In the end, Rumsfeld stated, “this is worthless, this is not an interview – you’re haranguing.”
Marco Rubio Says "Save The Country" & John Kerry Questions him
Listen to Marco Rubio put John Kerry in his place when Kerry challenges Rubio on the Senate floor during the debt ceiling debate.
http://www.RightFace.us
Monday, October 3, 2011
Jobless flock to North Dakota seeking work
Summary
North Dakota's unemployment rate is the lowest in the nation, at 3.5%, and the state has added 20,000 jobs over a year, thanks to an oil boom. Nearly everywhere seems to be hiring, which draws in the jobless from across the country seeking work. People such as Samuel Hicks are arriving to find work but no housing. His solution: set up a tent behind his workplace, despite freezing temperatures, wind and rain.
North Dakota, which boasts America’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.5%, is a place that can get the U.S. out of its fiscal quagmire if private capital and less regulation allows natural gas companies to invest there. According to the founder and CEO of Continental Resources—the 14th-largest U.S. oil company—who states:
“We can’t find any unemployed people up there. The state has 18,000 unfilled jobs,” Mr. Hamm insists. “And these are jobs that pay $60,000 to $80,000 a year.”
The economy is expanding so fast that North Dakota has a housing shortage. Thanks to the oil boom—Continental pays more than $50 million in state taxes a year—the state has a budget surplus and is considering ending income and property taxes.
Obama Kiss of Death: American People Not Better Off Than They Were Four Years Ago
George Stephanopoulos, ABC News: "And a lot of anger out there. There's so many people who simply don't think they're better off than they were four years ago. How do you convince them that they are?"
Obama: "Well, I don't think they're better off than they were four years ago. They're not better off than they were before Lehman's collapse, before the financial crisis, before this extraordinary recession that we're going through. I think that what we've seen is that we've been able to make steady progress to stabilize the economy, but the unemployment rate is still way too high. And that's why it's so critical for us to make sure that we are taking every action we can take to put people back to work."
Agenda 21 _ Coming to a Farm Near You _ July 29, 2011
RE-Broadcast : Uploaded by MaryGreeley on Jul 29, 2011
The requirements would subject farmers to the same rules governing truck drivers, requiring them to keep logs and limit their hours
http://tinyurl.com/3dp55c6
More on Agenda 21
http://www.ouranian.org/agenda-21.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Oe4MJVC_4Y&feature=feedu
Agenda 21 is being promoted by the U.N. and in the latest effort from the Department of Transportation (DOT) is implementing these costly and oppressive regulations.
In Late May, the DOT proposed a rule change for farm equipment, and if it this allowed to take effect, it will place significant regulatory pressure on small farms and family farms all across America – costing them thousands of dollars and possibly forcing many of them out of business. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), part of the Department of Transportation (DOT), wants new standards that would require all farmers and everyone on the farm to obtain a CDL (Commercial Drivers License) in order to operate any farming equipment. The agency is going to accomplish this by reclassifying all farm vehicles and implements as Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs).
(It is also important to note here that DOT Secretary Ray LaHood holds a seat on the newly created White House Rural Council. A powerful group whose members have ties to George Soros and The Center For American Progress.)
The move by the DOT appears to be “legislation through regulation.” By reclassifying all farm vehicles and implements as Commercial Vehicles, the federal government will now be able to claim regulatory control over the estimated 800,000 farm workers in America, at the same time, overriding the rights of the states.
This proposed change literally means family farms could no longer legally allow young workers, not old enough to drive and seniors who no longer drive on the public streets, to operate a tractor, even on the family’s private property.
Waco, TX television station KXXV has the story:
The proposed change also means anyone driving a tractor or operating any piece of motorized farming equipment would be forced to pass the same rigorous tests and fill out the same detailed forms and diaries required of semi-tractor trailer drivers. This reclassification would bury small farms and family farms in regulation and paperwork.
Some of the additional paperwork and regulation required:
Detailed logs would need to be kept by all drivers – hours worked, miles traveled, etc.
Vehicles would have to display DOT numbers
Drivers would need to pass a physical as well as a drug test – every two years.
The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation (WFBF) is one of many farm organizations not happy about the idea and has sent the DOT a letter expressing this opinion:
“WFBF opposes any change in statue or regulatory authority that would reclassify implements of husbandry or other farm equipment as Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs)”
WFBF Director of Governmental Relations Karen Gefvert continues, explaining the excessive cost to farmers if this allowed to move forward:
“The proposed guidance by the FMCSA would result in an initial increased cost to each Wisconsin farmer and employee of $124 just for the CDL license, permit and test; not to mention the time and cost for the behind-the-wheel training that is several thousand dollars.”
Additionally, Illinois farmers believe this regulation will also force new restrictions on trucks used in crop-share hauling. (One estimate claims more than 30% of Illinois farmers utilize shared land.) These crop-share trucks are typically limited-use vehicles that often travel fewer than 3000 miles each year, mainly hauling crops from the fields to nearby grain elevators. To require them to follow the same rules as semis would also mean a farmer would be forced to purchase substantial insurance.
The Hancock Journal-Pilot covered the story:
Earlier this year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) began to define crop-share tenant farmers as “for-hire“ carriers and implements of husbandry as ”commercial motor vehicles.“ The ”for-hire” designation for crop-share tenant farmers would have a dramatic effect on farmers because it voids exemptions from the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) program and would require a minimum of $750,000 in insurance coverage for the farmer.
The DOT is holding hearings for public comment on the topic, but only through Monday, August 1st and farmers all across the country are rightfully concerned. No matter what the feedback is from the people who actually grow the food, it appears that the DOT’s mind is made up. Just last week, DOT Administrator Anna Ferro posted an Op-Ed addressing the controversial regulation. The opinion piece closes with this statement:
Everyone in this Administration – from Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary LaHood on down – is committed to the long-term success of America’s agricultural industry. In many ways, agriculture is the backbone of our economy – feeding hundreds of millions of Americans and billions more around the world. As the largest user of freight transportation in the nation, the agricultural industry is also one of USDOT’s most important constituents. We hope that this comment period is the start of a new and productive relationship. We may not ultimately agree on every issue, but we will always listen — and do our best to help America’s farmers succeed.
The FMCSA has said their intent is to create uniformity in how federal safety regulations are carried out across America. The farming community and many of the states that would be affected by this change feel differently. Almost to a man, the farming community believes this to be a local issue, best handled by state governments, and not some Washington DC agency.
To make a comment to the DOT visit – www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket site. Or you can fax your comments here 1–202–493–2251.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
BET FOUNDER TO OBAMA: ‘YOU DON’T GET PEOPLE TO LIKE YOU BY ATTACKING THEM OR DEMEANING THEIR SUCCESS’
Robert Johnson, who founded the Black Entertainment Television network in 1980, appeared on “Fox News Sunday” and said President Barack Obama needs to adjust his message to one that’s not “attacking” the wealthy for their success.
“I think the president has to recalibrate his message,” Johnson said. “You don’t get people to like you by attacking them or demeaning their success. I grew up in a family of 10 kids, first one to go to college, and I’ve earned my success. I’ve earned my right to fly private if I choose to do so. And by attacking me, is not going to convince me that I should take a bigger hit because I happen to be wealthy.”
Johnson joked that it was like “the old Ethel Merman approach to life — I‘ve been poor and I’ve been rich and I happen to like rich better. It doesn‘t mean I’m a bad guy.”
While not mentioning the Buffett Rule directly, Johnson certainly seemed to imply his distaste for the plan, saying Obama should not be “demagoguing” people who are successful.
“I went in business to create jobs, create value, create opportunity for myself and my investors and that’s what the president should be praising, Johnson said.
Massive Wall Street Protest draws thousands
Having stayed below the mainstream news radar for weeks, the sustained protests of thousands of ordinary people are beginning to attract attention, particularly after traffic across the Brooklyn bridge came to a standstill. Over 700 were arrested as people begin to distrust the big banks and their political leaders. An erie echo of Alessio Rastani's comments elsewhere on this channel.
More than 700 arrested in Wall Street protest
Occupy Wall Street protests spread across U.S.
BBC Speechless As Trader Tells Truth
Stunning admission of truth by a Wall Street trader. Here's the transcript:
Alessio Rastani: ...it's gonna crash and it's gonna fall pretty hard. Because markets are ruled right now by fear. Investors and the big money, the smart money ...I'm talking about the big funds, the hedge funds, the institutions, they don't buy this rescue plan. They basically know that the market is toast. They know that the stock market is finished, the Euro as far as they're concerned they don't really care, they're moving their money away to safer assets like Treasury bonds, 30 year bonds, and the US dollar. So it's not gonna work.
Maxine Croxall: We keep hearing that whatever the politicians are suggesting -- it's all been rather wooly -- isn't right. Can you pin down exactly what would keep investors happy, make them feel more confident?
Alessio Rastani: Ah, that's a tough one. Personally, it doesn't matter. I'm a trader, I don't really care about that kind of stuff. If I see an opportunity to make money, I go with that. So for most traders we don't really care that much how they're going to fix the economy, how they're going to fix the whole situation. Our job is to make money from it and personally I've been dreaming of this moment for three years. Personally, I have a confession to make, I go to bed every night and I dream of another recession. I dream of another moment like this. Why? Because people don't seem to maybe remember, but the '30's depression, the Depression of the '30's wasn't just about a market crash. There were some people who were prepared to make money from that crash and I think anybody can do that. It isn't just for some people in the elite, anybody can actually make money, it's an opportunity. When the market crashes, when the Euro and the big stock markets crash, if you know what to do, if you have the right plan to set up you can make a lot of money from this. For example, hedging strategies is one, then investing in bonds, Treasury bonds that sort of stuff.
Maxine Croxall: If you could see the people around me, jaws have collectively dropped at what you've just said. I mean we appreciate your candor, but it doesn't help the rest of us does it, or the rest of the Eurozone.
Alessio Rastani: I will say this, listen. I would say this to everybody who's watching this, this economic crisis is like a cancer. If you just wait and wait thinking this is going to go away, just like a cancer it's gonna grow and it will be too late. What I would say to everybody is get prepared. This is not a time right now to wishful think that the Government is going to sort things out. The Governments don't rule the world, rules the world. Goldman Sachs does not care about this rescue package neither does the big funds. So actually, I would actually tell people, I want to help people. People can make money from this, it isn't just traders. What they need to do is learn about how to make money from a downward market. The first thing people should do is protect their assets, protect what they have because in less than 12 months, my prediction is that savings of millions of people is gonna vanish and this is just the beginning. So I would say, be prepared and act now. The biggest risk people can take right now is not acting.
Maxine Croxall: Alessio Rastani thank you very much for talking with us.
Actress Roseanne Barr: Behead Bankers as in the French Revolution Guillotine, Re-education camps, as in Red China, for Rich Who Won't Give Up Wealth
Roseanne Barr: Behead Bankers, Rich Who Won't Give Up Wealth
Actress, comedienne and now author Roseanne Barr shares her solution for dealing with the rich and how the banks could repay the money the U.S. government bailed them out with in 2008.
"Part of my platform is, of course, the guilty must be punished and that we no longer let our children see their guilty leaders getting away with murder. Because it teaches children, you know, that they don't have to have any morals as long as they have guns and are bullies and I don't think that's a good message," Barr told Russia Today (RT).
"I do say that I am in favor of the return of the guillotine and that is for the worst of the worst of the guilty.
"I first would allow the guilty bankers to pay, you know, the ability to pay back anything over $100 million [of] personal wealth because I believe in a maximum wage of $100 million. And if they are unable to live on that amount of that amount then they should, you know, go to the reeducation camps and if that doesn't help, then being beheaded," Barr said with a straight face.
The following are 12 quotes from insiders that are warning about the horrific economic crisis that is almost here.
#1 George Soros: "Financial markets are driving the world towards another Great Depression with incalculable political consequences. The authorities, particularly in Europe, have lost control of the situation."
#2 PIMCO CEO Mohammed El-Erian: "These are all signs of an institutional run on French banks. If it persists, the banks would have no choice but to delever their balance sheets in a very drastic and disorderly fashion. Retail depositors would get edgy and be tempted to follow trading and institutional clients through the exit doors. Europe would thus be thrown into a full-blown banking crisis that aggravates the sovereign debt trap, renders certain another economic recession, and significantly worsens the outlook for the global economy."
#3 Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, global head of securities services at UniCredit SpA (Italy's largest bank): "The only remaining question is how many days the hopeless rearguard action of European governments and the European Central Bank can keep up Greece’s spirits."
#4 Stefan Homburg, the head of Germany's Institute for Public Finance: "The euro is nearing its ugly end. A collapse of monetary union now appears unavoidable."
#5 EU Parliament Member Nigel Farage: "I think the worst in the financial system is yet to come, a possible cataclysm and if that happens the gold price could go (higher) to a number that we simply cannot, at this moment, even imagine."
#6 Carl Weinberg, the chief economist at High Frequency Economics: "At this point, our base case is that Greece will default within weeks."
#7 Goldman Sachs strategist Alan Brazil: "Solving a debt problem with more debt has not solved the underlying problem. In the US, Treasury debt growth financed the US consumer but has not had enough of an impact on job growth. Can the US continue to depreciate the world’s base currency?"
#8 International Labour Organization director general Juan Somavia recently stated that total unemployment could "increase by some 20m to a total of 40m in G20 countries" by the end of 2012.
#9 Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackerman: "It is an open secret that numerous European banks would not survive having to revalue sovereign debt held on the banking book at market levels."
#10 Alastair Newton, a strategist for Nomura Securities in London: "We believe that we are just about to enter a critical period for the eurozone and that the threat of some sort of break-up between now and year-end is greater than it has been at any time since the start of the crisis"
#11 Ann Barnhardt, head of Barnhardt Capital Management, Inc.: "It's over. There is no coming back from this. The only thing that can happen is a total and complete collapse of EVERYTHING we now know, and humanity starts from scratch. And if you think that this collapse is going to play out without one hell of a big hot war, you are sadly, sadly mistaken."
#12 Lakshman Achuthan of ECRI: "When I call a recession...that means that process is starting to feed on itself, which means that you can yell and scream and you can write a big check, but it's not going to stop."
Saturday, October 1, 2011
ABC’S JAKE TAPPER CHALLENGES CARNEY ON LEGALITY OF AWLAKI KILLING
"You said he was responsible for these things? Is there going to be any evidence presented? ... Do you not see at all, does the Administration not see at all how a President asserting that he has the right to kill an American citizen without due process, and that he's not going to even explain why he thinks he has that right, is troublesome to some people?"
Good thing no Americans are being referred to as barbarians or extremists so we never have to worry about a WH spokesperson announcing that with no evidence another American has been ordered killed by the president: no Constitutional issue here kids, move along, nothing to see here.
Secret U.S. memo sanctioned killing of Aulaqi
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
How was al-AwLaki deprived of life with due process?
Friday, September 30, 2011
Al-Alwaki Elimination
Now, however, al-Awlaki is presented in the media as essentially tried, convicted, and eliminated. Do we actually know the details or care? We should. Alive and pumped for information in Gitmo he may have been even more valuable and revealed essential information on both the Islamist side and about operations within the U.S. government.
How high were his contacts and what did he know? Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Awlaki was sought as a media source for questions about Islam and the attacks who could speak English well. He was interviewed by National Geographic, The New York Times and other media. He condemned the attacks, stating "There is no way that the people who did this could be Muslim, and if they claim to be Muslim, then they have perverted their religion." He presented an image as a moderate who could bridge the gap between the United States and the worldwide community of Muslims.
Writing on the IslamOnline.net website six days after the 9/11 attacks, al-Awlaki suggested that Israeli intelligence agents might have been responsible for the attacks, and that the FBI "went into the roster of the airplanes, and whoever has a Muslim or Arab name became the hijacker by default".
Months after the 9/11 attacks, as the U.S. Secretary of the Army was eager to have a presentation from a moderate Muslim as part of an outreach effort to ease tensions with Muslim-Americans, a Pentagon employee invited al-Awlaki to a luncheon in the Secretary's Office of General Counsel.
Al-Awlaki was the Congressional Muslim Staffer Association's first imam to conduct a prayer service at the U.S. Capitol in 2002. The prayers were for Muslim congressional staffers and officials for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Although now convicted in the media as a terrorist, at one time he was circulating in some highly placed positions within the U.S. government as well as maintaining contact with Islamists.
Al-Awlaki appears as more of a Lee Harvey Oswald type with the ability to play both sides of the fence easily. I wonder why. Who allowed him to play in such high levels? And now, I wonder why without much evidence, or due process, an American citizen is killed.
I have no sympathy for any ideology that runs counter to American values but he was a citizen and the precedent for a sitting president to order the death of any American without due process should give us pause. Al-Awlaki today, and which of us could be tomorrow? What constitutes grounds for elimination? Those steps should be outlined definitively and communicated clearly.
There is a profound Constitutional question operating here.
The question is that al-Awlaki is an American citizen; liberty is at risk. I have no problem with American firepower eliminating enemy combatants but we need a clearly defined Fifth Amendment due process in place when we do so. The Obama regime has not delineated a due process procedure for post 9/11 home grown terrorists; the lack of proper documentation, judicial review, and setting forth of evidence places us liberty loving citizens at risk of being labeled enemies of the state and eliminated by executive order.
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