The Egypt Crisis in a Global Context: A Special Report

STRATFOR intelligence report  "Mubarak’s failure to design a credible succession plan guaranteed instability on his death. Since everyone knew that there would be instability on his death, there were obviously those who saw little advantage to acting before he died. Who these people were and what they wanted is the issue."

 

Global Nerdy  "The article, which appeared on China’s official Xinhua News Agency’s English news site on Monday, displays text about a new genetic discovery relating to MS, attributed to “agencies.” Alongside is an x-ray rendering of the diminutive brain of the cartoon character Homer Simpson, attributed as a “file photo.”"  

 Hat tip to Jeff Hayden, Plano, TX


D'oh! Homer 'photo' exposes Chinese media piracy  "Despite the foreign-language polishers, the writers and editors who produce English and other foreign-language content for Xinhua and other state-owned media organizations do not have the cultural awareness necessary to avoid errors like the misuse of the Homer Simpson illustration,"...


Read the latest articles in the Tunnel Wall here.
Popular posts have been:
Omaha Beach D-Day landings from above and this one: 
D-Day; Omaha Beach then and now photographs

The Mubarak Mirage and the ElBaradei Conundrum

Max Boot  "I am by no means trying to minimize the possible dangers ahead or to wish away the problems with ElBaradei. But the reality is that he has become the only realistic alternative to Mubarak, at least in the short-term. If he does the job right, he could preside over an interim government that would lift the state of emergency and allow the emergence of genuine political parties. Hopefully, we would see the emergence of popular leaders who would not be beholden to the Muslim Brotherhood. But for now, our options are severely limited."

http://townhall.com/cartoons/chipbok

Israeli leftist admits: Human rights is a business

Israel Today "An Israeli journalist and filmmaker deeply involved in the liberal-driven human rights movement wrote in a blog post earlier this month that he has come to the sad realization that the movement he was so ideologically beholden to is little more than a great way for a lot of people to make money."

Bolton Says Obama ‘Basically Doesn’t Care About’ Foreign Policy, Compares Him to Dukakis

John Bolton, the former U.S.
Ambassador to the United Nations,
is a favorite of foreign
 policy conservatives.

CNS News  "“I think this marks him as different from the long line of American presidents since Franklin Roosevelt beginning on December the 7th (of) 1941, virtually all of whom got up every morning worrying about threats to American national security policy,” Bolton told the group, including several U.S. ambassadors who had gathered to hear him speak.

"“It motivated them. It was the top of their agenda. I just don’t think that’s the priority that President Obama has,” he said."

ObamaCare Un-Constitutional. So What? Gimme the Freebies!

Lloyd Marcus  "In schools across America, liberals continue to infect the minds of our children with the virus of anti-Americanism while indoctrinating them with their secular progressive agenda. Decades of the Left's stealth warfare against America via public education has created an epidemic of apathy about freedom, entitlement mindsets and a warped value system where government controlled outcomes equal fairness." Lloyd Marcus, Proud Unhyphenated American

ObamaCare

Another Victory on the Road to Repeal  "“It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate giving the East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America would have set out to create a government with the power to force people to buy tea in the first place. If Congress can penalize a passive individual for failing to engage in commerce, the enumeration of powers in the Constitution would have been in vain for it would be ‘difficult to perceive any limitation on federal power’ and we would have a Constitution in name only.”"

Encore presentation: Obamacare Unconstitutional - How Did This Happen?

Does Judge Vinson’s Opinion Impose a “Major Limit” on Federal Power?  "I also think Orin’s argument that the individual mandate must be constitutional under existing precedent because dissenting justices argued that such precedents allow the federal government to regulate “virtually anything” is problematic. First, Orin is relying upon the opinions of dissenting justices, when the majority opinion in Raich maintained that limits on federal power remained." Scholarly dialogue on the issue from Volokh Conspiracy


http://terrellaftermath.com/

In The Age Of Obamacare Will Your Medical Information Be Used Against You?  "The Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 gives the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services the power to determine the amount of fines and whether civil penalties will be applied to those who violate HIPPA. As with many other tenants of Obamacare, this was not present within the healthcare reform bill. It is simply another example of a legislative sleight of hand that makes it easier to slide in questionable pieces of legislation that may not be popular by distracting with one hand while the other is doing the dirty work."

The liberal, unbiased media attacks:
AP: Judge Vinson ‘Has Own Med Story’  "From an intentionally misleading Associated Press:"....
"This is the "med story" the AP put in its headline? Weren’t we led to believe that Judge Vinson had some healthcare issues that make his ruling hypocritical? Isn’t that the impression any casual reader who does not pore over the article would take away?
"And how on earth does this "health care story" help "shed light on his ruling Monday"? Is it wrong to pay your doctor in cash? Is it an outworn concept?"

ABC’s Sawyer Spikes Federal Judge’s Ruling Against ObamaCare  "ABC’s World News didn’t utter a syllable about the major setback for the Obama administration. Anchor Diane Sawyer, however, made room for a full story on an impending snowstorm and four minutes for a new series, “Families on the Brink: What to Do About Mom and Dad?”"

OBAMACARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ... AGAIN? "I particularly enjoyed that part of Judge Vinson's ruling where he quoted statements made by Barack Obama during a 2008 campaign speech. Obama was slamming Hillary Clinton for her plans for health care reform. Hillary wanted to require people to buy health insurance. Obama thought that was a bad idea. He was steadfastly opposed to it. Obama said that if you could solve the problem of medical care by requiring people to buy insurance, then you could solve the problem of homelessness by requiring people to buy a house. That statement was made February 28, 2008. Now here we are two years later and Barack Obama has completely changed his mind. Funny how that works, isn't it?"

Egypt in flames; Obama takes it easy

Jeannie DeAngelis  "President Obama is the type of leader who doesn't let anything get in the way of a well-deserved day off. Let's face it; Barack is first and foremost a government employee. The President's breaks are on schedule, work hours tightly defined, vacations well spaced, and if it's the weekend, listen closely as you may hear the titular leader of the free world whispering: "TGIF.""

If I were president and father of two growing children however, I still would endeavor to take part in their lives as much as possible. But Mr. Obama's entire social schedule seems to take precedence over many important presidential responsibilities. Who can forget that spur-of-the moment shopping trip to New York? Or that Obama-Clinton/ Clinton press conference?

How the left works

Moonbattery , from the comments to the Olbermann post we recently linked to,
California:

The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail.
A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor's dog, then bites the Governor.
1. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only doing what is natural.
2. He calls animal control . Animal Control captures the coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.
3. He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.
4. The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound bandaged.
5. The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while Fish & Game conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now free of dangerous animals.
6. The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a "coyote awareness program" for residents of the area.
7. The State Legislature spends $2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world.
8. The Governor's security agent is fired for not stopping the attack. The State spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training re: the nature of coyotes.
9. PETA protests the coyote's relocation and files a $5 million suit against the State.

Wyoming:

The Governor of Wyoming is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A Coyote jumps out and attacks his dog.
1. The Governor shoots the coyote with his State-issued pistol and keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge.
2. The Buzzards eat the dead coyote.
And that, my friends, is why California is broke and Wyoming is not.

 Posted by: TED at January 26, 2011 5:49 PM

(Updated) ABC Skips Life March, But Highlights Attacks on Chick-fil-A By Gay Groups

Updated, Wed, Feb 2: A Christian Business in the Left's Crosshairs  "Over the weekend, New York Times reporter Kim Severson gave the Chick-fil-A bashers a coveted Sunday A-section megaphone -- repeatedly parroting the "Chick-fil-A is anti-gay" slur and raising fears of "evangelical Christianity's muscle flexing" with only the thinnest veneer of journalistic objectivity. Severson, you see, is an openly gay advocate of same-sex marriage equality herself and the former vice-president of the identity politics-mongering National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association."  Michelle Malkin  Hat tip to Jon Hodges, Richardson, TX.

Newsbusters  "After ABC’s World News ignored the March for Life pro-life event last week, the January 30 World News Sunday did find time to run a report highlighting complaints by gay rights activists over Chick-fil-A -- a family-owned restaurant chain known for its Christian-based social advocacy -- supplying food to a socially conservative group in Pennsylvania that promoted a ban on same-sex marriage in the state that was enacted in 1996."

South Bend Homosexual Organization Targets Chick-Fil-A For Protest  "Members of the Campus Ally Network, which promotes acceptance and support for the university's homosexual community protested because the restaurant's Pennsylvania franchise donated food to an anti-homosexual organization's event."

Chick Fil A Denies Anti-Gay Agenda "“Chick Fil A serves all people and values all people. Providing food to these events or any event is not an endorsement of the mission, political stance or motives of this or any other organization. Any suggestion otherwise is just inaccurate.”
"The 65-year-old privately-held Chick Fil A describes its business as operating according to Biblical principles. That’s one reason its stores do not open on Sundays."

Chick-Fil-A Says It's Dropping Its Support For Anti-Gay Marriage Groups  "“Chick-Fil-A's Corporate Purpose is 'To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us, and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-Fil-A.' As a result, we will not champion any political agendas on marriage and family. This decision has been made, and we understand the importance of it.” But Cathy added that the company would “continue to offer resources to strengthen marriages and families.” “To do anything different would be inconsistent with our purpose and belief in Biblical principles,” he said."

Chick-fil-A lends its support to tea party protesters. The founders of Chick-fil-A, the Cathy family, “have been outspoken in their support of Republican social conservatives. Chick-fil-A has won praise from religious conservative for keeping its doors shut on Sundays.”  From the liberal blog thinkprogress

The Situation in Egypt is Obama's Opportunity to Shape a New Middle East, says FPI Director William Kristol

Photo: jaxobserver

The Foreign Policy Initiative  "This is the 3 a.m. phone call. Will President Obama rise to the occasion?
"He could, and he should. His initial diagnosis two years ago of the Middle East proved wrong. His administration’s initial response to the crisis in Egypt has been halting. His normal supporters are befuddled."

Obama and the Ripple Effect  "But an American president, when wading into such turbulent and unpredictable waters, ought to know at least all the ramifications of his own strategy -- something Obama doesn't seem to have thought through.
"Watching Obama, Hamas must be licking its chops, while the Saudis and Abbas must be wondering how constant, reliable and predictable a Mideast player the U.S. really is with Obama in the White House."

Egypt: Please, Not ElBaradei

Claudia Rosett  "...in the U.S. effort to corral Iran’s nuclear program, ElBaradei was not part of the answer, but part of the problem. Glick also describes ElBaradei’s cozy relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood — progenitor of al-Qaeda and Hamas — quoting him as giving a recent interview to Der Spiegel in which he claimed the Muslim Brotherhood has “not committed any acts of violence in five decades.”"

The pragmatic fantasy "THE TRUTHS exposed by the convulsive events of the past month make it abundantly clear that Israel lives in a horrible neighborhood. It is a neighborhood where popular democracy means war against Israel."