Monday, September 8, 2014
Thomas Sowell: Yes, Obama does have a strategy
World Net Daily "Those people who say that President Obama has no clear vision and no clear strategy for dealing with the ISIS terrorists in the Middle East may be mistaken. It seems to me that he has a very clear and very consistent strategy. And a vision behind that strategy.
"First, the strategy – which is to get each crisis off the front pages and off television news programs as quickly as he can, in whatever way he can, at the lowest political cost. Calling ISIS junior varsity months ago accomplished that goal.
"Saying before the 2012 elections that “bin Laden is dead” and that terrorism was defeated accomplished the goal of getting re-elected.
"Ineffective sanctions against Iran and Russia likewise serve a clear purpose. They serve to give the illusion that Obama is doing something that will stop Iran from getting nuclear bombs and stop Russia from invading Ukraine."... Full article...
” 'I honestly wonder if our current administration would have won World War II,” said commentator Jonathan Hoenig during a recent appearance as a panelist.
” 'We need to take a page from Gen. Douglas MacArthur,” he added. “’No substitute for total victory.’”
” 'I think we would have lost it,” he continued.
” 'We need to take a page from Gen. Douglas MacArthur,” he added. “’No substitute for total victory.’”
Defying the Rules; Chuck Todd Begins as Host of NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’
Entertainment
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| Chuck Todd |
"... Sunday talk shows, and most particularly NBC’s “Meet the Press,” defy the normal rules of television news: spit-shine good looks and slick urbanity are unwelcome. Viewers don’t want anchors as hosts; they want hosts who don’t act like anchors.
"That became obvious when the NBC anchor David Gregory took over “Meet the Press” in 2008 after the death of its revered host, Tim Russert, and sent the show spiraling down to third place in the ratings.
"Mr. Gregory, a suave, well-groomed, versatile television reporter, wasn’t anything like the rumpled, convivial and sharp-minded Mr. Russert. Mr. Gregory was like almost every other star anchor on television, including David Muir, 40, who last week replaced Diane Sawyer on ABC’s “World News Tonight,” and has already shown he is in perfect sync with that newscast’s unctuous, user-friendly cheer."
Predicting the President’s Big Speech
Richard Fernandez .... "However the basic outlines of the strategy itself have emerged from information already available to the press. A Los Angeles Times story suggests that Obama will rely on proxies to fight ISIS at three levels: on the ground, within the region and in the West. Kerry invokes comparisons to the Sunni Awakening, seeking to recall the days when al-Qaeda in Iraq was beaten by George W. Bush. Obama plans to organize the Sunni Arabs to fight ISIS.
Well, at least not all the Muslim world will oppose the US. At least not now:
The Burn ISIS Flag Challenge: Outraged Muslims flood web with their version of the Ice Bucket Challenge in protest against Islamic State barbarism
“We are going to have to find effective partners on the ground to push back against ISIL,” Obama said. “And the moderate coalition there is one that we can work with. We have experienced working with many of them. They have been to some degree outgunned and outmanned, and that’s why it’s important for us to work with our friends and allies to support them more effectively.” …Via Lucianne
“It is absolutely critical that we have Arab states, and specifically Sunni-majority states, that are rejecting the kind of extremist nihilism that we’re seeing out of ISIL, that say, ‘That is not what Islam is about,’ and are prepared to join us actively in the fight,” Obama said, using one of the acronyms for Islamic State.
Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel are to fly to the Middle East in coming days to line up regional partners, a push for a Middle Eastern coalition that recalled the Sunni Awakening movement a decade ago that brought some stabilization to Iraq during the war there.
Well, at least not all the Muslim world will oppose the US. At least not now:
The Burn ISIS Flag Challenge: Outraged Muslims flood web with their version of the Ice Bucket Challenge in protest against Islamic State barbarism
Foreign Policy: Russia exposes Obama's empty security promises to Estonia
Thomas Lifson "Joining the now-notorious “red line” empty threat issued against Assad of Syria is a much more dangerous example of Barack Obama’s fatuous bluster, his assurance of NATO backing of the Baltic States last Wednesday in Tallinn, Estonia:
"The defense of Tallinn and Riga and Vilnius is just as important as the defense of Berlin and Paris and London," Obama said. "Article Five is crystal clear. An attack on one is an attack on all."Two days after President Obama issued this red line threat, Russia called his bluff. Liis Kangsepp and Juhana Rossi report in the Wall Street Journal:"
"So if, in such a moment, you ever ask again, who will come to help, you'll know the answer: the NATO alliance, including the armed forces of the United States of America, right here, present, now."
The apparent abduction and detention of an Estonian security officer raised tensions between Estonia and Russia just two days after PresidentBarack Obama came to the country and vowed to defend it as a NATO member ...... Read more...
Our Unrealist President; Why Obama’s foreign policy has been quite far from what you’d expect of a realist.
...But restraint is not what fundamentally characterizes realism. Rather, because realists see the international arena as innately competitive and often dangerous, they believe that strength is critical to a successful foreign policy. A domestic realist welcomes not only police restraint but also the appropriate vigorous application of police power; similarly, a foreign-policy realist knows that restraint alone is an invitation to chaos and peril. By this standard, Obama is neither an authentic realist nor a successful foreign-policy president.
Hayes: Don't Bet on a Muscular Obama Foreign Policy "The WEEKLY STANDARD
podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on why you shouldn't bet on President Obama using any muscle on his foreign policy." (Audio) More here.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Obama Goes on Meet the Press, Reality Fails to Intrude
Power Line "President Obama appeared on Meet the Press this morning with new host Chuck Todd. The conversation focused primarily on ISIS, Iraq and Syria. Much could be said about Obama’s comments, but what struck me most was how disassociated from reality Obama appears to be–both when he defends his own record, and when he talks about foreign policy.
"Obama repeated the spin, first floated by White House spokesman Josh Earnest, that when he talked dismissively of “jayvee” terrorist groups he wasn’t referring to ISIS:
..."And now Obama tells us that his brand-new “plan” for Syria is to do exactly what his critics have been urging since mid-2013. Only one problem: at this late date, there doesn’t appear to be much of a moderate opposition left to equip and support."
"Obama repeated the spin, first floated by White House spokesman Josh Earnest, that when he talked dismissively of “jayvee” terrorist groups he wasn’t referring to ISIS:
CHUCK TODD: Long way, long way from when you described them as a JV team."But he was, as Paul showed here. The only example of a “jayvee” terrorist group Obama gave was the one that took Fallujah. Who took Fallujah? ISIS. Obama knows this; he is simply lying to save his own skin." ...
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I–
CHUCK TODD: Was that bad intelligence or your misjudgment?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Keep– keep– keep in mind I wasn’t specifically referring to ISIL.
The 9/11 Museum
9/11 Museum Shows SEAL’s Shirt From Bin Laden Raid 
"The shirt a Navy SEAL wore in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and a special coin given to a CIA officer who played a key role in finding him are being displayed at the Sept. 11 museum, adding potent symbols of the terrorist attacks’ aftermath days before their anniversary. The items are going on view Sunday at the ground zero museum, where leaders see them as an important and moving addition to a collection that often uses personal artifacts to explore the events and impact of 9/11."... From Yeshiva World
9/11: Events of the Day
"The shirt a Navy SEAL wore in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and a special coin given to a CIA officer who played a key role in finding him are being displayed at the Sept. 11 museum, adding potent symbols of the terrorist attacks’ aftermath days before their anniversary. The items are going on view Sunday at the ground zero museum, where leaders see them as an important and moving addition to a collection that often uses personal artifacts to explore the events and impact of 9/11."... From Yeshiva World9/11: Events of the Day
"The attacks on September 11, 2001 were one of the most watched and documented tragedies in history. The 9/11 Memorial Museum collection contains personal items and artifacts, accompanied by accounts of the day and stories of heroism, courage, survival and loss. Here are some of the stories that will be shared with visitors and preserved in the collection to honor the lives of the nearly 3,000 victims of the September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 terrorist attacks."
"Follow an interactive timeline of the nine-month recovery effort at the World Trade Center site. The timeline contains images, audio and video, as well as first-person accounts that are part of the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s permanent collection.
"Please note: The timeline contains some graphic images and sensitive content due to the nature of the events related to the 9/11 attacks and the aftermath." Graphic and terrible
Recovery Stories "Immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, at the Pentagon and the Flight 93 crash site in Somerset County, Pa., rescue and recovery efforts began. Here are some stories from that day and the weeks and months to follow."
9 Military Technologies That Will Change Warfare
Kiplinger; Google Glass-like Eyegear for Soldiers
"Troops one day will receive vital, real-time cues about their location, surrounding terrain, danger zones and much more with “augmented reality” holographic glasses. Called ULTRA-Vis, the transparent eye screen covers one eye and provides visual pop-ups keyed to a wearer’s exact location, plus directional signs and alerts to enemy locations. Yes, it’s like Google Glass, but featuring a mini war room map with sensors and live data. Applied Research Associates in Arlington, Virginia, and Britain’s BAE Systems are developing the eyewear with DARPA. As the technology is refined, future applications could easily be found for police, firefighters and even commercial pilots." Full article...
Emphasis in the original
How wolves change rivers.
The fascinating story of how wolves changed Yellowstone's geography "You must watch this fascinating four-minute video on the effects of the re-introduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park. Not only they affected the entire live of the park—increasing the number of species in it!—but actually changed the geography of the park itself, affecting the rivers in a way that positively affected everything."
Hat tip to Jack Hamner; Santa Maria, CA
Wolf Reintroduction Changes Ecosystem "On a quiet spring morning, a resounding “Slap!” reverberates through the air above a remote stream leading to Lake Yellowstone. Over much of the past century, it has been a rarely heard noise in the soundscape that is Yellowstone National Park, but today is growing more common-the sound of a beaver slapping its tail on the water as a warning to other beavers.
"Today, the park is home to nine beaver colonies, with the promise of more to come, as the reintroduction of wolves continues to astonish biologists with a ripple of direct and indirect consequences throughout the ecosystem.
"A flourishing beaver population is just one of those consequences, said Smith." ...Read more...
Alan Caruba: An Economist's Bad Climate Advice (Updated)
"If I need my car repaired, I do not take it to a dentist. If I am seeking advice about the climate I check out what climatologists and meteorologists are saying, at least those who have not sold their souls to the global warming/climate change hoax.
"On September 3 The Wall Street Journal published a commentary by Edward P. Lazear titled “The Climate Change Agenda Needs to Adapt to Reality: Limiting carbon emissions won’t work. Better to begin adjusting to a warming world.”
More inconvenient truths
UPDATE: Perfect: College Will Teach A Climate Change Fiction Class "At the University of Oregon, a climate change fiction class will be offered this winter.
"No, we don’t mean that it’s a class that teaches that climate change is fiction. We mean that it’s a class that teaches about movies and novels that feature climate change as a central theme."
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Prediction: Here’s How the Price of Your Favorite Fast Food Would Change With a $15 Minimum Wage
The Daily Signal "Thousands of fast-food workers across 150 cities nationwide gathered today to call for a $15-an-hour minimum wage.
"However, a report released today by James Sherk, senior policy analyst in labor economics at The Heritage Foundation, found that fast-food restaurants would have to boost their prices 38 percent to make up for the increased labor costs.
"Higher Fast-Food Wages: Higher Fast-Food Prices"
"Such an increase, Sherk said, would drive away about one-third of these restaurants’ customers.
If fast food’s biggest restaurants decide to raise their wages to $15 an hour, here’s how some of your favorite meals would fare."
"However, a report released today by James Sherk, senior policy analyst in labor economics at The Heritage Foundation, found that fast-food restaurants would have to boost their prices 38 percent to make up for the increased labor costs.
"Higher Fast-Food Wages: Higher Fast-Food Prices"
"Such an increase, Sherk said, would drive away about one-third of these restaurants’ customers.
If fast food’s biggest restaurants decide to raise their wages to $15 an hour, here’s how some of your favorite meals would fare."
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