Saturday, November 14, 2009

Obama's botched bow

Thomas Lifson  "I suspect the poor Emperor was so shocked by the faux pas that he just pretended it didn't happen. That is one way Japanese people deal with breaches of etiquette, especially from the powerful who are also ignorant. But the end resilt is that Obama has been snubbed royally."

From Germany: "An Amateur’s Plan"

Watching America  "Since then,[Obama] has done everything in his power to make sure he loses that war. His national security team exhibits a measure of amateurism that’s not unusual for the early phases of a presidential administration. That can, however, lead to total defeat for his administration and for Afghanistan’s future.

Video: Glenn Beck devotes entire show to black conservatives

Hot Air   "A brilliant idea, although I hope the participants know that they’re now fair game for “progressive” blackface photoshops mocking them as traitors to their race. The Clinton coalition is fracturing, thanks to The One’s statism on steroids; every white surbanbite vote that’s lost will have to be made up with a minority vote, which means the volume on the demagoguery will have to be turned up that much higher."

When Won’t Obama Visit Afghanistan?

Pajamas Media "He hasn’t been back to Afghanistan since his campaign stop there in the summer of 2008. He has been to Cairo to “reach out” to Muslims. He has been to Copenhagen to lobby for Chicago’s (failed) Olympic bid. He has been to France to commemorate D-Day 65 years ago. He has used his presidential traveling prerogatives for such matters as family time in Chicago, a vacation on Martha’s Vineyard,and a “date night” in Manhattan with Michelle. He is expected to go to Oslo next month to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. But since becoming president, he has not been to Afghanistan."

How low will he go? Obama gives Japan's Emperor Akihito a wow bow

From the LA Times of all places! "Very low bows like this are a sign of great respect and deference to a superior."

Be ready for the worst: What to do when laid off

KnoxNews  "There was a time when saying you were laid off or unemployed raised a red flag with not only prospective employers but the community at large. With unemployment at 10 percent, however, “that stigma doesn’t exist any more,” Hammitt notes."

Is Law School Non-Partisan? Need You Ask?

BlackBookLegal   "While I don’t accuse the actual institutions for silencing a political minority, it is a little scary to imagine that, in an environment founded on the power of debate, discussion, and dialogue, people are afraid to say what they think."

There He Bows Again

Sweetness & Light    "U.S. President Barack Obama bows as he is greeted by Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko as he arrives at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009."

Trying KSM: Why?

PowerlineBlog "Like so many things the Obama administration does, this creates exactly the wrong incentives and needlessly puts American lives in danger." And This: Bringing al-Qaeda to New York "...the rigorous due-process burdens that made prosecution of many terrorists impossible, the daunting disclosure and witness-confrontation rules that required government to disclose mountains of intelligence, the gargantuan expense of “hardening” courthouses and prisons to protect juries and judges, and the terrorists’ exploitation of legal privileges to plot additional attacks and escape attempts."

Video: Giuliani goes nuclear on Obama over KSM’s trial

Hot Air    "Obama and Holder surely realize that the defense is going to try to put Bush on trial by focusing on waterboarding, torture, etc. Is that a feature for them rather than a bug? Nothing would make the left happier than to see Dubya himself in the dock; this is the next best thing, and provides some political cover in case the verdict turns out the wrong way. It’s all Bush’s fault!"

Barack in Beijing / How the Chinese regime hopes to make use of him.

by Gordon G. Chang    "Obama's failure to consolidate relations with Japan and India, the countries China fears most, is a critical mistake. As a result, he has little to bargain with. Beijing's foreign policy is, above all, ruthlessly pragmatic. The Chinese generally do not reciprocate friendly gestures; they interpret them as weakness."...."China...has recently increased its support for nuclear rogues Iran and North Korea, used aggressive tactics at sea to push the U.S. Navy from Asian waters, stepped up its efforts to remove America from Central Asia, and formed a loose coalition of developing nations to undermine the dollar. Unlike Jiang, Hu is ideologically anti-American."

Obama Tries To Stop Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Sweetness&Light   "The Obama administration is curbing the powers of an Arizona sheriff who has led one of the most contentious fights against illegal immigrants.  Under an agreement involving local enforcement of federal immigration law, Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deputies will no longer have the authority to arrest suspected illegal immigrants in the streets in the course of their duty." ...."This action comes just a couple weeks after the Congressional Hispanic Caucus called on Mr. Obama to terminate the 287(g) program (a pdf file), and two months after La Raza, the ACLU and 521 other pro-amnesty organizations demanded that the program be stopped."