The US and the Revolutions

 Blackfive   "A few thoughts on the revolutions, and how to respond.  Responses are meant to be effective without opening a new ground war, which is a condition that has to be avoided for obvious reasons."....
"We can imagine the heartening effect among the protestors of seeing US warplanes guarding them above. We can also imagine the effect the memory of that sight will have on post-revolutionary Libya."

US warships box in Iranian flotilla, delay Suez passage

USS Enterprise

DEBKAfile  "The Iranian warships found themselves cheek to jowl with a major concentration of America naval might piling up in the Red Sea and Suez and were not sure what would happen if they went forward with their mission to transit the Suez Canal for the Mediterranean for the first time in 30 years on their way to Syria."

Cables show China used debt holdings to press US

Breitbart  "China's clout -- gleaned from its nearly $900 billion stack of US debt -- has been widely commented on in the United States, but sensitive cables show just how much influence Beijing has and how keen Washington is to address its rival's concerns.
"An October 2008 cable, released by WikiLeaks, showed a senior Chinese official linking questions about much-needed Chinese investment to sensitive military sales to Taiwan. "

What Unions Do: How Labor Unions Affect Jobs and the Economy

Heritage  "What do unions do? The AFL-CIO argues that unions offer a pathway to higher wages and prosperity for the middle class. Critics point to the collapse of many highly unionized domestic industries and argue that unions harm the economy. To whom should policymakers listen? What unions do has been studied extensively by economists, and a broad survey of academic studies shows that while unions can sometimes achieve benefits for their members, they harm the overall economy." Hat tip to Neal Boortz, who also contributed this:

And this:

Plus these videos: MEGYN KELLY TAKES ON WI TEACHERS' UNION PRESIDENT

How often does the president of the AFL-CIO speak to somebody in the White House?

How the GOP Can Win the Budget Battle

Wall Street Journal  "Democrats will bewail every domestic program cut. Can Republicans convince the public we can't afford to play this game any longer?" Fred Barnes is executive editor of the Weekly Standard and a commentator on Fox News Channel.

Shutdown: Does GOP have the edge this time?  "It all adds up to this: Republicans have less to fear from a government shutdown now than they did when they endured the blame 15 years ago — at least that’s the thinking in some GOP circles."

http://townhall.com/cartoons/glennfoden

It's Crunch Time for Organized Labor .

Former Gov. Ted Strickland (D., Ohio)
speaks to protesters in Columbus.


.

Heritage  "Gov. Walker and other Republicans say they have no choice as states struggle to cover huge budget gaps. Gov. John Kasich, who is pushing a similar measure in Ohio over heated union opposition, says the moves are not an attack on unions, but an effort "to restore some balance."

""We have finally elected people who are doing what they said they would do," said U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, the newly elected Republican from Wisconsin, who supports efforts to trim labor's powers. "I certainly hope that voters will stand by Gov. Walker when he makes these tough decisions.""

Admiral Provides Details of Somali Piracy Killings

GlobalSecurity.org   "The admiral gave a timeline of the action. Pirates captured the vessel about 190 nautical miles southeast of Masirah Island, Oman, Feb. 18. Four U.S. Navy warships responded: the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, the guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf and the guided-missile destroyers USS Sterett and USS Bulkeley.
"The ships found the vessel and made contact with the pirates via bridge-to-bridge radio, and began a series of negotiations. Yesterday, two pirates boarded the USS Sterett to continue negotiations.

Southern California residents Jean Adam,
 66, and her husband, Scott, 70, were in
 the  seventh year of an off-and-on,
 round-the-world
 trip on their beloved sloop, Quest.
 (Del Rey Yacht Club / October 20, 2005)

"“At 8 a.m. this morning … a rocket-propelled grenade was fired by the pirates from the Quest toward the Sterett,” Fox said. “Immediately thereafter, gunfire erupted from inside the cabin of the Quest. Several pirates appeared on the deck of the Quest and moved up to the bow with their hands in the air in surrender.”"

Four Americans, including Southern California couple, are killed by Somali pirates, U.S. officials say  "Such a jarring end to what had seemed a charmed life devastated scores of people around Southern California, in the array of communities they touched — at Fuller Theological Seminary, where Scott Adam was a long-time student; in the television industry, where he had worked in production and direction; among patients Jean Adam had treated as a dentist; and in Marina del Rey, where the couple hosted deck-top dinners and holiday parties with Christmas lights wound through the rigging of their yacht."  Remember that LA is the home of Michael Moore and Oliver Stone; you may expect the LA Times to run some columns on understanding-the-poor-pirates-side-of-things in three...two...one.

Death to Apostates: Not a Perversion of Islam, but Islam

Andrew C. McCarthy  "Ever since 2003, when the thrust of the War On Terror stopped being the defeat of America’s enemies and decisively shifted to nation-building, we have insisted — against history, law, language, and logic — that Islamic culture is perfectly compatible with and hospitable to Western-style democracy. It is not, it never has been, and it never will be."

Bill Clinton and the New Civility Center

Commentary  "Mr. Clinton said in a statement that the new institute “can elevate the tone of dialogue in our country.” Perhaps, though I do wonder if a few notes of apology from our 42nd president might be in order first.

"Let’s take a journey down memory lane, shall we?"

From Woodstock to Civility Commissions "To see Alinskyites, radical intellectuals, and Woodstock yuppies lecturing fellow Americans on the virtue of civility is tiresome but unsurprising. No one is more authoritarian than a successful left-wing revolutionary: he rises to power by extolling dissent, then stays in power by suppressing it."

Somali Pirates Murder 4 Americans

Human Events  "Aggressively hunting down and killing Somali boats is a much more practical use of our limited but powerful naval resources, and transfers the initiative to our Navy instead of the pirates. It’s time to take the initiative."

Friends mourn 4 US yachters killed by Somali pirates  " Scott Adam, who is in his mid-60s, had been an associate producer in Hollywood when he turned in a spiritual direction and enrolled in Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena a decade ago, said Robert K. Johnston, a professor at the seminary.

""They were just passing out Bibles, trying to do a good thing," said Barbara Herred, who attended the Mass in Santa Monica. "It’s just so sad.""

Leaked Email: Screen Actors Guild Asks Members to Join Anti-Walker Protests in Wisconsin

Big Hollywood  Meaning you should watch for lines in your favorite TV shows where familiar characters take verbal jabs at anyone not on the side of the teachers union.
..."is an email generated by the Screen Actors Guild to “SAG Members” that was leaked to Big Hollywood. We’ve gone ahead and emphasized what we found the most interesting. Is collective bargaining enshrined in law?  How many astro-turfed actors will show up in Madison to protest Governor Scott Walker? Will Sean Penn bring his shotgun? Will Oliver Stone bring his Uncle Hugo? ..."

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Unrest and Libya's Energy Industry

STRATFOR  "At the risk of oversimplifying, Libya’s population is split in half: Leader Moammar Gadhafi’s power base is in Tripoli in the extreme west, the opposition is concentrated in Benghazi in the east, with a 600 kilometer-wide gulf of nearly empty desert in between."....

"If Libya veers towards civil war, each side will have its own source of income to feed on, as well as a similar income source on the other side to target."