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Libertarian
Commentary on the News, 22 - 28 April, 2007:
“Hillary Reveals Plans for Bill” is my lead story this week, because
I couldn’t resist. And I even have (gasp) a second article that might
be part of the news around the 2008 elections.
I’ve not
had a quote recently, so here is a neat one. Guess who said it, and then
read to the
end of the column to see who did!
"To announce
that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand
by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile,
but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth
should be spoken about him or anyone else. But it is even more important
to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one
else."
US Cesspools
(Politics):
Hillary
Reveals Plans for Bill
Aol.com News
'He Said He Would Do Anything' What's His Role if She Wins?
I know
that I am staying away from the insanely early 2008 election campaign,
but this headline was too good to pass by. We all are sure that Mrs. C.
has “plans” for her wayward husband, but somehow I don’t think that AOL
has the lowdown on them. And of course, he doesn’t need to tell us (or
her) that he will “do anything” – he’s proved that for decades.
US Cesspools
(Politics):
Tape
Challenges Senator Clinton on Campaign Violation Claim
CNSNews.com
A Hollywood mogul and former associate of former President Bill Clinton
and Sen. Hillary Clinton has obtained what he calls a "smoking gun tape"
which he said proves that the New York senator and leading Democratic
presidential candidate violated campaign finance laws. Clinton friend-turned-nemesis
Peter Paul plans to use the video both as evidence in a lawsuit against
the former first couple and in a forthcoming documentary concerning his
dealings with the Clintons during the former first lady's first Senate
campaign in 2000. The U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District
of New York gave copies of 90 tapes to Paul on April 11. The office had
taken possession of the tapes six years ago during an investigation of
a securities case against Paul in 2001.
Frankly,
this pair deserve each other – and always have.
Afghan
Front:
Taliban
Terrorizing Afghan Civilians, Rights Group Says
CNSNews.com
Following written guidelines that sanction the murder of teachers who
teach "contrary to the principles of Islam," the Taliban is terrorizing
the civilian population of Afghanistan, who are increasingly facing suicide
attacks, abductions and beheadings, according to a human rights group.
The Taliban's military rulebook, known as the Laheya, "confirms a Taliban
policy of burning schools, targeting teachers and of restricting the right
to education," Amnesty International states in a new report. "All Afghans
with aspirations to educate their daughters and sons within the current
state system risk being considered collaborators," it says.
Huh? Amnesty
International agrees with the US government? Seriously, this is one reason
that regardless of which old party is in power in DC that the US occupation
of Afghanistan and Mesopotamia is unlikely to change.
Mama's
Note: I fail to see a legitimate connection and highly doubt this madness
has anything to do with actual US government reasons for being involved.
Yes, it's terrible, but so are a lot of other things, including the theft
and lies perpetrated in the US to remain involved.
Canaanite
front:
Hamas Infiltrating Palestinian
Authority Security Services
CNSNews.com
Unable to establish its own military force in the West Bank like the
one it has in the Gaza Strip, Hamas instead is working to infiltrate its
operatives into the official Palestinian Authority security branches,
a high-ranking officer in the IDF Central Command warned on Thursday.
The report comes from the Jerusalem Post. "If this continues they will
eventually take over the security forces," the newspaper quoted a senior
Israeli defense official as saying. And if that happens, Israel will find
itself facing a "two-faced" PA security establishment.
The noose
tightens.
Cannanite
front:
Israel
Mum on Rice Meeting Minister in Fatah-Hamas Gov't
CNSNews.com
The Israeli government did not comment Thursday on the highest-level
meeting yet between a U.S. official and the new Fatah-Hamas Palestinian
Authority or on reports that the U.S. may ease some financial restrictions
on the P.A. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with P.A. Finance
Minister Salaam Fayyad, who was in Washington seeking an easing of banking
restrictions that have prohibited international aid transfers to the P.A.
since Hamas won elections early last year. Two months ago, Hamas brought
P.A. Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction into a "unity" government in
a bid to break the boycott.
Of course,
at the same time as we have these “restrictions,” millions of US taxpayer
dollars flow indirectly into PA, Hamas, and Fatah pockets. The US support
of Israel may be wrong, but the US is hypocritical and continues to play
both sides.
Cultural
wars:
Gay rights proposals gain in Congress
Boston Globe
“After
more than a decade of government inaction, gay-rights proponents in Congress
have gotten several major bills moving through the Democratic-controlled
chambers, a development that could result in the greatest expansion of
federal protections for gays and lesbians in US history. This week, a
key House committee is set to approve a measure that would in some cases
make hate crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation a federal offense,
as are crimes committed on the basis of the race or religion of the victim.
Also, a bipartisan group of House members introduced a bill yesterday
that would ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or
gender identity. Both pieces of legislation are on track for congressional
approval in the coming months.” [Editor’s note: Oh, Great — the first
one extends the absurd “hate crime” statutes, and the second legislates
against private freedom of association. Your tax dollars at work - SAT
] (04/25/07)
Such legislation
perverts and twists the meaning of liberty, creating a special protected
class of one group of people while denying all persons true freedom.
Culture
wars:
Abortion
rights gain ground in Latin America
Christian Science Monitor
“Mexican bishops have threatened legislators, doctors, and women with
excommunication. But on Tuesday, the Mexico City assembly is expected
to pass a new law legalizing abortions. If it does, it would put the capital
of the world’s second largest Catholic nation in the same league with
Cuba and Guyana –- the only countries in conservative Latin America that
allow abortions in the first trimester, as the US does. A similar bill
has been introduced in Mexico’s national legislature. If the relaxed abortion
laws pass, they would mirror similar moves by Colombia, El Salvador, and
Chile toward partial legalization. Only in increasingly evangelical Christian
Nicaragua has the abortion law become stricter.” (04/23/07)
Anyone
who knows the history of Mexico and Latin America would understand the
dynamics involved here. Unfortunately, the mainstream media neither understands
nor cares about history nor liberty; just their own sick agenda of modern
liberalism.
Economy:
Pennsylvania
Governor Wants Gas Price Investigated
CNSNews.com
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has asked the Bush administration to investigate
the causes behind the rise in gasoline prices, even though data suggests
the prices are similar to the same week in 2006. Moreover, Pennsylvania
imposes the tenth highest tax on gas of any state in the nation. "Over
the past year, our families and businesses have had to deal with the crippling
impact of a 32-percent increase in the price of gasoline at the pump,"
Rendell said in a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman dated April
18. Rendell said he is "perplexed" when reviewing the factors causing
a supposed increase in gasoline prices and urged Bodman to investigate
ways the federal government can lower prices at the pump.
Rendell
is pandering politically, for the causes of the recent rise in prices
are the same as that in 2005-2006: lack of capacity and supplies which
are the result in large part of actions by federal and state governments,
going back decades in some cases. Like the plowhorse which has finally
died of the repeated beatings and overwork, the domestic gasoline and
diesel producers have failed to keep up with demand, and are blamed for
the way they have been mistreated. Indeed, it is decades of government
action that have led to the “big oil” cartel that we have today: small
producers have been systematically wiped out.
Economy:
Stupid people tricks:
Record as Dow
closes above 13,000
BBC News [UK]
“The Dow Jones index of leading US shares has closed above the 13,000
mark for the first time in history, powered by strong corporate results.
America’s main share index ended trading at 13,089.08, up 135.14 points
or more than 1% on the day The fresh gains followed three record closing
highs in succession last week as investors welcomed company gains.”
(04/25/07)
Just in
case you have forgotten (as clearly the media have), the months leading
to the October 1929 crash also had amazing gains and reached levels never
before attained: it is called a “bubble” and bubbles burst.
Mama's
Note: It's also called "inflation." When the dollar is worth
less, it takes more of them to buy the same a more valuable dollar bought
earlier. Thus the "price" goes up, but the actual value of the
commodity might stay the same or be less. That can only go on just so
long too.
European
Follies:
EU
Data-Sharing Plans for Crimefighting Draw Privacy Concerns
CNSNews.com
Berlin, Germany - Plans by the European Union to develop a system that
will give law enforcement agencies access to DNA and other personal data
of the bloc's citizens are raising privacy concerns but also being welcomed
as a critical step in fighting terrorism and other crimes. "It is an affront
on personal privacy," said Peter Hustinx, who holds the title of European
Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). The EDPS, an independent authority
devoted to protecting personal data and privacy in the E.U., wants the
system to include measures that will specify who will be included in shared
DNA databases and the period that this data may be stored by police services.
The police
state grows still more.
Mama's
Note: Indeed, with the smokescreen that "identity theft" or
system security is the only real problem.
European
follies:
Putin declares
moratorium on arms treaty
Scotsman [UK]
“Russian
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was suspending Russia’s obligations
under the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, a move he linked
to U.S. plans for a missile defence shield in Europe. Putin, in a hawkish
annual speech to both houses of parliament, said the NATO signatories
to the 1990 treaty were not respecting it, and the U.S. plan to put missile
defence systems in Poland and the Czech Republic made matters worse. …
The CFE treaty sets limits on the quantity, type and location of conventional
armaments countries on either side of the old Iron Curtain can maintain.
Putin said it was an anachronism that Russia should be restricted in how
it can deploy its armed forces within its own borders, while NATO countries
used pretexts to bend the terms of the treaty.” [Editor’s note: A
curious reversal — now the US is the universally hated and militarily
stretched empire … and Putin seems to be betting that, like the USSR in
the 80s, the US can’t afford an arms race - TLK] (04/26/07)
Relations
between both the EU and Russia and the USA and Russia are probably worse
right now than at any time since the beginning of the collapse of the
USSR. Tom’s comments are bizarre, though, to say the least. Russia is
merely exhibiting the paranoia that is part of the national makeup since
the time of the Mongol invasions, and refuses to recognize the right of
former slave nations like Poland to decide how to defend themselves, and
who to ally themselves with. Whether the US can afford a “new arms race”
or not – it is very clear that the Russias cannot.
Freedom
fighters:
Boris Yeltsin, 1931-2007
Detroit Free Press
“Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who engineered the final collapse
of the Soviet Union, has died, a Kremlin official said today. He was 76.
Kremlin spokesman Alexander Smirnov confirmed Yeltsin’s death, but gave
no cause or further information. … He stood atop a tank to resist an attempted
coup in August 1991 and spearheaded the peaceful end of the Soviet Union
on Dec. 25 of that year.” (04/23/07)
For all
his many faults, he did help bring about a great deal of new human freedom
in all the Russias; freedom that many parts of those benighted nations
had not had for millennia, if ever. He did not go far enough, or rather,
the people of Russia did not go far enough, but that should not distract
from their great victory.
Freedom
of speech:
Judge:
Keep Religion Out of Post Offices Run By Churches, Contractors
Fox News
U.S. District Judge Dominic J. Squatrito, in a case involving a church-run
post office in Manchester, ordered the Postal Service to notify the nearly
5,200 facilities run by contractors that they cannot promote religion
through pamphlets, displays or any other materials. He also told the agency
to monitor those offices, which are distinguishable from government-run
facilities and employ workers who are not Postal Service employees, to
make sure they comply with his ruling.
This comes
from a single person who was offended because he had to walk by religious
tract racks and posters to get his mail and buy a stamp at a store which
doubles as a post office. These thousands of “facilities” include those
in tiny Western towns like Prairie City, South Dakota, and Beulah, Wyoming.
The USPS can’t afford to have “real” post offices in these towns, so they
contract with private businesses and individuals to provide basic mail
services. Now, thanks to this man being offended and a judge who doesn’t
understand the difference between freedom and tyranny, these people and
businesses lose their freedom of speech and these communities may even
lose more.
Government
crimes:
Miss America helps cops in sex sting
Imperial Valley Press
"Miss
America can add crime fighter to her resume. Lauren Nelson recently went
undercover with police in New York for a sting targeting sexual predators.
Officers with Suffolk County's computer crimes unit created an online
profile of a 14-year-old girl that included photographs of Nelson as a
teenager." [Editor's note: How would such a "sting" work? If the profile
isn't real, there isn't a victim for a crime to be committed against.
If the profile is of Nelson, then she's of age, so propositioning her
wouldn't be a crime - TLK] (04/24/07)
Never mind
the technicalities, Tom, this is Miss America we are talking about: emoting
is always more important than legalities and what an example she sets
for young women everywhere!
Government-ruined,
theft-funded schools:
German
Homeschooler allowed to return home
Home School Legal Defense Association
Many of you have been following the story of Melissa Busekros, who
was taken from her home by police on February 1, 2007, just because her
family homeschooled her. On this past Monday, her 16th birthday, Melissa
determined that she would decide for herself where she would live. In
the early morning hours of Monday, April 23, Melissa left her foster family
and made her way back to her own family! Of course, her family was delighted
to see her, and they made plans to celebrate her 16th birthday. And we
rejoice with the Busekros family now that their family has been reunited.
Almost
three months imprisonment for “being afraid of schools.” Thanks to a National-Socialist
era law that was wrong then, and wrong now.
Health
Issues:
UK: Researchers
call for study on WiFi health effects
Fox News
“It’s convenient and widely available but a growing group of researchers
warn that WiFi may be hazardous to your health. William Stewart, the head
of Britain’s Health Protection Agency, is worried that wireless Internet
access may pose a health threat — particularly to children — and is privately
calling for a study of the hazards of WiFi, the Independent reports. Researchers
believe that the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the phones, cellphone
towers and WiFi masts are contributing to an ‘electric smog’ that could
pose a future health risk. The researchers say this smog of electromagnetic
radiation is 1 billion times stronger than the natural fields in which
living cells have developed over the last 3.8 billion years [sic]. Children
may be more vulnerable as their skulls are thinner and their nervous systems
are still developing, not to mention that they’ll be exposed to more radiation
over their lifetime.” (04/23/07)
This is
the latest twist on a phobia that has been around since AC was invented,
well over a century ago. It serves Stewart’s objectives of expanding his
agency’s powers and need to remain and grow larger, giving him more power
and money, but is it a threat? Notice how all the nanny-state buttons
are pushed. I know where the thin skulls are, and it isn’t just that of
“children.”
Home Front:
Bush,
Democrats Wrangle Over Iraq
CNSNews.com
Changes implemented over the last few months In Iraq show promising
signs that the country is moving towards peace, President Bush said Friday.
"This new strategy is fundamentally different from the previous strategy,"
he said during a speech at East Grand Rapids High School in East Grand
Rapids, Mich. It recognizes that our top priority must be to help Iraq's
elected leaders secure their population, especially in Baghdad." But,
the president noted, "Iraqis will not be able to make the political and
economic progress they need until they have a basic measure of security.
In this
case, to paraphrase Sir Winston Churchill, “Jaw, jaw, jaw does not mean
no war, war, war.” As the week went on, the rhetoric on both sides got
worse and worse – nothing was really done, however.
Mama's
Note: As many an old-timer in the desert will tell you, "If you find
yourself in a hole... quit digging!" It isn't possible to dig deep
enough to get out. Seems elementary... but then, it's government we're
talking about.
Home Front:
Veterans
Groups Urge Full War Funding
CNSNews.com
The leaders of two large national veterans' organizations on Thursday
called on Democratic leaders in Congress to offer a war funding bill free
of withdrawal timelines and "pork barrel" spending. "This is not a Democrat
or a Republican issue. The sooner our troops complete the mission, the
sooner they'll return home," Gary Kurpis, commander-in-chief of the Veterans
of Foreign Wars, said in a conference call. "The funding package is so
critical to the training and the equipment and fielding of our troops,"
Kurpis said. "With it, the [troop] surge has a chance of succeeding."
Even people
opposed to the occupation should at least reject the pork (but most do
not).
Mama's
Note: Another little problem with this idea is that nobody has yet truly
defined just what "success" is supposed to look like. What is
it we're really trying to do there - besides spend tax money, of course?
Home Front:
Vermont
Senate Adopts Resolution to Impeach Bush
Houston Chronicle
The Vermont Senate on Friday passed a symbolic resolution calling on
the U.S. Congress to impeach President George W. Bush and Vice President
Dick Cheney over their handling of the unpopular Iraq war, Reuters reported.
The resolution, which passed 16-9, urges Vermont's congressional delegation
to initiate impeachment proceedings. It's not likely to happen, but it
reinforces Vermont's reputation as a haven for antiwar liberals. About
40 Vermont towns passed impeachment resolutions at their annual meetings
this year.
It does
indeed enhance Vermont’s reputation, but no one (at least no state) is
likely to follow their lead.
Home Front:
Fighting
Terror Takes Pro-Active Military Approach, Experts Say
CNSNews.com
Democracies can respond more effectively to terrorism by embracing
preventive military models rather than reactive criminal justice models,
American and Israeli legal experts said Thursday. With terrorists targeting
the United States and Israel and using instruments of war, policymakers
must recognize the flaws and limitations of a conventional law enforcement
approach, the experts said. Addressing a seminar in Washington, D.C.,
former U.S. assistant attorney Andrew McBride discussed the campaign against
terrorism from a U.S. perspective. Col. Daniel Reisner, an Israeli Defense
Forces legal advisor, discussed recent changes in his government's policies.
Although
the monarchists among us consider the government’s role to be fighting
aggression both internally and externally, governments seem even worse
at “reactive criminal justice” than they do in the external defense role,
so this is at least working towards a government’s strengths. Of course,
it is only the heirs of the American Revolution and the signers of the
Declarations of Independence (US and Texan, at least) that don’t have
a tradition of “preventive criminal justice” – under the Code Napoleon,
potential troublemakers can find themselves in front of a panel of judges
in a heartbeat – and of course, communists normally put their potential
troublemakers up against a wall.
Home front:
Probe: Katrina contracts blantantly
illegal
Wichita
Falls Times Record News
“FEMA
exposed taxpayers to significant waste — and possibly violated federal
law — by awarding $3.6 billion worth of Hurricane Katrina contracts to
companies with poor credit histories and bad paperwork, investigators
say. The new report by the Homeland Security Department’s office of inspector
general, set to be released later this week, examines the propriety of
36 trailer contracts designated for small and local businesses in the
stricken Gulf Coast region following the 2005 storm. It found a haphazard
competitive bidding process in which the winning contract prices were
both unreasonably low and high. Moreover, FEMA did not take adequate legal
steps to ensure that companies were small and locally operated, resulting
in a questionable contract award to a large firm with ties to the Republican
Party.” (04/23/07)
I don’t
suppose political pressure had anything to do with it? And while no doubt
some GOP affiliates got some juicy contracts, there is no question whatsoever
that lots of Demo buddies also are still smiling, as they enjoy their
“profits.”
Mama's
Note: Even with zero corruption - hard to imagine - most of the money
would still have been wasted or used inappropriately. Only the peaceful
exchange of private property in the real free market can allocate goods
and services effectively and honestly. Stolen goods, whatever they are
used for, remain stolen goods.
Home front:
Native women [sic] face higher risk
of sex assault
Arizona Republic
“American Indian women are more than twice as likely to be raped as
other U.S. women, and the suspects often go free because of confusing
police jurisdictions and a lack of nurses, Amnesty International reports.
The human rights group said Tuesday that at least 1 in 3 Indian women
will be raped or sexually assaulted, compared with fewer than 1 in 5 U.S.
Women overall. Confusion about whether state, federal or tribal police
should respond means victims might not see a police officer or a nurse
for hours or days, if at all. Even if a rape victim is taken to an Indian
Health Service clinic, almost half lack staff trained to provide emergency
services to victims of sexual violence, researchers said.” (04/25/07)
You will
find (assuming you bother to ASK) that most of us, tribally enrolled or
not, consider “Native American” to be insulting and less than desirable;
American Indian or AmerInd will do if you can’t identify people by nationality/tribe:
Navajo (Dineh), Sioux (Lakota), Comanche (Numa), etc. Just as Americans
descended from Chinese forebears don’t like to be mistaken for “Japanese-Americans”
or “Korean-Americans” or be lumped together into “Asian-Americans,” so
AmerInd don’t like to be all squashed together into some sort of “generic
Native American.” AI (that is, Amnesty International) makes a common mistake
of White Eyes: lumping all AmerInd together, when in reality, the variations
between tribes are far greater than the variation between the “Native
American” census group and the “mainstream” (whatever THAT is).
The “confusing
jurisdictions” is nothing more than a pitiful excuse for failing to react
properly. And for good or bad, IHS facilities have a whole lot more training
and experience than most small-town medical providers. More to the point,
most AmerInd living on the reservations have a heritage of living in a
kind of “socialist paradise” that is also a gulag of sorts, and their
ancestors (sometimes only three generations ago, remember) went almost
directly from a traditional tribal society to a prison-socialist society:
is it any wonder that there are major problems with a lot of things, including
a lack of family stability that in some tribes makes the “typical” ghetto-black
family look not all that bad. At the same time, I question both the 1
in 3 and 1 in 5 numbers that AI bandies about – statistics can’t lie but
liars…
Mama's
Note: I've been reading a great deal of Wyoming (and related) history
the last year, and the European settler's relationship with the indigenous
people here is heartbreaking. It all hinged, of course, on the prevailing
attitude of the Europeans that everyone else was less than human, unworthy
of consideration and therefore expendable. Many good men gave their lives
to work for peace and honor, but they were badly outnumbered in the common
population, and government seldom backed them up. In many ways, it is
certainly one of the most shameful periods in the history of the world.
Korean
front:
White House warns North
Korea
MSNBC
"A top White House adviser has personally delivered a pointed message
to North Korean officials in New York, urging them to act on a nuclear
disarmament pledge and telling them that U.S. patience is limited, a U.S.
Official said. Victor Cha, President Bush's top adviser on North Korea,
and a State Department official told the North Koreans on Tuesday that
frustration is rising 10 days after the North missed a deadline to shut
down its main nuclear reactor, according to a senior U.S. Official with
knowledge of the meeting." (04/24/07)
Do US leaders
and diplomats suddenly start to think that once more, the North Koreans
have suckered the West into giving them what they want and need with little
but words in return. No, that can’t be!
Local tyranny:
OH: Judge asked to throw out smoking
ban
Zanesville Times Recorder
“Bar and restaurant owners asked a judge Wednesday to declare Ohio’s
smoking ban unconstitutional because it violates their customers’ right
to light up. The businesses sued late last year in Hamilton County Common
Pleas Court after Ohio voters approved the ban, which prohibits smoking
in any enclosed public place or in any business with employees. The law
is supposed to take effect May 3, but the business owners want Judge Fred
Nelson to grant an injunction blocking enforcement until their challenge
of the law is decided in court. They outlined their case for the first
time Wednesday, arguing the new law violates privacy and property rights
in Ohio’s constitution.” (04/25/07)
Of course
these are unconstitutional infringements of the freedom of the smokers
and their hosts, but we’re talking about the vicious evil of smoking here;
and no constitutional prohibition should stand in the way of a nanny-state
being a nanny!
Mesopotamian
front:
Iraq: Bombers hit military, civilian
targets
Foster's Online
“Bombers struck an Iraqi army post northeast of Baghdad and civilian
targets in the city as violence across Iraq killed at least 72 people
Thursday …. a car bomb exploded near Baghdad University, killing eight
civilians and wounding 19 …. Four other civilians were killed and nine
wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near a market in central Baghdad
…. U.S. troops killed three militants during a gunbattle …. Two suicide
bombers attacked an office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party …. The blasts
killed three security guards and wounded five …. four insurgents were
killed as the U.S. targeted suspected al-Qaida in Iraq militants near
Taji …. two women and two children were also believed to have been killed
during the fighting …. Two civilians were killed and 12 wounded when mortar
shells exploded in the southern Baghdad district of Dora …. One civilian
died and four were wounded when a car bomb exploded in the Baiyaa district
of southwestern Baghdad. At least 30 tortured bodies were found, including
27 who had been shot to death and left in different parts of Baghdad and
three decapitated bodies found south of the capital. … police said the
wife and daughter of a Saddam Hussein cousin were found slain at their
home.” (04/27/07)
Sadly a
typical day in this ancient, bloody land. And not, by far, the worst this
week.
Mesopotamian
war:
Report faults Marine brass
in Iraq slayings
MSNBC
"High-ranking Marines, including a two-star general, failed to adequately
scrutinize the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, despite an obvious
need for further investigation, according to an Army probe. The report
by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell found that Marines did not deliberately
try to cover up the deaths but said their overall mindset played down
the importance of civilian casualties." (04/24/07)
When people
start believing their own myths and do not try to live up to their ideals,
this is what happens.
Middle
Eastern front:
Somalia: Fighting continues in Mogadishu
Bismarck Tribune
“Heavy shelling and tank fire rocked Mogadishu Monday as fierce gunbattles
raged in the capital for a sixth consecutive day, witnesses said, plunging
the country deeper into chaos and leaving more than 200 people dead. Masked
Islamic insurgents fought with Ethiopian troops backing fragile Somali
government [sic] forces in the southern part of this battle-scarred coastal
city, pounding each other with machine-gun fire, mortars, tank shells
and heavy artillery. Rotting bodies have remained strewn across the streets
for days, witnesses said, as it is too dangerous to retrieve them.”
(04/23/07)
Remember
that just a few months ago, the coming of Ethiopian troops was “bringing
peace” to a “chaotic, anarchic” land. Right.
New Religions
(Environism):
Consumers
Suffering From 'Green Guilt,' Survey Finds
CNSNews.com
In an increasingly green-conscious world, Americans' environmental
"footprints" are continually in the spotlight, and a new survey shows
that one in five consumers is experiencing "green guilt." A critic of
environmental activism retorted that some of the choices made by people
weighed down by such "misplaced collective guilt" often do little to improve
the planet's health. The poll was released by the Rechargeable Battery
Recycling Corporation (RBRC) ahead of Earth Day this weekend. The group
said it hoped the results of the study - which was conducted by GFK Custom
Research - would encourage consumers to "go a shade or two greener."
We humans
have a truly magnificent ability to be hypocritical, don’t we? This is
certainly one way in which the new religions are like the ones that have
been around awhile.
New Religions
(Environism):
Congressman
Wants Probe of Global Warming Impact on National Security
Market Watch
The chairman of a House panel on global warming has introduced a bill
requiring a National Intelligence Estimate on the impact global warming
has on national security. The Global Climate Change Security Oversight
Act (HR 1961) was introduced by Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) on Thursday
and has six Democratic cosponsors along with Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.).
"The nexus between global warming and the national security of the United
States is a crucial, yet long-ignored, issue. The adverse consequences
of rising global temperatures present not only a potential environmental
catastrophe but also a national security emergency," said Markey. He said
a National Intelligence Estimate "will jump-start U.S. defense planning
for the consequences of global warming." "As a scientist and senior member
of the Armed Services and Science Committees, I am introducing the Global
Climate Change Security Oversight Act with Congressman Markey because
I support the first recommendation by a blue-ribbon panel of 11 retired
generals and admirals for a National Intelligence Estimate of the impact
of global warming on U.S. national and economic security," said Bartlett.
Call this
what it is: a jump-start on new justification for pork and more power
to bureaucrats and thugs.
New religions:
global warming
U.S. cities uniting to battle emissions
Arizona Republic
“Hundreds of U.S. Cities are taking a stand against global warming
by pledging to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions beyond what the federal
government is willing to commit. From metropolitan hubs like New York
and Los Angeles to fast-growing cities such as Las Vegas, more than 450
city leaders throughout the 50 states have signed the U.S. Mayors Climate
Protection Agreement. Buckeye, Flagstaff and Tucson are the only Arizona
cities to sign the agreement. In Tucson’s case, the agreement builds on
work the city has been doing for a decade to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions.
For fast-growing Buckeye, it’s a chance to think green as the city expands.”
(04/23/07)
The list
of cities signing on to this looks way too much like the list of hoplophobic
and hoploclastic cities and mayors who signed on to Bloomberg’s little
coalition to ban guns. And I suspect this is no coincidence: such local
tyranny has many manifestations. Rulers have ALWAYS hypocritically used
religion to promote their agendas.
Mama's
Note: There is hope that at least some people will see this nonsense for
what it is and vote with their feet. When people wind up with a choice
between eating and this imposed "green" insanity, they might
just figure that out.
New religions:
global warming
Schwarzenegger to sue EPA over air
standards
Los Angeles Times
“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said today that California will sue the
federal government if the state is not allowed within six months to implement
its landmark law requiring greenhouse gases from vehicle tailpipes to
be slashed. … The governor and his staff said a letter was sent today
by state attorneys giving the required six-month notice of intent to sue
under the Clean Air Act for not allowing California to move forward with
its law. Under the act, Congress gave California special powers to pass
its own tougher air pollution laws. But a waiver must first be granted
by the EPA for any such law. Once California receives permission, other
states can follow its lead. Eleven other states have adopted tailpipe
greenhouse gas laws similar to California’s and they are waiting for California
to get the EPA waiver. … California filed its request in December 2005
and has been waiting for word from the federal government.” (04/25/07)
And speaking
of hypocritical use of religion… Of course, Congress didn’t “give” California
special powers
New Religions:
Political Correctness:
College
GOP Group Loses Recognition for Anti-PC Stunt
CNSNews.com
The student senate at a Rhode Island college has drawn fire for disbanding
the school's Republican group after the group refused to apologize for
a satirical stunt designed to highlight political correctness on American
campuses. The College Republicans at the University of Rhode Island established
a "scholarship" to ridicule the notion of eligibility based on race, gender
or nationality. It offered a $100 grant to a student who was white, heterosexual,
American and male.
Academic
freedom? Something out of the dark ages to too many inmates running the
asylums of modern government-run colleges. And with taxpayer money and
the money of those they attack.
New Religions:
Political Correctness:
US
Army’s computer game recruiting plan takes fire
Yahoo! News
“Anti-recruitment groups are slamming a US Army deal to sponsor a computer
war game channel, charging that real war is no game. In June, the Army
is set to sponsor a channel at the Global Gaming League website, a popular
spot for Internet computer game lovers. “It is part of this campaign for
the last 20 years to invade youth culture with militarism,” Project on
Youth and Non-military Opportunities cofounder Rick Jahnkow told AFP.
…. Play at the channel will be free, but agreeing to “additional contact
from the Army” comes with signing up as a player. The Army’s investment,
estimated at two million dollars, is aimed at finding potential soldiers
among gamers in the cherished recruiting age range of 17 to 24.” (04/21/07)
As with
anti-tobacco and anti-liquor laws which prohibit advertising of what are
supposedly legal products, this sort of attack is a bizarre indication
of how twisted the society and the political correctness fad has become.
No doubt, these groups would seek to see ALL war games – computer, board,
and right down to toy soldiers – banned.
North American
Union:
On tighter
US border with Mexico, violence rises
Christian Science Monitor
"The
harder it gets to sneak illicit cargo -- immigrants or drugs or other
contraband -- into the US, the more violence-prone the border has become,
not only for border-crossers but also for law officers trying to halt
the smuggling. The escalation in violent crime is most pronounced here
in Arizona, where border-tightening measures have put a clamp on the preferred
route of 'coyotes' and smuggling rings. During the first three months
of the year, roaming bandits, heavily armed and looking to hijack valuable
payloads, waged at least eight attacks on illicit shipments of people
or drugs traversing Arizona. Though no US border patrol agents have been
killed, they've been assaulted more often by illegal immigrants this year
-- 112 attacks, an 18 percent jump -- in the state, compared with the
same three-month period a year ago. Along the entire US-Mexico border,
there's been a 3 percent increase in such attacks. Recent federal raids
at drop houses in metropolitan Phoenix, say officials with US Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have also turned up bigger and more sophisticated
weapons caches, along with people suspected of illegal entry." (04/24/07)
This article,
for once, points out the very similarity between the “War on Some Drugs”
and the “Border War” that is so scary: what was once a minor problem with
trespassing is escalated into a massive and continuous string of combat
and a justification for more and more draconian actions by government.
Our British
Cousins:
UK:
Anti-Genie protesters sabotage wrong field
Guardian [UK]
“The operation to sabotage the government’s GM potato trial was planned
with care and under conditions of great secrecy. Two hundred and fifty
protesters swooped on the 16-hectare site outside Hull, armed with shovels
and filled with indignation. In less than an hour they had moved to invalidate
the trial, planting thousands of organic potatoes. Mission accomplished.
If only they had got the right field. Activists from Mutatoes.org yesterday
apologised to farmer David Buckton after it emerged that they wrongly
identified his land as the site of the GM trial. The field they planted
was sown with beans.” (04/25/07)
Sad, isn’t
it? Not only that these idiots can’t get the right field targeted, but
that they can get hundreds of people to cooperate on something like this.
No one is seriously fighting against the dozens of other evils being perpetrated
on the people of Britain by government taking away more and more freedoms.
Mama's
Note: The farmer will have an interesting crop, for sure. Might be a real
challenge to harvest either one. And seed potatoes for that many acres
would cost quite a pretty penny. Hope the farmer makes out like a bandit
on the deal. LOL
Our imperial
courts and free speech:
Justices look set to allow “issue
ads” naming candidates
USA Today
“The Supreme Court appeared ready Wednesday to open the door to corporate
and union financing of broadcast ads that mention candidates for federal
office at election time. In an unusually robust session of arguments that
turned combative at times, several justices voiced First Amendment concerns
about a major provision of Congress’ 2002 overhaul of campaign-financing
law.” (04/25/07)
What? First
Amendment freedoms regarding political campaigns might be somewhat restored?
It might again be legal to pay to say what you want to? I surely hope
so.
Mama's
Note: You did see that it was "corporate and union" outfits
that would be able to speak, not us little people.
Our imperial
courts:
Supreme court to revisit campaign
ads
USA Today
"In a Supreme Court dispute over corporate and union election spending,
the League of Women Voters invokes one of the most controversial presidential
campaign ads in history. The 1964 TV ad on behalf of President Johnson
against Republican challenger Barry Goldwater featured a girl in a meadow
counting from one to 10 while plucking petals from a daisy. As she nears
the number 10, a man's voice is heard counting down to the detonation
of a nuclear bomb. The implication of the ad -- which aired just once
but has become part of popular culture and can still be viewed on the
Web -- is that Goldwater's election could lead to nuclear destruction."
(04/24/07)
More on
the story above – reminding us that once upon a time, people had a right
to say what they believed on the air – whether they were right or wrong.
And whether they mentioned names and got their money from corporations
or unions or not.
Our imperial
courts:
CA: Refuse alcohol test, lose your
license
San Francisco Chronicle
“A suspected drunken driver can have her license suspended for refusing
to be tested for alcohol, even though police only found her passed out
in the car and never actually saw her driving, the state Supreme Court
ruled today. The unanimous decision in a case from San Mateo County resolves
a conflict that has existed in lower courts for nearly 20 years, with
some courts requiring proof that someone was seen driving erratically
and others requiring only evidence that the person had been driving while
drunk. The court endorsed the latter view today. Californians who drive
motor vehicles implicitly agree to have their blood tested for alcohol,
subject to a one-year license suspension if they refuse, Chief Justice
Ronald George said in the ruling.” (04/26/07)
This becomes
yet another weapon to hammer on people: now, as near as I can tell, the
cops can stop you and demand a BAC test if you were just walking in the
direction of a car because it “might” be yours and you “might” be deciding
to drive it after drinking. And why stop there – just assume that ALL
people with driver’s licenses might be drinking and test them all for
BAC – while collecting DNA at the same time.
Persian
front:
Iranian
feminist activists sentenced
MS Magazine
"Two Iranian women's rights activists have been sentenced to jail for
taking part in an 'unauthorized' June 2006 rally for women's rights. Fariba
Davoudi Mohajer, a journalist, was sentenced in absentia to four years
in prison (three of which have been suspended, according to The Scotsman).
Sussan Tahmasebi, a board member for The Iranian Civil Society Organizations
Training and Research Center (ICTRC) was sentenced to two years (with
18 months suspended, also according to The Scotsman). Both women have
signed the 'One Million Signatures' petition for the abolition of discriminatory
laws in Iran. The so-called 'unauthorized' rally, where women protesters
demanded equal rights and opportunity for women in Iran, was quickly disrupted
by police." (04/23/07)
Nice to
see this “more democratic than America” nation is so careful about its
citizen’s rights.
Persian
front:
Ahmadinejad proposes talks with Bush
USA Today
"Iran's hard-line president proposed Monday to hold public talks with
President Bush on a wide range of issues, without saying whether that
included international suspicions of the Iranian nuclear program or allegations
of Iranian meddling in Iraq. 'Last year, I announced readiness for a televised
debate over global issues with his excellency Mr. Bush. And now we announce
that I am ready to negotiate with him about bilateral issues as well as
regional and international issues,' Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as
saying on the website of Al-Alam, Iran's state-run Arabic satellite television
channel." (04/23/07)
Obviously,
like North Korea, Iran sees the best way to get a lot out of a situation
which they have created.
Page
2 Click HERE Link checked!
Our Right To Defend Ourselves and Lots of other good stuff on page 2!
Nathan
Barton is writing this from a wonderful place in the West, which might
be in the Black Hills of South Dakota or Wyoming, or might be in one of
the Four Corners States. Exactly where it is, the breezes blow with the
scent of liberty, and the sound of the pines or the pinions is the sound
of freedom. For thousands of years, people have fought and died for the
liberty that Americans in the great spaces of the West enjoy, and he writes
these commentaries in the hopes that continued generations will be able
to do so, until the end of Time.
Be sure
to visit my blog, Liberty's
Outpost.
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