Big Obama Bird

On Tuesday, at a rally for Obama here in Columbus, Ohio, the performer chose to play something new: the theme song for “Sesame Street.”  Interesting that Obama is taking this so lightly.  Sort of like on September 12, 2012, after the State Department knew it was a terrorist attack that killed our Ambassador and 3 other Americans and he took off on the campaign trail to get chummy with Beyonce and Jay-Z and Dave Letterman for another big fund raiser with celebrities.

Charlene Lamb, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Department of State yesterday testified she’d listened to the whole account in real time.  Col. Wolf,  a Utah National Guard Green Beret, said they knew it was not a mob but a terrorist attack immediately.

So why the focus on Big Bird, except he doesn’t take this seriously? He’s still so cocky he thinks he won that debate despite what his staff have told him? The crowd was confused. . . they already knew Big Bird wasn’t playing well for him.

New York Times political correspondent Jeff Zeleny also tweeted about the audience's surprise at will's creative interlude. "At Ohio State, will.i.am picks up Big Bird theme, playing Sesame Street song as a warm up act for Obama. Crowd looks confused."

will.i.am.'s lighthearted throwback to Romney's earlier remarks weren't the only time Big Bird and "Sesame Street" made news Tuesday, as the production team behind the show, the Sesame Workshop, issued an official statement written to both political campaigns — though directed at the Obama campaign regarding their new attack ad that features Big Bird — requesting that any mention of Big Bird in their respective advertising be immediately removed.

One of the reasons they don’t want the focus on Big Bird or Sesame Street is the extreme wealth and the salaries of the CEOs. I think the guy in the costume makes $400,000 a year—definitely a 1 percenter. 

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1695214/will-i-am-sesame-street-obama-fundraiser.jhtml

http://perezhilton.com/2012-09-19-barack-obama-jay-z-beyonce-fundraising-event

Why does the left defend Big Bird—he’s wealthier than Mitt Romney!

Big Bird makes more than Mitt Romney

Sesame Street will do just fine without government funding. (Romney’s suggestion during the debate)

Shows like Sesame Street are multi-million dollar enterprises capable of thriving in the private market. According to the 990 tax form all nonprofits are required to file, Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell received $956,513 -- nearly a million dollars -- in compensation in 2008. And, from 2003 to 2006, "Sesame Street" made more than $211 million from toy and consumer product sales.

If you break that down, it works out to over $50 million a year "Sesame Street" is taking in from all that merchandising.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/10/04/Big-Bird-Richer-Than-Romney

Country Reports on Terrorism 2008, April 2009

This recently released report for 2008 is just fascinating--not only for what it reports on terrorism (don't know how that word slipped past the current censors), but for all the "soft" influence such as media--TV, radio, internet, books--and education we've been supporting, particularly in Muslim countries. Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 is submitted in compliance with Title 22 of the United States Code, Section 2656f (the "Act"), which requires the Department of State to provide Congress a full and complete annual report on terrorism for those countries and groups meeting the criteria of the Act.

For instance, I don't know if Sesame Street (It's not easy being green) has ever been proven to have any long term affect on the education of American children (it's over 40 years old so we should be able to see something if it has had an influence), but it is a huge hit in Bangladesh.

USAID also supports the extremely successfully television program, Sisimpur (Sesame Street), which is the most widely viewed children‘s television show in Bangladesh. It is estimated to reach 7.5 million young children weekly, nearly half of all three to six year olds. The television episodes aim to improve skills such as literacy, numeracy, and critical thinking, as well as hygiene practices such as hand washing and dental hygiene. The TV program also portrays positive socio-emotional and cultural knowledge, values, and skills; appreciation of diversity; illustrates the capacity of children with disabilities; depicts successful women across professions; and demonstrates self-respect and respect for others. Combined, the two programs have helped to combat traditionally low achievement and high dropout rates in the lower primary grades.

Also there's a detailed list of terrorist organizations with brief, pithy descriptions, acronyms and A.K.A. names beginning about page 282:

Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
Al-Shabaab Ansar
al-Islam Armed Islamic Group
Asbat al-Ansar
Aum Shinrikyo
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
Communist Party of Philippines/New People's Army
Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
Gama'a al-Islamiyya
HAMAS
Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI-B)
Harakat ul-Mujahideen
Hizballah Islamic Jihad Union (IJU)
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jemaah Islamiya (JI)
Al-Jihad Kahane Chai (Kach)
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LT)
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ)
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
Mujahadin-e Khalq
Organization National Liberation Army (ELN)
Palestine Liberation Front – Abu Abbas Faction
Palestinian Islamic Jihad – Shaqaqi Faction
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command
Al-Qa’ida
"Description: Al-Qa‘ida (AQ) was established by Usama bin Ladin in 1988 with Arabs who fought in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union. The group helped finance, recruit, transport, and train Sunni Islamic extremists for the Afghan resistance. AQ‘s near-term goal is uniting Muslims to fight the United States and its allies, overthrowing regimes it deems "non-Islamic," and expelling Westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries. Its ultimate goal is the establishment of a pan-Islamic caliphate throughout the world. AQ leaders issued a statement in February 1998 under the banner of "The World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and Crusaders" saying it was the duty of all Muslims to kill U.S. citizens, civilian and military, and their allies everywhere. AQ merged with al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad) in June 2001, renaming itself Qa‘idat al-Jihad."
Al-Qa’ida in Iraq (Tanzim Qa‘idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn)
Al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
Real IRA Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
Revolutionary Nuclei
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front
Shining Path
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia

Read the full report--about 330 pages with a statistical annex by Gary LaFree, University of Maryland, dated March 2009.