International affairs and radicalism links

David Durant, Heretical Librarian, turned in his blogger keys and left the building a little over a year ago. In a profession that is 223:1 liberal to conservative, he is missed. But here's a refresher list on some of the links he followed. With the O-Admin moving quickly to silence critics through increased regulation who are very slowly waking up to the wasp nest of marxists surrounding this President, this will be a handy list to browse. Not all are working, but I'll try to weed out those that have given up, changed direction, or lost their domain name.

The War on Terror and International Affairs

Across the Bay
American Enterprise Institute
American Footprints
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Committee on the Present Danger
Council on Foreign Relations
The Counterterrorism Blog
Defend America
Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
The Jamestown Foundation
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA)
Long War Journal
Michael Yon
The National Interest
9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America
Small Wars Journal
StrategyPage
Threats Watch
Victor Davis Hanson's Private Papers
Winds of Change

Radical Islamism, The Middle East and Reforming Islam

Ali Eteraz
Apostasy and Islam
Arab Media & Society
Asharq Alawsat
Big Pharaoh
Center for Liberty in the Middle East
Center on Islam, Democracy, and the Future of the Muslim World
Daily Star (Lebanon)
Daniel Pipes
Faith Freedom International
Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism
Hammorabi
Healing Iraq
Initiative for an Open Arab Internet
Interfaith Strength
Iraq Blog Count
Iraq the Model
Iraq Updates
Irshad Manji
Islamist Watch
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Jihad Watch
Martin Kramer on the Middle East
The Mesopotamian
Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
Middle East Transparent [click on English]
Secular Islam
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Watch

Featuring today: MEMRI, where you can stop by and read or hear Osama bin Laden's September message to the American people, which sounds extremely close to our own leftists; he even recommends reading Jimmy Carter.-- "The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) explores the Middle East through the region's media. MEMRI bridges the language gap which exists between the West and the Middle East, providing timely translations of Arabic, Persian,Turkish, Urdu-Pashtu media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East.

Founded in February 1998 to inform the debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East, MEMRI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501 (c)3 organization. MEMRI's headquarters is located in Washington, DC with branch offices in London, Tokyo, Rome, Baghdad, Shanghai, and Jerusalem. MEMRI research is translated to English, German, Hebrew, Italian, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese."

Health care Ground Hog day

"Before a tense and packed House, the President told Congress:

"Millions of Americans are just a pink slip away from losing their health insurance, and one serious illness away from losing all their savings... And in spite of all this, our medical bills are growing at over twice the rate of inflation..."

That's President Clinton, sixteen years ago almost to the day, in a speech about a complex health-care plan built on government expansion, with billions in hidden costs. Last night, [Sept. 9] a President—who was only 32 then—is now in the White House, out to prove that nothing has changed in the minds of the Democratic leadership since the Clinton debacle. . .

Since President Clinton spoke of health inflation in 1993, health costs continued to rise faster than wages, but President Obama refuses to acknowledge years later that the U.S. health inflation rate is almost identical to rates in government-run systems. Rising costs must be attacked, yes, but if rationed health management can't stop health inflation in Britain or Ireland, will a rush to President Obama's version of HillaryCare do any better? "

The unhealthy politics of déjà vu

Want to volunteer?

Serve dot gov will direct you to ACORN. Isn't that a sweet connection--and with our tax money too.

Read it here.

Time to defund the National Endowment for the Arts

It has become just another mouthpiece with our tax dollars for Obama. It’s not that hard to make a living in the arts without government money if you paint, or write, or sing, or perform something decent, intelligent and not demeaning to women. Starving artists probably deserve to be so. My husband sold 11 paintings this summer and he’s a hobbyist. They are lobbyists.

Go here to check the links. I’ve looked at them. It’s disgusting. I'm sure they'll be pulled. In this case, the NEA is getting directions straight from the White House Office of Public Engagement (Valerie Jarrett). The Office's Deputy Director is Buffy (the Wal-Mart slayer) Wicks who made the conference call soliciting NEA artists to promote Obamacare with their art. According to Frugal Cafe, "her job is to silence conservatives, to spearhead boycotts (paid for by American taxpayers, including conservatives, by the way) against any businesses or talk show hosts who aren’t “on board” with ObamaCare or anything else the government wants to shove down American citizens’ throats. To support and possibly fund partisan agenda, AGAIN with taxpayers’ money." According to Canada Free Press

"My sources in the progressive movement say Wicks handled the Obama campaign in Missouri last year. Obama lost in Missouri and activists in that state and people within the Obama campaign placed the blame for the defeat squarely on her shoulders.

After failing to win Missouri for Obama, Wicks had a very hard time finding a job but somehow she landed a job in the Obama White House. It’s unclear how she did that.

Wicks used to work for Wake Up Wal-Mart (wakeupwalmart.com), which is not a formal affiliate of ACORN but is an ACORN-sponsored spinoff group. The group works very closely with ACORN and is modeled after ACORN’s own anti-Wal-Mart affiliate W*A*R*N* (Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now)."

If some lackey gets moved or fired, even Buffy, don't you believe that has solved the problem, because nothing happens in the White House without Ms. Jarrett, Obama's right hand.

Video/audio/text of the conference call here.

I heard it on the NPR

It was stunning--so much so, I've forgotten the topic, but it was NPR and the two speakers seemed to be catching on to his tricks. Can't remember if it was stabbing Poland and Czechoslovakia in the back the way FDR did in 1939 and 1945 or if it was his convoluted definition of a tax increase. Oh well. What was exciting was to hear real journalists on NPR awake and smelling the coffee!

Charles Krauthammer: "Obama doesn’t lie. He implies, he misdirects, he misleads — so fluidly and incessantly that he risks transmuting eloquence into mere slickness.

Slickness wasn’t fatal to “Slick Willie” Clinton because he possessed a winning, near irresistible charm. Obama’s persona is more cool, distant, imperial. The charming scoundrel can get away with endless deception; the righteous redeemer cannot."

As much as I like Krauthammer, he's wrong about lies. Misleading and misdirecting is lying. I think he has to maintain a semblance of "fairness." I don't. Truth and words matter to me. Intent and character matter. Obama lies outright if you listen, he appoints crooks if you notice, he has clutches of friends and advisers who are Marxists and revolutionaries if you back track through their resumes and memberships, he flip flops on Afghanistan if you read his words; and you'd have to be deaf and dumb to believe him on anything whether it's his relationship with ACORN, Planned Parenthood, or Bill Ayers.

Democrats preach; Republicans praise

“At the dawn of this New Year, let us rededicate ourselves to that work. Let us reject the impulse to harden ourselves to others' suffering, and instead make a habit of empathy—of recognizing ourselves in each other and extending our compassion to those in need.” President Barack Obama

"The prophets taught the Jewish people never to falter in the world-wide search for the betterment and peace of mankind and never to leave the conflict against the forces of discrimination and poverty.

“These are precepts which were inherited by our forefathers from those who received them at Sinai. They are beliefs which have been given new and forceful expression in the State of Israel, where they were first proclaimed and where Rosh Hashana prayers were first uttered.” President Lyndon Johnson

"We all can learn from the Jewish people’s strong dedication to civil rights and tolerance, and we all must redouble our efforts to combat the forces of intolerance that still linger in our society.

“As we celebrate Rosh Hashana, I urge all Americans to join the Jewish community and to come together as a nation to speak out against hate crimes and to appreciate our common humanity.” President William Clinton

"Our moral code, the ideals that animate us, the faith in God that strengthens us — all these were most clearly and most inspiringly proclaimed many centuries ago by men of Jewish blood.

“Their descendants, in race and in faith, have contributed greatly to the knowledge and the skills and the culture of America.” President Dwight D. Eisenhower

“The liturgy of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur emphasizes both the moral obligations men have to their Maker and the ethical responsibilities we owe to our fellows. Fundamentally, America stands for the same principles. Indeed, these values... have been derived in large part from the Jewish tradition which is thereby inextricably linked to our American spiritual heritage. President Ronald Reagan

“Rosh Hashana celebrates Judaism’s remarkable heritage, and it is a reaffirmation of God’s mercy, glory, and love. As you look ahead to the coming year, I join with other Americans of diverse backgrounds and beliefs in receiving inspiration from your faith, your holy acts of repentance, and your loving kindness. May this year’s celebration bless all who participate as we heal from the wounds inflicted by the recent terrorist attacks.” President George W. Bush, Sept. 17, 2001

HT Atlas Shrugs

We were certainly well fed

While I was at the Midwest Birding Symposium eating almost every meal out, my husband was at the Cum Cristo center downtown where wonderful volunteers were preparing delicious, love-filled meals for the men. Mary and I ate two meals at the Coffee and Cream shop, which provided a buffet breakfast and lunch (maybe supper, but we had other plans). On Friday we had a fabulous salad with tomato bisque soup, dessert and drink for $6.95, and on Saturday an even more fabulous salad with baked potato soup, croissant, dessert and drink.



Then as I was going through the vendors' booths on Saturday, I just couldn't resist "Mealtime Magic from Magee Marsh," a cookbook put together by the Friends of Magee Marsh (Oak Harbor, Ottawa County) located on the shore of Lake Erie with 2,000 acres of wetlands and a migratory bird center. It's a real birding hotspot, but I've never been there. Next year I'll put it on my to-do list. The Friends apparently get together for some good eatin pot lucks, and decided to do a cookbook in 2008.



So today I made a sausage zucchini casserole from p. 70. I made one small revision that I hope won't matter--I used some dried bread for the crust instead of a can of crescent rolls. It uses, besides sausage and grated zucchini, onion, eggs, cheddar cheese and lots and lots of herbs (that's the quantity it specifies, "lots"). It's in the frig and I'll put it in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes about 5:30 p.m.

Checking Obama's facts on the fact checkers

Maggie Thurber has an excellent response to the Toledo Blade interview with Barack Obama, who complains that the blogosphere has no fact checkers like newspapers. (You watch--this is going to be the basis for his regulators coming down hard on bloggers and anyone who isn't with the Obamedia.) Ha! says Maggie--we ARE the fact checkers:

"It was the blogosphere that fact-checked and exposed the faked memos about George W. Bush's National Guard service which was reported by Dan Rather and later became known as Rathergate.

It's been bloggers and Glenn Beck who've exposed the extreme positions of the various czars appointed by Obama. And there are terrific websites that focus on investigative reporting. One of them, Texas Watchdog, not only 'watches' government, but helps train bloggers and reporters so they can learn how to "uncover waste, fraud and corruption in state and local governments."

One reason many newspapers are seeing a decline in circulation and many television news networks see their numbers falling is because of this very 'fact.' They've stopped 'reporting' and started spending too much time 'putting stories in context' for us - telling us what we should think about events rather than reporting the facts so we can decide on our own. As a result, people have turned to other outlets, like blogs, for additional information so they can make an informed decision and not rely upon some talking head reading from a teleprompter." Stop by and read her whole article

Does this sound like blackmail?

"The swine flu pandemic could kill millions and cause anarchy in the world's poorest nations unless £900m can be raised from rich countries to pay for vaccines and antiviral medicines, says a UN report leaked to the Observer."

Last week-end while volunteering at the Midwest Bird Symposium I was chatting with a school principal, also a volunteer. With nothing much to talk about except our duties and how difficult it was to wear the latex gloves, I asked how her school was preparing for the H1N1 virus. She began to rant and rave--thought it was all a plot to cover the disastrous health care take over. And the plan, which I won't divulge, did sound a bit invasive. Too bad they don't let school principals and teachers do the sensible thing about head lice.

But back to blackmail. The aid that has gone to "poorest" countries by governments, churches and NGOs could long ago have floated them out of poverty, but why should those countries build roads, provide fresh water, drain swamps, improve their economies and elect honest leaders, if France, England or the US continue to bail them out? Even President Obama's father's home village is waiting for a bailout, and his own family still lives in poverty.

Now it's an I-TOP

I'd seen several references to a Canadian study about the increased risk to future pregnancies for women who'd had an abortion. I finally tracked down the journal, the BJOG.

Guess what? It's an I-TOP, an induced termination of pregnancy! "Induced termination of pregnancy and low birthweight and preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analyses," PS Shah, J Zao on behalf of Knowledge Synthesis Group of Determinants of preterm/LBW births, BJOB, Sept. 16, 2009

Main results Thirty-seven studies of low–moderate risk of bias were included. A history of one I-TOP was associated with increased unadjusted odds of LBW (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.20–1.52) and PT (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.24–1.50), but not SGA (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.69–1.09). A history of more than one I-TOP was associated with LBW (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.45–2.04) and PT (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.28–2.71). Meta-analyses of adjusted risk estimates confirmed these findings.

Conclusions A previous I-TOP is associated with a significantly increased risk of LBW and PT but not SGA. The risk increased as the number of I-TOP increased.

And although I don't know why, breast cancer rate is higher among women who've had an I-TOP as is the risk of death. Studies done in Finland and California showed much higher post abortion death rate when compared to either women who carried to term or who were never pregnant.

President Ben Franklin was my favorite

From our most prestigious and expensive public university.

If you loved your wife

While I was volunteering at the Midwest Birding Symposium and learning from Jim McCormac about how a drop of water in Lake Superior makes it to the Atlantic Ocean, my husband was the assistant rector at a Cum Cristo (Cursillo) week-end. He's been on so many Cursillo, Cum Cristo, Renewal, and Emmaus Walk week-ends, I've lost count. Maybe I'm crazy but I think he usually says, "This one was the best." But he did tell me about one guy we've known about 35 years who used to be a member of our church. His wife died of cancer some years ago and he has remarried, and I think things are fine, although we were never close, so I really don't know.

Anyway, he was periodically stepping outside for a smoke. Before they all went home, my husband said to him, "You don't love your wife." Obviously shocked, the man asked what he meant. "If you loved your wife, you wouldn't want her to be left alone and grieving after you die of cancer. You've been through this--how can you want this for her?" Then he sympathized and told him about my dad--who quit smoking when he was 39 and said it was 20 years before he stopped wanting a cigarette (he lived to be 89). He says the guy said he'd think about it.

That's pretty bold for a guy as quiet as my husband, but then he told me he'd done that before, and the guy actually did quit cold turkey.

Cursillo isn't about saving anyone for Jesus, because usually they are already Christians; but it couldn't hurt to save a physical life too, and save a wife and children from grieving an early loss.

Reform won't work without support of the American people

When Rep. Patrick McHenry held his townhall meetings this year, almost 5,000 people attended compared to fewer than 300 last year.

“There was consensus on a few of the major issues.

• The stimulus has been an expensive failure. It was a missed opportunity to create much-needed jobs.
  
  
• The bailouts were an enormous injustice to taxpayers by forcing them to reward the self-inflicted failures of Wall Street.
  
  
• If cap-and-trade passes the Senate, the middle class will pay a huge price in lost jobs and higher energy costs. . .
  
  
• By far, the hottest topic was health care.”

Read more at Roll Call

This, not racism, Mr. Carter, is the cause of Obama's dropping poll numbers and the building distrust.

Visiting the Lincoln Theater in Columbus

On September 10 we had the opportunity to tour the newly renovated and reopened (May 2009) Lincoln Theater on Long Street with the Conestoga group from the Ohio Historical Society. It is very impressive and the new jazz academy is really stunning with private studios, special classes with guest artists, and the high tech equipment. The ballroom is one of the prettiest I've seen and I'm sure will be a coveted site for wedding receptions and gala events. It is hoped that the Lincoln will help restore the economy of the once thriving African American cultural community on the east side.


This was the original entrance with the restored marque, but the new entrance/lobby/ticket area has been moved to a newly constructed addition because the lobby was too small. But behind the doors is a board room, and the renovated movie projector, pieces of which were found in the basement.



This plaque is in the new lobby.


The original decor was an Egyptian motif, and that has been beautifully recreated.

Two musicians performing across the street.

If you have time, pause to enjoy this video introduced by our mayor with a little history of the area and how the renovation came to be. It's about 9 minutes.

Naming birds

When your wealth of bird knowledge is being able to tell a robin from a blue jay from a cardinal, there is lots to learn at a birding conference like the Midwest Birding Symposium held at Lakeside September 17-20. I'll begin with a snippet of trivia that I picked up by attending some of the programs when I wasn't volunteering (I was the early a.m. shift at the gate, and the dinner crew on Friday).

Scott Weidensaul gave a fascinating short history of birding on Friday night with wonderful photos. I never even saw him look at his notes and he must have included hundreds of details covering about that many years. One interesting thing he told us was that generally, birds that were named early in our country's history have common, descriptive names--red wing blackbirds, black throated blue warblers, barn swallow, etc. Ordinary people named them based on their observations. But as the population moved west and explorers and scientists named them, the birds began to get names of people--family, friends, mentors, and politicians.

Lucy was the name of John James Audubon's wife, but he never named a bird for her. However, Lucy's Warbler is named for Lucy Baird, who was herself named for Lucy Audubon. So, indirectly, Lucy Audubon got her bird.

I also learned that a "big sit" is when people gather in a particular spot and count species they see. This "big sit" at Lakeside I believe counted 27. Also, I'd assumed "shore birds" meant what we have in and around Ottawa County, birds that like the shore, but that's not what they are. Shore birds are sandpipers and plovers, but not gulls and ducks.

I really enjoyed the vendors' displays in South Auditorium and the Rhein Center and I got a lot of freebies. I had no idea that bird watching was so high tech. Nor did I know the Amish sold binoculars! Apparently birding is quite popular with the Amish. The prices were out of this world. Also at this event, people donated their old binoculars (I think there were hundreds) and then these are redistributed to birding groups in poor countries.

Oh yes, and because the Caspian Tern was our poster bird and the logo on our caps, I can now tell a tern from a gull. They are hard to miss up on Lake Erie--really big, with bright red bills that point downward and they float around and then dive bomb into the water and come up with a fish. They breed on 5 continents and in 70 countries, so they really span the globe.

Jane Alexander was one of the Saturday evening speakers, and I think she said there were 80-90 million birders in the U.S. but that seems a bit high--wouldn't that be almost a third of the population? However many, it's a lot--and as near as I could tell from the advertising, you could be attending a symposium, conference or festival every day, and still not see it all. There's even a guy in the Ohio Army National Guard who is helping Iraqis with their bird books and equipment.

The Symposium will be back at Lakeside in two years, so if you're a Lakesider, or enjoy that area, keep an eye open for this event. We had a great time.

The blitz

"Republicans maintained today that the president should reconsider his plans and start the health-care debate anew.

"Winning is stopping, starting again and getting it right,'' Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnelll, (R-Ky.) said today on CNN.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele suggested that the president's round of network interviews today hadn't amounted to much.

"I thought the president said a lot without saying anything,'' Steele said on CBS' Face the Nation. "There was nothing that moved the needle on this debate... This is not very helpful to the president right now.... It may have been nice to do the interviews, but I don't think it advanced the debate on health care that much.''"
The Swamp

Can you believe he's still blaming other people for his failings, for his extremism, for his planned deficits, for his mismatched appointments, his creepy associations--and especially the news coverage which is almost 99% pro-Obama 24/7?

"Unfortunately, we've got... a 24-hour news cycle where what gets you on the news is controversy,'' he told NBC's David Gregory. "What gets you on the news is the extreme statement. The easiest way to get 15 minutes on the news, or your 15 minutes of fame, is to be rude.''

One news channel (Fox) covered the Tea Parties, Townhalls, and March on Washington and Obama goes all quivery and teary.

Loyalty cards--invasive and expensive

A friend and I had a "discussion" about loyalty cards today. Actually, it was pretty darn close to an argument. I don't use loyalty cards or coupons at the grocery store; I don't play games with my food. And that's what it is--a game to convince the consumer she's getting something for nothing, that retailers are just in business to please you and give their products away. Whether it's the wooden nickle, the green stamp, the sweepstakes game, the paper coupons in the size of a dollar, or the plastic loyalty card that looks like a credit card, the intent is to get you to buy. What I find so insidious about the loyalty card is not just that they can find out what you buy--they could do that without your personal information. It's that your personal information is sold, and that's more lucrative than knowing 1500 boxes of Betty Crocker 14 oz. mashed potato flakes sold on Nov. 20 in the Main St. store (except to Mrs. Bruce who bought 5 lbs of real potatoes for the same price) or 700 cans of Stokley's green beans without salt. Kroger is part owner of a data mining company. I don't even like it when the register at Meijer's (which doesn't use a loyalty card) spits out coupons for competing products based on what I just bought. I pass them to the person behind me. If you think you are being "rewarded" for loyalty or for purchsing brand x, you need to go back to home economics class or psych class and read up on behavior modification. All that nonsense about it being just like the personal service you used to get 40 years ago at the corner grocery is just that--nonsense. Loyalty plans are a huge industry with its own press releases, and that's most of the sources you'll find on the internet, or in newspapers, which are quite dependent on the advertising revenue from the stores using the loyalty plans. I am not in any way saying this is a bad business--but it is a business and their bottom line, not your feeling warm and fuzzy, is what matters.

Obviously, my friend who will travel around to various stores to take advantage of the coupons sent to her based her buying habits or specials and loss leaders, didn't see it my way. We just changed the subject. Here's a recent item from another blog.

"Today’s loyalty card programs are not designed to reward the faithful — they are designed to help retailers gather incredible amounts of data about their customers. They use the data for supply chain management, for marketing and to figure out ways to change customer behavior. A loyalty card program is expensive to run. It requires a lot of storage for all that data and sophisticated data mining tools to pour through the raw data and turn it into useful information." IT Knowledge

It must be terribly hard for a new product to make its way onto the shelves, even if it is fabulous. For now, I'll continue to shop at stores that don't want to follow me home and peek in my pantry.

Midwest Birding Symposium

What an eventful week-end. We left Thursday for Lakeside and returned on Sunday. We had a great time volunteering and were thrilled to attend some of the lectures by top birding experts. I know a whole lot more than I knew before, and will be blogging about it--after I catch up on groceries, sleep and unpacking.

As we were leaving the grounds this morning Mary said, "What's that?" And we said in unison, "A buzzard!" Now that was unexpected!

Valerie Jarrett, Obama's BFF

Both the left and right acknowledge her role. But this story lays it out and connects all the dots. She's affluent, well connected, far left and a slum lord. Her parents were friends with Bill Ayers' parents and her family tree is very--way out. Her mentor and buddy is Marilyn Katz, part of the 1968 SDS group and what they evolved to. No one gets to Obama without going through Valerie.

Don't miss Scott Baker and Liz Stephans interview with the author which will peel off the layers of Obama's tight circle of Communist friends, pampered radicals, racist and elistist advisers.

HT G & B

PJTV: The Power & Danger of Iconography

HT Murray