These numbers go a long way toward explaining why we talk about black-on-black crime a lot more than we talk about white-on-white crime, even though most crime for both groups is intraracial.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Who gets shot in America?
From Real Clear Policy:
Picky eaters
Apparently some Muslim refugees in Italy find pasta offensive.
Eggs and bread too.
From The Local, Italian edition:
For two days, a group of about 40 asylum-seekers staying at a refugee centre in the Veneto province of Belluno refused to eat the “pasta with tomato sauce, bread and eggs” meals they were given and called to be fed food from their own countries, Libero Quotidiano reported.
To reinforce their point, they blocked a street with a wooden bench, put their lunch on the ground along with bags of clothes and threatened to leave the centre in La Secca, a hamlet in Ponte nelle Alpi.
They reportedly said “we do not eat this stuff”.Sounds like time for return passage to a place with cuisine more to their liking.
The Crusades
"So what is the truth about the Crusades? Scholars are still working some of that out. But much can already be said with certainty. For starters, the Crusades to the East were in every way defensive wars. They were a direct response to Muslim aggression—an attempt to turn back or defend against Muslim conquests of Christian lands." - Thomas F. Madden, historian and author, excerpted from Christianity Today, May 6, 2005.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
While Obama has no strategy...
Even the Saudi king now warns on IS (or ISIS or ISIL, depending on what you want to call it):
"If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month," he said in remarks quoted on Saturday by Asharq al-Awsat daily and Saudi-backed Al-Arabiya television station.
"Debt Sclerosis"
"We have always found, where a government has mortgaged all its revenues, that it necessarily sinks into a state of languor, inactivity, and impotence." - David Hume (1711-1776)
The trappings of the game may have changed. But the basic rules and expected outcomes have not.
If you think our economy's getting better, there are those far more learned than me who make the case that it's not.
Lacy Hunt: The World Economy's Terminal Case of Debt Sclerosis
The trappings of the game may have changed. But the basic rules and expected outcomes have not.
If you think our economy's getting better, there are those far more learned than me who make the case that it's not.
Lacy Hunt: The World Economy's Terminal Case of Debt Sclerosis
Don't get fooled again...
From the New York Times:
But how many lo-info voters are smart enough to figure that out?
The 2014 midterms are your last ballot opportunity to put limits on the runaway Obama presidency.
President Obama appears to be delaying a proposal to revamp immigration laws until after the elections in November, mindful of the electoral peril for Democratic Senate candidates.A trial balloon was recently floated that Obama wants to unilaterally grant amnesty to five million illegal aliens now living in the U.S. Even if he doesn't do it before the election, it doesn't mean he won't do so immediately afterwards.
But how many lo-info voters are smart enough to figure that out?
The 2014 midterms are your last ballot opportunity to put limits on the runaway Obama presidency.
Shrinking CNN
Variety notes:
When working as a freelancer, you know any day you show up for work may be your last.
Being a full time employee often brings a sense of permanence or continuity that may not hold up in today's era of corporate whims and other realities. This is true in far more corporate settings than just the one at CNN.
According to reports, CNN president Jeff Zucker told employees in a news meeting that the network was, “going to do less and have to do it with less.”
“We now have a sense of what Turner is expecting from CNN,” Zucker reportedly told the staff. “I am working with the senior management team at CNN to figure out what this means for us. This will result in changes and what we do and what we stop doing.”Full disclosure: I once worked at CNN, but for all but two of my twelve years there, I chose to work as part-time freelance in part to minimize the impact of corporate demands and corporate dependence in my personal life.
When working as a freelancer, you know any day you show up for work may be your last.
Being a full time employee often brings a sense of permanence or continuity that may not hold up in today's era of corporate whims and other realities. This is true in far more corporate settings than just the one at CNN.
Connecting the dots in perilous times...
Russia makes a move into Ukraine.
The Islamic State continues its mass killings in the Middle East.
And the Obama administration can't seem to figure out what's going on or what do do about it.
But the administration does seem ready and willing to grant amnesty at home to up to five million illegal aliens.
Ferguson, Missouri is already fading from memory. For now, anyway.
Meanwhile, Americans are both mesmerized and increasingly apprehensive as the domestic stock markets grow ever higher.
And there are alarming trends in oil production in international oil production, yet many think oil's price may fall once again.
Don and I cover these topics and more in the August 29th Don and Doug webcast.
The Islamic State continues its mass killings in the Middle East.
And the Obama administration can't seem to figure out what's going on or what do do about it.
But the administration does seem ready and willing to grant amnesty at home to up to five million illegal aliens.
Ferguson, Missouri is already fading from memory. For now, anyway.
Meanwhile, Americans are both mesmerized and increasingly apprehensive as the domestic stock markets grow ever higher.
And there are alarming trends in oil production in international oil production, yet many think oil's price may fall once again.
Don and I cover these topics and more in the August 29th Don and Doug webcast.
Current Politics Conservative Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with TalkSouthRadio on BlogTalkRadio
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Ours is a society where increasingly values are turned upside down
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!". - Isaiah 5: 20 NASB
Bill Whittle: On Ferguson and the Real Race War
Statistics betray politically correct myths perpetrated by government and media.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Couldn't make this stuff up...
Report: An American named Douglas McAuthur McCain dies in Syria fighting for the Islamic State.
Yeah, I know. General MacArthur spelled his name with a slight difference. But adding the McCain rounds out the irony.
Yeah, I know. General MacArthur spelled his name with a slight difference. But adding the McCain rounds out the irony.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Shhh. It's a secret, don't tell Obama
What can we make of this?
From the New York Times:
Twice in the last seven days, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have secretly teamed up to launch airstrikes against Islamist-allied militias battling for control of Tripoli, Libya, four senior American officials said, in a major escalation between the supporters and opponents over political Islam.
The United States, the officials said, was caught by surprise: Egypt and the Emirates, both close allies and military partners, acted without informing Washington or seeking its consent, leaving the Obama administration on the sidelines. Egyptian officials explicitly denied the operation to American diplomats, the officials said.My first reaction:: This is a symbolic payback to the Obama team for helping oust Gaddafi, and for Obama's ill-advised coziness with the Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.
In addition, the UAE and Egypt may believe Obama's team is tighter with Libya's radical Islamic militias than most believe, and the U.S. may have been kept out of air strike loop to avoid operational compromise.
John Kerry's pussyfooting with Hamas may have further damaged O's credibility in the region as well.
Allies no longer trust us.
Islam's war on bacon.
 |
| From: WPTZ |
A Muslim in Vermont took offense to a restaurant's sign advertising bacon.
The sign has since been taken down.
Great. Muslims in America now wage war here on bacon...
Where's the Muslim outcry over the beheadings and other atrocities committed in the name of the Islamic State in the Middle East?
Rev. Sharpton's role in Ferguson
Apparently the Rev. Al Sharpton wasn't just speaking for Al Sharpton while in Ferguson, Missouri.
Have a look.
And yet, Obama's attorney general had the nerve to go to Ferguson and declare himself there representing "impartial" oversight to local government's investigation into the death of Michael Brown.
The Obama team isn't trying to calm racial unrest or assist in an impartial investigation. The Obama team's goal is to take a local police shooting and local unrest, and help spread thel unrest nationally to benefit the Democratic Party in November. Team Obama doesn't seem to care how much truth is lost or distorted, or how much damage is done to Ferguson or the nation as long as Democrats can exploit the situation for political gain.
The saving grace, the administration's disgraceful meddling in Ferguson puts its bias on national display.
This pushing and pimping of racial unrest by Obama and his messengers may well backfire on Democrats in November.
The Rev. Al was speaking for the White House.
From Politico.com::
Afew days after 18-year-old Mike Brown was gunned down in Ferguson, Missouri, White House officials enlisted an unusual source for on-the-ground intelligence amid the chaos and tear gas: the Rev. Al Sharpton, a fiery activist who became a household name by provoking rather than pacifying....
...In Ferguson, Sharpton established himself as a de facto contact and conduit for a jittery White House seeking to negotiate a middle ground between meddling and disengagement. “There’s a trust factor with The Rev from the Oval Office on down,” a White House official familiar with their dealings told me. “He gets it, and he’s got credibility in the community that nobody else has got. There’s really no one else out there who does what he does.”So, what's this "middle ground" message the White House sent through Sharpton?
Have a look.
And yet, Obama's attorney general had the nerve to go to Ferguson and declare himself there representing "impartial" oversight to local government's investigation into the death of Michael Brown.
The Obama team isn't trying to calm racial unrest or assist in an impartial investigation. The Obama team's goal is to take a local police shooting and local unrest, and help spread thel unrest nationally to benefit the Democratic Party in November. Team Obama doesn't seem to care how much truth is lost or distorted, or how much damage is done to Ferguson or the nation as long as Democrats can exploit the situation for political gain.
The saving grace, the administration's disgraceful meddling in Ferguson puts its bias on national display.
This pushing and pimping of racial unrest by Obama and his messengers may well backfire on Democrats in November.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Gun free zones invite trouble
Federal District Judge R. Brooke Jackson rules the Cinemark movie theater in Aurora, Colorado should have reasonably foreseen the possibility of a mass murdering gunman's attack...
From the Denver Post:
H/T: Fill Yer Hands
Update: Coyote Blog puts a softer tone on the judge's ruling:
From the Denver Post:
"Although theaters had theretofore been spared a mass shooting incident, the patrons of a movie theater are, perhaps even more than students in a school or shoppers in a mall, 'sitting ducks,' " Jackson wrote.The Post's story doesn't mention the theater was posted as a gun-free zone.
H/T: Fill Yer Hands
Update: Coyote Blog puts a softer tone on the judge's ruling:
...the court did not find that the shooting was foreseeable. The court found that if a jury believed the plaintiffs' experts and evidence, the jury could conceivably find that the shooting was foreseeable.A trial on the matter of whether the theater should have had a higher level of security is set to begin in February, according to the Denver Post.
Feeling some political pressure?
Obama once declared a desire for civilian police forces as powerful and well equipped as the military.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Never let a crisis go to waste
Via Twitter:
Meanwhile, Perry's indictment has cost him his carry permit.
Rick Perry's PAC is selling these shirts at an AFP event here in Manchester, NH. pic.twitter.com/47Vjim473M
— Sean Sullivan (@WaPoSean) August 22, 2014
Meanwhile, Perry's indictment has cost him his carry permit.
While under his indictment, Perry is not allowed to carry a concealed firearm in a public place, and according to federal law 18 USC 922(n), he’s also legally prohibited from buying guns and ammunition, Austin American-Statesman reports.
Syria then and now
Last year, Barack Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry wanted to displace Bashir Assad as Syria's ruler. They sought to assist rebels opposing him, wanted to order air strikes on positions held by Assad's forces.
Now the west, including the U.S., is said to be covertly helping Assad.
Imagine the Middle East today if Obama and Kerry had their way last year. All of Syria today would likely be under Islamic State control, and its sweep into neighboring Iraq likely much farther along than it is now.
Now the west, including the U.S., is said to be covertly helping Assad.
Imagine the Middle East today if Obama and Kerry had their way last year. All of Syria today would likely be under Islamic State control, and its sweep into neighboring Iraq likely much farther along than it is now.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Another elderly lady shoots a home invader
This time in Gwinnett County, Georgia:
When the 73-year-old heard glass break at her back door, she called 911. When she saw a flashlight shine outside her bedroom door, she got her gun and fired through the door.Bad guy made it to a local hospital with a non-life threatening bullet wound to the chest. Local hospital called police...
Declining middle class
Don't blame the rich, the middle class brought decline on itself.
The middle class has made conscious decisions to be debtors rather an savers or investors.
There was an article on ZeroHedge stating that only 48 percent of Americans can put their hands on $400 to deal with an emergency without having to borrow it or sell something.
Hard to blame anyone but the foolish poor when the former middle class can no longer put it hands on $400.
I bet a bunch of these cash poor families have multiple smart phones, cable TV, and cars a lot newer than whatI drive. Choosing not to eat out for a month would probably give most families that $400 emergency fund they lack.
Frugality, and an ethic of saving or investing, helped build the middle class as much as rising wages did. Those saving traits were gradually bred out of the middle class by slick marketing and easy credit.
First came the credit cards, then the student loans.
Hard to have an ascending middle class when the wealth it once accumulated now goes to pay debt; often debt acquired on stuff that's long gone, worn out, or completely unnecessary.
The middle class has made conscious decisions to be debtors rather an savers or investors.
There was an article on ZeroHedge stating that only 48 percent of Americans can put their hands on $400 to deal with an emergency without having to borrow it or sell something.
Hard to blame anyone but the foolish poor when the former middle class can no longer put it hands on $400.
I bet a bunch of these cash poor families have multiple smart phones, cable TV, and cars a lot newer than whatI drive. Choosing not to eat out for a month would probably give most families that $400 emergency fund they lack.
Frugality, and an ethic of saving or investing, helped build the middle class as much as rising wages did. Those saving traits were gradually bred out of the middle class by slick marketing and easy credit.
First came the credit cards, then the student loans.
Hard to have an ascending middle class when the wealth it once accumulated now goes to pay debt; often debt acquired on stuff that's long gone, worn out, or completely unnecessary.
Rural sheriffs refuse to enforce anti-gun laws
It's not a right-wing blogger crowing about this.
The journalism consortium known as News21 notes:
The journalism consortium known as News21 notes:
Sheriff Mike Lewis considers himself the last man standing for the people of Wicomico County.
“State police and highway patrol get their orders from the governor,” the Maryland sheriff said. “I get my orders from the citizens in this county.”
With more states passing stronger gun control laws, rural sheriffs across the country are taking the meaning of their age-old role as defenders of the Constitution to a new level by protesting such restrictions, News21 found.
Some are refusing to enforce the laws altogether.
Sheriffs in states like New York, Colorado and Maryland argue that some gun control laws defy the Second Amendment and threaten rural culture, for which gun ownership is often an integral component.
They’re joined by groups like Oath Keepers and the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, both of which encourage law enforcement officers to take a stand against gun control laws.In a related story, News21 finds state legislatures are pushing back against broader federal gun control:
Particularly in Western and Southern states, where individual liberty intersects with increasing skepticism among gun owners, firearms are a political vehicle in efforts to ensure states’ rights and void U.S. gun laws within their borders. State legislators are attempting to declare that only they have the right to interpret the Second Amendment, a movement that recalls the anti-federal spirit of the Civil War and civil-rights eras.
The Left loves to brag about its compassion
But Obama puts a different face on things...
Thursday's New York Daily News cover:
Update: The president's game has grown stale, at least with the public.
Thursday's New York Daily News cover:
 |
| NY Daily News, August 21, 2014 |
Update: The president's game has grown stale, at least with the public.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Home grown Jihad serial killer targeted infidels in Amerca
His trail of victims spanned from Seattle to New Jersey...
You'd think this would be big news.
From NJ.com:
You'd think this would be big news.
From NJ.com:
Brown, 29, also confessed to killing the other men, all of whom, like Tevlin, were shot multiple times in isolated areas late at night. He described the murder as a “just kill” – carried out against an adult male who was not in the company of any women, children or elderly persons, court papers said.
Prosecutors say Brown is a devout Muslim who had become angered by U.S. military intervention in the Islamic world, which he referred to as “evil.” He also referred to drug use as inherently evil.
Cops getting agitated. No, not the ones in Ferguson...
You have to know America's local law enforcement officers are watching things in Ferguson very closely, and they don't like what they're seeing happen to Officer Wilson.
Via Second City Cop blog:
Via Second City Cop blog:
This is turning into a farce that no decent police officer should be standing for. It's past time for the National FOP and related organizations to step in, start making statements and initiating action.
We have stated time and again here that cops aren't above the law - but we aren't under it either. This guy isn't just under the law, he's under the bus, and it's time to stop.When I first started to write this, I was going to reference white police officers in the lede, but then I thought better of it. Black cops too have to be sweating what they see going down in Ferguson. Anything that might make a white cop hesitate in doing his proper, lawful duty puts black officers at risk as well, especially if a black officer finds himself in a bind, and he's depending on a white cop for backup.
Yes, this is an official White House photo
The official White House caption reads:
President Barack Obama talks with National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice following foreign leader phone calls, from Chilmark, Mass., August 11, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)Seriously?
The president appears lost in some distraction. Maybe his last golf game.
Mr. Obama appears to be almost in pain as Rice tries to lure him back into the role he was elected to fill.
Or maybe Obama's just miffed that those pesky foreign leaders kept him from a photo-op burger date with another single mom.
Update: Rice to Obama: "No silly, you can't do a Vulcan Mind Meld on yourself. And you're doing it wrong anyway."
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Military hardware interactive map
The New York Times has published an interactive map that it says shows the type and amount of military surplus hardware that's been doled out to civilian law enforcement agencies (state and local) around the country.
Check out your local county if you like.
But if you know where it is on the map, check out Brevard County, Florida. According to the map, 79 helicopters, eight airplanes, five armored vehicles, and a mine resistant vehicle have been acquired there.
Is the Brevard inventory accurate, and if so, does anyone know which agencies possess the hardware?
Brevard County includes places like Cape Canaveral, Titusville, Cocoa Beach, Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, and Palm Bay.
When I lived there in the 1980s, the sheriff's office was the only local law enforcement agency with a helicopter (it too was military surplus), and back then the sheriff said he didn't have the budget for a full time pilot. Back in the '80s, Brevard deputies also supplied their own firearms. I knew at least one who kept a Mini 14 in the trunk when on duty.
Update: Here's a local news story from earlier this year that explains some of Brevard's acquired helicopters were junkers used for spare parts. But the story still seem to leave a bunch of helos unexplained if the NY Times stats are accurate. I have to wonder how many little police agencies along the Space Coast now have their own chopper(s).
Update 2: Seems the Florida Division of Forestry converts military surplus helicopters to fight wildfires. And Central Florida does have a lot of swamp and wildfires.
Check out your local county if you like.
But if you know where it is on the map, check out Brevard County, Florida. According to the map, 79 helicopters, eight airplanes, five armored vehicles, and a mine resistant vehicle have been acquired there.
Is the Brevard inventory accurate, and if so, does anyone know which agencies possess the hardware?
Brevard County includes places like Cape Canaveral, Titusville, Cocoa Beach, Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, and Palm Bay.
When I lived there in the 1980s, the sheriff's office was the only local law enforcement agency with a helicopter (it too was military surplus), and back then the sheriff said he didn't have the budget for a full time pilot. Back in the '80s, Brevard deputies also supplied their own firearms. I knew at least one who kept a Mini 14 in the trunk when on duty.
Update: Here's a local news story from earlier this year that explains some of Brevard's acquired helicopters were junkers used for spare parts. But the story still seem to leave a bunch of helos unexplained if the NY Times stats are accurate. I have to wonder how many little police agencies along the Space Coast now have their own chopper(s).
Update 2: Seems the Florida Division of Forestry converts military surplus helicopters to fight wildfires. And Central Florida does have a lot of swamp and wildfires.
I miss hearing Boortz on the radio...
But he chimes in on Twitter from time to time...
Violent Muslims are going to use our own PC culture to destroy us. Øbama knows this, but believes America deserves it.
— Neal Boortz (@Talkmaster) August 19, 2014Ground beef price keeps rising
CNS News notes a pound of ground beef now averages about $3.884 a pound. That's up from 81 percent from the $2.147 noted as the average in July 2009.
Last night's Ferguson recap
My cat Thumper rousted me from a sound sleep overnight.
Once awakened, I popped on my laptop just in time to catch an overnight police news conference. Upon its conclusion, I dashed this out on Facebook:
Thumper's a very cool cat, by the way. I've written of him before.
Once awakened, I popped on my laptop just in time to catch an overnight police news conference. Upon its conclusion, I dashed this out on Facebook:
47 arrests Tuesday night in Ferguson, three firearms (pistols) confiscated. One protester was arrested for the third time, police say he's from Austin, Tx. No Molotov cocktails thrown, though there was a spat of rocks and bottles at one point.
Okay, that's my presser recap report courtesy of a live stream, and Thumper the cat, who apparently thought I (and perhaps you) needed to know this.I should have also posted it here at the time, but since Thumper had gone back after the press conference ended, I took advantage and pretty much did the same.
Thumper's a very cool cat, by the way. I've written of him before.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Myth becomes fact
Photos from a protest in Atlanta show demonstrators assume Ferguson, Missouri's Michael Brown had his hands up and was attempting to surrender.
The myth that Brown was shot in the back has seemingly been debunked by autopsy reports. There's now a video of a strong arm robbery that provides some counter to the original story of Brown being a sweet, kind "gentle giant."
How accurate is the "hands up" surrender myth?
The myth that Brown was shot in the back has seemingly been debunked by autopsy reports. There's now a video of a strong arm robbery that provides some counter to the original story of Brown being a sweet, kind "gentle giant."
How accurate is the "hands up" surrender myth?
Ferguson is like the Left's Bundy Ranch
Ferguson, Missouri is becoming the Bundy Ranch of sorts for the radical Left.
But the stories written in the media are largely sympathetic of the agitators shaping things in Ferguson, even though the violence is far greater, and self restraint isn't near what it was among Bundy's conservative or libertarian demonstrators in Nevada earlier this year.
The militias and others at Bundy's came seeking a federal de-escalation. The militants in Ferguson seek to provoke escalation.
Here's how the Washington Post describes some of those now taking up positions, trying to manipulate events in Ferguson:
But the crew looting and firebombing in Ferguson has managed to escalate things to the point of having the National Guard called up.
And the media still seems enamored with protests in Ferguson, and doesn't dare criticize organizers or participants there the way it vilified what media labeled "extremist" or "anti-government" elements at Bundy's.
No demonstrator at Bundy Ranch fired a shot, threw a firebomb, or attempted to loot a business.
But the stories written in the media are largely sympathetic of the agitators shaping things in Ferguson, even though the violence is far greater, and self restraint isn't near what it was among Bundy's conservative or libertarian demonstrators in Nevada earlier this year.
The militias and others at Bundy's came seeking a federal de-escalation. The militants in Ferguson seek to provoke escalation.
Here's how the Washington Post describes some of those now taking up positions, trying to manipulate events in Ferguson:
Some of the men are from the area — Ferguson or surrounding towns also defined in part by the gulf separating the mostly white law enforcement agencies from a mistrusting African American public. Many others — it is hard to quantify the percentage — have arrived by bus and by car from Chicago, Detroit, Brooklyn and elsewhere.
They will not give their names. But their leaders say they are ready to fight, some with guns in their hands. “This is not the time for no peace,” said one man, a 27-year-old who made the trip here from Chicago.
He spoke after a small group of fellow militants held a meeting behind a looted store, sketching out ambitions for the days ahead.I was no fan of the heavy handed federal BLM policing at Bundy's. And I think cops overplayed their hand with military like trappings in the original response in Ferguson.
But the crew looting and firebombing in Ferguson has managed to escalate things to the point of having the National Guard called up.
And the media still seems enamored with protests in Ferguson, and doesn't dare criticize organizers or participants there the way it vilified what media labeled "extremist" or "anti-government" elements at Bundy's.
No demonstrator at Bundy Ranch fired a shot, threw a firebomb, or attempted to loot a business.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Meanwhile, back in Chicago...
At least five people were killed, another 27 shot in weekend violence in Chicago.
Activists won't bother to notice. Most of them are probably down in Ferguson anyway.
Activists won't bother to notice. Most of them are probably down in Ferguson anyway.
Out west in the land of activists and anarchists...
Oakland, California saw a couple of protests over the weekend.
The first was an anti-police march in response to the shooting of Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson, Missouri. There were two arrests after police were reportedly pepper-sprayed by protesters.
The other protest blocked the unloading of an Israeli ship at Oakland's port. Union workers apparently failed to show for work after protesters formed picket lines.
They always seem to have something to protest in Oakland.
Oakland was a western hub for Occupy a couple years ago.
And for more than a year now, protests in Oakland and San Francisco have targeted employer chartered buses that carry Google and other tech company employees to work.
The first was an anti-police march in response to the shooting of Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson, Missouri. There were two arrests after police were reportedly pepper-sprayed by protesters.
The other protest blocked the unloading of an Israeli ship at Oakland's port. Union workers apparently failed to show for work after protesters formed picket lines.
They always seem to have something to protest in Oakland.
Oakland was a western hub for Occupy a couple years ago.
And for more than a year now, protests in Oakland and San Francisco have targeted employer chartered buses that carry Google and other tech company employees to work.
Michael Brown remembered
How Ferguson protesters honor their martyr?
Daily Clash notes a "shrine made in honor of Michael Brown features the thug elements: Mad Dog 20/20, Cough Syrup and Liquor Bottles. What a way to be remembered. Everything is backwards in Obamaland."
Daily Clash notes a "shrine made in honor of Michael Brown features the thug elements: Mad Dog 20/20, Cough Syrup and Liquor Bottles. What a way to be remembered. Everything is backwards in Obamaland."
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Shootings rise in NYC
Progressive Mayor Bill de Blasio pretty much told NYPD to stop their "stop and frisk" operations that wer being used to get guns off the streets.
Guess what happened?
From the New York Daily News:
Officers assigned to the 75th Precinct in East New York and the 73rd Precinct in Brownsville stopped just 126 people in the first half of 2014, compared to 10,540 stops between January and June of 2011.
The nearly eye-popping decrease is no misprint — and it comes as shootings in those neighborhoods are on the rise.
Shootings are up in East New York from 34 to 43 through Aug. 10, a spike of about 27% compared to last year. In Brownsville, shootings are up from 38 to 56, an increase of about 47% over the same time period.
A tale of two shootings
Where were all these civil rights activists who now cry injustice over a shooting in Ferguson when police in DC shot and killed an unarmed Black single mom last year?
Miriam Carey had abandoned her car, and posed no threat to officers as she ran from police near the U.S. Capitol. Police opened fire anyway, striking her five times.
Not a peep of protest afterwards. Few even noticed when the autopsy was released by her family.
As a matter of fact, shortly after Carey was gunned down, Congress rose to give her killers a standing ovation.
How many who stood to applaud last October's police shooting now dare to heap kneejerk damning criticism on police in Ferguson?
Miriam Carey had abandoned her car, and posed no threat to officers as she ran from police near the U.S. Capitol. Police opened fire anyway, striking her five times.
Not a peep of protest afterwards. Few even noticed when the autopsy was released by her family.
As a matter of fact, shortly after Carey was gunned down, Congress rose to give her killers a standing ovation.
How many who stood to applaud last October's police shooting now dare to heap kneejerk damning criticism on police in Ferguson?
Today's pricing on old silver coins
I spent some time online pricing pre-1964 circulated silver coins this weekend. by checking online sellers as well as ebay.
Silver dollars seem to have way more premium over their spot silver value than other denominations.
Old dimes, quarters or half dollars seem a much better bargain for those looking to acquire.
A roll of 20 "good to fine" Kennedy, Franklin, or Liberty halves can be had for around $170 (including shipping) on ebay. A silver equivalent of ten Morgan or Peace dollars seem to be selling for around $220 and up. I saw similar margins in price difference between dollars and halves at MintProducts.com. Other online sellers I checked seemed priced slightly to well above Mint Products' ask.
If you want to know current value of silver content in old silver coins, Coinflation.com is a great site for that.
Silver dollars seem to have way more premium over their spot silver value than other denominations.
Old dimes, quarters or half dollars seem a much better bargain for those looking to acquire.
A roll of 20 "good to fine" Kennedy, Franklin, or Liberty halves can be had for around $170 (including shipping) on ebay. A silver equivalent of ten Morgan or Peace dollars seem to be selling for around $220 and up. I saw similar margins in price difference between dollars and halves at MintProducts.com. Other online sellers I checked seemed priced slightly to well above Mint Products' ask.
If you want to know current value of silver content in old silver coins, Coinflation.com is a great site for that.
Rick Perry's indictment
Even the Left shuns supporting the tactic taken by radical Democrat prosecutor in Texas.
Poor Rick Perry. Now targeted with a dangerous politicization of the courts after trying to pressure a drunk driving Democrat from office.
Here's video of the beligerent Democrat on her infamous night that set this whole mess in motion:
Perry's called the indictment a farce.
And even the most partisan of Democrats seem just as skeptical of the Perry indictment.
Smart Democrats know they can't go around indicting Republicans over little dust-ups, and still defend a president who refuses to enforce, or who unilaterally changes, federal law legislated by Congress (Something they shouldn't be doing in the first place).
Poor Rick Perry. Now targeted with a dangerous politicization of the courts after trying to pressure a drunk driving Democrat from office.
Here's video of the beligerent Democrat on her infamous night that set this whole mess in motion:
Perry's called the indictment a farce.
And even the most partisan of Democrats seem just as skeptical of the Perry indictment.
Unless he was demonstrably trying to scrap the ethics unit for other than his stated reason, Perry indictment seems pretty sketchy.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) August 16, 2014
Smart Democrats know they can't go around indicting Republicans over little dust-ups, and still defend a president who refuses to enforce, or who unilaterally changes, federal law legislated by Congress (Something they shouldn't be doing in the first place).
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Is a telco land line as robust as it used to be?
Is it still worth the expense to have a traditional telephone company land line for home communication redundancy?
I've always liked having the copper hard wire service, but it's pricey now compared to alternatives.
We have cell phone service with two carriers, as well as an Internet VoIP line which works plenty fine at just ten bucks a month.
In the present day and age, how much of an alternative is mainline phone company service? Our area is served by AT&T, which acquired the former BellSouth platform.
Once it leaves the neighborhood switching box, how much of the old Bell System is still the old system, how much now gets converted to something like VoIP once it get to a switching office? Is the system more secure, more robust than a VoIP rig working off high speed cable Internet?
If there's still true redundancy, I still like the telco land line as a last ditch communication back-up.
I just want to know if the back-up potential it used to have still exists to the extent to justify the expense.
We have cell phone service with two carriers, as well as an Internet VoIP line which works plenty fine at just ten bucks a month.
In the present day and age, how much of an alternative is mainline phone company service? Our area is served by AT&T, which acquired the former BellSouth platform.
Once it leaves the neighborhood switching box, how much of the old Bell System is still the old system, how much now gets converted to something like VoIP once it get to a switching office? Is the system more secure, more robust than a VoIP rig working off high speed cable Internet?
If there's still true redundancy, I still like the telco land line as a last ditch communication back-up.
I just want to know if the back-up potential it used to have still exists to the extent to justify the expense.
The media as a community organizer
The New York Times almost seems to bemoan what it sees a lack of leadership as hindering protests in Ferguson. Too many groups, going too many directions to suit the times. Perhaps real potential to exploit the crisis in Ferguson is being lost...
And yes, the whole mess in Ferguson, in the eyes of the New York Times, results of what the Times sees as white power structure.
Give it up, New York Times.
White power structure had nothing to do with a cigar robbery at a liquor store that put a whole mess of other things in motion. Maybe the cops were a little too showy with MRAPs and such in the first hours or days of disturbances in Ferguson, but the same kind of heavy handed policing can exist in majority black American cities where African Americans hold the strings of power. And the pockets of poverty and despair are just as big, probably deeper and wider, in the big cities compared to those in surrounding suburbs.
BTW, I don't necessarily read the Times on a regular basis. Has it had any coverage about the radical groups that have converged on Ferguson, reportedly coming with an open message advocating violence?
And yes, the whole mess in Ferguson, in the eyes of the New York Times, results of what the Times sees as white power structure.
Give it up, New York Times.
White power structure had nothing to do with a cigar robbery at a liquor store that put a whole mess of other things in motion. Maybe the cops were a little too showy with MRAPs and such in the first hours or days of disturbances in Ferguson, but the same kind of heavy handed policing can exist in majority black American cities where African Americans hold the strings of power. And the pockets of poverty and despair are just as big, probably deeper and wider, in the big cities compared to those in surrounding suburbs.
BTW, I don't necessarily read the Times on a regular basis. Has it had any coverage about the radical groups that have converged on Ferguson, reportedly coming with an open message advocating violence?
Obama's DOJ culpable in Ferguson violence
For nearly a week, the world was told Michael Brown, shot and killed by Ferguson police last weekend was a 'good kid', a 'gentle giant' of a young man.
Friday, police released a video of Brown carrying out a strong arm robbery at a convenience store, just minutes before he was killed.
Why'd police hold the robbery narrative for so long?
According to various media sources, police were pressure by the Obama DOJ to withhold the video. DOJ allegedly considered the video "inflammatory."
Seems to me, intentionally withholding evidence of events of last Saturday in Ferguson had a far more inflammatory impact than release would have had. It appears DOJ wanted the image of Michael Brown to remain as positive as possible for as long as possible.
What exactly did DOJ expect to gain by keeping Mr. Brown's final minutes out of public purview?
The federal government used its clout to further perpetrate a false belief by many in the public that Mr. Brown was just a nice young man minding his own business until police decided to provoke confrontation.
Update: CNN's reporting on the video release:
Friday, police released a video of Brown carrying out a strong arm robbery at a convenience store, just minutes before he was killed.
Why'd police hold the robbery narrative for so long?
According to various media sources, police were pressure by the Obama DOJ to withhold the video. DOJ allegedly considered the video "inflammatory."
Seems to me, intentionally withholding evidence of events of last Saturday in Ferguson had a far more inflammatory impact than release would have had. It appears DOJ wanted the image of Michael Brown to remain as positive as possible for as long as possible.
What exactly did DOJ expect to gain by keeping Mr. Brown's final minutes out of public purview?
The federal government used its clout to further perpetrate a false belief by many in the public that Mr. Brown was just a nice young man minding his own business until police decided to provoke confrontation.
Update: CNN's reporting on the video release:
...Friday's release of the store-theft video by Ferguson police occurred over the objections of federal authorities, a law enforcement official told CNN on Saturday.
Ferguson police had wanted to release the video Thursday but held off when the U.S. Justice Department asked them not to, arguing that doing so would increase tensions in the community, the source said.
But Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson released it Friday, announcing for the first time that Brown was suspected of stealing cigars from Ferguson Market and Liquor shortly before noon August 9, minutes before Wilson encountered and shot him.
Cops elsewhere are watching events in Ferguson
Just how far should, or will, cops go to avoid a potential confrontation?
And what will urban streets turn into if the social justice crowd starts making all the rules?
And what will urban streets turn into if the social justice crowd starts making all the rules?
Friday, August 15, 2014
Bad move, wrong direction
Los Angeles considers offering cash prizes as a gimmick to boost voter turnout.
No good will come of inflating voter turnouts by making the act of voting something akin to a free-to-play lottery.
No good will come of inflating voter turnouts by making the act of voting something akin to a free-to-play lottery.
"Bug out" or "shelter-in-place"
Different kinds of disasters or emergencies demand differing responses.
Don and I talk possibilities and pitfalls on today's webcast.
1:00 pm EDT. Available live or in replay afterwards.
Update: In most circumstances, we favor a "shelter-in-place" over the "bugging out." We explain some of the wheres and whys. The archived August 15th program is available here:
Don and I talk possibilities and pitfalls on today's webcast.
1:00 pm EDT. Available live or in replay afterwards.
Update: In most circumstances, we favor a "shelter-in-place" over the "bugging out." We explain some of the wheres and whys. The archived August 15th program is available here:
Popular Politics Conservative Internet Radio with TalkSouthRadio on BlogTalkRadio
A disillusioned Democrat
"From where I’m standing, the party has largely abandoned its commitment to civil rights and instead allows race-baiters to be national power brokers." - Disillusioned Democrat Joe Piscopo, as quoted in the Washington Times.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Quiet night in Ferguson
A change of police command, and a change in tactics, seems to have made a difference.
The New York Times notes:
Hindsight being 20-20, putting an overly militarized presence (or even the perception of one) on the streets the past few nights was likely counter productive. Having a state police agency not involved with last weekend's Michael Brown shooting temporarily placed in charge of peacekeeping in the hot spot neighborhood also makes sense, and probably should have been done sooner.
Let's hope the calmer trend continues.
The New York Times notes:
On Thursday night, the armored vehicles and flashing police cars were gone, and the atmosphere was celebratory. A street barricaded on previous nights was filled with slow-moving cars blasting their horns. A man played a drum across the street from a convenience store that was looted this week. And there were few signs of police officers, let alone a forceful response.
Kimaly Diouf, co-owner of Rehoboth Pharmacy, said the reason for the difference was simple: “Because they’re not tear gassing us tonight.”Today's move by Gov. Nixon to put state troopers in charge of Ferguson's police response was probably well timed. After four nights of violence, the locals were likely already close to played-out. Dropping the antagonism of MRAPs and riot cops in the streets now lets tensions drop even more.
Hindsight being 20-20, putting an overly militarized presence (or even the perception of one) on the streets the past few nights was likely counter productive. Having a state police agency not involved with last weekend's Michael Brown shooting temporarily placed in charge of peacekeeping in the hot spot neighborhood also makes sense, and probably should have been done sooner.
Let's hope the calmer trend continues.
Militarized policing epic fail
MRAPs in the streets, local cops decked out in military style assault gear, and flash bang grenades have failed to restore the peace in Ferguson, Missouri.
In an attempt to end bouts of unrest and rioting, Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat, has ordered the state's Highway Patrol in as the new lead agency, a move intended to address criticism that local police were too heavy handed.
Will a change in policing tactics be evident as this situation rolls forward?
In an attempt to end bouts of unrest and rioting, Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat, has ordered the state's Highway Patrol in as the new lead agency, a move intended to address criticism that local police were too heavy handed.
Will a change in policing tactics be evident as this situation rolls forward?
Ferguson escalation?
I commented elsewhere yesterday on social media that a militarized police presence might not necessarily trigger the fear or instant compliance some might suspect it would. In certain circumstances, I'd expect those challenged by escalating police heavy-handedness might counter with some escalations of their own.
It seems that may be happening in Ferguson, Missouri.
The looting and rioting of last Sunday night was bad enough.
Since then, I've seen photos of cops decked out with more guns and gear than Spec Ops in a war zone. Now there are reports protesters attempted to put Molotov cocktails into play overnight.
I'm not excusing rioters. I'm not necessarily criticizing specific police tactics now deployed in Ferguson; I only have limited knowledge based on what I see in news accounts.
I am saying escalations by either side can be taken as provocations by the other, and may be met with counter escalations. And my assessment isn't limited to what's happening now in Ferguson.
Update: Since posting this, I came across (via Twitter) this item from June from Zero Hedge. Police departments may not see themselves as "preparing for war", but what's the perception of those living in communities where law enforcement agencies have gone ga-ga for federal hardware freebies?
It seems that may be happening in Ferguson, Missouri.
The looting and rioting of last Sunday night was bad enough.
Since then, I've seen photos of cops decked out with more guns and gear than Spec Ops in a war zone. Now there are reports protesters attempted to put Molotov cocktails into play overnight.
I'm not excusing rioters. I'm not necessarily criticizing specific police tactics now deployed in Ferguson; I only have limited knowledge based on what I see in news accounts.
I am saying escalations by either side can be taken as provocations by the other, and may be met with counter escalations. And my assessment isn't limited to what's happening now in Ferguson.
Update: Since posting this, I came across (via Twitter) this item from June from Zero Hedge. Police departments may not see themselves as "preparing for war", but what's the perception of those living in communities where law enforcement agencies have gone ga-ga for federal hardware freebies?
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Report: Progressives advocate for southern secession
A bunch of progressive elites would reportedly love to dump the southern states.
According to the Washington Free Beacon:
According to the Washington Free Beacon:
In an email thread on Gamechanger Salon—a closed Google group of progressive organizers, reporters, and campaign apparatchiks—Guy Saperstein, a major Democratic donor and part owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, said he would support the South seceding.
“For more than 100 years, the South has been dumbing down national politics, tilting the country in a conservative direction, supporting militarism, all while demanding huge financial subsidies from blue states,” Guy Saperstein wrote in the emails. “It would be 100% fine with me if the South was a separate nation, pursuing its own priorities and destiny.”As progressive agendas and policies continue to fail, progressives will grasp deeper and wider for their scapegoats.
Pro-gun sheriff defeats Bloomberg funded challenger
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke prevailed in yesterday's primary. Even the Washington Post notes the victory. Clarke's an African American Democrat who urges citizens to arm themselves for lawful self defense.
I linked to Sheriff Clarke's pro-gun PSA last year.
I linked to Sheriff Clarke's pro-gun PSA last year.
What happens when police try to arrest an illegal?
In Tucson, a demonstration bubbled up seemingly out of nowhere when police tried to arrest a man who confessed to being in the country illegally.
What countries are at war?
A list is presented here in video form. Note that it defines war as an ongoing violent conflict between two parties where a thousand deaths have occurred within a year...
Restoration of law
"Mr. (Juan) Williams claims that Republicans are opposed to immigration reform, which isn't true. The problem is that when Democrats talk about immigration reform, what they really mean is open borders and amnesty. To Republicans, immigration reform means enforcing our borders and encouraging people to come here legally. It means nothing less than the restoration of the rule of law." - Bob Jamieson, in a letter to the editor, published by the Wall Street Journal
A 100-year war
From The Australian:
On the downside, some of Australia's proposed actions unfortunately sound like it may go down the path of America's Patriot Act or our abusive NSA practices.
AUSTRALIA needs to prepare for an increasingly savage, 100-year war against radical Islam that will be fought on home soil as well as foreign lands, the former head of the army, Peter Leahy, has warned.Note it's not a war on terrorism, which only defines a tactic. Leahy specifies the enemy as radical Islam.
On the downside, some of Australia's proposed actions unfortunately sound like it may go down the path of America's Patriot Act or our abusive NSA practices.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Caution: Train wreck in progress
"This train wreck isn’t simply going to hit a wall out of the blue. Actually, it has been forming and accumulating and expanding for many years now, and yet it has simply been ignored, particularly by the financial markets which have ridden this bubble to these extreme and historic heights... The only issue is, when does it hit the wall? The answer to that question is it’s not very far down the road, and I can promise you that is when all hell is going to break loose." - David Stockman at davidstockmanscontracorner.comH/T: Ol' Remus at the Woodpile Report, who expands on something worse than a train wreck: A deflation-inflation disaster.
And Ebola rages on...
The death toll from the current international Ebola outbreak now tops a thousand.
The previous worst known Ebola outbreak claimed 280 lives.
The previous worst known Ebola outbreak claimed 280 lives.
The Islamic Jihad mentality
Saudi daddy takes his sons, ages 10 and 11, along as he ventures to join Islamic State forces in Syria.
Another Islamic State daddy, one from Australia, had his tag-along seven-year-old pose with a severed head.
Another Islamic State daddy, one from Australia, had his tag-along seven-year-old pose with a severed head.
America's short-sighted tax grab games
Ron Paul writes:
European banks are already cutting ties with American citizens and businesses due to the stringent compliance required by recently-passed laws such as FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act). In the IRS's quest to suck in as much tax dollars as possible from around the world, the agency has made Americans into the pariahs of the international financial system. As the burdens the US government places on European banks grow heavier, it should be expected that more and more European banks will reduce their exposure to the United States and to the dollar, eventually leaving the US isolated. Attempting to isolate Russia, the US actually isolates itself.The paragraph is part of an essay also critical of U.S. pushing economic sanctions against Russia.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Blood red clarification
"Will anyone argue that the USA just take a break from further operations in the entire Middle East / North Africa region? My recommendation would be to stand back, do nothing, and see what happens — since everything we’ve done so far just leaves things and lives shattered. Let’s even say that ISIS ends up consolidating power in Iraq, Syria, and some other places. The whole region will get a very colorful demonstration of what it is like to live under an 11th century style psychopathic despotism, and then the people left after the orgy of beheading and crucifixion can decide if they like it. The experience might be clarifying." - James Howard Kunstler
Mr. Kunstler may have a point.
Long as nukes aren't part of the arsenal, could things get much worse?
Western Civilization might wake up to what Islam looks like when practiced in pure accordance with the Koran.
I guess the downside is that bleeding heart progressive (and neo-con) governments would open the immigration gates, and flood the west with Muslim refugees who may not like the full fledged Islamic State affair, but who still want to wrangle Western Civilization into some lighter version of Sharia compliance.
Mr. Kunstler may have a point.
Long as nukes aren't part of the arsenal, could things get much worse?
Western Civilization might wake up to what Islam looks like when practiced in pure accordance with the Koran.
I guess the downside is that bleeding heart progressive (and neo-con) governments would open the immigration gates, and flood the west with Muslim refugees who may not like the full fledged Islamic State affair, but who still want to wrangle Western Civilization into some lighter version of Sharia compliance.
Was rabbi killing a hate crime?
Police in Miami say no hate crime, they peg the fatal shooting of a rabbi on Saturday as growing out of an attempted robbery.
The rabbi's family and friends disagree, contend it was a hate crime, and dispute the police explanation.
From the New York Post:
The rabbi's family and friends disagree, contend it was a hate crime, and dispute the police explanation.
From the New York Post:
“It was not a robbery,” said Elehana Giezinsky, 56. “The criminal element in Miami and New York knows that the Orthodox don’t carry money on the Sabbath.”
Chicago parade shootings
Progressives really to hate it when gunfire detracts from their bread and circuses meant to distract from ongoing societal decay.
Second City Cop excerpts from Chicago media:
Second City Cop excerpts from Chicago media:
Bud Billiken Parade organizers on Sunday bemoaned local media focus on the shooting of two teenagers at the event instead of the celebration.
“It’s a shame to waste that time on a minor incident that occurred,” parade organizer Beverly Reed-Scott said at a news conference Sunday afternoon at the corner of 42nd Street and Martin Luther King Drive.SCC goes on to note:
Beverly Reed-Scott calls this "a minor incident" and thinks that not reporting the problem will make it go away. Two people with holes in their bodies is now "minor."Years of bad policy undermining values and families have taken a deep toll. And officials seemingly no longer bother with even a facade of caring for the victims as things go from bad to worse.
An interesting government guns and ammo wish list
The Obama administration shopping list shown below is from the original government solicitation for bids to provide small arms and ammo of mostly foreign manufacture. An updated version doesn't include the type of guns or ammo shown in this open list, you apparently have to have a vendor log-in to get these details. But, yes, the original solicitation remains accessable.
I suppose this could simply be a requisition of weapons to familiarize troops with what they might encounter on deployments. Do these arms go to our irregular allies overseas? I could also imagine some darker intent if I was prone to conspiracies and speculation.
Solicitation Number:
H92222-14-R-WEAPONAMMO
Notice Type:
Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Synopsis:
Added: Aug 08, 2014 7:04 pm
This notice is a combined synopsis and solicitation. The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) intends to establish one or more contract awards to fulfill continuing requirements for foreign non-standard, U.S.-obsolete, and commercial weapons, commercial ammunition and accessories. Vendors must have the capability to ship the items, once procured, to multiple locations CONUS and OCONUS. Interested vendors must be capable of supporting the U.S. Government’s mission in accordance with all applicable U.S. and foreign regulations for the acquisition and transit of weapons. Vendors shall obtain and maintain all required registrations and licenses for conducting this type of business. In addition, all contractors shall be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database prior to award, during performance and through final payment. The overarching intent of this program and procurement action is to find and use a source or vendor that can reach around the world at any given moment to gather and provide multiple types of weapons, munitions and accessories.
Weapons covered under this combined synopsis and solicitation may include, but are not limited to, the following:
AK-47 and AKM Variants (Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947)
AK-74 Variants (Avtomat Kalashnikova 1974)
PK Machine Gun Variants (PK/PKS/ PKM/PKMS)
Submachine Guns
Heckler and Koch G-3 (Gewehr 3 – Rifle)
FN FAL (Fabrique Nationale Fusil Automatique Leger)
MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher
MG3 (Maschinengewehr 3)
RPK (Ruchnoi Pulemet Kalashnikova)
DShK (Degtyarev-Shpagin, large caliber)
Dragunov SVD (Snaiperskaya Vintovka Dragunova, or Dragunov Sniper Rifle)
82mm Mortar System
9mm Pistols (e.g. Glock 19, Walther PP/PPK [Polizei Pistole and Polizei Pistole Kur],CZ-52 Tokarev Pistol Makarov PM [Type 59 and other versions])
RPG (Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomet, Commonly Referred to as Rocket Propelled Grenade) Launchers:
RPG-7
NSV Machine Gun
SPG-9 Recoilless Gun
Munitions covered under this survey may include, but are not limited to, the following:
5.45x39mm Ball
5.45x39mm Blank
7.62x39mm Ball
7.62x39mm Blank
7.62x54R Ball
7.62x54R Blank
12.7x108mm Ball
12.7x108mm API
PG-7VMs
7.62x54R Links
7.62x54R Links Machines
12.7X108mm Links
12.7x108mm Linking Machines
H/T: Sipsey Street
Updated 9:26 am EDT with expanded comment in second paragraph.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Narco music
Mexican cartels control the drug trade in many major U.S. cities.
What better way to better understand this rising sub-set in our new American multicultural experience than to enjoy some "narco music"?
Vice News offers a profile that's full of samples, and yes, it's subtitled so you know what's being said.
What better way to better understand this rising sub-set in our new American multicultural experience than to enjoy some "narco music"?
Vice News offers a profile that's full of samples, and yes, it's subtitled so you know what's being said.
America lacks leadership
America now stumbles in the face of many challenges. The rise of ISIS, now referring to itself as a Caliphate, in the Middle East is just one of them.
Don Dickinson sent this, and I have to agree with his assessment.
I have to tell you that I have little hope that the American people will get it this time around.
The problem is a lack of leadership.
December the 8th 1941, FDR was in the well of Congress leading the American people into war. And he later insisted that Germany and Japan be defeated to the standard of unconditional surrender. That war was won in less than four years and Germany and Japan have not caused any trouble since.
Taking the current phase of unpleasantness with the Islamofascists as beginning with the taking of of our Iranian embassy in 1979, we have been at limited war for over 34 years to no satisfactory result. And this against a quantumly weaker enemy than was either Germany or Japan.
 |
| Secretary of State John Kerry recently spotted in Nantucket |
Only those who are stuck on stupid can argue that endless war is preferable to getting it over with as quickly as possible using a total war grand strategy that has lasting victory and hence the restoration of peace as its goal.
After 9/11 Bush was telling the American people to go shopping. And then he embarked upon a war on an enemy tactic rather than to defeat the enemy. In 1941 if FDR had been thinking like Bush, he would have declared war on carrier aviation.
Now Obama has been telling the American people there's nothing much to see here. After all, he ended the war in Iraq, right?
A Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, Jackson, Polk, Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, FDR, or Reagan (maybe) could have led America the right way under any of these provocations. Now, we have nothing but various Neville Chamberlain look-alikes.
To face the horrible truth we really don't even have anyone on the Obama team that looks half as tough as Chamberlain.
With a series of international crises swirling out of control, America's Secretary of State was seen last week pedaling a girl's bike in Nantucket.
And this after Obama had long caught grief for his girly-man bicycling habit. The Obama crew seems so thoroughly divorced from reality that they do not even notice when they are making public fools of themselves.
There is zero chance short of geological or divine intervention that this mess will end well. In fact, it could very easily end up making World War II look polite in comparison to the horrors that will accompany the combined whammy of the Gramsci and Cloward-Piven strategies in conscious concert with the Islamofascist strategy.
Obama's lost children
Obama's teasing talk of "dreamers" and amnesty lured tens of thousands of unaccompanied minor alien children to the U.S., and government seems to have lost tract of more half of them.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection data show more than 85,000 total apprehensions of unaccompanied alien children during fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014 through June. Information from the same time period provided to National Review Online by the DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review shows 41,592 total receipts marked as juvenile in immigration courts.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
ISIS acquires hashtag, targets U.S.
I wonder how politically correct progressives Democrats will respond to something like this.
#AmessagefromISIStoUS pic.twitter.com/1moxzIdYjq
— عبدالعزيز الØربي (@15_azzoz) August 9, 2014
What is ISIS, and how did it come to be?
Significant backgrounder here.
Reading the backgrounder stirred my brain.
Looking at the history, I almost wonder if killing bin Laden was counter productive; further diminishing any clout al Qaeda might have had in slowing or moderating the emergence of today's ISIS phenomenon.
Syrian unrest took to the streets in March 2011.
Bin Laden was killed by a U.S. military team in Pakistan in May the same year.
Serious armed rebellion in Syria began the following month.
Many fighters who originally joined the Syrian rebellion under al Qaeda flags have since folded into the ISIS beast.
Not shedding any tears that bin Laden's dead. But wondering if the long-sought act of getting bin Laden may have contributed to unsavory, unintended consequences, and helped shape events unfolding today.
Update 08/10/2014: The Obama team and the Washington Post take note of something of an ISIS trend previously noted in Iraq and Syria:
After months (if not years) of denial and delays, Obama still insists on tippy-toeing around ISIS and its growing international threat.
Update 08/10/2014: The Obama team and the Washington Post take note of something of an ISIS trend previously noted in Iraq and Syria:
U.S. spy agencies have begun to see groups of fighters abandoning al-Qaeda affiliates in Yemen and Africa to join the rival Islamist organization that has seized territory in Iraq and Syria and been targeted in American airstrikes, U.S. officials said.Obama has been careful to frame air strikes on ISIS as part of a "humanitarian mission." Obama's stopped short of authorizing attacks on the Islamic State, the Post notes.
After months (if not years) of denial and delays, Obama still insists on tippy-toeing around ISIS and its growing international threat.
The faces of ISIS, Sunni factions, and Barack Obama
When watching this video profiling ISIS fighters in Syria, keep the following questions in mind:
Are the faces and goals of ISIS much different those of the militias Obama assisted in Libya when he deployed U.S. air power to weaken Gaddafi, allowing Jihadists to destroy Libya's central government?
President Obama and his team have seemingly skewed to side of Hamas when attempting diplomatic intervention over Israeli military operations in Gaza.
Same president stood firmly behind the Muslim Brotherhood's short lived rise to power in Egypt.
We seem to have a president and collection of presidential underlings who consistently line up on the wrong side of things. Repeat offenses appear to be more a matter of intentional agenda rather than a series of policy bumbles.
We seem to have a president repeatedly drawn to, or enamored with, radical Sunni Islamic factions. What we lack is a clear indication as to why Obama and the White House steer this dangerous and inflammatory course.
- Why did Barack Obama underplay the rise of ISIS and its escalating threats to the region?
- If Bashir Assad's Syrian forces continue to oppose ISIS militarily, why do Obama and John Kerry continue to target Assad's removal from power?
- In Iraq, why does Obama insist that U.S. air power only be used to target advancing convoys or other ISIS tactial moves; why does Obama apparently rule out targeting ISIS commanders and control centers?
Are the faces and goals of ISIS much different those of the militias Obama assisted in Libya when he deployed U.S. air power to weaken Gaddafi, allowing Jihadists to destroy Libya's central government?
President Obama and his team have seemingly skewed to side of Hamas when attempting diplomatic intervention over Israeli military operations in Gaza.
Same president stood firmly behind the Muslim Brotherhood's short lived rise to power in Egypt.
We seem to have a president and collection of presidential underlings who consistently line up on the wrong side of things. Repeat offenses appear to be more a matter of intentional agenda rather than a series of policy bumbles.
We seem to have a president repeatedly drawn to, or enamored with, radical Sunni Islamic factions. What we lack is a clear indication as to why Obama and the White House steer this dangerous and inflammatory course.
Friday, August 8, 2014
"When progressives talk, you know things are falling apart"
Today's re-titled Don and Doug webcast.
Listen To Politics Conservative Internet Radio Stations with TalkSouthRadio on BlogTalkRadio
Go along to get along...
From Twitter:
Round up the sheep! "@oldcalidude: @AllForCountry @SkippSykes @cunningtom @o1d_dude
Laughter is a salve for the soul pic.twitter.com/Q6Qf8CnOsY"
— Let's Do This (@Patriotic_Me) August 8, 2014Africa's a country?
In today's one o'clock webcast, we have a long list of loony progressive soundbites to work through. And we've gleaned most of them from just the past few days.
Taking one by one, the comments by top Democrats and their loyalist pundits sound nutty. String enough of them together, and you have to wonder if these s-called progressives have any grip on reality after unleashing their insanity on America and the world.
Yes, Obama deserves a blistering for his waffling on Iraq. And we'll give him one.
And we'll also work in the previously advertised topic of how the EPA continues to ignore America's national interest as it continues to choke America's electrical infrastructure.
Catch the program by clicking here.
Taking one by one, the comments by top Democrats and their loyalist pundits sound nutty. String enough of them together, and you have to wonder if these s-called progressives have any grip on reality after unleashing their insanity on America and the world.
Yes, Obama deserves a blistering for his waffling on Iraq. And we'll give him one.
And we'll also work in the previously advertised topic of how the EPA continues to ignore America's national interest as it continues to choke America's electrical infrastructure.
Catch the program by clicking here.
So, Obama went on TV last night...
Clearly, ISIS has been carrying out war on civilians and genocide in Iraq for a couple months now.
But Obama won't commit to action beyond dropping MREs and bottled water to fleeing or trapped refugees.
Says he won's use air strikes unless American personal in key locations are threatened.
What's happened to that "duty to protect" doctrine he's team used to tout?
But Obama won't commit to action beyond dropping MREs and bottled water to fleeing or trapped refugees.
Says he won's use air strikes unless American personal in key locations are threatened.
What's happened to that "duty to protect" doctrine he's team used to tout?
Obama's making excuses for dragging his feet for two months. No such delays when he rushed in when Muslim militias wanted his help in Libya.
— Doug Rink (@TalkSouthRadio) August 8, 2014
Thursday, August 7, 2014
More insanity from Obama's White House
Genocidal ISIS goes rampaging through Iraq killing, beheading, seizing arms, ammo and heavy military gear as it carries out its conquest.
Back at the White House? Obama Press Secretary Josh Earnest insists a military solution isn't the answer...
Gentle Josh wants the Iraqis to work this out politically.
Dear Josh, Kumbahya ain't gonna cut it on this one.
Back at the White House? Obama Press Secretary Josh Earnest insists a military solution isn't the answer...
Gentle Josh wants the Iraqis to work this out politically.
Dear Josh, Kumbahya ain't gonna cut it on this one.
Where's up with Iraq's Russian air force?
What ever became of those Russian planes Iraq supposedly bought to wage war on ISIS?
It's been over a month since initial reports said the first Su-25s arrived in Iraq ready to roll with Russian pilots, but a report in late July by McClatchey News Service speculated Iraq lacks ground resources or pilots to make use of them.
Again this week, President Obama says he's contemplating air strikes against ISIS. But he's been saying such things since mid-June.
It's been over a month since initial reports said the first Su-25s arrived in Iraq ready to roll with Russian pilots, but a report in late July by McClatchey News Service speculated Iraq lacks ground resources or pilots to make use of them.
Again this week, President Obama says he's contemplating air strikes against ISIS. But he's been saying such things since mid-June.
Shooting a rap video in obsessively gun controlled New York
What could possibly go wrong?
Gawker notes:
Anyone know if the gun was registered?
Did its user use a mag in compliance with New York's SAFE Act?
Gawker notes:
Early Saturday morning, a music video shoot at a Bronx bodega turned violent after one member of a rap duo reportedly opened fire on his partner, wounding him in the head, legs, and chest. According to the bodega's owner, the shooting was triggered by an argument over who was the video's star.NYPD has released surveillance video, now on YouTube courtesy the New York Post:
Anyone know if the gun was registered?
Did its user use a mag in compliance with New York's SAFE Act?
Does Russia have a border crisis bigger than Texas?
Has anyone seen a hint of this on American cable news?
Ukraine conflict: 730,000 have entered Russia to escape fighting
730,000 is a lot of people. Nearly three-quarters of a million.
Other international media cite significant, but much lower numbers.
What gives?
Ukraine conflict: 730,000 have entered Russia to escape fighting
730,000 is a lot of people. Nearly three-quarters of a million.
Other international media cite significant, but much lower numbers.
What gives?
Cold War heats up
Drudge Report headlines this:
Russian bombers penetrated U.S. airspace at least 16 times in past 10 days
But I also saw this elsewhere:
US missile cruiser enters Black Sea again ‘to promote peace’
Reagan ended the last Cold War.
It took Obama's first term policies of appeasement toward Russia, and a series of bumblings since, to bring another one into full blossom.
Update: Minutes after posting this entry, I saw this:
“Today an emergency speech by President Vladimir Putin is expected at 20:30 on Rossiya,” one local Russian official tweeted. “Notices have been sent to all affiliates of [the television and radio company] VGTRK.
That tweet was later deleted, but Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Svoboda Radio later confirmed that a speech by Putin was expected this evening.
“Sources believe that the president’s speech will be related to a decree on retaliatory measures regarding the West, under which the import of products from countries that have applied sanctions regarding Russia will be restricted; there is not yet any specific information about the address from the head of state,” Svoboda reported.
Kremlin officials later denied that Putin planned to address the nation on Thursday evening.Putin and his people generally strike me as the types who think two or three steps ahead.
Is there something going on behind the scenes to cause what appears to be indecision or confusion?
No. No. No. Please. No more talk of Romney running again.
You may have seen or heard it in passing.
Talk that Mitt Romney is considering another run for the presidency, or is being encouraged to run.
Please don't go there.
Romney's photogenic post-election surrender to Obama should have been enough to preclude another GOP nomination being up for discussion.
From the Radio Show Notes archive, originally posted November 29, 2012:
In his heart, it seems Mitt Romney never shed his progressive roots. Or perhaps Mr. Romney is simply naive as he lends credence to the president.
The Romney-Obama photo reminds me of another. One shot in 1938 as British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with the leader and chancellor of Germany. Not every gesture of good will means something good lies ahead.
Mr. Romney likely meant well by today's handshake at the White House. Mr Chamberlain meant well too. But attempts at appeasement or concession often carry a high price down the road and, at the very least, that's what Mr. Romney's gesture looks like.
I'd feel better about having voted for Mitt Romney if I knew for sure his talk about conservative values was more than just election rhetoric. I'd feel better about the Republican Party if its 2012 nominee didn't look so eager to endorse a president and an agenda he supposedly campaigned against for the past two years.
Talk that Mitt Romney is considering another run for the presidency, or is being encouraged to run.
Please don't go there.
Romney's photogenic post-election surrender to Obama should have been enough to preclude another GOP nomination being up for discussion.
From the Radio Show Notes archive, originally posted November 29, 2012:
Romney and Obama
In his heart, it seems Mitt Romney never shed his progressive roots. Or perhaps Mr. Romney is simply naive as he lends credence to the president.
 |
| White House Photo |
Mr. Romney likely meant well by today's handshake at the White House. Mr Chamberlain meant well too. But attempts at appeasement or concession often carry a high price down the road and, at the very least, that's what Mr. Romney's gesture looks like.
I'd feel better about having voted for Mitt Romney if I knew for sure his talk about conservative values was more than just election rhetoric. I'd feel better about the Republican Party if its 2012 nominee didn't look so eager to endorse a president and an agenda he supposedly campaigned against for the past two years.
How bad are things in Chicago?
Apparently violence is at such levels in Chicago that some people now refer to the city as Chiraq.
But don't worry. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is banking on a "surge" to help turn things around.
But don't worry. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is banking on a "surge" to help turn things around.
Right on time
Three months before the midterm elections, and what happens?
Mainstream media starts bubbling with economic happy talk.
So, right on cue, CNN ramps up with a headline that Middle Class Jobs Are Finally Coming Back.
Data in the report seems iffy, and at best marginal. And there's a Jersey union guy in the video that accompanies the written story who's now happy, happy, happy that unemployment among membership is now down to 20 percent; he says it was 40 percent a few years ago.
There's no disclosure whether the union local has the same membership levels.
For the next few months, I expect the most marginal of jobs or economic data to get spun in the most extraordinary days. No worries about saving face, things can always get revised downward after November. We've seen that before.
Mainstream media starts bubbling with economic happy talk.
So, right on cue, CNN ramps up with a headline that Middle Class Jobs Are Finally Coming Back.
Data in the report seems iffy, and at best marginal. And there's a Jersey union guy in the video that accompanies the written story who's now happy, happy, happy that unemployment among membership is now down to 20 percent; he says it was 40 percent a few years ago.
There's no disclosure whether the union local has the same membership levels.
For the next few months, I expect the most marginal of jobs or economic data to get spun in the most extraordinary days. No worries about saving face, things can always get revised downward after November. We've seen that before.
More Africa is a country nonsense
This time, it came from Nancy Pelosi.
She's tried to cover her tracks by killing her Tweet.
But National Review Online is among Twitter watchers that got a screen-grab.
Please, please, please Democrats, please, let's have no more talk about dumping mandatory geography classes in favor of some sketchy diversity or multicultural curriculum.
She's tried to cover her tracks by killing her Tweet.
But National Review Online is among Twitter watchers that got a screen-grab.
 |
| Twitter via National Review Online |
Please, please, please Democrats, please, let's have no more talk about dumping mandatory geography classes in favor of some sketchy diversity or multicultural curriculum.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Extremists? Who are the real extremists?
I'm beyond fed up hearing Democrats and self-labeled "governing class" Republicans bad mouthing the "Tea Party" as extremists.
Get real. Where are these judges when flag waving Communists or other radical factions cough up
members to serve as bedrock foot soldiers volunteering in the front lines of Democratic Party campaigns?
Remember how hard MSM worked to explain away pro-communist wall hangings at an Obama primary campaign office in 2008?
Dems seem especially bent on pleasing La Raza and other immigration radical elements in the current election cycle.
Late last year, elected Democrat members of Congress staged themselves as pro-immigration activists, getting themselves arrested outside the Capitol, in a rally pushing for wider legal status for illegal immigrants.
But if candidates or voters call themselves "Tea Party" or simply espouse a reduction in federal debt, otherwise advocate for limited government, or greater levels of personal responsibility, they get instant notoriety as extremists.
Americans, you have to be smart enough to see through all this.
Get real. Where are these judges when flag waving Communists or other radical factions cough up
 |
| Obama volunteers in Houston, TX. 2008. |
Remember how hard MSM worked to explain away pro-communist wall hangings at an Obama primary campaign office in 2008?
Dems seem especially bent on pleasing La Raza and other immigration radical elements in the current election cycle.
Late last year, elected Democrat members of Congress staged themselves as pro-immigration activists, getting themselves arrested outside the Capitol, in a rally pushing for wider legal status for illegal immigrants.
But if candidates or voters call themselves "Tea Party" or simply espouse a reduction in federal debt, otherwise advocate for limited government, or greater levels of personal responsibility, they get instant notoriety as extremists.
Americans, you have to be smart enough to see through all this.
Unstable America, and getting more so as time goes on...
Just a hunch, but I get the notion Fred Reed has had his fill of "progressive attitude" and "fundamental transformation."
Here's an excerpt (or three) of what he writes today at Fred On Everything:
I'm sure the progressive ransacking and remake of America isn't going anything near as smoothly as its progressive champions claim. Even an evangelistic Obama, crisscrossing America in Air Force One, performing an incessant schedule of pep rallies, fund raisers and other photo ops, can't seem to break the stalemate with seemingly half-hearted Republicans.
Whether it collapses under the weight of its own insanity, or the people finally rise up after having enough, I'm with Fred in that I too don't see any way current efforts to transform America can survive as a long term game. At least not as game that leaves America as a viable entity.
Here's an excerpt (or three) of what he writes today at Fred On Everything:
Unstable countries are unstable, this not always being obvious in those countries, and then comes a man on a horse. The United States, methinks, is not particularly stable.
[break in content]
Below this seething maelstrom of degeneracy lie dangerous shoals of cultural conservatism, of people who believe in two sexes and birth within wedlock and orderly society obedient to law. They are quietly very, very angry at seeing everything they stand for eaten away by the multi-culti, touchy-feely, everything-goes miasma emanating from Washington. They speak of personal responsibility, learning the multiplication tables, English as the national language, and no toleration of crim-- and they know who commits it. Whether you think them simple-minded and fascist or wholesome and self-reliant defines which side of the gaping cultural divide you inhabit.
[break in content]
In America, something is going to happen. It will not happen just now. Things are not yet bad enogh., Wait. Whether it will be a continued slow sinking into an internally chaotic semi-bushworld status, or a serious war with Russia and China started by brain-burnt sexagenarian adolescents in Congress and pasty neocons with Napoleonic fantasies, or a coup by the military, or something else, I don’t know. A Pentagonal coup d’état does not seem likely, granted. Our generals are not greatly political as long as they get their toys and wars, and they lack the doughty moralism of a Hindenburg or Ludendorff.
In practical terms, though, four helicopter gunships and twenty Black Hawks of troops arriving over Washington from Quantico would do it...Maybe ol' Fred had a few before sitting down at his keyboard. He kinda let loose, even for Fred. Then again, maybe he's just leading by example in shedding the constraint of political correctness and let things rip with a good vent.
I'm sure the progressive ransacking and remake of America isn't going anything near as smoothly as its progressive champions claim. Even an evangelistic Obama, crisscrossing America in Air Force One, performing an incessant schedule of pep rallies, fund raisers and other photo ops, can't seem to break the stalemate with seemingly half-hearted Republicans.
Whether it collapses under the weight of its own insanity, or the people finally rise up after having enough, I'm with Fred in that I too don't see any way current efforts to transform America can survive as a long term game. At least not as game that leaves America as a viable entity.
Orwell wrote Animal Farm as a warning
Hillary Clinton seems to take Animal Farm as a policy manual.
Red Alert Politics notes Clinton was recently on The Colbert Report:
Colbert posed a hypothetical “hard choice” (ha!) to Clinton in which she had to choose between fighting a horse-sized duck or a hundred duck-sized horses.
“I admit, that it is a valid question. Here’ s what I’d do. First, I’d try to find common ground between ducks and horses. For example, they both grew up on Old McDonald’s farm. Then, I’d establish a timetable to achieve meaningful horse-duck dialogue. And Stephen, I’m convinced, with patience and a strong commitment from our allies, the pigs and the geese, we’d have peace peace here, peace peace there, everywhere a peace!”Sure, on Hillary's farm, all animals are equal.
But be careful. Some animals are more equal than others.
H/T @JBrockM for the Red Alert post
When government invokes secrecy in day to day policy making...
On her blog, journalist Sharyl Attkisson references what she calls a "thought provoking" article at Time regarding federal contract being disbursed to house tens of thousands of illegal immigrant children.
Attikisson writes:
Similar practices have been noted before, with another government, in another era:
I've referred to Mayer's book before in my bloggings. It was required reading in my college freshman Western Civ class many years ago.
Do I dare invoke the words and warning of philosopher and writer George Santayana?
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
H/T to Cheryl for the Attkisson article via Twitter and FB
Attikisson writes:
The Time article also brings attention to an ongoing theme under the Obama administration: its penchant to withhold public information of public interest. According to Time, “To shield vulnerable kids from angry opponents of immigration and the media spotlight, the government declines to disclose the locations and activities of many of the facilities operated by BCFS and similar organizations. That protectiveness comes at a political cost. Governors in states across the U.S. have assailed the federal government for sending kids to their states without notifying local officials, and congressional critics say that massive amounts of taxpayer money are being spent without proper oversight.”I find the Obama administration's indulgence into secrecy, or offering arguments of complexity, to separate itself from public understanding or oversight is a dangerous trend.
Similar practices have been noted before, with another government, in another era:
"What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people could not understand it, it could not be released because of national security....
"This separation of government from people, this widening of the gap, took place so gradually and so insensibly, each step disguised (perhaps not even intentionally) as a temporary emergency measure or associated with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes. And all the crises and reforms (real reforms, too) so occupied the people that they did not see the slow motion underneath, of the whole process of government growing remoter and remoter.The passages are written by historian Milton Mayer, excerpted from his 1955 book "They Thought They Were Free." Written in 1955, the book recounts the rise of Nazi Germany through the eyes of everyday people who failed to grasp at the time what was unfolding before their own eyes.
I've referred to Mayer's book before in my bloggings. It was required reading in my college freshman Western Civ class many years ago.
Do I dare invoke the words and warning of philosopher and writer George Santayana?
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
H/T to Cheryl for the Attkisson article via Twitter and FB
Crooked cops
The corrupting tentacles of drug gangs and cartels extend into local policing.
In Atlanta, ten former law enforcement employees and two other people were sentenced yesterday.
You gotta know other cops on the take remain thus far undetected.
In Atlanta, ten former law enforcement employees and two other people were sentenced yesterday.
You gotta know other cops on the take remain thus far undetected.
Cash for Clunkers cost automakers big money
A new bit of research casts an even more dubious light over the already dubious automaker stimulus effort.
The study's synopsis:
The study's synopsis:
Cash for Clunkers was a 2009 economic stimulus program aimed at increasing new vehicle spending by subsidizing the replacement of older vehicles. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show the increase in sales during the two month program was completely offset during the following seven to nine months, consistent with previous research. However, we also find the program's fuel efficiency restrictions induced households to purchase more fuel efficient but less expensive vehicles, thereby reducing industry revenues by three billion dollars over the entire nine to eleven month period. This highlights the conflict between the stimulus and environmental objectives of the policy.Assessing the study, The Wall Street Journal notes:
Extrapolated nationally, auto revenues may have plunged by more than what the government spent.Good intentions, coupled with unsound economic tinkering, generally fails to achieve the intended results.
Refugees flee Eastern Ukraine
As fighting advances on the separatist help city of Donetsk, the overall number of refugees in Eastern Ukraine rapidly escalates.
The BBC reports:
The number of people fleeing the war in eastern Ukraine to other parts of the country has jumped from 2,600 to 102,600 inside two months, the UN says.
Its figures for early June to early August coincide with a sharp increase in fighting between pro-Russian separatist rebels and security forces.
More than 1,000 people are leaving the combat zone every day, the UN says.
A further 168,000 have crossed into neighbouring Russia, which has been accused of fueling the insurrection.If Russia's the villain that's "fueling the insurrection", why have a majority of those who flee the fighting fled into Russia for safety?
I'm not particularly picking on the BBC, its coverage of Ukraine's conflict strikes me as better than most. But overall, western media seems to be providing incomplete, less than balanced coverage of what seems to be a bona fide civil war with a complex history and mounting military and civilian casualties.
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