News of the Week for November 29th, 2015
- Obama Scandals
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Obama Scandals
Emails show DOD analysts told to “cut it out” on ISIS warnings; IG probe expands
Analysts at U.S. Central Command were pressured to ease off negative assessments about the Islamic State threat and were even told in an email to “cut it out,” Fox News has learned – as an investigation expands into whether intelligence reports were altered to present a more positive picture.
Whistleblower: Immigrant youths placed with child molesters, slave lords, murderers
The administration has been placing youths illegally crossing over the Mexico-U.S. border with guardians with criminal histories including domestic violence, homicide, child molestation, sexual assault and human trafficking, a whistleblower has told two senators, Iowa’s Chuck Grassley and Texas Sen. John Cornyn.
Gun Rights
European Union Considers Gun Control After Paris Attack
The new proposed rules will deal with deactivated weapons, and will propose a ban on semi-automatic weapons. However, none of the proposals offer immediate solutions to the problem of improving coordination and information sharing among law enforcement so guns can be more easily tracked.0
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
Swedish king calls for ban on bathtubs
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has called for a ban on bathtubs to help cut emissions in an interview ahead of UN climate talks in Paris.
Former President of Greenpeace Scientifically Rips Climate Change to Shreds
The following is a lecture delivered by Patrick Moore, formerly President of Greenpeace Int’l, to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London. He is a vocal critic of faulty science that supports climate-change caused by humans. Since he was a legend in the eco-movement, his current assessment is credible and authoritative.
GLOBAL WARMING? NASA says Antarctic has been COOLING for past SIX years
ANTARCTIC temperatures have cooled over the past six years, according to US space agency NASA.
NOAA’s climate change science fiction
The environmental intelligence agency ignores satellite data
Wake judge rules against teen facing off against NC on climate change
Hallie Turner, the 13-year-old girl who took North Carolina to court over climate change, received disappointing news the day before Thanksgiving.
Paris Climate Change Protesters Under House Arrest
“City of Lights” ices out environmental justice warriors.
Are Aussie Teachers putting Green Indoctrination ahead of Education?
There have been a number of stories recently about how Australian schools are doing wonderful things. Sadly, few of these wonderful things seem to involve educating the nation’s children.
Climate and Human Civilization over the last 18,000 years
This is an updated timeline of climatic events and human history for the last 18,000 years.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
Did Rubio deal a mortal blow to ObamaCare?
If so, it was a remarkably mundane demand that punctured the ObamaCare balloon. Two years ago, Marco Rubio won a fight during the budget battles to include a requirement for HHS to maintain budget neutrality in its risk-corridor programs. Rubio had pushed back against this program for months, claiming — as it happens, accurately — that it was a back-door bailout of the insurance companies that had cooperated in the effort to pass ObamaCare. Instead of allowing HHS to dip into general funds for risk-corridor payments, Rubio’s rider restricted those payouts to funds collected from taxes on insurers.
War & Terror
Warplane crashes in Syria near Turkish border
Turkey on Tuesday shot down a military plane of unidentified origin on the Syrian border, local media reported, citing military sources.
Russian Su-24 fighter jet shot over Syria – Russian MoD
A Russian Su-24 fighter has been shot down in Syria, Russian Defense Ministry said, adding the plane hadn’t violated Turkish airspace and was at an altitude of 6,000 meters.
Turkey ‘down Russian warplane on Syria border’
Turkish warplanes have reportedly shot down a Russian military aircraft on the border with Syria.
Turkish F16s shoot down warplane near Syrian border: military official
Turkish fighter jets shot down a warplane near the Syrian border after it violated Turkey’s airspace on Tuesday, a Turkish military official said, but the nationality of the downed aircraft was not immediately clear.
Turkey shoots down military jet over Syrian border – local media report plane is Russian
Turkey says the plane, whose nationality has not been confirmed, violated its airspace
Turkey downs Russian military aircraft near Syria’s border
Turkish military aircraft shot down a Russian jet Tuesday after Turkey says it violated its airspace near the border with Syria.
Teenage Islamist “poster girl” who fled Austria to join ISIS “is beaten to death by the terror group after trying to escape from Syria”
Samra Kesinovic, 17, and Sabina Selimovic, 16 ,disappeared in April 2014
Deadly blast hits bus carrying Tunisia presidential guards
At least 12 people were killed and a dozen more were wounded on Tuesday in an explosion that targeted a Tunisian military bus carrying presidential guards in the capital Tunis, in what the interior ministry said was a “terrorist attack”.
China Again Tests Nuclear Hypersonic Missile
Sixth flight of DF-ZF glide vehicle indicates weapon a high priority for Beijing
Prague Cancels Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Out of Fears of Terrorism
Prague officials cancelled the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony this year after the ISIS Paris attacks. City officials also said they are concerned firecrackers may start a deadly stampede at the ceremony.
“Severe blow”: Al Qaeda suicide bomber takes out leadership of key ISIS Brigade
A recent suicide bombing in southern Syria shows the rivalry between Al Qaeda and ISIS is more than just a contest to see who can kill the most infidels — the groups are using classic terror techniques on each other.
Gaia Beats Mars: How Our Military Are Being Turned Into Green Eco-Wussies
Islamic State earns about $500 million a year from its oil revenues. But according to former CIA director Mike Morrell, US fighter aircraft have been ordered not to bomb their oil wells in case they cause “environmental damage.”
Yazidi Women Tell of Rape and Enslavement at Hands of ISIS
The grandmother lifted her face to heaven and let out a high wail.
National
150 on flight from Mexico allowed to skip customs, leave JFK airport
Airline and security officials at Kennedy Airport let 150 passengers arriving from an international flight leave the airport without going through customs, the Daily News has learned.
O’Keefe Releases Undercover Video Of Huma Abedin Discussing Syrian Refugees
A new undercover video released by James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas shows Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign vice chair, Huma Abedin, assuring an undercover reporter that the Democratic presidential candidate is committed to allowing Syrian refugees to settle in the U.S. and that Republican opposition to the plan is “really scary.”
Drought: Water Savers Fined, Rich Get Free Reign
The number of penalties issued to water wasters during California’s record drought has decreased as most water agencies have successfully complied with a mandatory order to cut water use by 25 percent statewide.
Hundreds of Californians clamoring to join “Big Oil”
Gov. Brown’s “free” oil and gas survey is inspiration for requests.
Ted Cruz Makes a Big Leap in Iowa, Poll Says
Ted Cruz’s long-anticipated Iowa surge came a step closer on Tuesday with a new poll showing him just behind Donald J. Trump and leaping ahead of Ben Carson, as terrorism and foreign policy now drive the 2016 nominating race.
Navajo Indian And Democratic Senator Leaves To Join GOP
Arizona Democratic State Senator Carlyle Begay announced Monday he is leaving the Democratic Party and becoming a Republican. Senator Begay is a Navajo Indian and represents an area of Arizona which encompasses the Navajo and Hopi reservations.
6% of Michigan residents are foreign born, and 9 other facts about immigrants
As a national debate rages over immigration policy, especially in regard to those coming from Mexico and the Middle East, the issue hits home for Michigan in several respects.
Five Shot at Black Lives Matter Protest In Minneapolis
I wrote here about the shooting of Jamar Clark by Minneapolis police officers on November 15. Police were called to the scene of an assault that occurred just a block or two from the department’s 4th Precinct station.
Politico Whitesplains Woodrow Wilson.
Title chosen with righteous indignation aforethought.
5 Shot In Minneapolis After #BlackLivesMatter Protesters Surround, Attack And Chase Group
Although it is not completely clear, the five people shot appear to be Black Lives Matter folk, none of the injuries are life-threatening.
Brooklyn Witches Are Doing Their Part to Defeat Donald Trump By Casting Hexes on Him
As if the presidential race hadn’t been interesting enough, witches have now entered the fold. Yeni Sleidi gathered her fellow brujas, asked them to perform a series of curses on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and recorded footage of the rituals. The end result is an energetic video titled, “Brujas Hex Trump.” Yeni, a writer and activist from Brooklyn, was inspired to make the video after chatting with her Santeria-practicing mother.
Montana Standard newspaper plans to retroactively unmask anonymous commenters
Paul Alan Levy (Public Citizen Consumer Law & Policy Blog) has a very helpful analysis. Right now, Montana Standard users have to provide their real names to register as commenters, but they can also add a “screen name,” and their comments go up under the screen name. Starting Jan. 1, comments will be posted under the users’ real name, but: The kicker here is that the change is retroactive. Apparently unwilling to part with the wealth of comments that are already posted on its web site under the old policy, but also, apparently, unwilling to configure its software so that comments posted before the new policy is implemented remain under the chosen screen names, the Standard announces that past comments will suddenly appear using the users’ real names unless users contact the paper no later than December 26 to ask that their comments be removed.
At Princeton, a push-back against campus crybullies
A group of Princeton University students are pushing back against the protesters on campus that are demanding the administration bend to their will.
Diebold Stole My Doobies! Stoners Blame “Stolen” Election
Alternative Explanation: Nope
The Long War: GOP Campaigns Brace For Potential Brokered Convention After Protracted Delegate Fight
Several GOP presidential campaigns are openly contemplating the increasingly likely possibility that a 2016 nominee won’t be selected before the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in late July. If no candidate secures enough delegates by the time of the convention, then what would happen is what’s called a “brokered convention”—at which time things could get truly interesting.
Ranchland Owners Speak Out on Death Tolls
People going missing on ranch land
Supreme Court Blocks Racially Discriminatory Hawaii Election
The Supreme Court has just issued an order (read it here) blocking the racially discriminatory separatist election in Hawaii. The order enjoins (stops) the counting of ballots and certification of results pending further order of the Supreme Court. I covered the election here and here at PJ Media.
Rogue agency enabled by governor
A report this week in the San Francisco Chronicle paints a striking picture of an important state agency gone rogue with the indirect encouragement of Gov. Jerry Brown.
Gay marriage is legal but not on tribal lands
Cleo Pablo married her longtime partner when gay weddings became legal in Arizona and looked forward to the day when her wife and their children could move into her home in the small Native American community outside Phoenix where she grew up.
GOP donors wrestle with possibility of Trump nomination
When asked who he would vote for if the presidential race comes down to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the former mayor of Los Angeles and a longtime Republican establishment figure, Dick Riordan, says: “I would probably go find a deserted island.”
15 Excerpts That Show How Radical, Weird And Out of Touch College Campuses Have Become
How radical, weird and out of touch have liberals on college campuses gotten since Obama came into office? It’s worse than you ever thought and although there is an almost unlimited number of problematic incidents to choose from, these 15 are particularly effective at getting across how bad things have become.
The Campus Demands Of #BlackLivesMatter Students: Make Everyone Take Social Justice Classes, Deny White Profs Jobs, Recognize That Merit Scholarships Are Racist
Here’s just a small sample, thanks to Liz O’Ginger McIrish for pointing out some of them to us. Liz writes about games and politics,and had contributed to Breitbart, she effectively skewers the BLM with her introductory comments. Liz is not one of them, she’s criticizing them.
Twist and Shout: Oppressive Yoga Edition
I guess everyone is now aware of the Beclowning Heard Round the World, wherein the Pecksniffs of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa cancelled a free yoga class that had been given for 7 years because of “cultural appropriation”. Now that derision has reached world-wide proportions, the SFUO is backpedalling.
Economy & Taxes
Another ObamaTax “Success” Story
Speaking of rates going down 3000%, here’s the story of a family doing its best to not only provide for itself, but to take on another unfortunate. The Smith’s had already adopted a baby several years ago, and have just recently completed the grueling task of adopting another.
International
Argentina Votes Evita’s Heirs Out of Office
Argentina’s election on Sunday represented the starkest choice the country has faced since the authoritarian era of Juan and Evita Peron began in the 1940s. The seven-point victory of center-right candidate Mauricio Macri may herald a real shift towards more sensible economics and less anti-U.S. policies in Latin America.
Opposition wins Argentine election, ending “Kirchner era”
Opposition candidate Mauricio Macri won Argentina’s presidential election on Sunday, marking an end to the left-leaning and often-combative era of President Cristina Fernandez, who along with her late husband dominated the country’s political scene for 12 years and rewrote its social contract.
New Argentine president: Reduce state’s role in economy
Argentina’s next president decided to pursue a career in politics under the most harrowing of circumstances: 24 years ago, he was kidnapped for nearly two weeks and released only after his family — among the nation’s wealthiest — paid the kidnappers a reported $2.5 million ransom.
Venezuela opposition cheer Macri’s Argentina presidential win
Venezuela’s opposition hailed on Monday conservative politician Mauricio Macri’s presidential win in Argentina as a blow for leftists in Latin America and a good omen for their own duel with “Chavismo” in next month’s parliamentary vote.
French far-right sees popularity rise after Paris attacks
A poll conducted just after the the November 13 Paris shootings has put far-right candidate Marion Maréchal Le Pen well in the lead to win the presidency of the southern Provence-Alpes-Cote-d’Azur region (PACA) in December’s regional elections.
Church of England fighting ban of “Lord’s Prayer” film spot
The Church of England is threatening legal action over the rejection of a one-minute film featuring the Lord’s Prayer that it wanted to run before showings of the new Star Wars film that opens shortly before Christmas.
The Swedish people wants Wallström out of office
Her total lack of understanding regarding the Middle East is so obvious that resigning is the only solution.
Muslims in Britain have zero tolerance of homosexuality, says poll
Survey shows UK Muslims have more conservative attitudes on sex than Muslims in France and Germany
The Derangement of the British Left
Revisiting the 1982 novel that foretold Jeremy Corbyn’s rise—and revealed the conspiratorial worldview at the heart of contemporary Leftist politics.
Declaration of Geert Wilders before the Court
During the first meeting, the investigative judge told to me, “You should have a fair chance; the law will be interpreted broadly.” But the opposite has happened. All my 39 requests, all the requests from the defendant have been rejected. … if all reasonable requests are rejected, then I cannot defend myself, and I apparently have to be sentenced at all costs.
Venezuela opposition candidate shot dead at rally
A Venezuelan opposition election candidate was shot dead while campaigning, political leaders said Thursday, raising tensions ahead of a legislative vote that could weaken the major oil producer’s socialist government.
Beijing residents told to stay indoors
The worst smog of the winter has enveloped Beijing as air pollution levels reach nearly 20 times the safety limit set by the World Health Organisation, according to US figures.
Belgium is a failed state
It was a quintessentially Belgian reaction. As army vehicles patrolled their streets, giving Brussels the aspect of a city under foreign occupation, the good burghers of that grey, rainy capital were asked to say nothing about what they might see from their windows.
Poland Increasing Size of Its Army, le Pen Surging in France
All of a sudden, we are living in interesting times.
Another Reminder That Free Speech is not a “European Value” Share
Yes, yes, Cameron, Hollande and all the rest of them marched in Paris after the Charlie Hebdo murders, but if you actually believed what they had to say about the importance of free speech, you hadn’t been paying attention.
Molenbeek, Belgium’s Present and (Perhaps), Europe’s Future
Belgium’s 7Sur7 is reporting that an official police “watchdog” has reported that the police don’t “dare” patrol parts of Brussels’ Molenbeek district. They will go into “quartiers chauds” only when strictly necessary or in response to a call for help.
How a secretive elite created the EU to build a world government
Voters in Britain’s referendum need to understand that the European Union was about building a federal superstate from day one
Fury As Developer Moves To Build 1,000 Man Migrant Camp In Peaceful 100-Inhabitant English Village
A developer has caused outrage in a small English village with plans to create an eight acre migrant camp for 1,000 newcomers. He claims to have gotten the idea after visiting The Jungle, a notorious makeshift migrant camp on the outskirts of Calais, France.
French National Front Poised to Win Regions in Vote, Poll Shows
France’s anti-immigrant, anti-euro National Front party could win two regions in local elections next month and might get as many votes as its conservative and centrist rivals combined, according to opinion polls published on Sunday.
Physicist targeted over free speech due to marriage to wrong woman
Readers recall Brit physicist/TV presenter Brian Cox? You know, “multiverse/”many worlds” makes sense” and all that?
Greek students sell sex for food
It used to be that central and eastern European women dominated Greece’s prostitution industry, but six years of crippling financial austerity have forced local women back into a trade where they now offer some of the lowest prices on the Continent.
Gold Coast Australian Liberty Alliance speech
The Australian Liberty Alliance held its first Queensland meeting last night on the Gold Coast. The level of interest was so great that a larger venue had to be booked.
Men must prove a woman said “Yes” under tough new rape rules
New guidance will be issued to all police forces and prosecutors as part of a “toolkit” to move rape investigations into the 21st century
Opinion
Politics and What Remains of the English Language
Here is a list of a few trendy words, overused, politicized, and empty of meaning, that now plague popular communications.
The man our founders warned us against
In the late 1960’s Nicholas Von Hoffman published his portrait of the hippies in San Francisco under the title We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us Against. Von Hoffman’s title was a precursor to the inane messianism of Obama’s “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for,” though Von Hoffman’s title made more sense than Obama’s shibboleth.
Sen. Free Stuff (D-Awesome)
His economic ideas are as obsolete as Eugene V. Debs, his foreign policy proposals can be summarized in two words — unilateral disarmament — and yet the socialist senator from Vermont inspires orgasmic enthusiasm from Generation Selfie
Cultural appropriation; cultural literacy
Oh, it’s so hard to keep the dictates of diversity straight! A person can be trying to do the right thing, and yet fail.
The Progressive Myth of “Diversity”
In his 2012 book The Tyranny of Clichés, Jonah Goldberg recounts the pinnacle of his career, when the inclusion of his column (and the discontinuation of left-wing columnist Robert Scheer) caused Barbra Streisand to cancel her subscription to the Los Angeles Times in a 2005 letter that is a memorable example of bad writing and wrong ideas
The Misogyny of Atheist Dudebros and the Godless Misandry of Lesbian Tumblrinas
Sarah is a 20-year-old social work student with a radical feminist Tumblr blog — adorned by a rainbow-colored Wicca pentagram — who hates men almost as much as she hates God
The College Problem Begins in High School
Run, don’t walk, to take in Jonathan Haidt’s latest article at his splendid new site HeterodoxAcademy about how the trouble on college campuses is inculcated at the high school level. Remember that Haidt is a liberal, but one chastened by reality.
Poor boys are falling behind poor girls, and it’s deeply troubling
It’s become a fact of American life that girls are better than boys at school. They get better grades. They’re suspended less. For every generation since the boomers, women have been more likely than men to earn high school and college diplomas.
Nightmare on North Avenue
K.C. Johnson (@kcjohnson9 on Twitter) of Minding the Campus has posted the latest “John Doe” lawsuit alleging violation of due process rights in a sexual assault case, and John Doe v. Georgia Tech is the kind of nightmare that makes me want to shout
The Myth of “4 Million Conservative Voters Stayed Home in 2012”
Puncturing A Comforting Myth
Are Millennials Hopeless?
Fueled by a recent spate of unnerving headlines and discomfiting polling data, the nation has been collectively sounding alarms over the next generation of Americans just coming of age.
The #LaquanMcDonald Farce
PCP (phencyclidine) is a dangerous drug. It is a depressant, originally marketed as an animal tranquilizer. Taken orally in moderate dosage, PCP produces a mellow high. However, when used as “angel dust” — sprinkled onto marijuana and smoked — PCP induces a sort of instant psychosis, which can include violent craziness. One evening in the summer of 1975, at an apartment in Mableton . . .
Shocker: 2008 Obama supporter thinks democracy doesn’t work!
God, but these people are predictable.
Everything the World Has Culturally Appropriated from the West
Cultural appropriation is the idea that adopting elements of a foreign culture, from dressing up as Mariachis to wearing dreadlocks if you’re not black, is oppressive. Ein volk, ein culture. Naturally, the concept was invented by campus progressives.
This is Not a Day Care. It’s a University!
Dr. Everett Piper, President, Oklahoma Wesleyan University
This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt “victimized” by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13. It appears that this young scholar felt offended because a homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love! In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable.
There Is No Bigger Threat to Millennials Than Liberalism
Some on the left argue that the recent college squabble was caused, not by crazy demands for ever newer forms of “political correctness,” but by a conservative — reactionary — crackdown on the rights and livelihood of young people. As a millennial myself, I find it ironic that it is not conservative policies holding young people back from the middle class, but the liberalism these student promote.
Immigration Advocates Now Shifting Focus to Citizenship
With anti-immigrant sentiment soaring among Republican presidential candidates, and immigration reform stalled in Congress and the courts, New York advocacy groups, with the support of the Obama administration, are redoubling their efforts in one area they can control: citizenship. They are pushing to convert as many of the country’s 8.8 million green card holders as possible into naturalized Americans.
It’s time for the extraordinary rendition of Roman Polanski
Back in October we talked about the depressing news out of Poland, where a court rejected the latest United States request for the extradition of notorious child molester and rapist Roman Polanski. That wasn’t quite the end of the story because the prosecutors there had the option of appealing the finding. Sadly, it will likely come as no great surprise that on Friday the prosecutors in question completed their examination of the results and found no reason to question the court.
Beware the slippery slope of censorship
On June 21, 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court made a very brave decision in Texas v. Johnson. Voting 5-4, the court upheld the right of Gregory Lee Johnson to burn the American flag, because “Johnson’s burning of the flag constituted expressive conduct, permitting him to invoke the First Amendment.”
Republicans need to think about cutting public sector jobs and universities’ administrative bloat
One of the most interesting political statistics I know is that Britain’s Conservative-led Coalition government reduced the number of public sector employees by nearly 1 million — a huge number in a nation with a population edging above 60 million. As Fraser Nelson notes in a recent Telegraph column, this was supposed to be politically disastrous. The opposition Labour party saw it as “a recipe for political suicide.”
Political Correctness Is A Medieval Shield Trying To Stop A Hellfire Missile
Instapundit points to umair haque’s introductory essay, “How Political Correctness Failed Liberalism”. I guess it’s a series, and maybe I’m jumping way ahead.
The Cold Slap of Reality
Caligula, while Emperor, commemorated a whole lot of “victories” which he decided he had achieved because cheese and also radioactive penguins. Or rather because he knew the Roman people were a war-like and proud people and needed victories and triumphs.
“Afflict the comfortable” Reasonable Literary Device, Stupid Policy
So, here we stand, with Chicago now on the brink of the fates of Baltimore and Ferguson (the latter of which hits very close to home of course.)
Rape is not a feeling
I’m rather enjoying using my personal account on Twitter these days, although I confess I’m shocked the #cybermob hasn’t mass reported me for abuse, yet. I’ve had to block oodles of them for #cyberviolence, but hitting the block button doesn’t tax me all that much. I guess I’m made of some pretty stern stuff, managing to carry on with my life after people insult me on Twitter.
CryBullies: Weaponized Victimhood
“The freedom to offend the powerful is not equivalent to the freedom to bully the relatively disempowered.”
Good ideas evolve, so how come liberals believe in “creationist” government?
We know where humanity came from: It evolved incrementally, from the bottom up, amid much trial and error, not via the top-down efforts of an all-wise creator who anticipated every contingency and meticulously planned out every last detail.
