Update
Winter is here
When we left for the VA Monday morning, Bonnie to volunteer
and me for PT rehab, the temperature was seven below zero. When we came out at
11 to go home, it was up to three below, but expected to go to 12 above, though
with wind chills of 12 to 19 below. Three inches on snow forecast for tonight,
a high of three below for Wednesday. I publish this to make those who live in
the South feel good. You're welcome. ~Bob
This is a terrific book. Not only will you learn things
about Roosevelt, but also many interesting things about the Amazon Rain Forest
General News and Comment
Another Friend Gone: Edward W. Brooke, first African
American popularly elected to U.S.
Excerpt: Edward W. Brooke, who in 1966 became the first
African American popularly elected to the U.S. Senate and who influenced major
anti-poverty laws before his bright political career unraveled over allegations
of financial impropriety, died Jan. 3 at his home in Coral Gables , Fla. Massachusetts ,
becoming the state’s hard-charging attorney general before winning election to
the Senate. (Brooke was a friend. Though I was much more conservative, he
endorsed me, helped all he could and sent a team under his political guy, Roger
Woodworth, to help with my recount. Without them, and my pro bono attorney,
Andy Gelinas, I could not have held the Dems off in the recount, since they
controlled the election apparatus. He always supported fellow Republicans,
despite any policy differences. the liberal Democrats, not worried about being
called racists, destroyed his career in 1978 with sears that were
refuted--after he lost the election. Conservative Republicans, whom he had
stood by, sat on their hands. Thus far left Paul Tsongas, followed by John
Kerry, went to the US
senate. Thus was an improvement how. Brooke was a state or national AmVets
commander, I forget which. He was self-made and had a great life, but I regret
his death. ~Bob
ObamaFund looks like another big subsidy
Excerpt: Even if you have several decades of productive work
ahead — and thus a long investing time horizon — the White House wants you to
consider a retirement plan that will invest in nothing but U.S. government
debt. Any financial professional who advised a young investor to avoid stocks
and corporate bonds — and everything else except Treasury bonds — would be sued
for malpractice. But asset allocation is merely one of the problems with the
new “myRA ” fund
rolling out from the Treasury this month.
Fallen US Marine’s Father returns Obama’s Condolence Letter with an Incredible Rebuke
http://freedomoutpost.com/2015/01/fallen-us-marines-family-returns-obamas-condolence-letter-incredible-rebuke/
Excerpt: "I am deeply saddened that you are the
President of the United
States . You sir are an embarrassment to the
Oval Office. My son, as well as most Marines I know, despise you and your lack
of representation for our military. Your ridiculous rules of engagement have
caused the massive amount of casualties on your watch in Afghanistan .
While we watch your media pander to your administration and clearly sweep
things under the rug for you, I fully understand Marines die. You have tied
their hands & feet!"
Income inequality —
the issue the Democrats want. By Ed Rogers
Excerpt: It is interesting to watch the Democrats work to
fashion “income inequality” into an issue they think they can use. Some
Democrats bemoan income inequality as the paramount issue of our time, as if
they have been chained, mute, helpless witnesses to policy development for the
past six years. It takes a lot of gall for them to pretend that they had
nothing to do with what they see as this great evil that has somehow been
allowed to infect society. The Democrats are completely uninhibited by the truth.
Under even mild scrutiny, their claims that they are foes of income inequality
are revealed as hollow at best and are loaded with hypocrisy.
Republicans are pro-police and pro-defense. By Jennifer Rubin
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2015/01/05/republicans-are-pro-police-and-pro-defense/
Excerpt: The
Post-ABC News poll’s latest results show how wide the gap is between
libertarians and mainstream Republicans on two critical issues. Those who
imagined that there was a “libertarian moment” may want to admit it vanished
without a trace. ... When it comes to police, Republicans are four-square on
the side of law and order. Among Republicans, 74 percent are very or somewhat
confident police are held accountable for misconduct, as opposed to 54 percent
of all registered voters. Among Republicans, 64 percent believe African
Americans and whites receive equal justice, 77 percent are very or somewhat
confident the police treat African Americans and whites equally, 76 percent
believe they are adequately trained to avoid excessive force, and by a 50-to-35
percent margin over Democrats, they even agree with the grand jury decision not
to charge the police officer in the killing of Eric Garner. (I suspect
that the grand jury acted correctly in the Brown case, but have questions in
the Garner case. But I cannot have an informed
opinion--and neither can you--unless we see all the evidence they saw.
~Bob)
Rick Scott Will Raise
the Conservative Standard in Inaugural Address
Excerpt: As he readies to be sworn in for a second term on
Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott is promising to continue the fight for conservative
fiscal policy, insisting it has helped bring Florida ’s economy back.
Next House Speaker
Must Tackle Trillion-Dollar Problems. By Rep. David Brat
Excerpt: Whoever runs for the Republican leadership of the
U.S. House on Tuesday must communicate on paper how Congress is going to lead
on the big issues. The American people elected us to solve trillion-dollar
problems, not to kick the can down the road with only symbolic votes. My
district expects any leader to clearly outline bold solutions on the major
issues of our day, such as:
The Boehner for speaker whip count. By Aaron Blake
Excerpt: So, the likely/possible votes against Boehner
currently stand at 14, with 29 being the magic number. That 29 number, we would
emphasize, is a minimum. Boehner needs a majority, so if some members
don't vote, Boehner's threshold for winning will be lower than the usual 218
votes -- as it was in 2013, when it was 214 votes. So if some of these Boehner
opponents vote for nobody -- as Labrador and
Mulvaney did in 2013 -- that hurts Boehner less.
The Flood: new music
from ancient words (video)
Excerpt: ‘The Flood’ is a creative collaboration between
Stef Conner, Andy Lowings (instrument-builder, harpist and creator of the Gold Lyre of Ur Project)
and Mark Harmer (sound
engineer, producer and harpist). Based on Mesopotamian texts from as early as
the 4th millennium BC and composed for voice and the Lyre of Ur (a
reconstructed 4500-year-old instrument excavated in the early 20th century from
the Royal Graves at Ur), the album is the first ever CD of new music sung
entirely in Sumerian and Babylonian. (Interesting music, but the site asks
you to order, doesn't tell the price [12 pounds] until you add to your cart.
~Bob)
Voters Still Want
Death Penalty for Boston Marathon
Bomber
Excerpt: Jury selection begins today for the trial of
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev nearly two years after his arrest for the bombing of the
Boston Marathon in 2013, and most voters agree that trials shouldn’t take place
this long after a crime is committed. Despite the time lag, voters are still
looking for the same outcome if the surviving suspect in the bombings is found
guilty. (IN Massachusetts ?
Not likely. When I was a MA state senator, it was on the books, but not
enforced. I told a radio host that I was for. "Two chairs, no
waiting--like a barbershop." He was aghast, asked, "But senator, who
would we get to do it?" "Put a button on the foot of my bed, call me
and tell me you've got one in the chair, and I'll hit it with my big toe, then
go back to sleep. I'm a Marine--I don't ask others to do my killing." I
had a it of a reputation for blunt truth telling, which meant, I think, that
only 50% of what I said was rubbish as opposed to 95% for my colleagues. ~Bob)
Archaeologists find
possible site of Jesus’s trial in Jerusalem
Excerpt: They knew it had been used as a prison when the
Ottoman Turks and then the British ruled these parts. But, as they carefully
dug down, they eventually uncovered something extraordinary: the suspected
remains of the palace where one of the more famous scenes of the New Testament
may have taken place — the trial of Jesus.
DISH Network
co-founder accused of bullying execs for political donation
Excerpt: The co-founder of broadcasting giant DISH Network
was accused in a federal complaint last week of intimidating company executives
into making political donations that largely went to Democratic causes. The
Federal Election Commission complaint, filed by conservative advocacy group
Cause of Action, claimed an unnamed "insider" had come forward to
report DISH executives "being compelled to make political campaign
contributions." (Also, see http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/charles-ergen.asp?cycle=12)
Venezuela's Maduro to
visit China, OPEC nations amid cash crunch
Excerpt: His first stop will be China , which has become Venezuela 's principal financier through
oil-for-loan agreements in which Venezuela receives cash up
front in exchange for future deliveries of crude and fuel.
Nico Sell: ‘To me,
the NSA and Edward Snowden are just the tip of the iceberg’. The founder of secure
messaging app Wickr on privacy, why she always wears dark glasses in public and
why girls make great hackers
Excerpt: If people really understood what was going on, they
would be. To me, the NSA and Snowden are just the tip of the iceberg. I don’t
have personal conversations that I wouldn’t want to read in a newspaper on
email and SMS, nor a phone call unless it’s encrypted with Wickr.
excerpt: In short, the US government insists that it
should have access to data regardless of where it is stored as long as it is
handled by US companies. Just imagine the outcry if the Chinese government were
to demand access to any data that passes through devices manufactured by
Chinese companies – Xiaomi, say, or Lenovo – regardless of whether their users
are in London or New York or Tokyo . ...Rhetorically, it is very hard to
oppose government-run digital surveillance and online spin in Russia , China or Iran , when the US government probably does
more of it than all of these countries combined.
Obamas in Royal
Trouble for Dining at Restaurant with $500,000 Membership Fee
Excerpt: Nearing the end of the their 17-day
vacation in Hawaii, President Obama and the First Lady had their New
Year’s Day dinner at one of the most expensive restaurants in Hawaii – where
memberships can run upwards of $500,000. The Obamas enjoyed a nearly three hour
long, 15-course meal that is priced at nearly $300 a head. According to Honolulu Magazine, that doesn’t include the dessert, wine,
or tip, and a dinner for two can run $1000 or more. (Only a Republican would be
in trouble. The media will hardly cover this. ~Bob)
The Bubble to End All
Bubbles
Excerpt: But as politicians have shown us time and again,
overspending is never a temporary issue. This is compounded by the
fact that the political process largely consists of promising various social
spending programs/ entitlements to incentivize voters. This type of social
spending is not temporary… this is endemic.
Is Life Better in America
Excerpt: Blue states, like California ,
New York and Illinois , whose economies turn on finance,
trade and knowledge, are generally richer than red states. But red states, like
Texas , Georgia
and Utah ,
have done a better job over all of offering a higher standard of living
relative to housing costs. That basic economic fact not only helps explain why
the nation’s electoral map got so much redder in the November midterm
elections, but also why America’s prosperity is in jeopardy.
Going home from the
South, a new holiday exodus. Dustin Chambers, New York Times
Excerpt: Since 1990, the share of residents of Georgia , Tennessee
and the Carolinas who were born in California
has roughly doubled, according to a New
York Times analysis of census data. The number of Oregon ,
Washington and Colorado
natives — as well as natives of Illinois , Massachusetts , New Jersey
and New York
— in the Southeast has surged, too. ... The main reason is a version of what
economists call arbitrage: Growing numbers of people have realized that many of
life’s biggest costs — including housing, energy and taxes — are lower in the
South, said Mark
Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which specializes in regional
economic data. House prices, for example, were already lower in the Southeast
in the early 1990s than in much of California
and the Northeast — and the gap has widened significantly since.
New Senate majority
leader’s main goal for GOP: Don’t be scary. By Paul Kane
Excerpt: Mitch McConnell has an unusual admonition for the
new Republican majority as it takes over the Senate this week: Don’t be
“scary.” The incoming Senate majority leader has set a political goal for the
next two years of overseeing a functioning, reasonable majority on Capitol Hill
that scores some measured conservative wins, particularly against environmental
regulations, but probably not big victories such as a full repeal of the
health-care law. McConnell’s priority is
to set the stage for a potential GOP presidential victory in 2016.
Gun News
Worth Reading
Excerpt: One afternoon just a month and a half
after the Battle of Gettysburg, Christopher Spencer, the creator of a
seven-shot repeating rifle, walked Abraham Lincoln out to a grassy field near
where the Washington Monument now stands in order to demonstrate the amazing
potential of his new gun. Lincoln had heard
about the mystical powers of repeating rifles at Gettysburg and other battles where some Union
troops already had them. He wanted to test them for the rest of his soldiers.
The president quickly put seven rounds inside a small target 40 yards away. He
was sold. But to Army bureaucrats, repeaters were an expensive,
ammunition-wasting nuisance. Ignorant, unimaginative, vain, and disloyal to the
point of criminality, the Army’s chief of ordnance, General James Wolfe Ripley,
worked to sabotage every effort to equip the Union Army with repeating rifles,
mostly because he couldn’t be bothered. He largely succeeded. (Whenever I went
on perimeter watch at Khe Sanh, I would clean my M-16, and my magazines, oiling
every round and loading the 20-round mags with only 17, as we were told that
would help prevent jamming. This was a luxury I had, as I was with HQ, 26th
Marines, and Khe Sanh was relatively quiet in 1967. The grunts fighting in the
rice paddies didn't have this luxury. At Phu Bai, the LT. took us in front of
the lines to practice assaulting a hill. I was giving a fire team. Three of the
four rifles in the team jammed, including mine. The party line was we hadn't
cleaned them, but we knew better. In Road
of 10,000 Pains: The Destruction of the 2nd NVA Division by the U.S. Marines,
1967 by Otto J. Lehrack, the author, a Marine infantry officer, reports
that about half the several hundred Marines who were KIA that summer in the Que
Son valley died because of jammed rifles.
~Bob. -- I got there a bit after you... December 68. My 16 never jammed and
we slept in the mud many nights... (actually I never knew anyone whose 16
jammed and we did not have the opportunity to clean our rifles after each
firefight). I have had one 16 as a civilian and many, many AR's as well. I have
never had one jam on me. I have read that there was a brief ammunition problem
during a segment of use in Nam
and that was the culprit. The only time I was willing to give up my 16, was for
the period I was gunner on the M-60, but was so happy when I got my 16
back. I have had many AK's and SKS's... good touch rifles, but I
would not give one 16 for two of them. --Sonny. -- I got on the kick
against the M-16 a very long time ago, when I heard Marines calling desperately
for ramrods during a firefight. Anyone who was in Viet Nam for the first three
versions of the M-16 has the same memories of its unreliability. After a whole
host of "fixes" they got it to where if you really worked hard at
keeping it clean, it would work most of the time. But it could never compare in
reliability to the AK-47, the M-14, or the M-1. Its bullet does not have real
knockdown power, its practical range is 300m, and it's still intolerant of
dirt. Every grunt I knew was more than ready to take the extra weight of an
M-14 and its ammo rather than depend on the M-16, and the M-4 is just not that
much better. It has been time for decades for the US military to get real about a
grunt rifle and go to any of the numerous alternates that have been developed
and shown up in all kinds of tests. Hopefully this article will spur some
movement, but under today's totally political atmosphere, I am not too hopeful.
--Del. --
Another perspective: http://www.tactical-life.com/magazines/special-weapons/true-warhorse-evolution-m16/
The article also fails to mention modern variants with gas piston uppers, which
run a lot cooler and much less dirty – the modern German HK416 is essentially an
m16 with a railed gas piston upper. Certainly they are more and more fancy
polymer designs, but its versatility is great as it is easy to switch to higher
powered calibers, overcoming its limitations as a heavy hitter at long
distances or through obstacles. here is one more article which addresses the
capacity to go special purpose with a heavier cartridge, but still on what
essentially is the familiar m16 platform. http://www.gunblast.com/Barrett-M468.htm
6.8 Remington. Some of our snipers have used Knight’s SR25 or LMRC VEPR rifles
(beefed up Stoner type rifles) quite effectively in Iraq
and Afghanistan .
Interviewed a young (to me) Marine who had quite a bit of success at quite long
distances with the VEPR. --Ernie. -- Sheesh. If I was in that hell on the
ground (and I thank God I was not) I think I would have looked for an AK-47.
Ammo might have been a problem though. It is kind of like that nutsy contract
to Italy
for our Beretta service sidearm at 9mm. Nice to see the Corps and SpecOps going
back to 45cal. I could tell you some tales of bureaucrats designing carrier
aircraft… besides scups by McNamara and his arrogant 'whiz kids' with their
Wall Street shirts and suspenders. --Chet Nagle [Chet is a Naval Aviator,
former CIA agent and the author of the excellent thrillers The Iran Covenant
and The Woolsorter's Plague. ~Bob] -- A fair and thorough discussion. Did you
train with an M-14, and get your intro to the M-16 in Vietnam ? That
was a common story, and a ludicrous McNamara policy. I don't think the current
M-4 is really lighter than the old M-16. Lots of controversy around what makes
the ammo "effective". I do agree that a larger caliber is called for.
--Steve. -- Once again the M-16 pops up. Here are two
pieces I did in VN. There were others, after Colt sent a team of inspectors to
check it out. They found rust in the chambers and barrels and shipped tons of
them back to Okinawa to be chromed. I have
never understood why the US
didn’t adopt the AK-47, dress it up to suit US tastes and issue it. Those
buggers never failed, while I’ve seen guys cross rice paddies and get
their weapons wet – bingo – jam. http://www.boberl.com/boberl/index.htm/erlandson.htm.
--Bob Erlandson. -- Before being fully cognizant of the jamming
problems, the M-16 seemed to be a blessing because of the extra quantity of
rounds that one could carry. I do not remember "oiling every round",
Wouldn't that exacerbate the problem in a dusty environment? SF, --Peter. I
wiped them down with an oily rag, not a lot of oil, supposed to feed better.
Cannot testify if it helped. ~Bob)
Federal Appellate
Court Finds Application of Gun Control Act Violates 2nd Amendment
http://www.ammoland.com/2015/01/federal-appellate-court-finds-application-of-gun-control-act-violates-2nd-amendment/#ixzz3NlzpkoYx%20
http://www.ammoland.com/2015/01/federal-appellate-court-finds-application-of-gun-control-act-violates-2nd-amendment/#ixzz3NlzpkoYx%20
Excerpt: In a groundbreaking opinion examining the Gun
Control Act’s categorical prohibition on firearm possession for persons who
have been “committed to a mental institution,” the United States Court of
Appeals for the Sixth Circuit determined the Second Amendment prohibited
application of the ban to an individual who had been committed 28 years earlier
and had no viable option for seeking restoration of his rights. ... Clifford
Tyler is a 73-year-old man who does not currently suffer from mental illness
and has no history of violence, unlawful behavior, or substance abuse.
Democrats Run As Pro-Gun To Get Elected, Then War Against Guns
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/01/04/democrats-run-as-pro-gun-to-get-elected-then-war-against-guns/
Democrats Run As Pro-Gun To Get Elected, Then War Against Guns
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/01/04/democrats-run-as-pro-gun-to-get-elected-then-war-against-guns/
Excerpt: For example, consider President Obama, who actually
campaigned as a supporter of the Second Amendment to win his first presidential
election. According to Real
Clear Politics, he said the following in 2008: “I believe in the Second
Amendment. I believe in people’s lawful right to bear arms. I will not take
your shotgun away. I will not take your rifle away. I won’t take your handgun
away.” Fast forward to 2013 and Obama’s presidency was characterized by various
gun pushes that included complete bans on certain types of rifles.
Race Card News
Excerpt: Want to influence a casino bid? Polish your
corporate image? Not be labeled a racist?
Then you need to pay Al Sharpton. For more than a decade,
corporations have shelled out thousands of dollars in donations and consulting
fees to Sharpton’s National Action Network. What they get in return is the
reverend’s supposed sway in the black community or, more often, his silence.
Interesting: ‘We Have a
Brand!’ Martin Luther King Jr.’s heirs seem more interested in
money than in his message. By John Fund
Excerpt: The film Selma, a soaring biographical
drama about Martin Luther King’s role in the 1965 civil-rights marches, opens
nationwide this week. Critics and audiences are lavishing it with praise, but
it could have been an even more meaningful film if its producers hadn’t been
blocked by the King estate — represented by a for-profit company, King, Inc. —
from using words from King’s speeches, including “I have a dream.” Selma still works
because filmmaker Ava DuVernay was able to construct phrases that conveyed
King’s oratory without using his actual words. King, Inc., is controlled by
King’s surviving children and holds the copyright to King’s speeches.
Obamacare/Government Healthcare News
Excerpt: On November 10, the U.S. Department of Health &
Human Services (HHS) predicted 9.1
million enrollees, within an expected range of 9.0 million to 9.9 million. This
was a retreat from an estimate of 13 million enrollees made by the
Congressional Budget Office. In light of reported enrollments, this prediction appears
very optimistic. About 7.1
million applicants had “selected” (which includes auto-enrollment for
2014 enrollees) a plan on an Obamacare exchange by December 26. This is likely
an underestimate, because data from state exchanges were updated only to
December 13, by which date 14 states with their own Obamacare exchanges
reported over 600,000 enrollees (p.
16). Let’s upgrade that to an even million, making the total enrolled 7.6
million as of December 26. Obamacare would still have to add one-fifth more
enrollees to hit its low target.
Mia Love Vows to Do ‘Everything Humanly Possible to Stop
Obamacare.’ By Natalie Johnson
Excerpt: Rep.-elect Mia Love will join congressional
Republicans in the fight against Obamacare tomorrow. (She only opposes
Obamacare because she's a racist and hates Obama for being black. Yes, I know
she's black and according to progressives, blacks cannot be racist even if they
murder whites, Asian and Hispanics because of their race. They make an
exception for black conservatives. ~Bob)
GOP Must Plan For
Obamacare's Demise. By Sally Pipes
Excerpt: But Republicans cannot be satisfied with simply
repealing Obamacare. They must formulate a replacement plan that will reduce
health costs and expand access to care. And with a final decision
in King expected in late June, they must do so quickly. The
plaintiffs aiming to bring down Obamacare have the law on their side. In
a section known as 36B, the Affordable Care Act states that the federal
government can only offer subsidies through exchanges “established by the
State.”
"You're Greener than Gore" News
What Americans Think About Keystone XL Pipeline: Build It.
By Katie Pavlich
Excerpt: Among the goals of the new GOP majority in Congress
is passing legislation to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline,
which would transport oil from Canada ’s
oil sands region through the Midwest to refineries in Texas . By nearly two-to-one, the public
favors building the pipeline (59% to 31%); yet overall support is down from
March 2013 when 66% favored the project. (Yet another case, like late term
abortion and Obamacare, where the Undemocratic Party opposes the will of the
majority. http://www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-undemocratic-party.html
~Bob)
Religion of Peace News
Erdogan's Egyptian
Nightmare. By Burak Bekdil
Excerpt: After the coup in Egypt ,
when el-Sisi ran for president and won the elections, Turkey 's
Erdogan declared them "null and void." And not just that. Erdogan
also said that he did not view el-Sisi as "president of Egypt ." At
another time, he said, "Turkey
would not recognize the coup regime in Egypt ." Last July, he called
el-Sisi "an illegitimate tyrant" and a "coup-maker." Meanwhile,
neither was Erdogan a "rock star" in Cairo
nor was Turkey
"the most popular country." Egyptian non-governmental organizations
[NGOs] called on Egyptians and Arabs to boycott Turkish goods and soap operas. Egypt 's intellectuals, writers and businessmen
were recommending a break in Egypt 's
relations with Turkey
because "they were disappointed." Egypt unilaterally cancelled both
visa-free travel for Turkish citizens and a transit agreement for Turkish
trucks.
Boko Haram overruns
Multinational Joint Task Force base
Excerpt: At around 5 a.m. yesterday, the al Qaeda-linked
jihadists attacked the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) base, which is
located just outside the town of Baga
in northeastern Borno state, and battled with soldiers for hours. The Boko
Haram fighters attacked the MNJTF base "from all directions," and
forced the soldiers to abandon the base, the BBC reported.
US drones hit 'good Taliban' commander's compound in
Excerpt: The US
launched the first drone strike in Pakistan
this year in an attack targeting fighters loyal to a Taliban commander who is
favored by Pakistan 's
government as well as its military and intelligence establishment. The
CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or Reapers launched an airstrike on a
compound in the village of Wacha Basti in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan earlier today, Dawn reported.
Eight people, including an unidentified "high-value target," are
reported to have been killed in the strike. (Well, the "High Value
Target" at least is a good Taliban. Now. ~Bob)
Excerpt: Turkey
is officially a NATO ally, and President Barrack Obama has called the current
President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a friend. But Erdogan-led Turkey does not behave as an ally or a friend of
the US .
This is not a new development. Erdogan and his Islamist party, the AKP, have
ruled Turkey
since 2002. Erdogan's Turkey
has gradually distanced itself from the West, adopting domestic and foreign
policies fueled by Ottoman and Islamist impulses.
Man shouting
"God is Great" tries to strangle French police officer. The incident
in Metz
Excerpt: A man has tried to strangle a police officer while
shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is great), the latest in a spate of
attacks in France
that have heightened fears of terrorism. The latest assault took place in the
eastern city of Metz
on Friday when a man arrested for bag-snatching asked the officer to bring him
a glass of water. When the policeman opened his cell door, the 23-year-old
lunged at him and tried to throttle him while shouting "Allahu Akbar".
(How many "lone wolves" does it take to make a pack? ~Bob)
The Real Islam: Syria
Excerpt: Beside the desecrated graveyard in the Syrian town
of Kessab stood
the Holy Trinity Armenian Evangelical church. Its library, pews and altar had
all been burned by arsonists.
The perpetrators had shown both purpose and glee in their
destruction of Christian sites in this ancient Armenian town. Statues were
riddled with bullets and Islamist slogans were scrawled across the walls of
homes and shops. (“During weeks of
planning before the assault, rebel fighters were given strict orders to use the
offensive to show themselves as “moderate Muslims” and natural allies of the
West.” Time for Obama to send them more weapons, and the UN to issue another
condemnation of…Israel
The Real Islam: Attacks by Islamic Extremists in Nigeria
Excerpt: Muslim Fulani gunmen on Friday (Jan. 2) killed 15
Christians in an area of Kaduna state where 10
others were killed on Dec. 27, ending a week of violence in Nigeria in
which at least 28 died. The ethnic Fulani herdsmen killed the 15 Christians in
Ambe-Madaki village, in Kaduna ’s
Sanga Local Government Area, in an attack that began at about 4 a.m., sources
said. On Dec. 27 in Tattaura village of the same area, Muslim Fulanis killed 10
Christians.
The Real Islam: For Muslim apostates, giving up their
faith can be terrifying, alienating and dangerous
Excerpt: In many Muslim-majority countries, renouncing Islam
is a crime punishable by death. But even in the liberal West, some ex-Muslims
continue to fear leaving their faith. Although reformists point to the Qur’anic
ruling, "there is no compulsion in religion,” they hide their disbelief or
risk being ostracized by their families and the wider ummah (community) of
believers. In extreme cases they believe their status as “apostates of the
faith” puts them in danger. (This article tells the stories of several
ex-Muslims, but it doesn’t explain why it has proven so difficult for them to
leave Islam — indeed, true to form for the mainstream media, it gives the
impression that Muslims who threaten or shun apostates are violating the
Qur’an’s dictum that “there is no compulsion in religion” (2:256). Author Simon
Cottee doesn’t mention, and may not know, that a Hadith depicts Muhammad
saying: “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him” (Bukhari
9.84.57). The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to
all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence. This is still the position of all the
schools of Islamic jurisprudence, both Sunni and Shi’ite. Sheikh Yusuf
al-Qaradawi, the most renowned and prominent Muslim cleric in the world, has
stated: “The Muslim jurists are unanimous that apostates must be punished, yet
they differ as to determining the kind of punishment to be inflicted upon them.
The majority of them, including the four main schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi,
Maliki, Shafi`i, and Hanbali) as well as the other four schools of
jurisprudence (the four Shiite schools of Az-Zaidiyyah, Al-Ithna-`ashriyyah,
Al-Ja`fariyyah, and Az-Zaheriyyah) agree that apostates must be executed.”
--Robert Spencer, JihadWatch.org)
Excerpt: A senior al Qaeda operative known as Abu Anas al
Libi has died in the US
as he was awaiting trial. Al Libi was captured in Tripoli during a raid by US forces in late
2013. He had been wanted for his role in the August 1998 US Embassy bombings
for more than a decade prior to his arrest. The US
government has in its possession numerous pieces of evidence concerning al
Libi's al Qaeda role, including files recovered in May 2011 from Osama bin
Laden's home in Pakistan .
Excerpt: For a President who was suddenly concerned with
optics after media outlets juxtaposed of his hitting the golf course while
acknowledging news of journalist James Foley’s beheading with Foley’s grieving
parents, Barack Obama doesn’t appear to have learned from it. While vacationing
in Hawaii , Obama hit the links again, only
this time on Christmas eve with a staunch Islamist who last year defended ISIS and supports Sharia law in his country.
Islamist militants
kill seven Malian soldiers in dawn attack
Excerpt: Islamist gunmen killed at least seven Malian
soldiers near the Mauritanian border, a local mayor
said in Monday, in a dawn raid that illustrated continuing volatility two years
after France helped take back territory
seized by al Qaeda-linked militants.
Arab spring prompts
biggest migrant wave since second world war
Excerpt: The two “ghost ships” discovered sailing towards the
Italian coast last week with hundreds of migrants – but no crew – on board are
just the latest symptom of what experts consider to be the world’s largest wave
of mass-migration since the end of the second world war. Wars in Syria , Libya and
Iraq , severe repression
in Eritrea ,
and spiralling instability across much of the Arab world have all contributed
to the displacement of around 16.7 million refugees worldwide. A further 33.3
million people are “internally displaced” within their own war-torn countries,
forcing many of those originally from the Middle East to cross the lesser evil
of the Mediterranean in increasingly dangerous ways, all in the distant hope of
a better life in Europe.
ISLAM: Raping Its Way
Through The West
Excerpt: A not so surprising phenomena has surfaced in the
West: The more Muslims in an area, the more infidel women are raped.... Islam’s
holy book has no term for “rape”. Rather, there’s several verses in the Quran
that encourage rape and other sexual crimes against women.
*****
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam Veteran who served five
terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. He is the author of The Coming Collapse of the American Republic.
http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-American-Republic-prevent/dp/1461122538/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304815980&sr=1-5
For a free PDF of Collapse, e-mail him at tartanmarine(at)gmail.com. Hall’s
eleven books are listed here:
http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-book-published.html.
His blog of political news and conservative comment is www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com.
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