Dabbling in Syria

At the Wall Street Journal, "Obama arms the rebels, but not enough to defeat Assad and his patrons" (via Google):

It took two years, 93,000 casualties, the use of chemical weapons, and the growing prospect of victory by strongman Bashar Assad and his Iranian patrons, but President Obama has finally decided to arm the Syrian rebels. We'd say better late than never, but the question now is whether Mr. Obama is going to do just enough to prevent a rebel defeat but not nearly enough to help them win.

The official justification for the policy switch is the Administration's new confidence that Assad's forces have used sarin gas against the rebels. "The President has said that the use of chemical weapons would change his calculus, and it has," said deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes on Thursday evening.

This epiphany was also long in coming, following solid intelligence findings weeks ago from Britain and France. The White House now says U.S. intelligence has confirmed that Syrian forces used the nerve agent sarin "on a small scale" but "multiple times in the last year," according to Mr. Rhodes. Sarin has killed an estimated 100 to 150 people, including an attack in the Aleppo suburb of Khan al-Assal on March 19, and as recently as May 23 in Adra in eastern Damascus.

This puts Assad in some rare and despicable historical company for having used chemicals in warfare, including his old Baath Party comrade Saddam Hussein in Iraq against the Kurds. This also fingers Assad's main benefactors, Russia and Iran, as abettors of the world's latest user of WMD.

The Kremlin responded on Friday by calling the U.S. evidence "unconvincing," but that is a non-denial denial. Like Iran, Russia is providing Syria with weapons, military advisers and diplomatic cover at the United Nations, and it can't have been blind to reports of sarin use. We trust Mr. Obama will bring the point up when he meets one-on-one with Vladimir Putin at next week's G-8 summit. If he doesn't, Mr. Putin won't take him seriously.

Mr. Obama's sudden policy change was also no doubt driven by the fact that Assad's forces have the rebels on the run. Thousands of Hezbollah fighters crossed the border from Lebanon, at Iran's request, to help the Syrian military take back the strategic town of Qusayr last week. Their sights are now on rebel-held Aleppo, Syria's commercial capital.

No doubt it was a coincidence, but on Thursday morning Bill Clinton was quoted by Politico as saying in a private meeting that Mr. Obama risked looking like a "wuss" and a "fool" for failing to act in Syria and then saying public opinion wouldn't have supported U.S. intervention. Mr. Obama may want to avoid involvement in Syria, but he also wants to avoid responsibility for the slaughter of the rebels and a strategic victory for Iran, Russia, Assad and Hezbollah. So just as he intervened in Libya only as Gadhafi's forces descended on Benghazi, so he turned at the last minute here...

RTWT.

Man, this president is the f-king worst.

PREVIOUSLY: "Mideast Escalation: Iran to Send 4,000 Revolutionary Guards to Bolster Assad in Syria."

Activist or Journalist? Glenn Greenwald Defends His Role in Snowden Surveillance Leaks

I only applaud Greenwald for his consistency. He's generally vile otherwise.

Mostly, though, I love how he's putting a spotlight on the radical left's hypocrisy.

See NewsBusters, "Greenwald Slams Media for Backing Obama's Domestic Surveillance When They Opposed Bush's."

Bob Schieffer: Edward Snowden 'Is No Hero...'

Yeah, time to face the music for the little freakin' traitor boy.

Bob Schieffer has little patience:

Crackdown in Istanbul

At the Wall Street Journal, "Crackdown to Clear Istanbul Park."

And at Telegraph UK, "Turkish police clear park as protesters regroup."

And check Claire Berlinski on Twitter for updates.

ADDED: William Jacbonson has an excellent post, "Turkish protests — Erdogan supporters joyously bused in, opponents gassed and beaten."

Rule 5 Father's Day

I left off Proof Positive from my roundup yesterday, so let's get this party started with some of Proof's links.

See, "Best of the Web* Linkaround," and "Friday Night Babe – Shannon Richardson."

And see 90Miles From Tyranny, "Girls With Guns," and "Late Night Ladies."

And at Knuckledraggin', "Your Good Morning Girl," and "For Irish."

Now, from Bob Belvedere, "Rule 5 Saturday: Dalia Dayze."

Also, from Gator Doug, "DaleyGator DaleyBabe Bre Tiesi."

Pirate's Cove has his "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup," and "If All You See……is horrible CO2 infused beer causing the Antarctic to get colder which causes the planet to boil, you might just be a Warmist."


Soylent Green has hot "Afternooner: Ashley," and "Afternooner Twofer."

And check A View from the Beach, "Rule 5 Saturday - Rebecca Romijn."

Also at Reaganite, "Guess Who Contacted Me re. That Recent 'Miss Honduras - Jennifer Andrade' Post?"

Check The Last Tradition, "Rule 5 Saturday: Lauren Bacall."

More at Drunken Stepfather, "FORMER MISS USA WINNERS NAKED FOR PETA OF THE DAY."

And at Egotastic!, "Vanessa Hudgens Ever So Sweetly Black and White Hot in Bra and Panties."

And at Animal Magnetism, "Why A Man Should Never Bet on a Pool Game When He’s Playing Against a Hot Redhead," and "Saturday Asian Invasion."

Also from EBL, "Paige Butcher Rule 5."

And at Barking Moonbat EWS, "ATTENTION GETTER."

At First Street Journal, "Rule 5 Blogging: United States Marines."

And at Good Stuff, "GOODSTUFF'S BLOGGING MAGAZINE (106th Issue)."

One more time with Woodersterman's, "Being Blonder ~ OR ~ Rule 5 Woodsterman Style."

Okay, that was one hella roundup.

If you're not linked drop your babes in the comments and I'll update ASAP.

Have a Happy Father's Day, tweeps!

Sarah Palin's Speech to Faith and Freedom Coalition

At the Washington Post, "Sarah Palin at Faith and Freedom conference: 'Let Allah sort it out' in Syria, Middle East."

Former Vice President Dick Cheney Slams #NSA Leaker Edward Snowden as a 'Traitor'

Well, count on old Dick to lay it out there the way it is...

At the Hill, "Cheney calls Snowden a ‘traitor,’ defends NSA surveillance programs." (Via Memeorandum.)

Here's That Declan McCullagh Article at CNET Everybody Was Tweeting Earlier — #NSA

Here's the link, "NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants" (via Memeorandum).

Read it all above.

Glenn Greenwald, especially, was really tweeting this yesterday:

As for claims that Snowden was lying in his claims, read the NSA's admissions and decide for yourself: http://t.co/EEiNoz21Pd

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 16, 2013

"If NSA wants 'to listen to the phone,' an analyst's decision is sufficient w/o any legal authorization required" http://t.co/EEiNoz21Pd

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 16, 2013

DOJ "has secretly interpreted surveillance law to permit thousands of low-ranking analysts to eavesdrop on calls" http://t.co/EEiNoz21Pd

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 16, 2013

"The disclosure appears to confirm some of the allegations made by Edward Snowden" - you think? http://t.co/EEiNoz21Pd

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 16, 2013

Mideast Escalation: Iran to Send 4,000 Revolutionary Guards to Bolster Assad in Syria

Wow, this is old school!

At Independent UK, "World exclusive: Iran will send 4,000 troops to aid Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria":

US urges Britain and France to join in supplying arms to Syrian rebels as MPs fear that UK will be drawn into growing Sunni-Shia conflict.

Washington’s decision to arm Syria’s Sunni Muslim rebels has plunged America into the great Sunni-Shia conflict of the Islamic Middle East, entering a struggle that now dwarfs the Arab revolutions which overthrew dictatorships across the region.

For the first time, all of America’s ‘friends’ in the region are Sunni Muslims and all of its enemies are Shiites. Breaking all President Barack Obama’s rules of disengagement, the US is now fully engaged on the side of armed groups which include the most extreme Sunni Islamist movements in the Middle East.

The Independent on Sunday has learned that a military decision has been taken in Iran – even before last week’s presidential election – to send a first contingent of 4,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against the largely Sunni rebellion that has cost almost 100,000 lives in just over two years.  Iran is now fully committed to preserving Assad’s regime, according to pro-Iranian sources which have been deeply involved in the Islamic Republic’s security, even to the extent of proposing to open up a new ‘Syrian’ front on the Golan Heights against Israel.

In years to come, historians will ask how America – after its defeat in Iraq and its humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan scheduled for  2014 – could have so blithely aligned itself with one side in a titanic Islamic struggle stretching back to the seventh century death of the Prophet Mohamed. The profound effects of this great schism, between Sunnis who believe that the father of Mohamed’s wife was the new caliph of the Muslim world and Shias who regard his son in law Ali as his rightful successor – a seventh century battle swamped in blood around the present-day Iraqi cities of Najaf and Kerbala – continue across the region to this day. A 17th century Archbishop of Canterbury, George Abbott, compared this Muslim conflict to that between “Papists and Protestants”.

America’s alliance now includes the wealthiest states of the Arab Gulf, the vast Sunni territories between Egypt and Morocco, as well as Turkey and the fragile British-created monarchy in Jordan. King Abdullah of Jordan – flooded, like so many neighbouring nations, by hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees – may also now find himself at the fulcrum of the Syrian battle.  Up to 3,000 American ‘advisers’ are now believed to be in Jordan, and the creation of a southern Syria ‘no-fly zone’ – opposed by Syrian-controlled anti-aircraft batteries – will turn a crisis into a ‘hot’ war.  So much for America’s ‘friends’.

Its enemies include the Lebanese Hizballah, the Alawite Shiite regime in Damascus and, of course, Iran. And Iraq, a largely Shiite nation which America ‘liberated’ from Saddam Hussein’s Sunni minority in the hope of balancing the Shiite power of Iran, has – against all US predictions – itself now largely fallen under Tehran’s influence and power.  Iraqi Shiites as well as Hizballah members, have both fought alongside Assad’s forces.

Washington’s excuse for its new Middle East adventure – that it must arm Assad’s enemies because the Damascus regime has used sarin gas against them – convinces no-one in the Middle East.  Final proof of the use of gas by either side in Syria remains almost as nebulous as President George W. Bush’s claim that Saddam’s Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

That's Robert Fisk, by the way, a bona fide antiwar leftist.

Still, you gotta love the knots this administration's tying itself into.

Via Dana Loesch on Twitter.

Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter Struggles to Take Off

At the Los Angeles Times, "F-35 fighter jet struggles to take off":

After a decade of administrative problems, cost overruns and technical glitches, the F-35 is still not ready for action.

Far beyond the electronic security gates and razor-wire topped fences, Col. Rod Cregier surveys a team of technicians busily readying a lithe F-35 fighter jet for its next test flight.

As the F-35 program director at the base, Cregier and his team play a crucial role in a nationwide military effort to get the high-tech jet ready for battle.
After a decade of administrative problems, cost overruns and technical glitches, the F-35 is still not ready for action. The program has consistently come under political attack even though the military considers it crucial to the nation's defense needs.

Cregier believes the program is finally on course and said he is convinced that the jet can successfully replace the military's aging fighter fleets — some 34 years old — though he does not downplay the significant challenges his team faces.

"This is an incredibly complex aircraft, the most complex aircraft ever built," Cregier said. "Getting it right isn't easy."

In the skies above the Mojave Desert, test pilots today are pushing the radar-evading F-35 to new heights and flying to ever-increasing speeds to uncover design flaws. Just last week, an F-35 launched a missile in mid-flight from its internal weapons bay for the first time in a test flight for the Air Force.

But problems constantly crop up. Twice this year alone, F-35s have been grounded after different parts failed.

More at the link.

Plus, some responses at the letters to the editor, at the Los Angeles Times, "Letters: No support for the F-35."

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia.

Freedom to Blog Update: June 15, 2013

I haven't done a Freedom to Blog update in awhile.

It turns out that Robert Stacy McCain has been updating us on the developments with the ultimate harassment troll Bill Schmalfeldt.

See, "Peace Order Against Bill Schmalfeldt: A Defeat for the ‘Troll Rights’ Movement," and "Hoge’s Victory Lap."

Hoge is John Hoge of Hogewash. And at his blog, "WOOT! Peace Order Granted Against Schmalfeldt," and "My Side, Part 2."

'Some people, ah, are willing to go to jail for their beliefs...' http://t.co/Xo6lcACDgZ @RSMcCain
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 15, 2013

'... but I see that as a risk in this, ah, ongoing exploration of Internet First Amendment rights...' http://t.co/Xo6lcACDgZ @RSMcCain
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 15, 2013

.As long as Donald Douglas is posting a public blog that accepts comments, I'm going to continue to comment on what he posts...' @RSMcCain
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 15, 2013

That's what my troll rights harasser @ Repsac3 wrote after I banned him, and he never stopped, even after I went to the police.
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 15, 2013

So, yeah, the Hogewash post hits pretty close to home: https://t.co/ESpsaLxgnJ @RSMcCain
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 15, 2013

.@RSMcCain Repsac3 Banned from American Power http://t.co/QCmTjk1xNR @Smitty_One_Each
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 15, 2013

'As Stacy McCain has often said, you don't have to let trolls use your own bandwidth against you." via @Stogie2 @RSMcCain
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 15, 2013

I've amended this post in response to Mr. Hoge's comment.

Added: Here's a quote from my deranged criminal stalker admitting that he'd been banned from my blog -- but also claiming that since I had continued to comment about about him at my blog, he had a right to continue to harass me in the comments section. This is, in fact, the definition of troll rights harassment:

Donald did very clearly announce that I was banned from commenting on his blog ... As he did not choose to ban himself from attacking me ..., however, I did not take his verbal banning very seriously, and continued to submit comments to those posts where he referred to me or my blog by name or other identifying feature.

Stalkers have no right to directly address you after they have been warned to cease and desist. But left-wing stalkers like Repsac3 are very determined in their vile programs to harm and torment their ideological opponents.

Mr. Hoge has updated his blog, for example, "#BillSchmalfeldt, Anti-First-Amendment Troll":

Let me state this one more time: I fully support Bill Schmalfeldt’s First Amendment right to write whatever he wishes about me so long as he stays within the law’s usual limits regarding threats and defamation. However, I do not wish for him to contact me, attempt to contact me, or harass me, and I will seek enforcement of the peace order if I believe that it has been violated.

More at Aaron Worthing's, "BREAKING: Brett Kimberlin Ally Bill Schmalfeldt Threatens Me (and Mr. Hoge) With a Peace Order (Update: Schmalfeldt Bravely Runs Away!)."

Hassan Rowhani Wins Iran Presidential Election

The guy's supposed to be a moderate, but everybody keeps pointing out that with Iran, the term is meaningless.

See the Embassy of Israel, especially:

PM on Iran elections: They'll change nothing of significance. This regime will continue to be led by 1 man, 1 ruler: Khamenei. #iranelection
— Embassy of Israel (@IsraelinUSA) June 14, 2013

And at the American Spectator, "What’s So Moderate About Iran’s New President?":

Given that Rowhani was a confidante of the Ayatollah Khomeini and spoke on his behalf before the Iranian Revolution, was the National Security Adviser to both Presidents Rafsanjani and Khatami, later led Iran’s nuclear negotiation team and is currently a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts which chooses Iran’s Supreme Leader, I would say he stands a pretty darn good chance. Rowhani is as much of an insider as you can possibly get.

As to moderation, that is, of course, in the eye of the beholder. Rowhani might very well be more moderate in his temperament than Ahmadinejad. But even though Rowhani might not say that Israel should be wiped off the map, chances are he probably thinks it is a bloody good idea...

More at that top link.

 And notice the New York Times keeping with the "moderate" line, "Iranian Moderate Elected President in Rebuke to Conservatives."

Also at Memeorandum.

Why Marriage Matters? For the Children, at Least

I tweeted about Nathaniel Frank's essay, "Why marriage Matters," the other day.

Now there's some responses at the letters to the editor, at the Los Angeles Times, "Letters: Children and same-sex marriage":

Re "Why marriage matters," Opinion, June 9

Nathaniel Frank's piece revealed a compressed view of same-sex marriage. Nowhere did it mention children — conveniently dismissed, it seems, as if marriage is simply a celebration of individual rights and public recognition.

Through the centuries, in vastly different cultures all over the world, marriage has been a religious and social institution because it is the single greatest unifier of men, women and children. It is self-evident that marriage is much more than Frank's idea of "sharing in the symbolic space of first-class citizenship." This reduces marriage to something akin to membership in an exclusive country club. Marriage has historically enabled the entire concept of family and society to flourish. And that, of course, includes children.

So while Frank may believe same-sex marriage is about rights, benefits and recognition, those are secondary considerations. Perhaps he should consider marriage as something selfless, something based on giving, not just getting.

Gary P. Taylor
Santa Ysabel, Calif.

It's all me, me, me! with the freak narcissist progressives. They're destroying the country, the leftist ghouls.

#Dodgers Smirk at Inadequate, Arbitrary Suspensions

At LAT, "MLB suspensions are serious business, but Dodgers get a laugh":

PITTSBURGH — The Dodgers reacted with bemusement and amusement Friday after Major League Baseball issued eight suspensions to Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks personnel for their roles in a violent brawl during the teams' game Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Aside from a clear disdain for Arizona pitcher Ian Kennedy — whose 10-game suspension they viewed as insufficient after he struck rookie outfielder Yasiel Puig in the face with a fastball and nearly did the same to pitcher Zack Greinke — the Dodgers seemed to get a kick out of what they viewed as an arbitrary set of punishments.

How did Puig, who was seen throwing wild punches, escape with only a fine? Why was Dodgers utilityman Skip Schumaker, who was seen pulling players apart, suspended for two games? Why was Diamondbacks infielder Eric Hinske, who was described by the Dodgers as a "peacemaker" and "punching bag," hit with a five-game ban?

Those questions and others were a source of laughter for the Dodgers before and after their 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night at PNC Park.

Five Dodgers were suspended, but the penalties were relatively light. Schumaker, reliever J.P. Howell and hitting coach Mark McGwire received two-game suspensions, and Manager Don Mattingly and reliever Ronald Belisario received one-game suspensions.

Mattingly and Belisario served their suspensions Friday night and McGwire started to serve his. Schumaker and Howell are appealing their penalties, though Howell conceded that he might not have a case, as he was caught on camera nearly flipping a Diamondbacks coach into a camera well.

Greinke and Puig were fined, as were the Dodgers for allowing players on the disabled list to leave their bench.

Diamondbacks Manager Kirk Gibson received a one-game suspension. Kennedy and Hinske are appealing their suspensions. Catcher Miguel Montero and outfielder Gerardo Parra were fined but not suspended.

Hinske was in disbelief, saying his only crime was getting in the way of Puig's fist, which hit him in the back when he was doubled over.

"I didn't throw any punches and I had punches thrown at me by Puig," Hinske told reporters in San Diego. "He gets no games. I get five. You tell me what's right there."

More at the link.

Chinese Authorities Block Winnie the Pooh and Tigger

Something that funny just can't be allowed to stand.

At Telegraph UK, "Chinese censors target Winnie the Pooh and Tigger":

China’s army of internet censors have picked an unusual target in their battle to wipe dissent from the country’s computer screens: Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

This was the most popular picture on Weibo for most of Tuesday: pic.twitter.com/2wSqpGtOJG
— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) June 13, 2013

Horrible Jellyfish Attacks Thwart Chloë McCardel Cuba-to-Florida Swim

Following up on this story, see London's Daily Mail, "'It's like fireballs in every fiber... I even had a tentacle coming out of my mouth': Woman reveals jellyfish attacks that ended her dream of becoming first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage."

Smokin' Bikini Model Shendelle Schokman at Cardiff State Beach in Encinitas

She's nice.

FLASHBACK: "Hot Shendelle Schokman Bikini Video."

'The Bling Ring'

A movie review from Betsy Sharkey, at the Los Angeles Times, "Review: Sofia Coppola's 'Bling Ring' a pretty, empty Hollywood tale":

For a brief and blinding moment in 2009, the Bling Ring crime spree ruled the social networks, TV news cycles and front pages of newspapers around the globe, including this one. At the time, I was bothered by the way the stories about a gang of affluent teen fashionistas stealing from trend-setting local celebrities underscored our out-of-control obsession with fame.

Sofia Coppola's new movie about the real-life Hollywood caper does not bring any comfort.

"The Bling Ring" is a warped tour of the teens' short but lucrative run when they lifted more than $3 million in luxe goods from the homes of Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan and others. Jewelry was their spoil of choice, thus the name.

One of the complexities of watching "The Bling Ring" is figuring out which subset of humanity to dislike the most. All in this sardonic tragedy are distinctly sketched in by the filmmaker.

The obvious choice would be the larcenous teens from tony San Fernando Valley neighborhoods. They are brought to vacuous life by the movie's stars: Emma Watson portrays flirty Nicki, her clipped British accent disappearing inside Valley-girl speak, her time spent in front of mirrors alarming. Taissa Farmiga plays Sam, the wild one, or perhaps the wildest one would be more accurate.

Impressive newcomer Katie Chang steps in as Bling Ring mastermind and driven shopaholic Rebecca. Marc (Israel Broussard) is the new kid at school and the one who has the best fashion sense. Chloe (Claire Julien) is so beautifully blond she can't be bothered.

They are model-thin, arrogant and camera-ready — despite Marc's worry that he doesn't have an A-list face. Their sense of entitlement and complete lack of a moral center make them a tough bunch to like.

And yet, meet the parents...

Continue reading.

John Galliano, Disgraced Fashion Designer, Can't Remember Anti-Semitic Outburst

Or so he says, in this interview with Charlie Rose:

And see LAT, "John Galliano's first TV sitdown, the cheat sheet."

Right Now, #Angels Are the Second-Worst Team in the American League

Well, they took it tonight against the Yankees.

#Angels win, beat Yanks. Big Bang Friday #LTBU pic.twitter.com/fvgYpprtmC

— Annette Irwin (@AnnetteIrwin27) June 15, 2013

But the Angels are at the bottom of the standings.

Winning World Series seems like an impossible dream for #Angels. Playing for pride might be best bet right now. http://t.co/xjsBnfuWhs

— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) June 14, 2013

Moderate Candidate Has Early Lead in Iran's Presidential Election

The Lede has a big live blog, "Latest Updates on Election Day in Iran."

And see, "Moderate in Iranian Election Leads in Initial Returns":

TEHRAN — Iranian voters turned out in huge numbers on Friday, a late surge of interest in the presidential vote that seemed to swing the tide in the favor of the most moderate candidate in the field. But it was uncertain whether any single contestant would exceed the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff next week.

With long lines at the polls, voting hours were extended by five hours in parts of Tehran and four hours in the rest of the country. Turnout reached 75 percent, by official count, as disaffected members of the Green Movement, which was crushed in the uprising that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election, dropped a threatened boycott and appeared to coalesce behind a cleric, Hassan Rowhani, and the mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf.

Iran’s interior minister, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, said Saturday morning on state television that preliminary results showed Mr. Rowhani with a strong lead, followed by Mr. Ghalibaf. Mr. Najjar did not say when the final result would be available. Iran has more than 50 million eligible voters and as of early Saturday morning nearly three million votes had been counted.

If Rouhani wins, the biggest winner is the Iranian people. Biggest losers are Khamenei, Netanyahu, and DC neo-cons. #IranElection
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) June 15, 2013

And check #IranElection on Twitter for additional updates.

Taylor Rosenbauer

My son likes to fingerboard, and he's good at it

He wanted me to post this video.

This kid at the clip, Taylor Rosenbauer, is one of the best fingerboarders.

Beltway Establishment Renders Harsh Verdict on Edward Snowden

Here's Politico's piece from the other day, "Establishment renders harsh verdict on Edward Snowden":

He is the toast of the libertarian left and the libertarian right. But for most of the political establishment, across the ideological spectrum, it has taken only a few days to conclude that Edward Snowden is nothing less than a dangerous villain.

If any part of Snowden hoped for a Pentagon Papers-style response to his leaks – a round of applause across Washington and New York at the daring revelation of secret national security information – this week certainly shattered any such illusion.

Ask nearly anyone in a position of authority in Washington and you will get a similar judgment on Snowden, the 29-year-old former defense contractor who exposed a vast National Security Agency surveillance program in multiple newspapers last week.

Continue reading.

And then check Kirsten Powers, "The Sickening Snowden Backlash":

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper blatantly lied to Congress about the activity of the NSA, and there seems to be no ramifications. Yet the Washington establishment wants to put Snowden in jail and throw away the key for telling the truth. We are told to blindly respect an institution that persecutes whistleblowers for leaks of overclassified government information while watching the Obama administration’s leaking of secret government information to aggrandize the president during his reelection campaign. So, please tell us more about how we should have more respect for our institutions.

She has a good point.

More at the link.

But as readers know, I don't trust the motives of people like Snowden --- who is no patriot in my book --- and I consider government's most basic role as protecting its citizens, Hence,  I accept the tradeoff between liberty and security. To the extent there's a problem, it's in the context of this administration's serial scandals, complete lack of accountability, and utter hypocrisy. It's progress for the leftists to be criticizing these programs. But we're nowhere where we were when Bush was in office, during which Democrats called for impeachment over warrantless wiretapping. No, there are some like Greenwald who're consistent. And I like Kirsten Powers, but folks should be thinking about finding the balance between honest disclosure and protecting the homeland. The full-blown crusade to turn this into the ultimate scandal of Big Brother totalitarianism is pretty laughable.

More from Max Boot, "Stay calm and let the NSA carry on":

The real scandal here is that the Guardian and Washington Post are compromising our national security by telling our enemies about our intelligence-gathering capabilities. Their news stories reveal, for example, that only nine Internet companies share information with the NSA. This is a virtual invitation to terrorists to use other Internet outlets for searches, email, apps and all the rest.

No intelligence effort can ever keep us 100% safe, but to stop or scale back the NSA's special intelligence efforts would amount to unilateral disarmament in a war against terrorism that is far from over...

Continue reading.

Charles Krauthammer: Obama’s Syria Response 'Preposterous'

Yeah, it's all messed up, and there ain't a whole helluva lot we can do to make things better, in any case.

Arming al Qaeda terrorists? Sounds like a winner (snark).

PBS NewsHour Stuggles in New Media Marketplace

I like PBS News Hour.

Sure, it's a leftist show, but it reminds me of the older age of journalism. I don't watch it much anymore, mostly because I'm blogging, or watching Fox News or sports, although I catch a segment on YouTube now and then.

At the New York Times, "Venerable Format of ‘NewsHour’ Struggles With New Era of Media":

For many of its 38 years, the sober studio-interview format of the “PBS NewsHour” has served the program well, drawing viewers and corporate underwriters alike. But with a deep financing crisis forcing layoffs and other cutbacks this week, some public television employees believe that format — and a general unwillingness to embrace the digital realities facing journalism — may be jeopardizing the program’s future.

“NewsHour” came under criticism in a confidential May 2012 report commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the program’s major supporters in recent years, that concluded bluntly that the program needed to aggressively “modernize news gathering production.”

The report stressed the need for a major reorganization that included developing new digital platforms and clarifying its editorial focus. It also said more “decision-making transparency” was needed from MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, the profit-making company that co-produces the program for PBS. (The company is controlled by Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, its founding anchors. Washington public television station WETA is the other producer.)

The pressures facing “NewsHour” are not unique. “What every traditional media organization is confronted with today is how to change profoundly to reflect the revolution in how people consume media,” said a former CNN bureau chief, Frank Sesno, now director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. But many organizations have moved more quickly to adapt, equipping producers with inexpensive video cameras to reduce news gathering costs, and investing in online and mobile platforms.

Mr. Sesno said that he “desperately” wants “NewsHour” to succeed. “They’ve got to figure out how to do the deeper dive and bring people along with them,” he said, by developing more of a conversation with the audience and becoming a “multimedia information experience. You can’t just be a TV show anymore.”

More at the link.

Well, everything's shaking out. The fact that I don't watch the show anymore is indicative of the problem. It's hard to sit down, around dinner time, and consume an hour-long news segment that's sort of fuddy-duddy in approach. I like the old-school vibe, but Frank Sesno's write: You gotta bring in people with you, make it somewhat interactive, and engage your constituency.

In any case, at the video is Kashmir Hill, who's a privacy blogger at Forbes, and Victor Mayer-Schönberger, who has the the May-June cover article at Foreign Affairs, "The Rise of Big Data: How It's Changing the Way We Think About the World."

So There Was No Economic Incentive to Buy the Electric Cars...

At Caroline Glick's, "Oil brings us to a better place..."

It's about Better Place Corporation's attempt to build an electric car company in Israel. Didn't work out so great, actually:

What failed with Better Place wasn't the idea of Israeli hi-tech prowess and ingenuity. What failed - again - was the notion that there is a way to use alternative energy sources - like electricity - to replace the internal combustion engine. And there isn't. There isn't because laws of supply and demand govern the economics of the car industry even when Shai Agassi is the one selling alternative economic laws.

A great piece.

RTWT.

'We Will Never Again Have a Republican President...'

Michele Bachmann has a stark warning:

Big Rule 5 Afternoon

Via Guns and Bikinis.

More at Randy's Roundtable, "Thursday Nite Tart (on Friday): Miss Panama Carolina Brid."

Also at Reaganite, "As Seen on RedEye w/Gutfeld!: Fox NY- Fox Business Channel's Anna Gilligan." And at Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, "The Friday Pin Up."

More at Pitsnipes and Gripes, "Who's up for a game of beer pong?" And the Right Way, "Friday Babe."

Now over to the Last Tradition, "Teyana Taylor Shows Off Bikini Body." And from Gator Doug, "DaleyGator DaleyBabe Camille Washington."

And at Pirate's Cove, "If All You See……is an evil dog which sucks up all the resources of the world causing the oceans to boil, you might just be a Warmist."

Also, at Drunken Stepfather, "BAMBI NORTHWOOD-BLYTH TITTIES FOR VOGUE OF THE DAY."

And at Blackmailers Don't Shoot, "Pretty Girls on a Thursday: Pin-Up Edition," and "Pretty Girls on a Thursday, Git ‘Er Done Edition."

Check Theo's as well, "Red Friday Totty," and "Bonus Totty..."

More at TCOTs, "Rule 5 News: 08 June 2013 A.D.," and the Other McCain, "Rule 5 Monday."

Still more at Conservative Hideout, "Girls and Guns, and did I Mention Links? June 12, 2013."

As always, drop your links in the comments if I've missed you and I'll update.

ADDED: From Animal Magnetism, "Rule Five Friday – Animal’s Manifesto, Part Nine."

Forensic Analysis Confirms Sharyl Attkisson Computer Hacked

As if there was ever any doubt.

At Big Journalism, "CBS NEWS: SHARYL ATTKISSON'S COMPUTER HACKED 'MULTIPLE TIMES'."

Also, from Twitchy, "Sharyl Attkisson: CBS confirmed my computer was hacked ‘on multiple occasions’." (Via Memeorandum.)

USA Today Publishes BDS Press Release Almost Word for Word, Accuses Israel of 'Large-Scale Abuses of Palestinian Rights...'

I posted on this earlier, "Alicia Keys Urged to Cancel 4th of July Concert in Israel."

But I guess they cribbed the piece almost word for word from the BDS Nazis.

At Algemeiner:

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel found itself a friend in major American newspaper USA Today recently, when a press release about its efforts to have Alicia Keys cancel her upcoming show in Israel appeared almost verbatim in an article on the newspaper’s website.

The American Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg first tweeted about the disturbing similarities Thursday, a day after the article appeared. “@USATODAY ran a BDS press release as a story. Here’s the newspaper piece Here’s the release” he wrote.

Sheesh. I'll first check with BDS before reading MSM media accounts on the boycott.

More at the link.

Turkey Protests Mobilize the Slingshot Grandmas Constituency

Via the Blaze, "A PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 WORDS: MEANWHILE, IN TURKEY…"

Hat Tip: Meredith Jessup, on Twitter.

Let's Get It Started With Some Page 3 Girls!

Via the Sun UK, on Twitter.

Meanwhile, National Review campaign reporter Jim Geraghty takes issue with John Hawkins' top 20 conservative hotties. See, "Why I’m a Wary of Even Good-Natured Pundit Beauty Contests."

Well, I guess you gotta be PC to stay in the top ranks of the conservative media game. I'm just not playing that game.

PREVIOUSLY: "Are You Freakin' Kiddin' Me? — Michelle Fields Should Be Tops in Any Hottest Conservative Women Roundup!"

ADDED: Check out some Scarlet Bouvier on Twitter!

'Promise me you will never run for office again, and we'll drop this case...'

The quote's from Lois Lerner, the disgraced IRS hack and former thug FEC commissar, attempting to intimidate Republican Al Salvi after he was brought up on campaign finance charges during his 1996 Senate bid.

See George Will, "Scowling face of the state," via Cold Fury, "Look folks, you don’t build an all-powerful Leviathan State without intending to use it."

F-k the Democrats.

Could Syria Ignite World War III?

Now that's a dramatic headline, at London's Daily Mail, "Could Syria ignite World War 3? That's the terrifying question as the hatred between two Muslim ideologies sucks in the world's superpowers."

@CNN Bets on Kate Bolduan

I'm not sure why, but CNN's going with Ms. Bolduan, who seems like a high-school cheerleader more than a serious hard-news anchor.

At the Washington Post, "The dawn of Kate Bolduan, co-host of CNN’s ‘New Day’."

'300: Rise of an Empire'

Well, it won't be out for over a year, but I can dig it.

Glenn Greenwald Blamed the U.S. for 9/11 and Called for the 'Weakening of America...'

I blog about Glenn Greenwald quite a bit. He's consistent and makes the loser leftists look like dolts.

But I'm amazed at how the libertarian right is lionizing him, obviously clueless to Greenwald's anti-Americanism and vile Israel-hatred.

But Trevor Loudon's got the dope, "“9/11″ Was “Very Minimal in Scope”, Calls for the “Weakening of America” – NSA Leaks Journalist Glenn Greenwald."

Read it all.

The Immigration Bill Is a Scam

From Kurt Schlichter, at Townhall, "The Immigration “Crisis” Is No Crisis."

The Papers of the Founding Founders Are Now Online — Seriously? The 'Founding Founders'?

I thought this was a hoax at first.

At the White House homepage, here.

Honestly, I had to check for myself, and here it is: "The Papers of the Founding Founders Are Now Online." http://t.co/zbSOV1EEus #HeadDesk
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 14, 2013

And see Twitchy, "‘Founding Founders’? White House creates gender neutral birth of a nation."

RT @lheal: @charlescwcooke @sistertoldjah Heh. pic.twitter.com/WuaMseTycE
— Sister Toldjah (@sistertoldjah) June 13, 2013

Also at National Review, "White House Website Lauds ‘Founding Founders’" (via Memeorandum).

Added: From William Jacobson, "Sometimes I feel like a Founding Fatherless child."

Syria Crosses Obama's Red Line on Chemical Weapons

I've said it many times, but the U.S. should have considered military intervention in Syria long ago. I doubt we'd make things better at this point. An Islamist regime coming to power won't be an improvement on Assad. As sick as it sounds, there's no good choice for Syria right now.

Maybe Obama will get some wag-the-dog relief from all the scandals with some bold talk, however, and the congressional hawks are ready to help in --- John McCain, for example.

At CSM, "Syria crosses 'red line' on chemical weapons. How will Obama respond?"

Also at Astute Bloggers, "MORE PROOF HE IS EVIL: OBAMA HAS DECIDED TO GIVE MILITARY SUPPORT TO AL QAEDA'S AFFILIATES."

Inside the U.S. Surveillance Matrix

Following up on my previous entry, "Obama's Surveillance State Prompts Renewed Interest in George Orwell's '1984'."

Here's that Wired article referenced at the CBS News clip, "The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)."

Funny too. I remember seeing this issues on newsstands at the time. Amazing how the media zeitgeist of the day shapes your perceptions of the issues.

Obama's Surveillance State Prompts Renewed Interest in George Orwell's '1984'

A discussion at the clip.

And at the Riverside Press-Enterprise, "GEORGE ORWELL: Sales of “1984″ boom after NSA revelations."

I just reread it late last year, even before the latest scandals. It's prescient as ever.

Check Amazon for your copy, here.

Obama's All-Intrusive Terror Dragnet Excludes Mosques

I mean really, then. Why even do it, except to spy on domestic political enemies.

At IBD, "Obama's Snooping Excludes Mosques, Missed Boston Bombers":

If you want the government to stop spying on you, declare your home a mosque dailycaller.com/2013/06/13/if-… via @jtlol
— mb (@imsure) June 13, 2013

The White House assures that tracking our every phone call and keystroke is to stop terrorists, and yet it won't snoop in mosques, where the terrorists are.

That's right, the government's sweeping surveillance of our most private communications excludes the jihad factories where homegrown terrorists are radicalized.

Since October 2011, mosques have been off-limits to FBI agents. No more surveillance or undercover string operations without high-level approval from a special oversight body at the Justice Department dubbed the Sensitive Operations Review Committee.

Who makes up this body, and how do they decide requests? Nobody knows; the names of the chairman, members and staff are kept secret.

We do know the panel was set up under pressure from Islamist groups who complained about FBI stings at mosques. Just months before the panel's formation, the Council on American-Islamic Relations teamed up with the ACLU to sue the FBI for allegedly violating the civil rights of Muslims in Los Angeles by hiring an undercover agent to infiltrate and monitor mosques there.

Before mosques were excluded from the otherwise wide domestic spy net the administration has cast, the FBI launched dozens of successful sting operations against homegrown jihadists — inside mosques — and disrupted dozens of plots against the homeland.

If only they were allowed to continue, perhaps the many victims of the Boston Marathon bombings would not have lost their lives and limbs. The FBI never canvassed Boston mosques until four days after the April 15 attacks, and it did not check out the radical Boston mosque where the Muslim bombers worshipped.

Yet another example of how totally screwed we are. Thanks progs!

More at the link.

Suspect's Gun Was 'Pieced Together' in Santa Monica Shooting Rampage

Yes, and California bans "semiautomatic firearms" (which leftists falsely label "assault weapons").

And still, suspect John Zawahri was undeterred.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Santa Monica shooter's rifle appears to have been pieced together":

#SMC UPDATE: SM police laid out evidence found on suspect's body; news conference planned for approx 1pm twitter.com/ABC7/status/34…
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 8, 2013

The semiautomatic weapon used in the Santa Monica shooting rampage appears to have been put together from various parts, possibly in an attempt to circumvent the state's restrictions on such guns, law enforcement sources said Wednesday.

While certain types of AR-15-style rifles are banned in California, it's legal to purchase parts that can be used to assemble and customize the guns. Santa Monica police have said John Zawahri, 23, used an AR-15-style gun during the attack and was also carrying a .44-caliber handgun.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing, said detectives are still trying to figure out how the gun was put together and whether Zawahri obtained it whole or assembled it himself.

Zawahri killed five people last Friday in an attack that started at his father's home and ended at Santa Monica College, where police fatally wounded him in the school's library.

Sources said Wednesday that Zawahri fired about 100 rounds during the rampage, which lasted about 10 minutes. He fired at passing cars, a bus, pedestrians as well as police. Authorities have said he had access to more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition.

Santa Monica Police Department investigators, working with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the California Department of Justice, are now trying to trace where the parts came from.

Zawahri's rifle appeared to be modified so it could fire more rounds, the sources said. Police said he had 40 magazines capable of holding 30 rounds each during the rampage.

California outlaws the commerce of AR-15 weapons that have certain features, including a detachable magazine, which allows sustained firing. Other features include folding telescopic or detachable stocks or a threaded barrel.

Purchase, sale and transfer of high-capacity magazines is illegal, but currently possession of the items is not.

And of course, despite all this, Sen. Barbara Boxer cravenly announced that the Santa Monica massacre gives us "wind at our backs" for even more ineffective gun control legislation.

Actually, the suspect had "psychiatric issues." Maybe Sen. Babs ought to be working on that.

Are You Freakin' Kiddin' Me? — Michelle Fields Should Be Tops in Any Hottest Conservative Women Roundup!

Hey, it's a great list, but sheesh, no Michelle Fields?!!

At Right Wing News, "The 20 Hottest Conservative Women in the New Media (2013 Edition)."

Look, it's a great roundup of women, but no Michelle Fields?!!

She's a great lady, beautiful and friendly (via Facebook).

And previously, "Follow Michelle Fields."

And Pamela Geller's beautiful too, but noticeably absent from John's list. Check her out at Atlas Shrugs.

And could be related to this, "#StandWithSpencer — John Hawkins Attacks Counter-Jihad Patriot Robert Spencer."

Nancy Pelosi: The Face of Democrat Party Evil

At Jammie, "Pelosi on Late-Term Abortion: ‘This is sacred ground to me’":

What a horrible, evil woman.

“As a practicing and respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me when we talk about this,” Pelosi said. “This shouldn’t have anything to do with politics.”

Photographer Matthew Christopher Documents America's Decaying Architecture

An awesome photo-report, at London's Daily Mail, "Abandoned America: Haunting images of the crumbling schools, decaying churches and rusting prisons that have been lost to time."

'Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail — Small Breasts, Huge Thighs, and a Big Red Box...'

Wow!

Australian politics is interesting.

At the Guardian UK, "Julia Gillard's 'small breasts' served up on Liberal party dinner menu." (The menu can be seen at that report.)

And at London's Daily Mail, "Opposition apologises to Austrlian woman PM after serving up 'Julia Gillard quail with small breasts, huge thighs and a big red box' at fundraiser."

More, "'I hear the small breasts are good…': Australian PM Julia Gillard puts row over insulting menu behind her for breakfast meeting with Arnold Schwarzenegger."

U.S. Supreme Court: Human Genes Can't Be Patented

This was one of the big blockbuster cases that Court-watchers were expected.

Seems like a whimper more than a bang.

At the New York Times, "Supreme Court Rules Human Genes May Not Be Patented."

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion for a unanimous Court. Interesting.

See also SCOTUS Blog, "Details on Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.," and "Opinion recap: No patent on natural gene work":

In a way, the ruling was a silent tribute to screen actress Angelina Jolie, who recently gained huge notoriety not for her acting but for voluntarily having her breasts surgically removed after discovering that she had the threatening genes in her body. She, of course, was able to pay the high cost of that test; now, women of less means will be able to afford it, and that was a key motivation for challenging Myriad’s patent rights.

More at Memeorandum.

Kenneth Turan Reviews 'Man of Steel'

At the Los Angeles Times, "Review: In 'Man of Steel,' Henry Cavill soars over an erratic plot":

"I can do things other people can't," the man says with becoming modesty, and can he ever. Cauterize deep wounds with a single glance, leap tall buildings in a single bound, things like that. Those rumors you've been hearing are true: Superman is back in town.

But "Man of Steel" is not your father's Superman (there's no kryptonite in sight), or your grandfather's for that matter. It features brooding, buff British actor Henry Cavill as a muscular yet sensitive type (think Jack Kerouac spending way too much time in the gym) trying to find himself, torn between his Krypton roots and his Kansas upbringing. Who said being a superhero was easy?

"Man of Steel" is similarly torn. Directed by Zack Snyder and written by David S. Goyer from a story by Goyer and Christopher Nolan (who also produced), this film is pulled in different directions, delivering satisfactions without managing to be completely satisfying.

Continue reading.

I need to head out to see some movies.

Tracy Britt, 28, Has Become One of the Most Influential Women at Berkshire Hathaway

What would it be like to make it in the corporate world?

This lady's story give us a little glimpse, at WSJ, "A Rising Star Emerges at Berkshire":

When Tracy Britt arrived in Omaha, Neb., in 2009 to meet with Warren Buffett, she brought a Harvard M.B.A., a glittering resume and a boatload of ambition. But she also brought the famed investor a gift to highlight their shared Midwestern roots: a bushel of corn and a batch of tomatoes.

he seed Ms. Britt planted that day yielded quick results: a job for Ms. Britt as Mr. Buffett's financial assistant at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Almost four years later, it has blossomed further, with Ms. Britt emerging as one of Mr. Buffett's top lieutenants and even serving as chairman of four companies within his $284 billion conglomerate.

Ms. Britt, now 28 years old and more than five decades younger than her boss, occupies a role unlike any other within Berkshire. With an office next to Mr. Buffett's at Berkshire's headquarters, Ms. Britt helps with financial research, accompanies Mr. Buffett to meetings and occasionally drives him around town. The billionaire gradually tacked on additional responsibilities.

The firms in which she serves as chairman, including building-products company Johns Manville Corp. and paint manufacturer Benjamin Moore & Co., total more than $4 billion in annual sales. In March, a few weeks after Berkshire and Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital said they would buy ketchup maker H.J. Heinz & Co. for $23 billion, Mr. Buffett sent Ms. Britt to Brazil, according to people familiar with the matter.

The deal was Berkshire's largest acquisition since 2010, and Mr. Buffett wanted her to know more about 3G's operations, including how the Brazilian firm had turned around Burger King Worldwide Inc., the people said.

Ms. Britt is one of the executives the 82-year-old Mr. Buffett is grooming for senior positions after he steps down, say people familiar with the matter and Berkshire analysts. And she isn't the first person that he picked out of relative obscurity: His investment managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, were little-known hedge-fund managers before Mr. Buffett tapped them to handle big slices of Berkshire money.

Ms. Britt is also one of the most influential women within Berkshire, which has three women directors on a 13-member board and five women CEOs out of 81 operating companies.

Ms. Britt "takes care of all kinds of things that come up," Mr. Buffett told college students in Omaha last month...

Continue reading.

Christina Hoff Sommers: It's Time to Take Back Feminism

Via AIE:

How Unions Are Strangling Achievement

From Andrew Stiles, at NRO, "New Study Blames Collective Bargaining for Education Stagnation":

Over the past several decades, American teachers’ salaries and benefits have increased steadily, while the academic performance of the nation’s students has stagnated. In a new paper released on Wednesday, Sally Lovejoy and Chad Miller of the American Action Forum argue that teachers unions’ and their collective-bargaining policies are at least partly to blame for both issues.

The authors cite an array of studies examining the impact of teachers’ unions and their negotiating strategies. The majority of these studies have found that collective-bargaining agreements typically focus on higher teacher pay and benefits and greater job security, with little consideration given to student performance. In fact, teachers’ unions have historically resisted most efforts to hold teachers accountable for the academic performance of their students, and have succeeded consistently. Tenure policies, for instance, make it virtually impossible to fire unqualified or ineffective teachers. Most states award tenure automatically after about three years, and do not test a new teacher’s mastery of even the most basic reading and math skills. Perhaps not surprisingly, this has had a largely negative impact on the students themselves, especially those in large urban school districts with a high percentage of black and Hispanic students.

Continue reading.

Lindsey Anne Strutt Rule 5

At the Camp of the Saints, "Rule 5 Saturday: Lindsey Anne Strutt."

BONUS: Evil Blogger Lady has a photo roundup, "Edward Snowden Rule 5: Acutally Snowden's Alleged Girlfriend Lindsay Mills."

PREVIOUSLY: "Edward Snowden's Girlfriend Feels 'Lost and Alone'."

Alicia Keys Urged to Cancel 4th of July Concert in Israel

She seems like a beautiful woman, and she's extremely talented, but if she pulls out of her gig in Tel Aviv, she's dead to me.

At USA Today, "Alicia Keys urged to cancel concert in Israel":

A coalition of groups have petitioned Alicia Keys to cancel her July 4 concert in Tel Aviv to protest Israel's mistreatment of Palestinians.

Alicia Keys is being urged to cancel a July 4 concert in Tel Aviv in a petition by Palestinian-American groups signed by more than 12,000 people.

A delegation representing coalitions of more than 500 U.S. organizations, delivered the document to the New York City office of Alicia Keys' non-profit aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS, Keep a Child Alive. The petition asked Keys "to stand on the side of justice and cancel her gig in Tel Aviv, Israel," and to "join us now in the cultural boycott of Israel, and help stop entertaining apartheid."

The delegation met with staff at the organization, who explained that they were aware of the ongoing efforts to encourage Keys' cancellation. Delegates passed along materials that included details of the global boycott campaign and reports from rights organizations documenting Israel's violation of Palestinian children rights, which they confirmed was received by Peter Twyman, executive officer of Keep a Child Alive.

Keys recently told The New York Times that she planned to go ahead with the show, despite letters calling on her to cancel from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic Cultural Boycott of Israel, novelist Alice Walker, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and the Israeli group Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS call from Within.

More at the link, including some anti-Israel propaganda quotes from the boycott sponsors.

And see the Hollywood Reporter, "'The Color Purple' Author Urges Alicia Keys to Cancel Concert in Israel."

Alice Walker has written an open letter to the singer, who is scheduled to perform in Tel Aviv on the Fourth of July.

More at the link.

The letter is here, at the Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, "Open letter from Alice Walker to Alicia Keys."

Added: From Richard Friedman, at the WSJ (and posted at Rightfully Yours), "Alicia Keys, Israel and Civil Rights":

Alice Walker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, has lately garnered more attention for her unhinged political views than for her writing. She has compared Fidel Castro to the Dalai Lama. She refused to allow her book "The Color Purple" to be translated into Hebrew. But perhaps nothing was more off-base—at least morally speaking—than the open letter Ms. Walker wrote in late May to singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. Ms. Walker, writing at the website of the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, urged Ms. Keys to cancel a July 4 performance in Israel.

Ms. Walker wrote: "you are putting yourself in danger (soul danger) by performing in an apartheid country." The writer then compared the plight of the Palestinians to that of blacks in the American South prior to the civil-rights movement. "You were not born when we, your elders who love you, boycotted institutions in the U.S. South to end an American apartheid less lethal than Israel's against the Palestinian people."

The analogy is false: "Apartheid" is a more apt description for the systemic discrimination against women across the Arab world than the only democracy in the Middle East. But this comparison is also an insult to the courageous civil-rights activists who risked their lives in Birmingham, Montgomery and elsewhere in the South to attain full rights for black Americans.

What characterized the civil-rights movement was its strict adherence to the philosophy of nonviolence. Even when attacked with fire hoses and police dogs, civil-rights demonstrators courageously refused to retaliate.

The Palestinian leadership, by contrast, for decades has used violence whenever missile attacks or suicide bombers suit its aims. It is Israel that has shown an inclination to absorb punishment, though the country's tolerance stretches only so far before it responds militarily to attacks.

The comparison that Ms. Walker and her comrades in the boycott-Israel movement make to the civil-rights movement is false in other ways...

The whole thing's an epic lie. But readers around here are well aware of that.

RTWT, in any case.

Kanye West Cheating on Kim Kardashian?

The guy's already a scumbag, and if true it just cements the reputation. Remember, Ms. Kardashian is pregnant.

At London's Daily Mail, "Model claims Kanye West 'cheated' on pregnant Kim Kardashian... after telling her 'relationship was for publicity'."

And if you're up for it, here's interview with the hip-hop idiot at NYT, "Kanye West Talks About His Career and Album 'Yeezus'."

And Michelle tweeted earlier:

Behold spectacular self-delusion. RT @mashable .@kanyewest: I Am the Steve Jobs of Internet, Fashion and Culture bit.ly/12G9Uvm
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) June 12, 2013

#Dodgers Brawl Shows Lack of Team Leadership

From Bill Plaschke, at the Los Angeles Times "In Dodgers-Diamondbacks brawl, Dodgers swung and missed":

The Dodgers have finally found something they are willing to fight for.

But on Tuesday night, it was the wrong thing.

In a brawl that will undoubtedly cost them suspensions that could even include their best player -- what was Swingin' Clayton Kershaw thinking? -- the Dodgers precipitated a fight with the Arizona Diamondbacks that wasn't worth the effort.

The Dodgers say that the prolonged headhunting from the mound in the middle of their 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium -- a sequence which ended in the thunderous melee -- was started when Arizona's Ian Kennedy hit the Dodger' Yasiel Puig in the face with a pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was inarguably the worst pitch at the worst time. In just one week here, Puig has already become the Dodgers most exciting player, their most powerful hitter, their best new hope. Wearing number 66, he is Manny Ramirez turned upside down. His teammates desperately need him, and thus feel a desperate need to protect him.

But, c'mon fellas, look at the scoreboard. Why on earth would Kennedy be throwing at Puig with two strikes, nobody on base, and his team leading 2-0? What pitcher would willingly bring the tying run to the plate in that situation? The intention of a pitch can often be revealed by the immediate reaction of the pitcher throwing it. Kennedy spun and looked in frustration at the sky. He was throwing inside as anyone should throw inside to a hot young hitter. But he was clearly not trying to hit him.

How quickly the Dodgers forgot the idiocy of San Diego's Carlos Quentin exactly two months ago, when he charged the mound and broke Zack Greinke's collarbone even though Greinke was also not trying to hit him.

Puig didn't charge the mound this time, but the Dodgers nonethless retaliated one-half inning later when Greinke hit Miguel Montero, which led Kennedy to eventually hitting Greinke, and before you knew it, a 2 a.m. fast-food-restaurant brawl had broken out. You know a fight is bad when even old men are hobbling into the fray. The Legends of the Brawl featured Don Mattingly body-slamming Alan Trammell and Mark McGwire clutching Kirk Gibson.

The Dodgers looked tough then, but won't look so tough when they are hit with suspensions...

Still more at the link.

PREVIOUSLY: "#DBacks and #Dodgers Brawl: Six Ejected After Yasiel Puig and Zack Greinke Beaned by Pitches."

NSA Director Says Dozens of Attacks Thwarted

Hey, it works!

At WSJ, "NSA Director Says Data Programs Foiled Plots."

Here's Some Afternoon Jodie Gasson For You

Via Twitter.

Rep. Peter King Calls for Gleen Greenwald's Arrest

I was just watching this a little while ago, and now TPM's got it up, via Memeorandum.

PERVIOUSLY: "Lt. Col. Ralph Peters: 'Bring Back the Death Penalty' for Traitors Like Edward Snowden."

Artist Raymond Pettibon 'The Art of Punk' Documentary

I picked up this flyer below at Zed's Records in Long Beach, about 1980.

The LAPD broke up the gig. All the streets were blocked off and I ran with buddy Skatemaster Tate like my life depended on it. It was a total riot. Skate legend Steve Alba talks about it here, "Baces Hall Riot ... Film at 11!"

Well, it turns out there's a new documentary on the work of Raymond Pettibon, the artist of the iconic Black Flag flyers. At LAT, "MOCAtv releases new Black Flag/Raymond Pettibon doc on punk art." Also, "WATCH ‘THE ART OF PUNK’ DOCUMENTARY ON BLACK FLAG’S ICONIC LOGO AND ARTWORK."

And see Bryan Ray Turcotte, "PRETTY MUCH EVERY SINGLE BLACK FLAG FLYER DESIGNED BY RAYMOND PETTIBON."

Facebook Introduces Hashtags

If you can't 'em join 'em.

At WSJ, "Facebook Unveils Hashtags for Real-Time Public Conversations."

Also at the Verge, "Facebook adds hashtag support starting today," and "Who owns the hashtag? (It isn’t Twitter)."

And here's the announcement at Facebook, "Public Conversations on Facebook":

Every day, hundreds of millions of people use Facebook to share their thoughts on big moments happening all around them. Whether it’s talking about a favorite television show, cheering on a hometown sports team or engaging with friends during a breaking news event—people on Facebook connect with their friends about what’s taking place all over the world.

During primetime television alone, there are between 88 and 100 million Americans engaged on Facebook - roughly a Super Bowl-sized audience every single night. The recent "Red Wedding" episode of Game of Thrones, received over 1.5 million mentions on Facebook, representing a significant portion of the 5.2 million people who watched the show. And this year's Oscars buzz reached an all-time high on Facebook with over 66.5 million interactions, including likes, comments, and posts.

To date, there has not been a simple way to see the larger view of what's happening or what people are talking about.

To bring these conversations more to the forefront, we will be rolling out a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people, and topics. As a first step, we are beginning to roll out hashtags on Facebook.

RTWT.

Facebook's getting its clock cleaned. All the fancy PR can't mask this social media cluster-k.

Here's That Viral Taylor Chapman Dunkin' Donuts YouTube Rant

Watch it at the link.

And see the Hollywood Gossip, "Taylor Chapman Dunkin' Donuts Rant Goes Viral, is Really Disturbing."

And at the Smoking Gun, "Meet the Horrible Florida Woman Who Filmed Herself Berating Dunkin' Donuts Workers."

Colorado Wildfires

At Twitchy, "#BlackForestFire consumes 400 acres, up to 60 homes in Colorado [pics, video]; Update: 2,500 homes evacuated; Update: 8,000 acres, 0 containment."

And at Michelle's, "Colorado is on fire again; scrambling for tankers."

Jan Cooper, 72, Holds Off Would-Be Robber With .357 Magnum

She's an Orange County local!

At Pat Dollard's, "‘Back Up, You Son of a Bitch!’: 72-Year-Old Anaheim Woman Scares Off Burglar By Shooting at Him."