Thursday, July 3, 2014

Poor and Poxed: Unaccompanied Illegal Aliens Flood Across Southwestern U.S. — #SecureTheBorder

The thought of sending your young child off on a dangerous journey, thousands of miles, through a country that is essentially a narco-trafficking dictatorship, boggles the mind.

Sadly, no doubt the children relish the adventure, having lived through poverty and degradation in their own poor, crime-wracked Latin American countries.

Whatever the cause, the Obama administration must take the ultimate responsibility for the hardship --- death and desperation --- that befalls these children. An astonishing degree of inhumanity. But that's the Democrat Party for you. Everything is about politics. Screw human decency.

At the Los Angeles Times, "More than rumors drive Central American youths toward U.S.":

LAT Immigration photo photo15_zpsf3079b01.jpg
A couple of weeks ago, sisters Karen and Sindy Laucel joined the exodus of youths from Central America, hoping to reconnect with their mother, who had left this farming village a decade ago in search of work in the U.S.

With so many heading north, now seemed the time to reunite. The teens filled a single backpack with three days' worth of clothes, and their mother paid a coyote, or guide, to take her daughters and a 10-year-old girl from the village to the U.S. border nearly 2,000 miles away.

Crossing the Suchiate River into Mexico on an inner tube and traveling mostly by bus, they seemed to be among the lucky ones. They avoided the extortion, rape and other crimes so prevalent along the route — up until the moment an immigration agent pulled them from a bus in central Mexico.

Held for a week in a shelter near Mexico City with dozens of other girls and boys, they ate pizza and watched telenovelas until they were dispatched back home.

"I cried and cried and cried," said Karen, 15. "Only when I finally saw all the other girls did I calm down." Sindy, a year older, has memorized her mother's phone number in North Carolina, and said she just wanted to get to know her. "I know her only by photos," Sindy said. Some Central Americans feel encouraged by rumors that children who cross into the United States will be allowed to stay. But other fundamental reasons fueling migration have remained unchanged for decades: family unification, hometown violence, inescapable poverty and lack of opportunity.
More.
The Obama administration says it detained more than 50,000 "unaccompanied minors" trying to cross the border in the first half of this year. In fact, the smuggling of people to the U.S. is big business. Coyotes, who in Mexico are often descendants of some of the country's most vicious drug cartels, can charge $7,000 or more for a single migrant.

These networks may in fact be stimulating the current exodus by lying about the difficulties of the journey and giving false promises about what lies ahead, experts say.

"The majority of parents are there [in the U.S.] and they are asking for their children to join them," said Merlin Palma, a homemaker and mother of two waiting her turn at the Horcones beauty salon. "Coyotes take them, but it's dangerous. They promise you a thousand things, but on the way it's different. The kids suffer."
A humane presidential administration would take decisive action to protect these children. Migrants would be turned back at the border. The U.S. government would rebuke Mexico for its callous porousness, and the State Department would be warning foreign government of sanctions for encouraging their citizens to flood the American Southwest.

Of course, none of this is happening, because the Obama White House is mounting a demonic Alinskyite campaign of manufactured crisis, putting untold alien migrant lives at risk, to say nothing of the dozens upon dozens of American communities now fearing for their safety and trying to protect themselves from Third World diseases.

Utter Democrat Party moral bankruptcy. That's what this country has come to under the criminal Obama administration.

The Immigration Reform Collapse

I love the Wall Street Journal, but they've been hopelessly in favor of open borders as long as I've been reading the paper.

Still, the editors come down harshly on the administration's manufactured border crisis, "The Immigration Reform Collapse":
Immigration reform has finally collapsed in Congress for this year, and President Obama and House Republicans are both responsible. The larger loss is for America's economy and dynamism, but as a political matter Republicans are likely to pay the steeper price.

On Monday Mr. Obama chastised Republicans for the failure, but it took two not to tango. The President now says he'll act unilaterally, but his threat all along that he would do so is one reason so many Republicans concluded that they couldn't trust him to honestly implement any reform. One price of Mr. Obama's legal abuses is that few in Congress think he will faithfully execute any law as written.

The President is also responsible for the current spectacle of federal incompetence at the border with Mexico. The worst Republican restrictionists couldn't have come up with a better plan to kill reform than the sight of thousands of children flooding over the border into camps that Homeland Security can't manage. Many of the children are fleeing poverty and mayhem in Central America, but many have been sent by parents who heard rumors that once they get here Mr. Obama will let them stay.

Immigration reform requires some confidence that the federal government can police the border, implement E-Verify for new business hires, and manage revamped guest-worker programs. The televised sight of chaos on the border has been a godsend to GOP nativists...
Well, that's for sure.

Other than that, the editors hammer Republicans, mistakenly, for failure to reach agreement on comprehensive reform. At this point, of course, it's the administration that's taking the bulk of heat from the public. Congress has congenitally low approval ratings in any case. GOP congressional candidates are going to sweep up in November, and Obama will drag down Senate Democrats around the country. It's still 2 1/2 years until November 2016. A lot can happen in the meantime.

More at the link.

Laura Ingraham Brings Down the Enforcement Hammer — #SecureTheBorder

Expose Liberals goes after Bill O'Reilly for his immigration segment last night, "Gasbag Bill O’Reilly bashes Murrieta protesters, calls illegals victims."

But O'Reilly's O'Reilly. More of an old-fashioned working class traditionalist than a movement conservative. No so for Laura Ingraham, however. She's got the beat of the anti-establishment sentiment down cold.



Outrage Over Unauthorized Immigrants and Reaction to Their Arrival

At the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Letters to the editor on unauthorized immigrants from Central America, for July 2, 2014."

It's actually running about 2-1 in favor of the bleeding heart leftists and open-borders goons. But there's some folks who fully support the Murrieta patriots:
Congratulations to the protesters stopping the buses carrying illegal immigrants. You are representing the desire of Americans across the country to enforce the borders of the United States and prevent illegal immigration of anyone, young or old. We must protect our country. When the United States regains its strength, we can again help other people. In the meantime, our country comes first.

I grew up in San Diego, my family still lives there, and I heartily support the actions taken by the protesters to assert our rights as a country to maintain our borders.

Linda Conde
Roosevelt, Utah

***

I recall a couple of years ago during the most recent push for “comprehensive immigration reform,” Republicans refused to sign on until border security was enhanced. Then-Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano went on all the talk shows to get the message out that security along the southern border is better now than it has ever been.

Now we hear that tens of thousands of children from Central America are simply walking right across the border, and turning themselves over to the nearest Border Patrol agent. Doesn’t sound too secure to me.

And now our president and vice president are making public statements urging people in Central America not to send their children north to cross the border. I think we have a responsibility to secure the border before we ask people not to simply walk across it. If we’re making it that easy to break into our country, then whose fault is that?

I don’t blame the immigrants. I blame our own government, which is too corrupt and incompetent to do anything right. Who cares how many Border Patrol agents they hired? That doesn’t mean anything to me. If there was a big enough wall along every inch of that border, you wouldn’t need so many agents to chase people all over the desert on foot. Brett

Alan Pankauski 
Spring Valley

***

The recent invasion at our southern border is the biggest threat to our way of life and it should concern all Americans. Imagine what would happen if the current administration allowed anyone who is persecuted (in any sense of the word) in their own country, to cross the border illegally or legally and take up residency here in the U.S. How long do you think it would be before word spread to other Third World countries. How many would flock to our borders seeking the good life? Three million? Twenty Million? One billion? When does it stop? The time is now. Twelve million and counting…

Barry Basso 
Lakeside
More.

NBC's Richard Engel: #ISIS Threat 'Could Easily Be Directed at the United States...'

Engel's been doing great reporting on the jihadist threat, not overdoing it but not candy-coating it either.



Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Reports: Officials Plan to Sneak Illegal Aliens Back to #Murrieta 'Overnight' in 'Unmarked Vans...'

At the video, from KABC-TV Los Angeles, Rob McMillan reports that Border Control officials are planning to return illegals sent to San Ysidro back to Murrieta (via Gateway Pundit).

And according to this report at KNSD NBC 7 San Diego, officials plan to sneak the aliens back in "unarked vans", "Undocumented Women, Children Face Angry Protests in California":

The number of unaccompanied children crossing into the U.S. – some younger than 13 – has spiked recently, in what President Barack Obama has called a "humanitarian crisis."

San Diego-based agents report seeing 642 minors crossing the border this year – a 55 percent increase over last year.

There aren't enough facilities in the U.S. to house the children, and so the Obama administration has ordered accomodations be made available at various locations like Port Hueneme, California.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, San Diego has 25 beds designated for these children.

Medical personnel will screen the women and children – some just infants – and provide necessary treatment. Ten detainees were taken to local hospitals overnight, including three children taken to Rady Children's Hospital, Zermeno said. Rady Children’s Hospital told NBC 7 that no undocumented children were treated there.

The rest of the immigrants were given the opportunity to eat and shower at the San Ysidro station. Meanwhile, several people stood outside holding signs in support of those detained inside.

“We will be remembered for how we treat the most needy and poorest among us, and I hope that this country can come around,” said San Ysidro resident Antonio Fahme. “Those children need to know that not everybody here feels the way those protesters did in Murrieta.”

The preliminary screening processes can take up to four hours per person, according to National Border Patrol Council Union Representative Ron Zermeno.

Once that screening process is complete, officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were expected to take the women and children to bus depots in Perris, Riverside and Murrieta using unmarked vans.

ICE officials said those released must attend an immigration hearing at a later date.
There's still more at the link.

VIDEO: Radical Open-Borders Thugs Smear #Murrieta Patriots for 'Hate and Bigotry' — #SecureTheBorder

Here it comes.

Apparently a far-left social justice outfit (the so-called Inland Empire Rapid Response Network) is organizing illegal alien criminals, attacking the Murrieta patriots for alleged "hate and bigotry."

Obviously a communist backed La Raza shill organization.

It's too typical.

At CBS KCAL 9 Los Angeles:



More, "San Bernardino rally expresses support for Murrieta migrants":
“Yesterday, we saw a great outpouring of hatred,” said Jennaya Dunlap of Inland Empire Rapid Response Network, referring to protests in Murrieta. “So today we’re here to say ‘welcome.’”
Screw these commies. Go home, dirtbags.

Packed #Murrieta Town Hall Meeting Sounds Warning Against Illegal Alien Invasion!

The place is jam-packed!

My buddy Douglas Gibbs has this, "Murrieta Town Hall Meeting Tonight: Illegal Immigration."

And seen on Twitter just now:



More:



AUDIO: Vote-Challenging Conservatives Crash Thad Cochran Conference Call — #MSSen

This is hilarious, at Roll Call, "Thad Cochran Conference Call Descends Into Chaos."

And the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, "Cochran presser: Most entertaining conference call ever."

Charles C. Johnson helped crash the party, heh.

The dude is inside the loop and inside the GOP establishment's head.


Listen to the audio here.

Carmen Electra Super Smokin' Hot in Galore Magazine Summer 2014

Heh.

At Egotastic!, "Carmen Electra Swimsuit Crazy Sextastic in Galore."

BIOWAR! Third World Aliens Flood U.S. Borders with H1N1 Swine Disease, Other Deadly Pathogens

At the San Antonio Express-News, "Two more migrant children diagnosed with swine flu in Valley."

And at CBS News Dallas, "Texas Border Sheriffs Concerned About Strained Budgets, Disease."



PREVIOUSLY: "Murrieta: After 72-Hour Hold, 95 Percent of Dumped Illegal Aliens Blow Off 'Notice to Appear' in Deportation Court."

Murrieta: After 72-Hour Hold, 95 Percent of Dumped Illegal Aliens Blow Off 'Notice to Appear' in Deportation Court

So far it looks like Murrieta remains scheduled for additional busloads of migrants, and local patriots aren't backing down. At CBS News Los Angeles, "Murrieta Official Warns Immigration Protests Likely ‘Every Time’ Buses Arrive."

The "Murrieta official" is Mayor Pro-Tem Harry Ramos.

And my good friend Douglas Gibbs posted excerpts from his radio interview with Ramos, who says virtually all of the illegal migrants bail out on their deportation hearings after their release from 72-hour hold:


Murrieta City Council Member and Mayor Pro-Tem Harry Ramos spoke out against what is going on during the Constitution Radio program on KCAA AM1050 on June 28, 2014, calling the refusal to act by fellow Republicans a part of the "Matrix Effect," explaining that, "Most of our information is second hand as well, and I think that is one of the travesties in all of this, is that we have yet to get any official word from the federal government on their plans. Most of the information we are getting is from sources within the Border Patrol. From what we understand is that for about a month now there's been plans to start shipping in a lot of the illegal aliens that come in through Texas and Arizona into Murrieta - we've been trying to be pro-active and get information and stop this before this happens and two times we were under the notion that it has been stopped. . . 200 illegals every seventy two hours. . . mostly other than Mexican nationals. . . coming into our area. . . the truth is, you hit the nail on the head, when you read the newspapers and listen to the TV shows, they're all saying they're being processed. Well, a part of the process is releasing them. The biggest problem. . . since they are not mostly Mexican, based on the law, they have to have a court hearing. And by law they can only hold someone before they can have a court case for 72 hours. So what happens is, the reason why it's 72 hours, they release them, they give them either a bus ticket or leave them within the area, and then they are supposed to come back I believe within ten or fifteen days, I don't remember the exact number, to, for a court hearing. And quite frankly, I've heard heard numbers as high as 95% do not come back, for a court hearing. . . illegal immigration has always been a national security issue, there are more than one way of tearing down a country. It doesn't take bombs. There are other ways philosophically you can destroy a nation as well. . . Unfortunately. . . the conversation is being drawn towards a humanitarian or people issue, where we're heartless and racists [as republicans]. . . this is not the city councils' doing. This is not a republican issue. And this is actually a winning issue, if you just looked at what is going on. Why isn't the Republican Party, and everybody else, standing up and pointing this out. . . I think it's, I like to call it the Matrix Effect. If you start giving information to people, and people start to realize that they are not in this, this perfect utopia, people start to wake up, and in essence, getting unplugged. Then they start to ask questions. You see, Doug, we all know that information is truly power, and, quite frankly, there have been many attacks on our Constitution and freedoms that I think one of the biggest, to date, threats to our freedoms is the lack of questions, and the blind and quiet press we have today. . . But you can't petition [the government] if you don't know there's a problem."
PREVIOUSLY: "Near Rioting in #Murrieta Overnight as Obama Regime Dumps Illegal Aliens on Patriot Community."

Sandra Fluke Decries Hobby Lobby Decision's 'Attack on Women'

My good friend Bree was cracking me up on Twitter this morning:


And, FWIW, here's Ms. Fluke's (rhymes with fuck), at the Washington Post, "The Hobby Lobby case is an attack on women."

Revenge Murder? Israelis Blamed for Kidnapping and Burning to Death Palestinian Teenager

At the Sydney Morning Herald, "Cycle of revenge fear after Palestinian teen killing."

And at Telegraph UK, "Israelis blamed for kidnapping and burning to death Palestinian teenager in suspected revenge attack":
In an apparent revenge attack for the murder of three Israeli teenagers, Mohammed Abu Khiedir, 16, was spirited away from his Jerusalem neighbourhood.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict stood on the edge of a dangerous precipice on Wednesday night after an Arab youth was abducted and murdered in a suspected revenge killing for the deaths of three Jewish teenagers.

Violent clashes broke out in East Jerusalem’s Shuafat neighbourood after a burnt body was discovered in a forest in the city’s Jewish-dominated western sector shortly before dawn. It was said to be that of Mohammed Abu Khiedir, 16, who had been reported missing when his family told police he had been abducted from outside a shop near his home in the area.

The youth - an electrical engineering student at a vocational school - was said by relatives to have been forced by three men into a car as he waited for early morning prayers to begin at a mosque next to his home.

His remains were so badly charred that police declined to show them to the youth’s father, Hussein, the owner of an electrical shop. He was instead being identified using DNA samples from his parents.

The murder drew international condemnation, including from David Cameron, the Prime Minister, who called it “appalling”, and William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, who said it was “vital” that those responsible “be held accountable”.
More.

I'll have more on the Middle East throughout the day...

Added: From the Jerusalem Post, "Hundreds of Arabs riot across Jerusalem after Palestinian teen found murdered." (At Memeorandum.)

'By categorizing all disagreement as hate, feminists are attempting to dictate rules of discourse whereby they win every argument simply by virtue of the fact that they possess vaginas...'

Robert Stacy McCain has a great essay on actor and television personality Adam Richman, who was targeted by radical feminists after losing 70 pounds and bragging about it with an innocuous hashtag on Twitter, "#thinspiration."

See, "What @AdamRichman Learned."



I saw this "fight" earlier at xoJane, "I GOT INTO A NASTY FIGHT WITH "MAN VS. FOOD"'S ADAM RICHMAN ON INSTAGRAM AFTER I CALLED HIM OUT FOR USING THE "THINSPIRATION" TAG."

At least click the link to see Richman's responses in screencaps.

'President Barack Obama is the worst president since World War II', Quinnipiac

It's a poll ranking of responses. President Cluster ranks first as the worst president since World War Two.

Here: "July 2, 2014 - Obama Is First As Worst President Since WWII, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; More Voters Say Romney Would Have Been Better."

Romney would have been so much better. It's sad to think how much better. It's sad to think how screwed we are. It's sad to think how hoodwinked the public is. Perhaps some folks are waking up, but we'll see how it shakes out in November.

VIDEO: Food Truck Explodes in Philadelphia

At MyFox Philadelphia, "Lunch Truck Explodes in Feltonville."

The 'Gates of Hell' Ajar in the Middle East

An outstanding commentary, from Monica Crowley, at the Washington Times.

She pulls all the strings together. Brief, to the point, hammering it home.

Near Rioting in #Murrieta Overnight as Obama Regime Dumps Illegal Aliens on Patriot Community

At KGTV-ABC10 News San Diego, "Hundreds rally outside Border Patrol office in Murrieta."

Patriots squaring off against amnesty backers waving Mexican flags.

PREVIOUSLY: "VIDEO: Murrieta Illegal Alien Protests Makes CBS 'Evening News' — #SecureTheBorder."

Dana Loesch Smacks Down Far-Left Pro-Abortion Hag Patricia Ireland

Man, Patricia Ireland.

Flashback to when? The 1990s, I guess.

She needs to go back to the future, lol.

And she should actually make her points instead of whining to Sean Hannity about "it's my turn, waahhh!!"

VIDEO: Murrieta Illegal Alien Protests Makes CBS 'Evening News' — #SecureTheBorder

Here's the background, "Outraged Murrieta Patriots Protest Illegal Alien Onslaught, Block Amnesty Buses! — #SecureTheBorder."

And what do you know?

Some serious national news coverage, amazingly neutral as well:


Brianna Keilar with Tara Maller on #Iraq — #SitRoom

Dr. Maller's on Twitter, and check her page at the New America Foundation.

Also at the clip is CNN counter-terrorism analyst Philip Mudd.


Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Serena Williams On-Court Breakdown at Wimbledon

Bizarre.

She's a dominant player. I don't know how she could go out there looking like she was on drugs. I guess it was a "viral" illness of some sort, but it's bad.


Many California Community College Students Need 4 Years to Graduate

At least 4 years.

But see the Los Angeles Times.

Yeah, it's worse, especially for minorities, "New Report Details Need to Increase College Completion and Close Success Gaps for Underrepresented Students at State’s Community Colleges." (That's from 2010, but it ain't getting any better.)

ADDED: The student pictured, Jeffrey MacGillivray, was student of mine this spring semester at Long Beach City College. At the Times he's seen at El Camino College in Torrance in 2012. It's interesting that he's shopping around, taking classes at different colleges. Usually when that happens students are unsuccessful, so they have to switch schools. I worked closely with Jeffrey, hoping to impart some sense of the importance of good attendance and punctuality, as I do for all of my classes. Also interesting is how all the students pictured have the smartphones out, texting and talking as soon as they get out of class.

Outraged Murrieta Patriots Protest Illegal Alien Onslaught, Block Amnesty Buses! — #SecureTheBorder

My good friend Douglas Gibbs, and his crew of local patriots in Murrieta, Ca., are on the front lines of the illegal alien crisis and they're not taking it anymore.

Here's Doug's post on not just the constitutional crisis, but the Third World disease epidemic spiraling over our borders, "Illegal Immigration Bio-Warfare."

Check that link.

Turns out Murrieta's patriot community has been holding protests, demanding that city leaders stem the tide. Most dramatically, they've blocked illegal aliens from unloading at the Murrieta Border Control compound.

Here's the background, at the Riverside Press-Enterprise, "IMMIGRATION: Debate continues over plan to use Murrieta facility." And at NBC Southern California, "Protesters Block Bus Carrying Immigrants."

And a video from CBS/KCAL News Los Angeles, "KCAL9's Tom Wait reports the Mayor Alan Long tried to reassure constituents their safety is not in jeopardy during a community meeting Monday":



MORE at Director Blue, "ROLL OUT THE WELCOME MAT: Ready for a Flood of Illegals to be Dumped in Your City or Town? By Tori Richards."

UPDATE: Linked at the Mad Jewess Woman's blog: "#SecureTheBorder - Americans Block Buses In California Transporting Diseased, Illegal Occupiers." Thanks!

ADDED: At the Los Angeles Times, "Protesters in #Murrieta block detainees' buses in tense standoff."

VIDEO: Netanyahu Speaks, Thousands Attend Funeral of Murdered Israeli Teens — #GiladEyalNaftali

At the Guardian UK, "Netanyahu speaks at burial service for three murdered Israeli teens – as it happened."

And at the Times of Israel, "Today has become a national day of mourning, PM says as teens buried."



Heh, Hot Adriana Lima for Kia Motors - #USA

Just saw this advertisement and tweeted.



USA and Belgium playing right now. Let's see how it goes. The enthusiasm is contageous.

Oh, more Adriana here.

San Francisco Gets Ready for Belgium vs. United States - #TeamUSA

Heh, you gotta love it.

At SFGate:


Story here: "World Cup – Now, America Waits."

Cameron Diaz Strips Down for Esquire

Cameron Diaz has some all natural fitness book out with photos of her super-clean and fit body, so now she's taking her lovely curves to the movies.

At Fox News, "Cameron Diaz gets naked in 'Sex Tape' movie." And at USA Today, "A Cameron Diaz first: Naked on camera."

And going straight to Esquire, "THE EXCERPT: MEET CAMERON DIAZ, OUR NEWEST COVER STAR AND AN INCREDIBLE WHISTLER."

Not Gonna Take It! Huge Majorities Blame Obama for Illegal Alien Crisis, IRS Cover-Up, and Iraq

At IBD, "Americans Blame Obama: Poll."

Fifty-nine percent of those polled blame Obama for the flood of illegal aliens streaming over the border; a full 65 percent say the Obama administration is engaged in an IRS cover-up; and 56 percent say Obama's troop pull-out in 2011 caused the current crisis in Iraq.

We've seen the administration's numbers tanking for weeks. It's just over four months now until the November midterms. Democrats are going to be destroyed.

Officials Warn Against Extremely High #ISIS Threat to U.S. Homeland

At Twitchy, "Report: Terror threat against US targets from ISIS is ‘extremely high’."

Richard Engel reports:



Airport Security to Tighten Amid Fears of New Generation of Terrorist Attacks

Following-up from almost a week ago, "#ISIS Developing Non-Metallic Explosives to Smuggle on Planes in New Wave of Islamic Terrorism."

At the Guardian Liberty Voice, "Airport Security May Tighten Due to Terrorist Bombs That Escape Detection."

Israel Launches Airstrikes in Gaza After Bodies of Murdered Teens Found

At Reuters, "Israel bombs Gaza sites hours after bodies of Israeli teens found," and at Bloomberg, "Israel Hits Gaza After Finding Bodies of Slain Teenagers."



Bloomberg says arrests have been made, but here's the Times of Israel, "Army vows to capture suspects in teens’ killing, ‘dead or alive’."

More later.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Indians at #Dodgers

I'm heading out to Chavez Ravine with my youngest boy for tonight's game.

Blogging should resume late night or in the morning, depending how beat I am.



Supreme Court Rules for Hobby Lobby Religious Exemption on #ObamaCare Contraception Mandate

Obviously, a huge decision out of the Supreme Court today.

At LAT, "Supreme Court rules on contraceptives; setback for Obama healthcare law." And at NYT, "Updates on the Supreme Court’s Decision in Hobby Lobby Case," and "Supreme Court Rejects Contraceptives Mandate for Some Corporations."

Althouse has analysis, "The Supreme Court — in Hobby Lobby — upholds religious exemptions to Obamacare."

Radical leftists completely lost it.

At the Other McCain, "The #HobbyLobby Hysteria," and National Review, "Hobby Lobby Sparks Twitter Outrage on the Left."


Plus lots more at Twitchy, "‘Fu*k you:’ Left-wingers want to ‘burn down’ Hobby Lobby after SCOTUS win," and "#BoycottHobbyLobby: Opponents say it’s time to ‘lynch’ a few corporations."

And at Memeorandum.

Three Kidnapped Israeli Teens Found Murdered in West Bank — #EyalGiladNaftali

At the Times of Israel, "Bodies of three kidnapped teens found."

"The three appeared to have been shot to death..."

At the New York Times, "Three Bodies Found Believed to Be Missing Israelis."

UPDATE: See the continuing coverage at Israel Matzav, "May God Have mercy - UPDATED; "NY Times: They were murdered shortly after they were kidnapped"; "Released from gag order: Shot heard on tape during call from Naftali Frenkel HY"D to police"; and "Report: IDF demolishing kidnapper/murderer's home."

Also more at the Times of Israel, "4 officers dismissed for response to kidnapped teen’s call."

ADDED: At Legal Insurrection, "Bodies of kidnapped Israeli teens found."

And again at the Times of Israel, "Dramatic developments regarding kidnapped teens," and "Hamas will pay, says PM, after bodies of kidnapped teens found."



Lois Lerner Death Threats? Well, Boo Freakin' Hoo

At CNN, FWIW, "Lois Lerner's attorney tells Candy Crowley about the threats against his client's life connected to the IRS scandal."

BONUS: At Legal Insurrection, "Darrell Issa: It’s Hard to Believe Lois Lerner Doesn’t Have Copies of Emails."

Montana's Billings Gazette Regrets Endorsing Barack Obama in 2008

At least the editors are honest enough to admit their colossal blunder.

At Legal Insurrection, "Newspaper That Endorsed Obama in 2008 Now Says He’s Worse Than Bush."

And from the Gazette's editors, "Obama earned the low ratings."

#ISIS Battle Loot Alters Balance of Power in #Iraq, Syria

At LAT, "ISIS weapons windfall may alter balance in Iraq, Syria conflicts":
Six months ago, Sunni Arab militants faced a daunting firepower imbalance in their uprising against the U.S.-equipped Iraqi army west of Baghdad.

But once their campaign for the city of Fallouja was launched in January, their lethal capabilities were bolstered from the stockpiles of the Iraqi armed forces.

Many soldiers fled, throwing down their weapons, which were picked up by the insurgents. Police stations and security posts overrun by Sunni militants yielded more martial booty to be turned against the forces of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Shiite Muslim-led government.

"Praise God, we soon had enough weapons to fight for one or two years," said Ahmad Dabaash, spokesman for the Islamic Army, a Sunni rebel faction, who spoke in a hotel lobby here in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region. "And now? Don't even ask!"
Keep reading.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."

Corrupt Koskinen photo Incompetent_or_Corrupt_zps3b2841f8.jpg


Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies," and at Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

More at Leg Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Shrink Wrapper," and Theo Spark, "Cartoon Roundup..."

CARTOON CREDIT: William Warren.

Israeli Defense Forces Target #ISIS in Gaza: Jihadists Pledge to Destroy 'Zionist Regime'

At Algemeiner, "ISIS Now Openly Operating in Gaza – Flags Seen Waving at Funeral (VIDEO)."

And earlier at the Jerusalem Post, "Egypt arrests 15 ISIS militants in Sinai":
Egyptian special forces tracked and arrested a terrorist cell which had used tunnels to cross from Gaza into the Sinai Peninsula, Ma'ariv reported on Saturday. The 15 militants arrested belong to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Further interrogation of the cell by Egyptian forces revealed that the group's intent was to relay messages and set up terrorist cells for the ISIS in Egypt, to fight the Egyptian government...
Still more from Michael Maloof, at WND, "IRAQ INVADERS THREATEN NUKE ATTACK ON ISRAEL: ISIS focus on 'destroying Zionist regime' to 'liberate Palestine'."

Arrival of Russian Military Advisers in #Iraq is Pointed Rebuke to Obama Administration

Well, anything Russia does at this point is a rebuke to Obama. Putin's got a free hand. No worries about any international repercussions, least of all from the United States.

At the New York Times, "Russian Jets And Experts Sent to Iraq to Aid Army":

BAGHDAD — Iraqi government officials said Sunday that Russian experts had arrived in Iraq to help the army get 12 new Russian warplanes into the fight against Sunni extremists, while the extremists declared their leader the caliph, or absolute ruler, of all jihadi organizations worldwide.

The Russian move was at least an implicit rebuke to the United States, which the Iraqis believe has been too slow to supply American F-16s and attack helicopters — although the United States is now in the process of providing both.

“In the coming three or four days the aircraft will be in service to support our forces in the fight” against the insurgents of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, said Gen. Anwar Hama Ameen, the commander of the Iraqi Air Force, referring to five SU-25 aircraft that were flown into Iraq aboard Russian cargo planes Saturday night, and two more expected later Sunday.

Also on Sunday, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria released a 34-minute audio recording of a speech by its official spokesman, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, who said that the insurgency’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was now the world’s caliph and as such had declared all other jihadi organizations void and under his direct control, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremists’ online presence.

The audio speech was released on an ISIS-linked Twitter feed, the group said....

In present-day Baghdad, the Iraqi Air Force commander, General Ameen, said that Russian military experts had arrived to help set up the new SU-25 warplanes, but that they would stay only a short time. The last five Russian aircraft would arrive by Monday, he said. Last week, President Obama ordered 300 American military advisers into the country, and the Iranians have reportedly sent advisers from their Republican Guards’ Quds Force. At least three United States Special Forces teams are said to have been deployed north of Baghdad in recent days, tasked with carrying out a survey of Iraqi forces to determine their condition and needs.

This was the first report of Russian military aides in the country, although General Ameen said they were experts, not advisers...

How #ISIS Builds Power and Support

I might be switching to the "IS" moniker pretty soon (with the new caliphate, and all), but for now, I'm staying with journalistic conventions.

From Thanassis Cambanis, at the Boston Globe, "The surprising appeal of ISIS."

Sarah Brandner World Cup Body Painting

From Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, "World Cup Body Painting: Sarah Brandner Wearing Nothing But PAINT!"

Katrina vanden Heuvel to Bill Kristol: 'You should, with all due respect, enlist in the Iraqi army...'

Heh, this is pretty good, via Sooper Mexican, "WATCH Lefty Liberal Take on Arch Neo-Con Bill Kristol: ‘Why Don’t YOU Enlist in The Iraqi Army?!’"

She's basically calling him a chicken hawk who should be tried for war crimes.



Hot Aida Yespica Bikini Pics

She's a former Venezuelan television personality and beauty contestant now living in Italy.

Looking good.

At Egotastic!, "Aida Yespica Bikini Pictures Hold Their Own and Then Some on Holiday in Spain."

BONUS: At Batshit Crazy News, "Side Boob Rule 5," and at Pirate's Cove, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup."

ALLAHU AKBAR! — #ISIS Declares Creation of Middle East Caliphate: 'New Era of International Jihad'

At RT, "ISIS declares creation of Islamic state in Middle East, 'new era of international jihad'."

And at the Wall Street Journal, "ISIS Declares New Islamist Caliphate: Militant Group Declares Statehood, Demands Allegiance From Other Organizations."


More at Jihad Watch, "ISIS/ISIL declares Islamic State, shortens name to “The Islamic State” (IS)":
They clearly intend to hold the territory they have captured. They’ve also declared Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi the new caliph; he claims to be a descendant of Muhammad, so it is possible that if they can make their state viable, this claim will gain currency. If that happens, it will be interesting to see how Muslims in the West react to the idea that he is the “leader for Muslims everywhere,” which historically was always a claim of the caliph.
Plus, an English-language ISIS propaganda video, "The End of Sykes - Picot":



Meanwhile, the blood continues to spill, at RT, "ISIS crucify eight anti-Assad fighters in Syria – watchdog."

More news on Twitter:

#ISIS Forces Repel Counteroffensive at Tikrit, Bring Down Iraqi Helicopter — #Iraq

I don't see photos of the downed copter, but it's being reported at Haaretz, "ISIS militants shoot down Iraqi chopper as Tikrit assault enters 2nd day," and the Irish Times, "Militants bring down army helicopter over Tikrit."

Meanwhile, jihadists have repelled the government's counteroffensive.

At the Washington Post, "Militants repel Iraqi forces’ attempt to recapture Tikrit," and the Wall Street Journal, "Iraqi Forces Stalled in Push Against Militants, Say Officials: Government's Official Statements Say Tikrit Has Been 'Cleansed'":

BAGHDAD—Iraqi security forces were locked in a standoff outside the city of Tikrit on Sunday morning, local security officials said, as the military's most muscular effort to beat back a three-week-old Sunni insurgency appeared to stall.

The military offensive, which began Saturday afternoon after weeks of preparation, was hampered by extensive land-mine formations laid by insurgents on the main road between Samarra, the provisional headquarters of Iraqi forces north of Baghdad, and Tikrit, according to security forces at the Samarra Command Center.

Reports from the ground contradicted government statements carried by the official television station, which said Iraqi security forces had "cleansed" Tikrit and were preparing to recapture all of the surrounding Salah Al Din province in the coming hours.

But as of Sunday morning, Iraqi forces still hadn't succeeded in taking Tikrit, the birthplace of former President Saddam Hussein and a flash point in the Sunni-led resistance against American forces following the 2003 invasion, according to residents of the city...
Continue reading.

More at Euronews, "Tikrit battle continues as Iraq attempts to recapture town from ISIL."

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Ahmed Abu Khattala Pleads Not Guilty

Yeah, "not guilty."

I'm sure it'd be a riot if the dude was acquitted. Indeed, leftists would cheer the verdict.

At LAT, "Suspect in Benghazi attack pleads not guilty; more charges expected."



Outrage Over SFSU 'Race and Resistance' Professor Rabab Abdulhadi

Professor Rabab Abdulhadi teaches in the "Race and Resistance" program of the Ethnic Studies Department at San Francisco State University.

AMCHA (the Israeli Center for Holocaust Survivors and the Second Generation) is protesting Professor Abdulhadi's recent trip to Jordan, where she met with Leila Khaled of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which was financed with tax-payer funding.

Daniel Mael has the background, at Truth Revolt, "SFSU Professors Met with Terrorists Tied to American Deaths on Taxpayer's Dime":
A California Public Records Act inquiry revealed that multiple professors from San Francisco State University met with terrorists on a trip funded by the university. Professors Rabab Abdulhadi and Joanne Barker, along with Abdulhadi's husband, met with terrorists Leila Khaled and Sheikh Raed Salah during the "Labor Delegation to Palestine 2014" which began on January 5th, 2014 and concluded on February 14th, 2014.

Eight organizations- the AMCHA Initiative, Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel, Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Simon Wiesenthal Center Campus Outreach, StandWithUs, and Zionist Organization of America- sent a letter to CSU Chancellor Timothy White, SFSU President Leslie Wong, CSU Vice Chancellor and Chief Audit Officer Larry Mendel and CSU Attorney Carrie Hemphill Reith concerning the matter.

Leila Khaled is "a convicted hijacker and the most famous member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization responsible for 159 terrorist acts such as bombings, armed assault and assassinations, resulting in numerous injuries and deaths including those of more than 20 US citizens," the groups noted.

Sheikh Raed Salah has been convicted of funding the terrorist organization Hamas and sat in prison from 2003 - 2005. In the letter to school administration the organizations also highlighted that, "In 2008, Salah was charged with incitement to violence and racism. In 2010, Salah was also arrested for his participation on the Mavi Marmara, part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Salah was recently incarcerated again on charges of incitement to violence."

The letter to the university administration outlined Abdulhadi's dishonest approach to obtaining funding...
More here, "AMCHA and Jewish Organizations Write President Wong about Professor Abdulhadi and SFSU Faculty Event Condoning Terrorism."

Kenneth Monteiro, the Dean of SFSU College of Ethnic Studies, has defended Abdulhadi, "Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies Commentary on Free Speech and AMCHA Initiative’s attacks on students and faculty across California Campuses." And at Truth Revolt, "SFSU Ethnic Studies Dean: I Stand With Pro-Terror Research."

And here's the response from Professor Abdulhadi, "Public Statement: Rabab Abdulhadi Responds to AMCHA Allegations." And get a load of this:
AMCHA has predictably focused a huge amount of attention on our meeting with Leila Khaled, in an attempt to demonize the delegation and to damage my reputation. So let me clarify the purpose of meeting with Khaled. Khaled is a Palestinian feminist icon. She is therefore relevant to my research and pedagogy, both of which aim to revise Palestinian women’s studies by critiquing conventional wisdom within the feminist canon. In my courses, I aim to provide a counter narrative to the orientalist depictions of Palestinian, and other Arab and Muslim, women as weak and docile—and men as bloodthirsty and misogynist. To this end, I screen several films including “Leila Khaled: Hijacker?” and open these classes to the public.
Orientalist? Sounds like terror-supporting Middle East scholar (the late) Edward Said.

And screening films like "Leila Khaled: Hijacker?" Might as well screen "Triumph of the Will" and "open these classes to the public."

In any case, back over at Truth Revolt, "SFSU: We'll Fight 'Censorship' of Taxpayer-Funded Pro-Terror Trips by Professors."

Clearly, taxpayer monies funded meetings with terrorists. If such advocacy is legal under current law, the law should be changed. However, I don't buy this woman's explanation that all of this was on the up and up. You've pretty much lost the debate when you start screaming "McCarthyism."

GRAPHIC VIDEO: Shiite Forces Execute Scores of Sunni Prisoners in Tal Afar, #Iraq

Uh, about that new civil war in Iraq.

Arwa Damon reports, for CNN, "Iraqi witnesses recall horrors in Tal Afar, Mosul."

The report cites Amnesty International, "Iraq: scores of Sunni detainees summarily killed by government and Shi'a militias - new testimonies."



Dozens of Casualities in Massive Bomb Blast at Marketplace Near Damascus, Syria

Video at Reuters, "Two car bombs hit Syrian market in Douma," and Vice, "Car Bomb Explosion Leaves Dozens Hurt in Eastern Damascus."

And according to the Daily Sabah, "CAR BOMB KILLS TWO, INJURES DOZENS NEAR DAMASCUS":
CAIRO – Two people were killed and dozens wounded when a car bomb exploded in a town on the outskirts of Damascus on Saturday, a rights watchdog reported.

The bomb struck a crowded market area in Douma town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Earlier this month, a bombing killed eight people in Douma.

Rebels accused the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) of carrying out the attack against other Islamist groups fighting to oust the regime of President Bashar al-Assad...
And at Press TV, "Two killed as blast hits Syrian town of Douma."

The death toll could be higher.

#Iraq Troops Mount Defense to Save Baghdad

At the Los Angeles Times, "Iraqi forces dig in to keep militants from capturing Baghdad":

If the Sunni Muslim insurgents lurking west of Baghdad decide to rush the Iraqi capital, Ahmed Ali knows the quickest route runs past his fruit stand.

Peering at the highway over mounds of watermelon and bananas, Ali watches Iraqi army pickup trucks and personnel carriers race by — headed, he hopes, toward a battle somewhere.

“I feel relief when I see them,” said Ali, a Shiite Muslim in his 50s who took refuge in Abu Ghraib this year after insurgents seized his village. “Somehow, I feel the security forces will protect me.”

Facing a methodical onslaught by an Al Qaeda splinter group and antigovernment militants, soldiers, police and Shiite militias are digging in around Baghdad and at strategic points outside the capital in a desperate bid to prevent the pillars of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s Shiite-dominated government from falling to the insurgents.

With the deployment of security forces, bolstered by tens of thousands of volunteer fighters, Iraqi military officials say, Baghdad is not in immediate danger of a major attack. U.S. officials are less certain. Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said this week that as the insurgents “continue to press into central and southern Iraq … they are still a legitimate threat to Baghdad.”
More.

PREVIOUSLY: "#Iraq Army Mounts Counteroffensive in Tikrit, Mosul."

VIDEO: Marine Capt. William Mahoney Lands AV-8B Harrier on Tiny Bench After Landing Gear Malfunction

Simply amazing.

At the Navy Times, "Marine Harrier pilot sticks incredible landing on tiny bench at sea."



Bin Laden's Caliphate Rises in #Iraq

At the Wall Street Journal, "The Caliphate Rises":
The jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) continue to consolidate their grip on Sunni Iraq. They control most major cities, they took over the border crossings with Jordan this week, and now they're re-opening banks and government offices and establishing political control.

Welcome to the new Middle East caliphate, a state whose leader is considered the religious and political successor to the prophet Mohammed and is thus sovereign over all Muslims. The last time a caliphate was based in Baghdad was 1258, the year it was conquered by the ravaging Mongols. Now the jihadists aim to do the ravaging, and it isn't clear that the Obama Administration has a plan to depose them.

It's important to understand how large a setback for American interests and security this is. Establishing a caliphate in the Middle East was the main political project of Osama bin Laden's life. Current al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri once said a new caliphate would signal a turning of world history "against the empire of the United States and the world's Jewish government."

In 2005, a Jordanian journalist named Fouad Hussein wrote a book on al Qaeda's "second generation," which focused on the thinking of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed by U.S. forces in 2006. The book described a seven-phase plan, beginning with an "awakening" of Islamic consciousness with the September 11 attacks. Among other predictions, it foresaw an effort to "clear plans to partition Syria, Lebanon and Jordan into sectarian statelets to reshape the region."

In phase four, timed to happen between 2010 and 2013, the Arab world's secular regimes would be toppled. And then? Phase five would see the "declaration of the caliphate or Islamic state" sometime between 2013 and 2016. This was to be followed by "total war," or "the beginning of the confrontation between faith and disbelief, which would begin in earnest after the establishment of the Islamic caliphate."
Keep reading.

And keep all of this in mind next time you hear some leftist commentator claiming that ISIS isn't al Qaeda.

More, "#ISIS is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Dream Come True in Iraq."

#Iraq Army Mounts Counteroffensive in Tikrit, Mosul

From Ed Morrissey, at Hot Air, "Iraq launches offensive on ISIS in Tikrit, Mosul."

And at the New York Times, "In New Show of Force, Iraqi Army Drives Back Insurgents in Major City":

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Army on Saturday drove Islamic extremists from the center of a major city in central Iraq, for the first time mounting a concerted assault against insurgents who had charged to within 50 miles of Baghdad.

Independent sources, including local officials and witnesses, confirmed that an Iraqi Army counteroffensive had driven militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria from the center of Tikrit, including from government buildings as well as from major roads and other positions throughout the city.

But fighting was still continuing, with Iraqi war planes bombing targets inside the city late in the afternoon.

Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussein, with a largely Sunni population of 250,000, is in the Tigris River Valley, 100 miles north of Baghdad. It has long been a stronghold of antigovernment Sunnis in Iraq, and losing it would sever the insurgents’ lines of communication to Mosul and Syria. It could also strand some of their fighters in pockets south of Tikrit.

Some Iraqi military analysts said they thought it was no coincidence that army’s counteroffensive was launched now, with 180 of the 300 American advisers ordered to Iraq by President Obama arriving over the past three days, but Iraqi officials denied that there was any American role.

If the advances by the Iraqi Army are sustained, and even built upon, it would provide a much needed morale boost for an army that lost as much as a fourth of its soldiers and equipment when ISIS overran Mosul, and has lurched from one embarrassment to another since then. It has given up the oil-rich city of Kirkuk to Kurdish forces. And it has lost all of its border crossing points with Syria and Jordan to the militants, ceding to them control of most of four major provinces spanning more than 200 miles from north to south.

A spokesman for the Iraqi military, Gen. Qassim Atta, claimed that ISIS militants were withdrawing and that they had buried their dead on the grounds of a former Hussein palace in Tikrit. “Reports and surveillance show that ISIS leaders have ordered a retreat,” he said...
More.

And at Business Week, "Iraqi Army Starts Assault to Dislodge Sunni Militants."

More Than Two-Thirds of American Youth Wouldn't Qualify for Military Service, Pentagon Says

This is interesting.

At WSJ, "Recruits' Ineligibility Tests the Military":
More than two-thirds of America's youth would fail to qualify for military service because of physical, behavioral or educational shortcomings, posing challenges to building the next generation of soldiers even as the U.S. draws down troops from conflict zones.

The military deems many youngsters ineligible due to obesity, lack of a high-school diploma, felony convictions and prescription-drug use for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. But others are now also running afoul of standards for appearance amid the growing popularity of large-scale tattoos and devices called ear gauges that create large holes in earlobes.

A few weeks ago, Brittany Crippen said she tried to enlist in the Army, only to learn that a tattoo of a fish on the back of her neck disqualified her. Determined to join, the 19-year-old college student visited a second recruiting center in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and was rejected again.

Apologetic recruiters encouraged her to return after removing the tattoo, a process she was told would take about year. "I was very upset," Ms. Crippen said...
More.

I like tattoos, although I personally never seriously considered getting one, even back in the day. But those "ear gauge" things? So disgusting. I can't even look at people who have them. They're literally deformed.

Are You an American Citizen?

Some drivers are refusing to identify themselves as U.S. citizens when asked by the Border Patrol.

At KABC-15 Phoenix, "Refusing to answer Border Patrols' questions could have consequences, says attorney."


Sophisticated Tactics Key to #Isis Strength

A report at the Financial Times, via Mike Shedlock, "Divided Iraq Inevitable; Isis Targets Baghdad Green Zone; Obama's Inane Weapon's Proposal."

It's a lot of cut-and-paste, but here's the interesting part on ISIS, from FT:
“They [Isis] are going against a supposedly professional military force with a speed and ferocity that has the Iraqis taking to their heels,” says Patrick Skinner, a former counter-terrorism officer at the Central Intelligence Agency and now analyst at the Soufan Group. “The Iraqi Security Forces [ISF] are mind-crushingly inept.”

Of immediate concern is the seizure by the jihadis of a range of high-grade military equipment. A force once lightly armed with an arsenal of shoulder-held missile launchers and anti-aircraft guns mounted on pick-up trucks, Isis is now far more comprehensively kitted out, thanks to its raids on the depots of the Iraqi army’s second motorised division.

Identifying exactly what the jihadi group has in its armoury is complicated because it has been wildly embellishing its capabilities for effect on social media. But even a conservative list – corroborated by intelligence and military officials – is worrying enough. It includes unknown quantities of M114 Humvees, other armoured personnel carriers and Stinger missiles, as well as a huge cache of explosives and small arms and an unspecified number of M198 155m howitzer artillery pieces with a conventional range of 22km.

In July 2012, Isis – then still known as al-Qaeda in Iraq – began the first of two intensive insurgency campaigns that paved the way for its current fight.

“These were intelligent campaigns in design: well-resourced, prepared, executed and adapted,” says Jessica Lewis, a veteran US army intelligence officer who served in Iraq and is now research director at the Institute for the Study of War. “These are not things I might associate with a terrorist organisation. These are things I associate with an army.”

All of which raises questions about just how big Isis is. US intelligence officials posit a central fighting force of 3,000. Military and intelligence analysts put the minimum size of Isis’s larger force at 7,000 to 10,000. “They are not spreading themselves too thinly,” says Ms Lewis.

“They have matched personnel to their objectives carefully.”

As to what those objectives are, Isis’s attack pattern now seems to point squarely in one direction.

“Isis has uncommitted forces proximate to Baghdad,” says Ms Lewis. “They always meant to establish control. They always meant to break the state. They want Baghdad.” And specifically, she adds, the government-protected Green Zone...

Embassy Threats: Overseas Facilities May Face Greater Risks Due to Gaps in Security-Related Activities

At the Daily Signal, "GAO Report: U.S. Embassies at Risk Because of Security Gaps":
Security at U.S. diplomatic posts is falling short, and Benghazi is only the most visible example.

A new report on “Diplomatic Security” by the Government Accountability Office — GAO-14-655 — demonstrates the problem is systemic, leaving U.S. personnel serving overseas at unnecessary risk. At a time of rising security threats from metastasizing Al Qaeda spinoffs and other terrorist groups, this problem must be addressed immediately at the State Department.

According to the report, State conducts a range of activities to manage risk at overseas work facilities, including the setting of security standards. But GAO found State lacked a fully developed risk management policy to coordinate these activities. It is unclear what standards apply to some facilities, and in others, it took eight years for standards to be identified.

The report identified other deficiencies, including...
Keep reading.


Friday, June 27, 2014

What Did Happen Exactly to James Hong, David Wang, and George Chen?

I'm really disliking this 20/20 Barbara Walters interview with Peter Rodger, Elliot Rodger's dad.

I might blog it tomorrow. I think Mr. Rodger is lying about how "surprised" he was at his son's rampage. He even sees his son as the "victim," not the perpetrator. (Or he thought his son was the "victim" when he first got news from Isla Vista.)

Meanwhile, here's the front-page report out a week or so ago at the Los Angeles Times "UCSB friends were victims of circumstance."

Also, "Elliot Rodger may have used knife, hammer, machete in killings, attorney says."

U.S. Deploys Armed Drones Over Baghdad — #Iraq

David Martin reports, for CBS Evening News:



Suicide Bomber Kills Six in Kirkuk, #Iraq

Intense scene.

Yesterday, at Russia Today, "Six die in northern Kirkuk, as ISIS militants fight bloody war in Iraq."



Obama Pitches a Shutout at the Supreme Court on Recess Appointments

A great editorial from this morning's Wall Street Journal, "Senate 9, President 0":
The Supreme Court handed President Obama his 13th unanimous loss in two years on Thursday, and this one may be the most consequential. All nine Justices voted to overturn Mr. Obama's non-recess recess appointments as an unconstitutional abuse of power.

Over nearly 238 years of American history, the Supreme Court has never had to review the President's authority to temporarily fill vacant executive offices when Congress is adjourned. Mr. Obama's 2012 maneuver to void the Senate's advice and consent role triggered a judicial intercession, and defeats at the High Court are seldom as total as this one...
Keep reading.

PREVIOUSLY: "Supreme Court Limits Presidential Power in Recess Appointments."