Nazi Art Cache

An outstanding commentary, from Christopher Knight, at the Los Angeles Times, "Lift the veil from the Nazi art cache."

The Secret Diary of Abu Zubaydah

At the Independent UK, "The secret diary of al-Qa’ida’s No 3 - Abu Zubaydah, from student to hardline jihadi and CIA torture":

The private diaries of Abu Zubaydah, formerly thought to be the third in command of al-Qa’ida and one of the most prominent remaining detainees in Guantanamo Bay, have been released by the US government.

They offer a remarkable and personal picture of how al-Qa’ida grew from its origins in the mujahedin struggle against the Soviet occupiers of Afghanistan into the organisation that carried out the 2001 attacks against the US.

They track Zubaydah’s journey from a student to a hardened jihadi.

The diaries, obtained by a freedom of information request by Al Jazeera, cover more than a decade. They start in 1990 when Zubaydah – a Saudi-born Palestinian – was a 19-year-old student in computer sciences in Mysore, India, a few months before he travelled to join the Afghan civil war that followed the Soviet departure. They end days before his capture in Faisalabad, Pakistan, in March 2002.

At the time, he was regarded by the CIA as the third-ranking figure in al-Qa’ida, behind only Osama Bin Laden and the group’s current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Zubaydah was held to be one of the planners of the 9/11 attacks and of virtually every other major attack perpetrated by al-Qa’ida before that, including the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa.

He was taken to a CIA  “ghost site” in Thailand and waterboarded 83 times in a bid to extract information about future terrorist operations.

He was among the first al-Qa’ida detainees subjected to the “enhanced interrogation techniques” that had just been approved by George W Bush’s Justice Department.

Later the Bush administration revised its view of Zubaydah’s importance as it became clear he was more of a bureaucrat within al-Qa’ida than a frontline operative. Even so, he was mentioned no less than 52 times in the final report of the 9/11 Commission on the 2001 attacks, published in 2004.

The secret and highly personal dairies, with their  numerous mentions of bin Laden and other al-Qa’ida figures, suggest a meticulous record keeper. Their contents, which are being revealed for the first time, provided the basis for holding many of the prisoners at Guantanamo, of whom 160 remain.

According to Al Jazeera America, the documents – a copy of the government’s English translation of the diaries – were obtained from a former US intelligence official who worked with the CIA and FBI on al-Qa’ida issues.

There are six volumes of the 1990-2002 diaries, excerpts from the first of which were published by Al Jazeera.

Zubaydah is believed to have compiled more diaries while being held by the CIA, in which he is said to describe in detail his torture. Since 2006 he has been held at Guantanamo Bay, although he has not been charged with any crime.

The loss of his diaries, now formally the property of the Pentagon, appears to have affected him deeply. In March 2007, he told a review tribunal that the CIA’s refusal to honour what he claimed was a promise to return them had caused him to have 40 seizures. That mental anguish, Zubaydah said, “is bigger than what the CIA (did to) me”...

Screw the f-ker.

Continue reading.

#ObamaCare, Sluggish Economy Boost GOP Chances in 2014

From Lawrence Kudlow, at IBD:

There's no question the catastrophic debut of ObamaCare — including the website breakdown and the millions of pink-slip cancellations — will be a great card for Republicans to play on the way to the 2014 midterm elections. No question.

The president lied about his lies about keeping your health plans and doctors. And when he did finally apologize, he didn't really say he was sorry.

It's also possible that we'll see 10 million more insurance cancellations, leading to much higher premiums, bigger deductibles, and more cutoffs between patients and their doctors. And employer-based cancellations will compound this disaster, with the whole process stretching across most of next year. It will be a killer for the Obama Democrats.

But while my conservative-pundit colleagues are out thrashing ObamaCare, I want to raise a critical point: Don't forget economic growth.

The Pew Research Center's Andrew Kohut recently wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed titled "The GOP Is in Better Shape Than You Think." It provides an unbelievable statistic: Independents favor the GOP on handling the economy by 46% to 30%. Unbelievable.

Overall, according to Pew Research, a plurality of all voters gives the GOP a 44% to 37% edge on the economy.
So I want to make a pitch that Republicans not lose sight of the importance of economic growth in the months leading up to next year's midterms. And that suggests the importance of a program of pro-growth tax reform and simplification.

More at that top link.

PREVIOUSLY: "Independents Favor #GOP on the Economy by Whopping 46%-30% Margin."

Candice Swanepoel Displays Bedazzled Bra Worth $8 Million

On Good Morning America.

They fitted the bra specifically to Ms. Swanepoel's body. She's the only one who can wear it.

Democrats Who Voted for #ObamaCare Debacle Now Scrambling for Cover

At the Wall Street Journal, "The ObamaCare Dozen":

The torrents of Affordable Care Act monsoon season aren't letting up, so Democrats are scrambling to help the victims: namely, their own careers. The Senators up for re-election in competitive states in 2014 are starting to panic, though they still aren't offering solutions for anything other than their own growing political jeopardy.

Fifteen Senate Democrats plus Colorado's Michael Bennet who chairs the Senatorial Campaign Committee sat down at the White House Wednesday, and they want all and sundry to know that they let President Obama have it. Alaska's Mark Begich put out a statement saying he chewed out the big cheese for "absolutely unacceptable" mismanagement and "an understandable crisis in confidence." He must have drafted it in advance.

Oregon's Jeff Merkley chimed in to report that even after the two-hour encounter session that was not on the public schedule, he was still "very frustrated" and "I remain deeply convinced that this is a 'show-me' moment." Asked by Politico if Democrats were losing credibility, an anonymous attendee said, "You got to have it, to lose it."


Mr. Obama held their hands and told them not to worry. But that's also what he, Bill Clinton and other horse whisperers said in 2010. The "moderates" who made the Nancy Pelosi majority went on to be wiped out in the largest turnover of House seats since 1938.

Mr. Obama then comforted the party regulars that all would be well once the exchanges launched. That day arrived, sort of, since the website doesn't work. He's now urging Democrats to keep calm because the public will love it once the subsidies start to roll out. Yet insurance is being cancelled, premiums are surging and patients like Edie Sundby can't keep their doctors.

Meanwhile, the Salesman in Chief has been exposed for his fraudulent promises. Before October Mr. Obama's rhetoric seemed desperate like Shelly Levene in "Glengarry Glen Ross," repeating discredited assurances that few believed. Now it seems somewhat sinister as he tries to falsify his history of false claims.

All of which has the ObamaCare Dozen—the Democrats who each cast the decisive 60th vote and are running for re-election in 2014—fleeing for political cover. We offer a list of the dozen nearby, and they're right to worry that voters might punish ObamaCare's implementation as they did its passage. But so far the 12 are trying to pull off nothing more than confidence tricks...

Continue reading.

Democrats are screwed. I can't wait until next November. We're talking wipeout!

Combined 52 Million Americans Could Lose Insurance When #ObamaCare Hits Grandfathered Employer-Based Plans

This was the plan all along.

At McClatchy, "Analysis: Tens of millions could be forced out of health insurance they had":

WASHINGTON — Even as President Barack Obama sold a new health care law in part by assuring Americans they would be able to keep their insurance plans, his administration knew that tens of millions of people actually could lose those their policies.

“If you like your private health insurance plan, you can keep your plan. Period,” Obama said as he pitched the plan, the unqualified promise he made repeatedly.

Yet advisers did say in 2010 that there were large caveats and that anyone whose insurance plan changed would lose the promised protection of being able to keep existing plans. And a report in 2010 said that as many as 69 percent of certain employer-based insurance plans would lose that protection, meaning as many as 41 million people could lose their plans even if they wanted to keep them and would be forced into other plans. Another 11 million who bought their own insurance also could lose their plans. Combined, as many as 52 million Americans could lose or have lost old insurance plans.

Some or much of that loss of favored insurance is driven by normal year-to-year changes such as employers changing plans to save money. And many people could end up with better plans. But it is not what the president pledged.

Caught in the firestorm of his broken promise, Obama on Thursday apologized.

“I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me,” he told NBC News Thursday evening. “We’ve got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this.”

The shifting narrative started as Obama worked to sell the entire health care overhaul to a skeptical nation and Congress. To win support from those who already had insurance, he made the promise that no one who liked their plan would lose it. The key was that millions of plans would be “grandfathered” in the new law, thus protected from any new requirements.

Yet as insurance companies started notifying hundreds of thousands this fall that their current policies were being canceled in preparation for new ones, it became clear that many were not guaranteed to keep their plans.

The White House and Congress have focused on cancelations of plans in the individual market, where people buy their own policies.

Obama insisted anew Thursday that the problem is limited to people who buy their own insurance. “We’re talking about 5 percent of the population who are in what’s called the individual market. They’re out there buying health insurance on their own,” he told NBC.

But a closer examination finds that the number of people who have plans changing, or have already changed, could be between 34 million to 52 million. That’s because many employer-provided insurance plans also could change, not just individually purchased insurance plans

Administration officials decline to say how many employer-sponsored plans could change. But those numbers could be between 23 million to 41 million, based on a McClatchy analysis of estimates offered by the Department of Health and Human Services in June 2010.

Obama aides did acknowledge around the time the law was enacted in 2010 that some people could lose their coverage if their plans changed after the law was passed. Those people would in turn receive what the administration described as superior coverage. But in the years since the law’s passage, HHS officials have downplayed that consequence of the hard-fought law.

“If health plans significantly raise co-payments or deductibles or significantly reduce (them) . . . they’ll lose their grandfather status and their customers will get the same full set of consumer protections as new plans,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at a June 15, 2010, news conference.

Yeah, "HHS officials have downplayed" the consequences --- of reaming tens of millions of Americans!

More from Pejman Yousefzadeh, "Obamacare: The Trainwreck Continues" (via Memeorandum).

Obama Lifted Sanctions on Iran to Grease Nuclear Deal That Devastates Israel's National Security

The news is buzzing today with talk of an "historic" diplomatic deal on Iran's nuclear weapons program. The Wall Street Journal has that, "Kerry, European Ministers in Geneva as Iran Talks Continue: French, German and British Foreign Ministers Also in Attendance":

GENEVA—Iran and world powers raced to try to seal an initial deal Friday to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for some easing of sanctions, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and several European foreign ministers arriving in Geneva to push the talks forward.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the possible deal. Asked about Mr. Netanyahu's concerns, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said "any critique of the deal is premature."

President Barack Obama called Mr. Netanyahu later Friday to underscore what the White House described as the president's "strong commitment to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."

Western and Iranian officials said Friday that while there had been significant advances, a deal wasn't nailed down yet.

"I want to emphasize there are still some very important issues on the table that are unresolved. It is important for those to be properly, thoroughly addressed," Mr. Kerry said upon his arrival in Geneva.

Yeah, "some very important issues" are left, like how Israel's getting reamed up the ass by Obama's terror-enabling foreign policy.

Blazing Cat Fur has that, "Netanyahu slams Obama's Iran deal..."



Plus, Eli Lake reports that this "breakthrough" has been in the works for awhile. Turn's out Obama's been selling out Israel's security for some time, with the lifting of Iran sanctions going back to earlier this year. See, "Exclusive: Obama’s Secret Iran Détente":

The Obama administration began softening sanctions on Iran after the election of Iran’s new president in June, months before the current round of nuclear talks in Geneva or the historic phone call between the two leaders in September.

While those negotiations now appear on the verge of a breakthrough the key condition for Iran—relief from crippling sanctions—began quietly and modestly five months ago.
A review of Treasury Department notices reveals that the U.S. government has all but stopped the financial blacklisting of entities and people that help Iran evade international sanctions since the election of its president, Hassan Rouhani, in June.

On Wednesday Obama said in an interview with NBC News the negotiations in Geneva “are not about easing sanctions.” “The negotiations taking place are about how Iran begins to meet its international obligations and provide assurances not just to us but to the entire world,” the president said.

But it has also long been Obama’s strategy to squeeze Iran’s economy until Iran would be willing to trade relief from sanctions for abandoning key elements of its nuclear program.

Listen to Netanyahu at the clip.

The terror-coddling Obama White House threw the Israelis under the bus --- and then rammed a nuclear-tipped intermediate range missile up the Jewish state's butt.

Also at Pamela's, "NETANYAHU TO KERRY ON IRAN DEAL: 'THIS IS A BAD DEAL, A VERY, VERY, BAD DEAL'." And, "KERRY THREATENS ISRAEL WITH 'THIRD INTIFADA'."

Yeah, he would. The Democrats want Israel eradicated.

Fresno State's Fearsome Bulldog Mascot Is Street Gang Symbol

As an alumnus, I can attest to the enormous popularity of Fresno State's athletics program, especially its football team. With the exception of minor league baseball, there are no professional sports teams for hundreds of miles. Fresno State is the epicenter for popular athletic culture. And with such an aggressive mascot, it's no surprise that the bulldog has become a fearsome gang insignia.

At the New York Times, "Fresno State Loves Its Bulldogs, but So Does a Gang":

Fresno and the surrounding region have long been overrun by Bulldogs. And where the violent pack goes, trouble follows.

The Fresno State Bulldogs college football team is exceedingly popular here in the country’s fruit and vegetable epicenter, where more than a million acres of cropland stretch to the horizon. “From Sacramento to L.A., there is nothing except agriculture and Fresno State football,” said Kenny Wiggins, a former Fresno State lineman who plays in the N.F.L. for the San Diego Chargers. “We were the only show in town; everyone, and I mean everyone, goes to the games.”

The team’s logo is a cartoon bulldog, a muscled beast with sharp teeth, a spiked collar and floppy ears. But the bulldog is no longer just a college sports mascot. It has been appropriated by members of a savage street gang who call themselves the Bulldogs.

The gang started in a prison and quickly earned a reputation as unusually vicious, even in the bloody world of California gangs. At their height, in 2006, the Bulldogs were responsible for 70 percent of the city’s shootings, the police said. Three of four inmates in the county jail are Bulldogs.

“They grew and grew and grew until there were Bulldogs everywhere you looked,” Jerry Dyer, Fresno’s police chief, said.

The mascot now plays a double role as football icon and gang symbol. Confusing the two can have fatal consequences. In 2011, Stephen Maciel, a father of four who the police said had no gang affiliation, was shot and killed by a Bulldogs gang member in a liquor store parking lot. Maciel was wearing a red Fresno State shirt.

The gang’s embrace of the bulldog logo has put university administrators in an excruciatingly awkward position amid a gang crisis that has claimed hundreds of lives. The situation has vexed them, even as sales of Fresno State apparel and merchandise increased tenfold since the gang took hold in the city. The university has considered dropping the logo, and has approached law enforcement officials for guidance.

The issue is trickier than ever this season, with the football team 8-0 and ranked in the top 20 nationally. An adage here says the city’s cultural season starts with the first kickoff. And it is true: the Bulldogs are ascendant. Discussion of recent games is heard up and down the radio dial. Billboards feature the top players, including quarterback Derek Carr, a contender for the Heisman Trophy.

The police, meanwhile, have made cracking down on the Bulldogs gang a top priority, with some success. But the Bulldogs are still dangerous enough to have cost the lives of Maciel and others.

“If you love sports, you want to be all geared up in the team’s colors,” said Maciel’s widow, Marisol Aguirre. “But I don’t wear any of it anymore, and I don’t let my kids wear it. It’s too dangerous.”

Continue reading.

The slideshow is here, "Identifying With the Bulldogs."

RELATED: At the  Washington Post, "Wyoming hopes veteran defensive coordinator can help slow No. 17 Fresno State, Derek Carr."

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in Video Murder Rant

At USA Today, "Enraged Toronto mayor vows 'murder' in new video."

And at BCF, "Rob Ford sounds like he’s doing a Hulk Hogan impression because…"

New York Times Buries Obama's 'Apology'

Why am I not surprised?

At Twitchy, "‘Your intrepid press, everyone’: NYT lapdogs dutifully bury Obama’s sorry-ass ‘sorry’."

The New York Times article about Obama's apology today is on page A14.
— Matt Welch (@mleewelch) November 8, 2013

Headline is interesting, too: "Apologizing, Obama Yields To Criticism of Health Law." http://t.co/hBWdwCRB61
— Matt Welch (@mleewelch) November 8, 2013

Obama Apologizes for Insurance Cancellations

He didn't really apologize, actually. It's more like he feels sorry that people got screwed, not that he's sorry for actually screwing people. It's a few huge difference and people have noticed.

At WSJ, "President's Comments Mark Departure From 'Keep Your Plan' Pledge":

The president's comments marked a departure from his previous defense of the law and his oft-repeated vow that "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan." Before Thursday, he had stood by his words, while adding some caveats. He had argued that the small percentage of people forced to buy new coverage would find more comprehensive plans in the new marketplace.

About 15.4 million people—about 5% of the population—are covered by individual health plans. Industry experts have said many of them will see their policies terminated by the end of the year as insurers switch to plans that comply with the health law.

Mr. Obama repeated Thursday that only a small percentage of Americans were seeing their plans canceled, but he acknowledged it was "scary" for those people and conceded the law was responsible for their situation. "Obviously, we didn't do a good enough job in terms of how we crafted the law," he said. "That's something that we're going to do everything we can to get fixed."

Mr. Obama declined to spell out details but said the administration is considering a range of options. White House officials said the president was mainly referring to potential administrative fixes, rather than new legislation, to help those whose policies have been canceled and now face higher premiums.

A number of lawmakers have called for extending the open enrollment period that ends March 31 or delaying the mandate to carry coverage starting in 2014 or pay a penalty. On Thursday, Sens. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) and Mark Kirk (R., Ill.) proposed legislation that would delay the penalty for a year.

More at the link.

PREVIOUSLY: "#ObamaIsSorry."

RELATED: At Twitchy, "Laura Ingraham: If you like your apology, Mr. President …"

Independents Favor #GOP on the Economy by Whopping 46%-30% Margin

From Andrew Kohut, at WSJ, "The GOP Is in Better Shape Than You Think":

Tucked away in recent polls—which have documented the extraordinary anger directed at the Republican Party during the shutdown crisis—are measures of clear disappointment with the Democratic Party. The disappointment is substantial, and it raises big questions about the 2014 midterms.

The Republican Party's favorable ratings fell substantially in most every national survey that uses this yard stick, declining to 28% in the Gallup poll at one point. Yet when the GOP was matched up against the Democrats on key political measures, it did not look so bad.

A mid-October Pew Research national poll found that a plurality regard the Republicans as "better able to deal with the economy" than the Democrats (44%-37%). Independents favored the GOP on the economy by a whopping 46%-30% margin in that survey.

The Republicans took most of the blame for the shutdown, yet a growing number see the GOP as "better able to manage the government." In December 2012, the Democratic Party held a 45%-36% advantage over the GOP as the party Americans viewed as better able to manage the government. By Oct. 15—in the midst of the shutdown and debt crisis—the Democratic lead on this measure disappeared: 42% said the Republican Party is better able to manage the federal government, compared with 39% who named the Democrats.

An early read of voter preferences for the House in 2014 by the Pew Research Center in mid-October had the Democrats with a six-point edge: 49% to 43% among registered voters. In historical terms, this is a relatively modest margin. Six points is the same lead the Democrats had in 2009, a lead that steadily eroded in 2010. The GOP picked up six Senate seats and 63 House seats in that year's midterm.

One clear troubling sign for the Democrats at this early stage is independent voters, who decide most elections. They are evenly divided, according to Pew's mid-October survey: 43% say that "if the elections for Congress were being held today," they would vote for the Republican candidate in their district, 43% say they would vote for the Democratic candidate.

It is not too much of an oversimplification to say that Democrats are struggling because President Obama is struggling.

Look, the Democrats are screwed.

Things are only going to get worse now, a year out from the 2014 midterms. Obama never says he's sorry, for anything. Forget his pathetic, passive mealy-mouthed "I'm sorry people find themselves in this position..." non-apology. Obama took an angry earful from Senate Democrats in the "secret" White House meeting yesterday. They're clearly to the point of panic and will to do anything to shift the debate away from the ObamaCare debacle. Funny, but this cheesy non-apology only opens the door for the ultimate confession: that the Democrats committed massive, despicable fraud on the American people. The reckoning is coming next year, and if you're on the left, it's going to be harsh. A bitter wake up call.

More at the link.

#ObamaIsSorry

Here's Twitchy, "Breaking news: #ObamaIsSorry about a whole lot of things."

And at National Review, "Obama: I’m Sorry for Obamacare (Sort Of)."

Also, from AceofSpadesHQ, "Obama Can't Really Say If He Has Confidence In Kathleen Sebelius."

Dramatic Footage Shows Captive Jaguar Snatching Heron in Mid-Air

Law of the jungle prevails, even in captivity.

It's at the Sao Paulo Zoo, via Telegraph UK:

Visitors viewing the jaguar were shocked when it suddenly darted up a log and leaped at the bird, dragging it through the air with its claws and down into the water.

The heron put up a struggle, pecking at its predator's head, but ultimately succumbed to the jaguar's killing skill.

Children could be heard wailing as the cat then carried off its quarry to the back of the enclosure.

Fundamental Transformation of America

Via Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Promises Promises":

'The study theorizes that while women may love seeing their guy vacuuming or making dinner, something may shift in their subconscious. When they see men doing “feminine” chores, the primitive part of their brains might be telling them that something isn’t quite right, and they’re less turned on...'

Women like it when men do "manly" chores around the house --- and indeed, guys are less likely to get laid if they do "lady"chores like washing the dishes.

Via Instapundit, "WOMEN ARE SEXIST: Study: Only “Manly” Chores Get You Laid."

#ObamaCare Cancellations Hit Loyal California 'Cradle' Democrats

At ProPublica, "Loyal Obama Supporters, Canceled by Obamacare."

Megyn Kelly covered this story last night, mentioning that the couple, Lee Hammack and JoEllen Brothers, were still committed Democrats, but were insisting that the White House make changes to the law.

I'm about to overdose on schadenfreude. Not that I'm happy at all about people losing their plans --- employer plans may be the next to face cancellations (gulp) --- but that I'm delirious over the pure ecstasy of watching the Democrats' meltdown. Best of all, conservatives predicted it. It's the most satisfying "I told you so" ever.

Also at iOWNTHEWORLD, "“We’re not changing our views because of this situation” – Obamabot Burned By Obamacare."

'Crisis in Confidence' — Fox News' Ed Henry Reports on White House Meeting with Nervous Senate #Democrats

Henry says the meeting got "spicy" at times.

Senate Dems are pissed at the president. They're freakin' out over their diminishing reelection prospects. And there's a "crisis in confidence" in Obama's ability (and willingness) to staunch the bleeding.



Here's Senator Mark Begich's press release, "Begich to President Obama: Promises Not Enough, Need Results Now."

It's like Groundhog's Day for the Democrats. This nightmare's not going away. Bummer for 'em, the dicks.

Fox News 'Special Report' Panel on White House Meeting with Nervous Senate #Democrats

Krauthammer remarks: "Democrats are going to get slaughtered."



More at Twitchy, "Obamascare: White House meets with nervous Senate Dems up for re-election next year."

New Emily Ratajkowski Photos from New York Filmmaker Jonathan Leder

Very nice.

At Egotastic!, "More Emily Ratajkowski Photos by Jonathan Leder."

The dude's blog is here.