Standing Firm Against the Genocidal Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign

This is good.

Blazing Cat Fur has the background, "Stop Calling Me Hitler Warns Hitler."

Blazing links to the outrageous outrage at the Electronic Intifada, where we find an outraged attack on Professor Rubin Gur of the Departments of Psychiatry, Radiology and Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania.

And the source of all that outrage? Well, it's Professor Gur's righteous essay at the Daily Pennsylvanian, "BDS is 'Hateful', 'Discriminatory'":

I could barely believe my eyes. It is bad enough that Penn has allowed itself to be associated with this hateful genocidal organization, but for you to give room for their “explanation” and then dignify this outpouring of misinformation and anti-Semitism to the level of guest column without any kind of balancing opinion? Is this fair and balanced journalism? Is this the Daily Pennsylvanian I was reading daily since I came here in 1974?

The “explanation” itself presents a fuzzy “anti-Israel” cloak that barely conceals the Hamas and Hizballah daggers. It will deceive only those who, knowing nothing of the history, cannot tell lies from truth, or who, so blinded by animus against Israel and Jews, are willing to be deceived.

The agenda of this group is totally negative and aimed at the only Jewish state on the planet, scheming to inflict damage on it as an alleged violator of human rights. No mention of most of the Arab world, or any of the many countries where human rights are trampled on daily.

If the organizers truly cared about Human Rights, perhaps they should consider targeting the primary perpetrators of abuse, and not the only country in the Middle East that is free and democratic by numerous metrics. Israeli Arabs enjoy better civil rights than Arabs in most Arab countries, while by contrast Palestinians are treated as second-class citizens in many Arab countries to this day. If this group really wanted to improve the lot of Palestinians, they should target Lebanon, Syria, and the Hamas gang currently ruling Gaza.

The purpose of BDS as presented seems similar to what was apparently stated in their version of “Mein Kampf” (I am referring to Omar Barghouti’s book titled “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions”) and base my understanding of it on the article in the Harvard Crimson.

Notably, true to Crimson’s standards the referenced piece by Mr. Don is written in a way that does not slander any of Penn’s esteemed faculty. By contrast, your Guests from BDS are allowed to introduce our esteemed colleague Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz as a “notorious Israel apologist.” And this passed your editorial review under the guise of an “Explanation”?

The aim of the hateful and discriminatory BDS rhetoric is to delegitimize Israel in preparation for the ultimate goal of its destruction. A relevant precedent for such a movement is the groups organized by the Nazis in the 1930’s to boycott, divest and sanction Jews and their businesses. Sadly, now as then, there are Jews among the posse in the assault on their own people. The macabre sight of the likes of Stella Kübler, (arguably Hannah Arendt) and the Capos in the extermination camps is about to be replayed here at Penn.

The students organizing this event and their sponsors will tarnish Penn for generations to come. Penn’s moral backbone has allowed it thus far to balance the sanctity of free speech against the need to prohibit hateful speech. That backbone will break that day. From then on Penn has made an exception: Unproductive, hateful speech is allowed – as long as it singles out Jews and Israel.

Shame on you DP. Shame on you Penn. Shame on you.

Occupy Wall Street: The Communist Movement Reborn

David Horowitz is out with a new pamphlet, "Occupy Wall Street: The Communist Movement Reborn."

And see also Rick Moran, at FrontPage Magazine, "The True Face of Occupy Wall Street":

More than 400 Occupy Wall Street protesters in Oakland were arrested after a wild night of violence, vandalism, and confrontations with police. “Officers were pelted with bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices and burning flares,” reports the New York Times. The rioters also broke into historic Oakland City Hall, smashing display cases, spray painting graffiti on the walls, cutting electrical wires, and with the crowd chanting “Burn it! Burn it!” set fire to an American flag. City authorities estimate that damages to city property amounts to about $5 million since the protests began last October.

A CNN headline reporting on the riot: “Occupy Oakland demonstrations, arrests inject new life into movement.” Perhaps this is true. But at the cost of rampaging rioters destroying public property? What kind of movement needs that kind of impetus to receive “new life”?

The Oakland riot is proof positive that whatever claim to innocence and idealism the movement purported in the early days of occupations around the country has been lost to the gimlet-eyed revolutionary left, now openly seeking violent confrontation with authorities using the bodies of the naive and foolish who still believe that OWS is a protest against income inequality and corporatism. Cadres of organized leftists came prepared to the Oakland protest with homemade gas masks and shields — a clear indication that they fully expected to provoke a police response. Innocent protesters do not come armed with “bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices and burning flares.” The transformation of the occupy movement from protest to “direct action” — the preferred tactic of the European Communist Left for generations — is nearly complete. There can be no sniveling denials from OWS apologists any more: The driving force behind the OWS movement — the goal of those who control the streets — is revolution and the overthrow of America’s capitalist system.

Continue reading.

PREVIOUSLY: "Manifesto: Occupy for the Revolution."

Crossroads GPS Goes Up With Huge New Ad Buy Slamming Obama on Solyndra

At The Hill, "Crossroads GPS hits Obama over Solyndra with new ad campaign":

Crossroads GPS is taking aim at President Obama over his administration’s $535 million loan guarantee to failed solar company Solyndra with a new national television advertisement.

In the new ad, the nonprofit group created by Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie paints the Solyndra loan guarantee as a corrupt deal aimed at benefiting the president’s campaign donors.

“Laid-off workers forgotten. Tell President Obama we need jobs, not more insider deals,” the $500,000 ad, which will run on cable for a week, says.

It’s the latest attempt by conservative groups to punish Obama politically over the loan guarantee. Americans for Prosperity — a group partially funded by the billionaire Koch brothers — has spent more than $8 million on two advertisements that hit Obama over the loan guarantee.

More at the link.

The Last Tradition Rocks Some Kelly Brook!

Dude, that's what I'm talkin' about!

See, "Kelly Brook teeny bikini is driving 'em nuts in Brazil."

That video's from a couple of years back, but TLT has the recent pics, so check that link!

Demi Moore's Desperate Attempt to Shag Zac Efron

This lady needs help.

It's too bad too --- she's very beautiful, but that "cougar" thing is bad for your health.

At Los Angeles Times, "Demi Moore plot thickens: Pursuing Zac Efron, fountain of youth?":

Demi Moore isn't having the best week, as far as newsstands are concerned. The actress has reportedly been battling massive insecurity with age and weight, as well as chasing young things like Zac Efron.

After her January hospitalization, allegedly thanks to a bad reaction to nitrous oxide and a smoke inhalant, reports are charging the "Margin Call" star with massive insecurities surrounding the breakdown of her marriage — all leading to this current crisis.

"She's been really down, and she's surrounding herself with young people to make her feel better," Us magazine cites one source as saying.

And by "surrounding" the report suggests Moore "tracked down" 24-year-old actor Zac Efron for companionship. This proposed hunt led to a party in L.A.'s Venice Beach neighborhood, prior to Moore's medical treatment.

"As Demi got older, she convinced herself that she needed to stay young and skinny to remain attractive to her husband," People magazine added to the party, via their own inside source.

Well, I guess there's a way to grow old gracefully, and then there's not...

Romney Screws Up With Comments About the Poor

At Los Angeles Times, "Mitt Romney trips up as GOP race moves westward":

The Republican presidential contest shifted to the West and Midwest on Wednesday as an exultant Mitt Romney dueled with the man he hopes to meet in November, President Obama, but found himself sidetracked when an infelicitous remark was seized upon by his opponents.

Romney's comment came as he sought, following his landslide win Tuesday in Florida, to cast himself as the inevitable nominee, a posture that had eluded him since his Jan. 21 collapse in South Carolina.

"I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it," he told CNN.

His characterization about the poor immediately metastasized online. Asked about it later, Romney explained, "Of course I'm concerned about all Americans — poor, wealthy, middle class — but the focus of my effort will be on middle-income families who I think have been most hurt by the Obama economy."

Newt Gingrich, a distant second in Florida, sought to take advantage of Romney's wording as he spoke to hundreds of supporters packed into Great Basin Brewing Co. in Reno.

"I am fed up with politicians in either party dividing Americans against each other," said Gingrich, at his first Nevada event before Saturday's caucuses. Drawing a sharp distinction between himself and Romney, he added, "I am running to be the president of all of the American people, and I am concerned about all of the American people."

Romney's comment also drew condemnation from Obama partisans who have repeatedly exploited the candidate's quotes to argue that Romney is out of touch. And Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who endorsed Romney four years ago, encouraged him to "backtrack," saying the very poor needed jobs, not welfare programs.

I'm with DeMint on this. While Romney's comments aren't really that controversial --- at least not when placed in context --- this is hardly the message you want to send. The problem isn't that we don't have enough public assistance, but that we have too much of it. We've got soul-crushing dependence on government and destruction of personal responsibility. Dan Riehl has more, "Mitt Explains, Only to Step In It, Again ... And, Again."

See also Jennifer Rubin, who says his comments were decontextualized, "Romney on the safety net; anti-Romney media still unhinged."

'Like a Rolling Stone'

From Monday's drive time, "10 at 10" from 1965 at The Sound LA:

Get Off of My Cloud - Rolling Stones
Gloria - Them
In the Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett
Do You Believe in Magic - Lovin' Spoonful
The Kids are Alright - The Who
Wooly Bully - Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs
Set Me Free - The Kinks
Like a Rolling Stone - Dylan
For Your Love - Yardbirds
You Won't See Me - Beatles

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kidding you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hanging out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're going to have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him, "Do you want to make a deal?"

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinking, thinking that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it, babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Taliban Ready to Seize Power in Afghanistan After NATO Pulls Out

Great, just as the Obama administration confirmed that the U.S. will end its combat role at the end of 2013.

The news is at London's Daily Mail, "So is it all worth it? Secret files reveal Taliban will retake control of Afghanistan when NATO troops withdraw":

The Taliban is set to return to power in Afghanistan when British and Coalition forces end their combat role in 2014, a damning leaked confidential report reveals.

Despite 10 years of fighting by NATO forces and their huge sacrifices - 397 members of the British military alone have been killed and thousands wounded - the report says that in the past year there has been unprecedented interest, even from within the Afghan government, in joining the Taliban.

And it points accusingly at Afghanistan’s neighbour Pakistan, a key ally of NATO, where powerful elements in the security and intelligence services support the Taliban and describes how insurgent leaders maintain homes within the heart of the capital Islamabad.

Based on 27,000 interviews with over 4,000 Taliban and Al Qaeda prisoners, the detailed report effectively questions the Coalition’s own assessment that it is winning the war in Afghanistan.

The report - The State of the Taliban - was described as ‘devastating’ yesterday (W) by former soldier Ian Sadler, whose son Jack, a 21-year-old reservist serving with the Honourable Artillery Company, died in a roadside bomb blast in Helmand in December 2007.
‘It has been a waste of time operating in the way that the British have,’ he said, ‘Hearing details of the report makes me wonder why our soldiers were sent there in the way they were and the cost that has been paid.’

The report compiled by US forces describes how weapons and vehicles given to Afghan forces have in turn been passed on to the Taliban and says that Pakistan’s feared Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) is actively colluding with the insurgents by actually directing attacks.

Continue reading.

I can't help but think that we're screwed.

Secretary of State Rice, upon leaving office, warned that if we wanted another 9/11, all we had to do was abandon Afghanistan. Let's hope she was wrong.

I'll have more later.

Is Peyton Manning Washed Up?

I talk football with my colleague Professor Greg Joseph when we're out to lunch. I mentioned Peyton Manning yesterday. I was wondering if he's going to retire, and the news last night and today doesn't look good. See the Los Angeles Times, "Peyton Manning likely will never play football again, sources say":

Peyton Manning's football career is likely over, two sources close to the Indianapolis Colts quarterback with knowledge of his recovery from neck surgery told Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports.

Although the vertebrae in Manning's neck have healed as expected, which allowed him to start throwing again back in December, the same can't be said for the nerves in his arm, according to the sources. They say the velocity on his passes has not improved and possibly never will.

All of which, the sources say, indicates the four-time MVP will probably never play again.

Two league-affiliated doctors with experience in spinal fusion surgery told Cole that it would be too risky for Manning to play again and that it could take as long as a year for Manning to know whether a return is possible.

Manning could not be reached for a comment on the Yahoo! article, but he has indicated that he has every intention of resuming his NFL career.

More at the link.

And see "High stakes in Peyton Manning decision," and "Irsay: Peyton Manning situation 'a very complicated medical issue'."

The Most Important Election of a Lifetime?

Seems like I'm hearing that a lot, either on blogs or on TV. And Professor John Pitney takes a look at the question --- and says not to worry. At Christian Science Monitor, "The important election of a lifetime? So say Gingrich et al.":

Newt Gingrich sometimes refers to 2012 as "the most important election since 1860," which set the stage for the Civil War. His Republican competitors are a bit less flourishing in their comparison, describing November as the vote of a lifetime (though Mr. Gingrich also uses that phrase). Across the political divide, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi agrees: It's "the most important election of our generation."

If such descriptions sound familiar, it's because Americans hear them every four years. "This is certainly the most important election in my lifetime – not just because I'm running," said Barack Obama to a Wisconsin crowd early in 2008. Democrats and Republicans applied similar language to the Bush-Kerry contest. In his 1976 campaign against Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford said, "Make no mistake – this election will decide the direction America is going to take in its third century of independence."

So every presidential race is the most momentous in modern times – until the next one.

Continue reading.

I tell my students the same thing. Every four years we're told this is the most important election ever. But I think this year, on the conservative side of things, there's a deep sense of foreboding over the possibility of Obama's reelection. Some argue that ObamaCare will never be repealed if we don't get the Democrats out now. And on top of that some fear that the left will continue to work its ways through the institutions, achieving a revolution of bureaucratic socialism on a scale to make the ghost of Antonio Gramsci do somersaults. But more than that, this election seems to reflect a realization that the Obama administration has signaled the decline of the American culture of individualism, affluence and unlimited opportunity. We've seen these trends before --- trends toward "malaise," in the 1970s, for example --- and the U.S. roared back with optimism and vigor. But this time the changes appear exponentially more dramatic --- the left's assault on our values is literally apocalyptic for conservatives who feel embattled in defending what they believe are the moral foundations of this nation.

New Rick Santorum Ad Slams Newt Gingrich as 'Big Government-Mandating Politician'

Well, big government-mandating and a whole lot more.

This is nice work:

And remember, Michelle offered Santorum a powerful endorsement the other day.

Plus, see William Kristol, "Why February Could Matter":

Rick Santorum: There's lots of speculation as to Gingrich's chances to mount a comeback against Romney, the clear frontrunner. But what if Newt's campaign collapses? What if he's simply jumped the shark with the "Holocaust survivors" robocall? (The call charged that the former Massachusetts governor once "vetoed a bill paying for kosher food for our seniors in nursing homes--Holocaust survivors, who for the first time, were forced to eat non-kosher, because Romney thought $5 was too much to pay for our grandparents to eat kosher.")

What if Santorum does as well or better than Gingrich in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, or in the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses next Tuesday? What if Santorum is competitive with Romney in the Missouri beauty contest primary next Tuesday, where Gingrich isn't on the ballot? Couldn't non-Romney voters begin to move nationally from Gingrich to Santorum? Couldn't populist and Tea Party leaders like Sarah Palin do so as well?

In the Gallup tracking poll today, Gingrich is at 28 percent, Romney at 27, and Santorum at 17. Romney will surely move up several points over the next few days--but couldn't Gingrich fall enough and Santorum rise enough that Santorum's number approaches or passes Gingrich? Couldn't Santorum move into second place?

In sum: Could we be heading towards a Romney-Santorum contest on February 28 in Michigan and Arizona, and then in March and beyond? Romney would certainly be a strong favorite in such a contest, given his lead in votes, delegates, money and organization. But wouldn't Santorum ultimately have a better chance than Gingrich to upset Romney, even if it's still a slim one?

Hey, anything's possible.

See also the Los Angeles Times, "Mitt Romney's Florida win won't seal race."

Megyn Kelly Interviews Michael Coren on Canada Honor Killing Verdicts

A great clip, via Atlas Shrugs, "Religious Slaughter: Michael Coren on FOX TV Discussing Honor Killings."

Rep. Allen West to Switch Congressional Districts

At the Miami Herald blog, "Rep. Allen West to move north, run in Palm Beach congressional seat vacated by Tom Rooney."

And at The Caucus, "Allen West to Switch Districts":

Representative Allen West, Republican of Florida, will switch Congressional districts to greatly increase his chances of winning re-election.

Mr. West now represents the Democrat-heavy 22nd Congressional District – which is about to get far more Democratic under proposed redistricting maps. He will move into the newly configured 18th District, which is a bit more Republican than Democratic.

That district is represented by Representative Tom Rooney, who had already decided to stake his claim to the far more Republican-rich environs of Florida’s new 17th Congressional District on the state’s west coast, which will contain many of his current constituents.

Democrats have balked at the maps, which await court approval, but many members of Congress have begun to position themselves under the assumption that the maps will hold.

William Jacobson has more, "Alan West switching districts."

Mitt Romney Florida Victory Speech

Following up on my earlier report, "Mitt Romney Florida Victory Could Deal Mortal Blow to Once-Resurgent Newt Gingrich."

And check The Other McCain, "BREAKING NEWS: MITT ROMNEY WINS FLORIDA REPUBLICAN PRIMARY." And also Legal Insurrection, "Florida primary results."

Mitt Romney Florida Victory Could Deal Mortal Blow to Once-Resurgent Newt Gingrich

I wouldn't count out Gingrich just yet, but the momentum is back with Romney in a big way tonight.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Mitt Romney wins Florida GOP primary":

Reporting from Tampa, Fla. — Mitt Romney won the Florida presidential primary Tuesday, taking a long stride toward capturing the GOP nomination and dealing a potentially mortal blow to the hopes of the once-resurgent Newt Gingrich.

The television networks called the race for the Massachusetts governor soon after polls in the westernmost part of the state closed; by that time Romney already held a big lead in the votes already tabulated. The result ended what had become a suspenseless campaign over the last few days, as multiple opinion surveys showed Romney opening a commanding lead.

His victory handed Romney Florida's 50 delegates, the biggest cache yet, but more than that the win shows his ability to capture support in a big, costly and diverse state that will be a major battleground in the fall contest against President Obama.

Speaking to reporters before the polls closed, Romney said he learned a lesson from the double-digit loss he suffered at Gingrich's hands 10 days ago in South Carolina.

“If we’re successful here, it’ll be pretty clear that when attacked you have to respond and you can’t let charges go unanswered,” Romney said after visiting campaign volunteers at a Tampa phone bank. “I needed to make sure that instead of being outgunned in terms of attacks that I responded aggressively. I think I have and hopefully that will serve me well here.”

Also at the New York Times, "Romney Wins Big in Florida Primary," and the Washington Post, "Romney claims decisive victory in Florida." (Via Memorandum.)

More Florida blogging throughout the evening...

Van Halen: 'Tattoo'

Enjoy some music for the day, some lightening up.

Reactions to Guilty Verdicts in Canada 'Honor Killing' Trial

From Phyllis Chesler, at Fox News, "Will Guilty Verdict in Canadian 'Honor Killing' Trial Be a Turning Point for Justice?":

Western-style domestic violence and even domestically violent femicide is not the same as an honor killing.

For example, Westerners rarely kill their young daughters nor do Western families of origin conspire or collaborate in such murders. While Sikhs, and Hindus, (mainly in India), do commit honor killings, the majority of such murders in the West (91%) are Muslim-on-Muslim crimes.

The high-profile Shafia case may be a watershed decision in terms of Canada’s long standing Multiculturalism Policy which was passed in 1971 under Prime Minister Trudeau and legally enshrined in 1988 as the Canadian Multiculturalism Act.

According to Dr. Salim Mansur, a Muslim Canadian professor and author, such policies are ultimately “racist.” They keep immigrants confined to their “group” and do not encourage members to become “individuals” and “citizens” of a modern liberal democracy.

Although some have called for a special “honor killing” law, it is important to note that the Shafias were tried and convicted under existing Canadian law. They were not tried for committing a culturally approved “honor killing,” but for having conspired to commit a cold-blooded and pre-planned murder on Canadian soil.

So, too, were Muslim-Canadian Aqsa Parvez’s father, Mohammed, and her brother, Waqas, who were tried and convicted for murdering the 16-year-old girl because she refused to wear the hijab and other traditional clothing.

Her mother, who was not tried, lured her daughter home from a shelter for battered women to her death.

After the Shafia jury was individually polled, (it was a unanimous decision and the evidence of guilt was overwhelming), the Justice, Robert Maranger said “It is hard to imagine a more heinous crime, a cold-blooded and shameful crime, (committed because of) a sick notion about honor that has no place in this society.”

And in a statement following the verdict, Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson called honor killings a practice that is "barbaric and unacceptable in Canada....This government is committed to protecting women and other vulnerable persons from all forms of violence and to hold perpetrators accountable for their acts."

Defense lawyer David Crowe has vowed to appeal.

The accused continue to insist they are innocent.

I hope that Canadian and North American Muslim associations and experts will welcome this decision in which three murdered Muslim girls and one murdered Muslim woman were considered important enough to merit a long and expensive trial in the search for justice.

VIDEO HAT TIP: Blazing Cat Fur, "Ezra Levant Rips Political Correctness & CBC"s Coverage of the Shafia Honour Killing."

California Penal Code Section 653m on Criminal Harassment With Intent to Annoy: Report on Unwanted Illegal Contacts by Fascist Hate-Blogger Walter James Casper III

As promised, I reported Walter James Casper III to the Irvine Police Department yesterday. The officer I spoke with indicated that Casper's actions are serious, potentially criminally actionable offenses under Section 653m of the California Penal Code, which states:

a. Every person who, with intent to annoy, telephones or makes contact by means of an electronic communication device with another and addresses to or about the other person any obscene language or addresses to the other person any threat to inflict injury to the person or property of the person addressed or any member of his or her family, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Nothing in this subdivision shall apply to telephone calls or electronic contacts made in good faith.

b. Every person who makes repeated telephone calls or makes repeated contact by means of an electronic communication device with intent to annoy another person at his or her residence, is, whether or not conversation ensues from making the telephone call or electronic contact, guilty of a misdemeanor. Nothing in this subdivision shall apply to telephone calls or electronic contacts made in good faith.

c. Every person who makes repeated telephone calls or makes repeated contact by means of an electronic communication device with the intent to annoy another person at his or her place of work is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment. Nothing in this subdivision shall apply to telephone calls or electronic contacts made in good faith.

The police found Casper to be harassing, although he's just short of being criminally implicated under California Penal Code Section 646.9, as discussed at my previous entry, "California Penal Code Section 646.9 on Criminal Harassment and Cyberstalking: Statement of Warning to Hate-Blogger Walter James Casper III. In fact, Casper's deranged actions are literally at the limits of legality under the law. Upon review of the evidence presented, the officer suggested that in her experience people like this are indeed highly dangerous and mentally unstable. In fact, the officer suggested that Casper was basically a dirtbag and a loser and wondered if someone like this was worth my time. She said that Casper was "beneath me." I said she had a point --- Casper IS a scuzzy racist sleazebag --- although I then further explained that Casper is the publisher of a hate blog whose co-bloggers and commenters have engaged in campaigns of workplace harassment and intimidation against me (and my family, since workplace attacks are threats to my family's economic livelihood). Given that, she said she understood why I wouldn't let a pattern of despicable intimidation such as Casper's slide by without challenge. Indeed, the officer indicated that Casper's unwanted communications --- communications through the Blogger commenting system, and especially those sent by e-mail after having been warned to cease and desist --- were potentially substantive violations of Penal Code Section 653m, cited above. The key qualifying factor here is Casper's pattern of persistent harassing and annoying contacts AFTER THE HARASSER HAS BEEN TOLD TO CEASE. At this point, while I issued a formal complaint against Casper, I agreed with the officer to hold off on opening a criminal investigation until the complaint process through Google has been exhausted.

Thus, I will be continuing my communications with Google in order to obtain action against Casper to desist from harassing me at the blog and by email.

It's also interesting to note the police department's reaction to Casper's comments after he was banned from American Power:

"As long as Donald Douglas is posting a public blog that accepts comments, I'm going to continue to comment on what he posts, whenever and wherever I choose. He's welcome to delete anything and everything I contribute to his blog if he so chooses -- it is his blog, after all -- but that won't stop me from making the contribution in the first place, and pointing out every cowardly deletion he makes (on my blog, I mean), as well."

I first showed these comments to the officers at the reception, as well the harassing emails Casper has sent me personally. The reception personnel then contacted the officer I spoke with, and I then filed the complaint. The officer and I also discussed strategies to deal with people like Casper who hide and harass under free speech protections to cause emotional and physical distress to their targets. I will be following up with her as soon as I know more from Google.

I will also be expanding the investigation on workplace harassment and intimidation with the Long Beach Police Department. In previous discussions with LBPD the possibility of restraining orders was raised with respect to outside complaints. I will be investigating what the LBPD will recommend regarding Walter James Casper III. Particularly, I will be indicating that it was his blog that first published my workplace information with the intent to harass and intimidate, and I will be indicating that Casper has continued to attempt to cause substantial emotional distress by making contacts to me that serve no legitimate purpose --- contacts that I have explicitly and repeatedly told Casper not to make. I will update on this further.

So until then, I am once again reiterating my demand to Walter James Casper III: Stop contacting me. Such contacts are in violation of the law, for you have been told to stop. Do not comment on this blog. You are banned. And cease and desist from further contacting me by email. You are in violation of California state law and continued contacts by you will be placed on file with the appropriate law enforcement authorities and I will continue to notify Google of your intent to annoy and cause emotional and physical distress.

Budget Cuts Force 'Rationing' at California Community Colleges

This isn't just about cutting class offerings, which is discussed at the clip by Ann-Marie Gabel, LBCC Vice President for Administrative Services.

The community college system will begin prioritizing enrollment, placing part-time, recreational, and self-enrichment students at the bottom of the priority list for registration. See the Sacramento Bee, "California community colleges prepare to ration their offerings":

Faced with state budget cuts since the recession – annual funding is now 12 percent below its 2008-09 high-water mark – community colleges have pared back course offerings. Yet demand remains sky high as costs at four-year universities shoot upward and unemployed Californians seek retraining.

Community college leaders say it has become necessary to ration classroom seats like water in a drought. They plan to impose statewide rules that prioritize students working toward a degree, certificate or basic academic skills. To meet that end, students who make little progress or take classes for enrichment purposes will move to the back of the line.

The hope, says California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott, is that new students won't get locked out. State leaders want to increase the percentage of students who graduate or transfer to universities, rates that suffer when students can't register for classes.

"It was never my wish to ration attendance at community colleges, but this was forced upon us by the very severe budget cuts," Scott said. "The reality is, we just can't offer everything to everybody."

Boy, it's going to be a tough year.

PREVIOUSLY: "Dr. Gaither Loewenstein Appointed New Vice President of Academic Affairs at Long Beach City College."

Michelle Malkin Endorses Rick Santorum for GOP Nomination

And boy, this is some doozy of an endorsement.

See, "For Santorum" (via Memeorandum):

Rick Santorum opposed TARP.

He didn’t cave when Chicken Littles in Washington invoked a manufactured crisis in 2008. He didn’t follow the pro-bailout GOP crowd — including Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich — and he didn’t have to obfuscate or rationalize his position then or now, like Rick Perry and Herman Cain did. He also opposed the auto bailout, Freddie and Fannie bailout, and porkulus bills.

Santorum opposed individual health care mandates — clearly and forcefully — as far back as his 1994 U.S. Senate run. He has launched the most cogent, forceful fusillade against both Romney and Gingrich for their muddied, pro-individual health care mandate waters.

He voted against cap and trade in 2003, voted yes to drilling in ANWR, and unlike Romney and Gingrich, Santorum has never dabbled with eco-radicals like John Holdren, Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi. He hasn’t written any “Contracts with the Earth.”

Santorum is strong on border security, national security, and defense. Mitt the Flip-Flopper and Open Borders-Pandering Newt have been far less trustworthy on immigration enforcement.

Santorum is an eloquent spokesperson for the culture of life. He has been savaged and ridiculed by leftist elites for upholding traditional family values — not just in word, but in deed.

He won Iowa through hard work and competent campaign management. Santorum has improved in every GOP debate and gave his strongest performance last week in Florida, wherein he both dismantled Romneycare and popped the Newt bubble by directly challenging the front-runners’ character and candor without resorting to their petty tactics.
He rose above the fray by sticking to issues.

Most commendably, he refused to join Gingrich and Perry in indulging in the contemptible Occupier rhetoric against Romney. Character and honor matter. Santorum has it.

Of course, Santorum is not perfect. As I’ve said all along, every election cycle is a Pageant of the Imperfects. He lost his Senate re-election bid in 2006, an abysmal year for conservatives. He was a go-along, get-along Big Government Republican in the Bush era. He supported No Child Left Behind, the prescription drug benefit entitlement, steel tariffs, and earmarks and outraged us movement conservatives by endorsing RINO Arlen Specter over stalwart conservative Pat Toomey.

Read it all at Michelle's.

Also blogging, Lonely Conservative, "Michelle Malkin Endorses Rick Santorum," and The Other McCain, "Like an Earthquake in Vanuatu: Michelle Malkin Endorses Rick Santorum!"

Shafia Convictions Put Focus on Culture of Honor Killings

At Wall Street Journal, "Afghan Immigrants in Canada Found Guilty of Honor Killing":

TORONTO—A Canadian court found two Afghan immigrant parents and their eldest son guilty of murdering four female family members in a so-called honor killing Sunday, the climax of a case that's transfixed Canada and sparked a wider debate about clashing cultures amid the country's large immigrant population.

Mohammad Shafia, his wife, Tooba Mohammad Yahya, and eldest son, Hamed, were found guilty of killing Mr. Shafia's three teenage daughters and Mr. Shafia's first wife in an elaborately staged, though ultimately bungled, car accident in June 2009. The defense argued the four died after a late-night joy ride went awry.

The four-month trial opened a relatively rare window onto honor killings in North America. The crime, where victims are murdered for bringing shame on their family, is increasingly common in western European countries like Britain and Sweden, which has seen large-scale immigration from countries where researchers say the custom happens most—such as Pakistan, India and Turkey ....

The prosecution argued it was honor rooted in Afghan tribal traditions that led Mr. Shafia to cleanse the shame he felt from the conduct of his rebellious daughters, Zainab, 19 years old, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13. The eldest two took unapproved boyfriends, and all three disobeyed their father through their independent behavior and sometimes-revealing dress. Rona Amir Mohammad, who was Mr. Shafia's first spouse in the polygamous family, was killed, the prosecution argued, because she was a troublesome first wife and lenient step mother.

The trial filled the Canadian press with the macabre details of a murder in which police believe the victims were drowned and then placed into a car that was then pushed into a lock outside of Kingston, near Toronto. The local press printed police transcripts of a ranting Mr. Shafia calling his daughters "whores" and boasting, "nothing is more dear to me than my honor."

Video c/o Blazing Cat Fur.

And my previous roundup is here: "Shafia Family Guilty of Honor Killings in Canada: Updates."

Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Will Take Up to 10 Months to Removed From Italy's Coast

At Telegraph UK, "Costa Concordia will take 10 months to be removed":

The Costa Concordia cruise ship will take up to 10 months to removed from Italy's coast, according to officials, as rough seas off the Tuscan coast forced the suspension of recovery operations.

Officials called off both the start of operations to remove of 500,000 gallons of fuel and the search for people still missing after determining the Costa Concordia had moved an inch and a half over six hours, coupled with waves of more than three feet.

A 17th body, identified as Peruvian crew member Erika Soria Molina, was found Saturday. Sixteen crew and passengers remain listed as missing, with one body recovered from the ship not yet identified.

Officials have virtually ruled out finding anyone alive more than two weeks after the Costa Concordia hit a reef, but were reluctant to give a final death toll for the Jan. 13 disaster. The crash happened when the captain deviated from his planned route, creating a huge gash that capsized the ship. More than 4,200 people were on board.

"Our first goal was to find people alive," Franco Gabrielli, the national civil protection official in charge of the operation, told a daily briefing. "Now we have a single, big goal, and that is that this does not translate into an environmental disaster."

RTWT.

Newt Gingrich Pledges 'Straight Out Contest For the Next Four or Five Months'

I posted on this previously, and now here's the video:

And see also Mark Levin, "Character Matters and Romney's Worries Me":

I am beginning to think that the nature and level of attacks being launched by Mitt Romney against Newt Gingrich, which he would surely use against any conservative threatening his nomination, are going to make it very difficult for Romney to unite the different factions of the GOP and the conservative movement behind his candidacy should he win the nomination.  While I have said that I would vote for Rick Santorum, I am appalled at the "anything goes" assault on Gingrich. See here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/us/politics/the-calculations-that-led-romney-to-the-warpath.html?pagewanted=all?

Romney is not a conservative in the traditional sense, and he has a record of big-government Republicanism.  Even many years after the success of the Reagan administration, he sought to distance himself from Reagan and the GOP, self-identifying as a progressive and independent.  Thus, he resorts to spending multi-millions of dollars trashing his opponents, rather than providing thoughtful arguments on conservatism and constitutionalism.  Lest we forget, it was Gingrich who was trying to run a positive campaign and who offered to debate Romney one-on-one, asking Romney to stop with the millions in unanswered ads attacking him.  Romney declined.  I have no doubt that Romney would do the same thing to Santorum if Santorum was rising in the polls, albeit on different issues.

I have said that Romney is in many ways Richard Nixon, and that Romney would not successfully lead efforts to repeal Obamacare but, in fact, would grow the federal government in many respects.  Romney's advisor, former senator Norm Coleman, has now said as much.  That is Romney's record.  Despite having been a businessman, he was not a defender of free market capitalism while governor.  Romneycare is, as Santorum pointed out, a top-down government health care system with an individual mandate that is breaking Massachusetts' treasury and destroying private health insurance.  It is a disaster.  Romney also backed cap-and-trade and TARP (as did Gingrich).

My great fear is, however, that he is the weakest candidate who can face Obama and will go into the general election with a fractured base, thanks to his own character flaws, which are now on display, and his tactics of personal destruction.  Moreover, while Romney can swamp his Republican opponents by 3 to 1 or more in every state with his spending advantage, Barack Obama will be raising more and spending more to beat him in the general election, meaning Romney's financial advantage will be non-existent.

Continue reading.

NewsBusted: 'Gas expected to hit $5/gallon in summer'

Via Woodsterman:

Prosecutor Heckled by Shafia Guilt-Deniers at Press Conference in Canada Honor Killings Trial

More from Blazing Cat Fur:

The Economy Isn't Expanding Fast Enough to Make Up for Lost Years of Growth

From James Pethokoukis, "The economic chart that may doom the Obama presidency":

See also, "U.S. Economy Picks Up Steam: Fourth-Quarter Growth Rate of 2.8% is Fastest in 18 Months, but Doesn't Appear Sustainable."


PREVIOUSLY: " The Economy Still Sucks and It's Not Likely to Surge In Time to Save Barack Hussein," and "The Economy Still Sucks Democrat Donkey Dongs, No Matter What Islamo-Socialist President Barack Hussein Says Otherwise."

Hellfire Missile Takes Out Taliban Jihadist

Via Weasel Zippers:

And from yesterday, "The Taliban Go Mainstream: Afghanistan Terror-Sponsors Seek 'Softer Side' to Medieval Political Regime."

Occupy Protesters Burn the Flag at Oakland City Hall

Because, you know, they're just strangers from out of town, or something.

[VIDEO PULLED]

Also at CNN, "Oakland's mayor says city is fed up after hundreds of Occupy activists arrested."

PREVIOUSLY: "Racist Walter James Casper III Doubles-Down on Endorsement of Revolutionary Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street." And "Occupy Wall Street: Anti-Semitism, Socialism, Crime and Public Defecation."

Laura Ingraham on 'This Week': 'I Don’t Know If Mitt Romney Can Beat' Obama

From Jake Tapper at ABC News, "Laura Ingraham: Romney Has to Bring ‘A’ Game If He’s Going to Beat Obama." Scroll forward at the clip to just after 9:00 minutes

Millionaire Elizabeth Warren Claims She's 'Not One of Them' Wealthy Individuals...

At Weasel Zippers, "OWS-Founder Elizabeth Warren Says She’s Not In The 1% Despite Being Worth $14.5 Million…"

Progressives: liars, hypocrites, losers.

Shafia Family Guilty of Honor Killings in Canada: Updates

Okay, my earlier post is here: "Guilty Verdicts in Canada Honor Killing Trial."

And see Pamela here, "GUILTY! First Degree Murder Verdicts in Shafia Honor Killing Trial."

And don't miss the excellent Christie Blatchford, at National Post, "No honour in ‘cold-blooded, shameless’ murder of Shafia girls."

Plus, London's Daily Mail has a huge article, "Honour killing family jailed for life as judge says: 'It is difficult to conceive of a more despicable, more heinous crime'."

And an update at Blazing Cat Fur, "Shafia Murders: CBC Finds Apologist Who Implies Canada Racist & Just Like Islamist Hell Holes."

And here's an earlier clip with Ezra Levant on the tragedy of honor killings in Canada:

Whoa! Rep. Allen West Tells Democrats to 'Get the Hell Out of the United States of America'

Well, it's a good guess he's fed up with the left's bullshit civility meme.

Via Gateway Pundit, "Allen West: Obama, Pelosi, Reid… “Get the Hell Out of the United States of America” (Video)":

Well, yeah. You have to stand up against the mob.

See: "California Penal Code Section 646.9 on Criminal Harassment and Cyberstalking: Statement of Warning to Hate-Blogger Walter James Casper III."

Romney Hopes to Deliver Knockout Punch to Gingrich

At LAT, "Romney keeps pressure on Gingrich as Florida primary nears":

Reporting from Naples, Fla.  —

Seeking to deliver a knockout punch to Newt Gingrich in Tuesday’s Florida primary, Mitt Romney and his surrogates continued their heavy assault on the former House speaker’s record, urging voters to study his temperment, his work for mortgage giant Freddie Mac and the ethics investigation into his fundraising in the 1990s.

As a Romney rally got started before a crowd of several thousand outside a theater in downtown Naples on Sunday, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV contrasted Gingrich’s “very checkered past when it comes to ethics and honesty” with that of Romney, whom Mack said has lived his life “honestly, with integrity and character.”

Echoing that line a few minutes later, Mack’s father, former Florida Sen. Connie Mack III, called Mitt and Ann Romney “role models for all Americans” and said the former Massachusetts governor has “presidential temperament.”

“A lot of people say he looks presidential. And you do!” the former senator said. “But the important thing is, he acts like a president. Under fire, under attack, under challenge. He responds as a cool, calm and collected man, a person that we need in the White House.”

For his part, Romney keyed off his strong performances in two recent debates, as well as an NBC/Marist preference poll released Sunday morning that showed him leading Gingrich by 15 percentage points in Florida. He accused Gingrich of “making excuses” for his sliding poll numbers during the Sunday morning talk shows.

“He’s on TV this morning going from station to station complaining about what he thinks were the reasons he’s had difficulty here in Florida,” Romney said, “but you know, we’ve got a president who has a lot of excuses, and the excuses are over; it’s time to produce.”

“If we failed somewhere, if we failed the debate, if we failed to get the support of people, it’s time to look in the mirror,” Romney said. “My own view is the reason that Speaker Gingrich has been having a hard time in Florida is that people of Florida have watched the debates, have listened to the speaker, have listened to the other candidates and have said, ‘You know what, Mitt Romney’s the guy we’re going to support.’ ”

And see "Polls see Mitt Romney cruising to Florida victory."

Plus, at Astute Bloggers, "ATTENTION PSEUDO-POPULIST GINGRICH AND HIS NEWTNUTZ EVERYWHERE: CAPITALISM WORKS; SOCIALISM NOT SO MUCH."

Sarah Palin: 'Newt Gingrich Would Clobber Barack Obama'

She's talking about "clobbering" Obama in a debate, and by implication in the general election. Palin says GOP voters should take that into consideration in the primaries. And this is pretty much a Palin endorsement for Gingrich, which has been mostly unarticulated at this point, but see C4P, "Governor Palin’s Clarion Call: “Rage Against the Machine…Vote for Newt!”"

Newt Gingrich: '"I Will Go All the Way to the Convention. I Expect to Win the Nomination' (VIDEO)

The video's at RealClearPolitics, "Gingrich Vows to 'Go All The Way to the Convention'."

And at Washington Wire, "Gingrich Predicts ‘Straight-Out Contest for Next 4 or 5 Months’" (via Memorandum):

LUTZ, Fla. — A pugnacious Newt Gingrich reiterated his intention to stay in the Republican presidential primary “all the way to the convention,” telling reporters Sunday morning that he believed that “this is going to be a straight-out contest for the next four or five months” between him and Mitt Romney.

Newt Gingrich speaks to media during a news conference outside the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Mr. Gingrich said after attending a morning service with 2,000 worshipers at the Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church that he didn’t agree with polls that show him trailing in Florida, and in any case, he’s not bowing out of the race.

“I think that the election will be substantially closer than the two polls that came out this morning,” he said, adding that he was eying support for Rick Santorum as potential source of votes in the coming months. “When you add the two conservatives together we clearly beat Romney,” Mr. Gingich said. “I think Romney’s got a very real challenge trying to get a majority at the convention.”

Astute Bloggers says meh, "MORE GRANDIOSITY FROM NEWT: PROMISES 5 MONTH CONTEST FOR NOMINATION."

Guilty Verdicts in Canada Honor Killing Trial

See Blazing Cat Fur, "Justice: Shafia Honour Murderers All Guilty."

And at National Post, "Shafia accused guilty of first-degree murder."

KINGSTON, Ont. — After Canada’s first mass-honour-killings trial, three members of a Montreal family have all been found guilty of first-degree murder in the drowning deaths of four other family members — including three teenage sisters.

A jury on Sunday handed down its guilty verdicts for Mohammad Shafia and Tooba Mohammad Yahya, as well as their 21-year-old son, Hamed.

They had been charged with murder after the bodies of three Shafia sisters — Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and 13-year-old Geeti — were discovered in a submerged vehicle in a canal near Kingston, in June 2009.

Also in the vehicle was Rona Amir Mohammad, the 52-year-old first wife of Shafia, whom he married in his native Afghanistan before the polygamous family moved to Canada in 2007 and settled in Montreal.

A conviction for first-degree murder carries with it an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

The trial, which began in October 2011, heard from 58 witnesses and was presented with more than 160 exhibits from both prosecutors and defence lawyers. While some described Shafia as the ultimate family man, other witnesses painted a picture of strict control in the family and limited freedoms for his daughters.

Marco Rubio Delivers GOP Weekly Address

Well, Senator Rubio's been in the news with the immigration blowback on the campaign trail in Florida.

And see Toronto's Globe and Mail, "Marco Rubio coy about endorsing Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich."

The Taliban Go Mainstream: Afghanistan Terror-Sponsors Seek 'Softer Side' to Medieval Political Regime

Well, you gotta give it to the Obama administration.

They got Bin Laden so now it's time to go easy on the Taliban, the medieval Islamist terror-sponsor who executes teenage girls for escaping arranged marriages and who is now looking to build deeper alliances with Pakistani militants to fight U.S. forces. But hey, it's a new day. Barack Obama's on the way!

At Wall Street Journal, "Emboldened Taliban Try to Sell Softer Image":

KABUL — When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, Maulvi Qalamuddin headed the Committee to Protect Virtue and Prevent Vice, the religious police that shut down girls' schools, beat up men with insufficiently long beards and arrested those in possession of music or video tapes.

Nowadays, the 60-year-old Taliban cleric is on a different mission: He is overseeing a network of schools that teach reading, writing and math to thousands of girls in his home province of Logar, an insurgent hotbed just south of Kabul.

"Education for women is just as necessary as education for men," Mr. Qalamuddin thunders. "In Islam, men and women have the same duty to pray, to fast—and to seek learning."

The Taliban's restrictions on women and schooling, combined with support for al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, turned the group into an international pariah even before the September 2001 attacks on America. Now, as the U.S. pulls out its troops and tries to negotiate a peace settlement with the insurgents, the international community grapples with a crucial question: If returned to power, will the Taliban behave any more responsibly this time around?

In recent public statements, the Taliban have made an effort to appear a more moderate force, promising peaceful relations with neighboring countries and respect for human rights. The big unknown is whether this new rhetoric represents a meaningful transformation—or is merely designed to sugarcoat the Taliban's real aims.

"One might believe that they would change over time," says U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the day-to-day commander of the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan. "You see some messages that they might open their thinking a bit about women, a woman's place in society. But I don't know that I would bet on it."

U.S. and Taliban representatives have met over the past several months, trying to establish a dialogue that could end America's longest foreign war. In a tangible sign of progress in early January, the Taliban dropped their insistence that all foreign troops must leave Afghanistan before any peace talks begin and agreed to set up a representative office in Qatar to facilitate future negotiations. To create trust in these talks, the U.S. is considering transferring to Qatari custody five senior Taliban officials incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Despite a new willingness to negotiate with the U.S., however, the Taliban's leadership still believes it can reach its war aim of seizing Kabul and the rest of Afghanistan after most foreign forces withdraw in 2014, American military commanders agree.

Continue reading.

For some reason optimism eludes me here.

But the drumbeat for precipitous withdrawal continues on the left, and even some on the mainstream right think we should pull out --- because the Obama administration's prosecution of the war has endangered American lives.

Another reason to vote Republican in the fall, no matter who wins the nomination. We need to repair American foreign policy and commit to completing the gains in international security that the Bush administration had secured before the Corrupt-o-crats took office. Sheesh.

Hot Go Daddy Super Bowl Ads 2012!

Are these "sleaze merchant" ads?

Better check in with TrogloPundit, who doesn't seem to be protesting too much: "Hey, you guys wanna see this year’s GoDaddy.com Superbowl ads?"

Also, at Vancouver Sun, "Sexy Super Bowl ads set to get racier."

PREVIOUSLY: "Adriana Lima Super Bowl Commercials."

Adriana Lima Super Bowl Commercials

Well, another reason to tune in on Super Bowl Sunday.

See Puff Ho, "Adriana Lima to Star In Two Super Bowl Commercials (VIDEOS)."

And see: "Vote Victoria's Secret for Greatest Super Bowl Commercials," and "Victoria's Secret 2008 Super Bowl Commercial."

Netanyahu Expected to Call Early Elections

The clip below via Israel Matzav, "The most popular video of the week is..."

And see Los Angeles Times, "Election fever grips Israel as Netanyahu maneuver expected":

Israel's current coalition government is one of its most stable in decades, and the next scheduled national poll is nearly two years off. Yet election fever has gripped the country and some believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is quietly preparing to call for an early vote, perhaps in the middle of this year.

The two biggest political parties — Netanyahu's conservative Likud and its main rival, the centrist Kadima — recently announced that they would hold primaries to select leaders whose names would be on the next election ballot.

The left-leaning Labor Party held a leadership convention in September. And this month, popular TV news anchor Yair Lapid promised to shake up the status quo, saying he would compete for prime minister as head of a new party.

In a country where the prime minister's average term in recent decades has been shorter than three years and most governments collapse prematurely, some believe that Netanyahu, who took office in 2009, will seek to capitalize on his improving popularity by securing another term before the U.S. presidential election in November.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."

Also at Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's Sunday Funnies," and Theo Spark, "Cartoon Roundup..."

Republican Candidates Fight for Direction of the Party

At Los Angeles Times, "In Florida, Romney vs. Gingrich is a fight for GOP's direction":

As Brenda Mulberry stepped into the natural-food grocery in Cocoa Beach this week, she paused to tick off elements of her shopping list for a candidate in Tuesday's Florida primary. Electability was at the top, and for that reason she's backing Mitt Romney.

Mulberry, 53, owns a small business manufacturing souvenir T-shirts, so she appreciates Romney's moneymaking skills and thinks critics should stop attacking him simply because he's rich. As for Newt Gingrich, Mulberry is certain the thrice-married former House speaker would lose in November.

She can hear President Obama now: "Well, I've been married to Michelle for all this time.... If he can't run his own personal life, then how's he going to run a country?"

But Jeff Cloud, 59, who makes a living doing yardwork in Florida's rural interior, questions whether Romney has the toughness it takes to sit in the Oval Office. For that reason, he leans toward Gingrich.

"He's fought a lot of battles," Cloud said, sitting at a picnic table outside the public library in Brooksville. "With Romney, I just don't know if his background is strong enough to be what we need as a leader."

The fight for the Republican presidential nomination, now centered in Florida, has become more than just a contest between Romney and Gingrich. It has become a battle over the direction of the party, between different visions of whom it serves — Wall Street or Main Street? — and whom it should represent.

It is an old fight, waged intermittently for more than 50 years, with different candidates — Eisenhower versus Taft, Rockefeller versus Goldwater, Dole versus Buchanan — in the roles of establishment favorite and conservative alternative. (Spoiler alert: The establishment pick almost always wins the nomination.) It is a fight, as well, between classes and cultures, evidenced by the support won this year by each of the main contenders in the three contests so far.

Well, it's a pretty nasty fight by this point. And Romney's coming back up in the Florida polls, so perhaps the Sunshine State might be decisive.

More later.

Hundreds Arrested in Oakland as Occupy Protesters Storm Barricades With Rocks, Bottles, and Improvised Explosive Devices

Damn, these people are freakin' terrorists.

See New York Times, "Occupy Protesters and Police Clash in Oakland":

A march to take over a vacant building by members of the Occupy movement in Oakland, Calif., turned into a violent confrontation with the police on Saturday, leaving three officers injured and about 200 people arrested.

The clashes began just before 3 p.m. when protesters marched toward the vacant Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, the police said, and began to tear down construction barricades. Officers ordered the crowd to disperse when protesters “began destroying construction equipment and fencing,” the Oakland police said in a press release.

“Officers were pelted with bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices and burning flares, the police said.” Officers responded with smoke, tear gas and beanbag projectiles. Twenty people were arrested.

Most of the arrests occurred in the evening, when large groups of people were corralled in front of the Downtown Oakland Y.M.C.A. on Broadway. At one point, one group of protesters broke into the City Hall building.

On a livestream broadcast on the Web site oakfosho.com, dozens of protesters could be seen sitting cross-legged in darkness on the street in front of the Y.M.C.A. Their hands appeared to be bound behind them, while police officers stood watch. Occasionally the protesters sang or cheered.

The events were part of a demonstration dubbed “Move-in Day,” a plan by protesters to move into the vacant convention center and use it as a commune-like command center, according to the Web site occupyoaklandmoveinday.org.

“We were going to set up a community center,” said Benjamin Phillips, 32, a member of the Occupy Oakland media team. “It would be a place where we could house people, feed people, do all the things that we have been doing.”

In an open letter to Mayor Jean Quan on the Move-in Day site, the group threatened actions like “blockading the airport indefinitely, occupying City Hall indefinitely” and “shutting down the Oakland ports.” Occupy protesters did briefly shut down the city’s busy port in November.

In a statement issued before the march, Ms. Quan said that “the residents of Oakland are wearying of the constant focus and cost to our city.” On Saturday night, she added: “Once again, a violent splinter group of the Occupy Movement is engaging in violent actions against Oakland. The Bay Area Occupy Movement has got to stop using Oakland as their playground.”

In a statement, city officials said the total number of arrests was estimated at 200.

Actually, these are the original occupiers, not a "violent splinter group." The Occupy Wall Street movement piggy-backed onto to initial violent occupations that have been ongoing for the last couple of years. Once the "we are the 1%" slogan went mainstream, the Democrats and their MFM enablers deliberately ignored. the anarcho-revolutionary agenda of the protests. These people are violent militants and radicals. See also, "Manifesto: Occupy for the Revolution."

PREVIOUSLY: "Racist Walter James Casper III Doubles-Down on Endorsement of Revolutionary Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street."

Britain Could Not Reclaim Falklands, Former British General Sir Michael Jackson Warns

Britain was the world's supreme power a little over a century ago. Today, it wouldn't be able to hold onto its territorial possessions if it had to.

At Telegraph UK, "Britain could not reclaim the Falklands if Argentina invades, warns General Sir Michael Jackson":

The Falklands will be lost forever if Argentina invades again, one of Britain's senior military figures has warned.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the former head of the army, General Sir Michael Jackson, says defence cuts have made it "impossible" to win the islands back after a successful invasion, in the way the British task force did in 1982.

"What if an Argentinian force was able to secure the Mount Pleasant airfield? Then our ability to recover the islands now would be just about impossible," says General Jackson, who was Chief of the General Staff until five years ago and led the army into Iraq.
"We are not in a position to take air power by sea since the demise of the Harrier force."

Britain no longer has an aircraft carrier and the Harrier fleet which performed with such distinction during the Falklands War has been sold to the US Marine Corps.

"Let us hope we do not live to regret that decision," says General Jackson, responding to what he calls "disagreeable noises coming from Buenos Aires" as the 30th anniversary of the war approaches.

Continue at the link.

And previously, "Britain and France to Share Aircraft Carriers."

'Look Around'

The Chili Peppers are playing live this summer. I'm not sure if my wife can dig it, so I'll probably hold off on getting tickets. I love the album though, so we'll see. We're all set for Van Halen, though, so that's cool. It's going to be something else. More on that later.

And check Rolling Stone in any case, for an interview with Flea:

Next year, the Red Hot Chili Peppers will turn 30 – but they’re celebrating a little early: On March 29th, they kick off a 25-city U.S. arena run in support of their 10th Album, I’m With You – their first with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. (The tour was postponed from January due to singer Anthony Kiedis’ foot injury.) And on April 14th, bassist Flea Michael Balzary, Anthony Kiedis and drummer Chad Smith will hit Cleveland to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “I’m excited, says Flea, checking in before a show in Barcelona. “It’s going to be a really cool, special night.”

After that, the Red Hot Chili Peppers will get back to rocking stadiums on a summer tour of Europe. “It took us a while to get solid with Josh Klinghoffer – there’s so much improvisation in our band that it’s like establishing a new vernacular,” says Flea. “But we’re fucking on fire, man!”

You’re a maniac onstage. How will you come down after tonight’s show?

I have my rituals. After I walk offstage, I’ll go to the dressing room and meditate. Then I’ll eat, go to back to my hotel and go on a 3 a.m. hour long walk through Barcelona. Then I hit the hay. I used to panic on tour, lose it and fall apart and crumble, but now I have it down to a science...

Continue reading.

Tea Party 2012

A great video, via ChristinaKBo on Twitter:

'Vampire Woman'

This is pretty wild, at Telegraph UK, "'Vampire Woman' shows off incredible tattoo transformation in Venezuela."

Michael Mann's Emails

This is an amazing post at Watt's Up With That, "Legal exemplars cited in Michael Mann’s UVA email case":

The selected emails include graphic descriptions of the contempt a small circle of largely taxpayer-funded alarmists held for anyone who followed scientific principles and ended up disagreeing with them. For example, in the fifteenth Petitioners’ Exemplar (PE-15), Mann encourages a boycott of one climate journal and a direct appeal to his friends on the editorial board to have one of the journal’s editors fired for accepting papers that were carefully peer-reviewed and recommended for publication on the basis that the papers dispute Mann’s own work. In PE-38, he states that another well respected journal is “being run by the baddies,” calling them “shills for industry.” In PE-39 Mann calls U.S. Congressmen concerned about how he spent taxpayer money “thugs”.

PE-18, 20 & 27 illustrate the typical fashion with which Mann used a UVa email account to accuse co-authors and other respected scientists of incompetence, berating them in emails copied to colleagues living throughout the world. UVA claims this is somehow exempt from VFOIA as scientific research.

In PE-22, Mann alludes to his “dirty laundry” which cannot come out, requesting his correspondent to not pass the email or the data attached to it to anyone else (UVa has claimed no attachments to any emails were preserved on their system). In this email, Mann admits he has failed to follow the most basic tenet of science, to keep a record of exactly what he did in his research, and thus himself could not reproduce his own results.

PE-24 & 25 characterize the efforts of this small group of academics to hide what they are doing and to avoid their work being held up to inspection under the Freedom of Information Act. In PE-26, Mann goes so far as to ask a federal employee — impossibly, as he send it to an email account subject to the federal FOIA — to “treat this email as confidential” though all the email does is complain about a Wall Street Journal author’s efforts to report the science impeaching Mann’s early work. PE-26, like many other emails UVA wishes to keep secret, is subject to release under the federal FOIA.

Continue reading.

PREVIOUSLY: "Evidence Does Not Support Catastrophic Man-Made Global Warming."

U.S. Economy Picks Up Steam: Fourth-Quarter Growth Rate of 2.8% is Fastest in 18 Months, but Doesn't Appear Sustainable

At First Street Journal, "The Economy Grew 2.8% For the 4th quarter, 1.7% Overall in 2011."

And at Chicago Sun-Times, "Economic growth not enough to sharply reduce unemployment."

 WASHINGTON — The economy grew late last year at a pace that in normal times would suggest it’s healthy.

But the 2.8 percent annualized growth rate in the October-December quarter — the fastest pace since the spring of 2010 — isn’t being cheered by most economists or investors. That’s because growth would need to be much stronger to sharply reduce unemployment. And signs in the data point to slower growth ahead.

The Mechanics of the Vote Pump

It's Bill Whittle's Firewall:

More Topless Ukrainian Protest Ladies!

Well, they sure know how to generate some attention.

At Telegraph UK, "Video: Feminist group take topless protest to Davos."

And at New York Times, "Davos, in the Style of Occupy Wall Street."

Gingrich, Ignoring Attacks, Plays Up Ties to Reagan

At New York Times, "Gingrich Predicts a ‘Wild and Woolly’ Campaign":

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Despite signs that he could lose the important Florida primary on Tuesday, Newt Gingrich pledged Saturday to stay in the nominating fight until the very end, telling reporters he would press on until the Republican convention in Tampa in late August.

“I will go all the way to the convention,” Mr. Gingrich told reporters after a rally at a golf course in this coastal community. “I expect to win the nomination.”

Mr. Gingrich alluded to two national polls that he said showed him ahead, but it is the state polls that count, and in Florida they show him lagging 8 or 10 percentage points behind Mitt Romney.

Mr. Romney, meanwhile, exuded confidence, telling jokes to a crowd in Pensacola and drilling down against President Obama, a shift from recent days, when he had divided his focus between Mr. Obama and Mr. Gingrich.

But he mentioned Mr. Gingrich only once, to gloat slightly about his own strong debate performances in Florida this week, which his campaign hopes will propel him to a win here on Tuesday.

Mr. Gingrich turned in uncharacteristically weak debate performances, something of a surprise since he had climbed in the polls on the strength of his ability to make sharp, succinct arguments and confront his questioners in the news media.

He has also faced a torrent of criticism from the Republican establishment warning that he is too erratic, unhinged and temperamental to be president. Moreover, they have said, he would lose to Mr. Obama in November.

The taunts seem to have emboldened Mr. Gingrich, who predicted a “wild and woolly” campaign ahead as he barreled through a series of speeches and town-hall-style meetings Saturday on Florida’s affluent Treasure Coast.

The Romney campaign has been sprinkling its surrogates on the edge of crowds at Gingrich events to talk with reporters about Mr. Gingrich’s failings and why they were supporting Mr. Romney.

The Gingrich campaign criticized this tactic, even as it brought out its own surrogates and said a backlash was developing against Mr. Romney for orchestrating criticisms of Mr. Gingrich from the Republican establishment. Despite Mr. Gingrich’s three-decade career in Washington, he argues to audiences that he is the only one with vision bold enough to change it.

“Have courage!” he told the crowd here of about 150 people who were standing by the golf course in shorts and flip-flops.

And in the face of assertions that he is exaggerating his closeness to President Ronald Reagan, Mr. Gingrich added that he was “very proud to run on a Reagan-Gingrich record.”

Also, at CNN, "Herman Cain endorses Gingrich."

Australian Bikini Rule 5

Well, this sure beats cyberstalking.

Also blogging, American Perspective, "Kate Beckinsale - Rule 5."

And a roundup at Proof Positive, "Saturday Linkaround."

Added: At Daley Gator, "DaleyGator DaleyBabe Kate Upton."