Jesus, Self-Defense, and Teaching Your Kids to Use Deadly Force

An interesting piece, from Doug Giles, at Clash Daily.

Cloud Storage Hacked in Jennifer Lawrence Nude Photo Leak

Following-up from yesterday, "Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton Nude Photos Leaked Online."

Here's CNET's Dan Ackerman, from CBS "This Morning":

'Wage Theft' Claims: The Latest Left-Wing Scam to Bilk Employers — Happy Labor Day!

You'd think that overtime laws were just invented yesterday. In fact we've had overtime laws since the New Deal of the 1930s, and no doubt employees have long made claims against bosses for unfair pay practices.

But all of a sudden we're now hearing about the scourge of "wage theft," as if employers just discovered that they can "steal" workers' overtime earnings to bulk up profits, or something.

At the New York Times, "More Workers Are Claiming ‘Wage Theft’":

MIRA LOMA, Calif. — Week after week, Guadalupe Rangel worked seven days straight, sometimes 11 hours a day, unloading dining room sets, trampolines, television stands and other imports from Asia that would soon be shipped to Walmart stores.

Even though he often clocked 70 hours a week at the Schneider warehouse here, he was never paid time-and-a-half overtime, he said. And now, having joined a lawsuit involving hundreds of warehouse workers, Mr. Rangel stands to receive more than $20,000 in back pay as part of a recent $21 million legal settlement with Schneider, a national trucking company.

“Sometimes I’d work 60, even 90 days in a row,” said Mr. Rangel, a soft-spoken immigrant from Mexico. “They never paid overtime.”

The lawsuit is part of a flood of recent cases — brought in California and across the nation — that accuse employers of violating minimum wage and overtime laws, erasing work hours and wrongfully taking employees’ tips. Worker advocates call these practices “wage theft,” insisting it has become far too prevalent.

Some federal and state officials agree. They assert that more companies are violating wage laws than ever before, pointing to the record number of enforcement actions they have pursued. They complain that more employers — perhaps motivated by fierce competition or a desire for higher profits — are flouting wage laws.

Many business groups counter that government officials have drummed up a flurry of wage enforcement actions, largely to score points with union allies. If anything, employers have become more scrupulous in complying with wage laws, the groups say, in response to the much publicized lawsuits about so-called off-the-clock work that were filed against Walmart and other large companies a decade ago.

Here in California, a federal appeals court ruled last week that FedEx had in effect committed wage theft by insisting that its drivers were independent contractors rather than employees. FedEx orders many drivers to work 10 hours a day, but does not pay them overtime, which is required only for employees. FedEx said it planned to appeal.

Julie Su, the state labor commissioner, recently ordered a janitorial company in Fremont to pay $332,675 in back pay and penalties to 41 workers who cleaned 17 supermarkets. She found that the company forced employees to sign blank time sheets, which it then used to record inaccurate, minimal hours of work....

Here's the bottom line:

Business groups note that the lawsuits against McDonald’s have been coordinated with the fast-food workers’ movement demanding a $15 wage. “This is a classic special-interest campaign by labor unions,” said Stephen J. Caldeira, president of the International Franchise Association. In legal papers, McDonald’s denied any liability in Ms. Salazar’s case, and the Oakland franchisee insisted that Ms. Salazar had failed to establish illegal actions by the restaurant.

Lee Schreter, co-chairwoman of the wage and hour practice group at Littler Mendelson, a law firm that represents employers, said wage theft was not increasing, adding that many companies had become more vigilant about compliance. But that has not stopped lawyers from bringing wage theft complaints because of the potential payoff, Ms. Schreter said. “These are opportunistic lawsuits,” she said...

Yep, totally opportunistic leftist labor scam

More.

75th Anniversary of Start of World War Two

Nazi Germany invaded Poland 75 years ago today.

At the Tampa Bay Times, "75 years ago today: the start of World War II:

Today marks the 75th anniversary of Germany's invasion of Poland, thus beginning the start of World War II. By the end of the war in 1945, more than 50 million, and by some count millions more, soldiers and civilians had died. The atrocities of the Holocaust stand sorely at the center of the tragedy of the war.

Also at Time, "World War II Erupts: Haunting Color Photos from 1939 Poland."

Also, at Deutsche Welle, and interview with British historian Anthony Beevor, "'Moral choice explains fascination with WWII'."

Caroline Wozniacki Ousts Maria Sharapova at U.S. Open

At the New York Times, "Upsets Persist at U.S. Open as Caroline Wozniacki Ousts Maria Sharapova."

I think this describes it! @usopen pic.twitter.com/3tjWbJ2ztu

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) August 31, 2014

Belgian Women Pour Fake Blood in Airport to Protest #Israel Arms Transport

Well, at least it was fake blood.

Sheesh.

At the Times of Israel.

Belgian women pour fake blood in airport to protest Israel arms transport http://t.co/dv9VkmUALv

— TOI Jewish Times (@TOIJewishTimes) September 1, 2014

Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton Nude Photos Leaked Online

Actually, a bunch of celebrities had their nude photos leaked.

At Variety, "Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Ariana Grande Among Celebrities Exposed in Massive Nude Photo Leak."

And at BuzzFeed, "Jennifer Lawrence, Ariana Grande, Kate Upton, More Celebs Have Alleged Nude Photos Leak In Massive Hack."

Actress Mary Winstead, whose photos were also leaked, is not pleased:

To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves.

— Mary E. Winstead (@M_E_Winstead) August 31, 2014

#Angels Sweep #Athletics to Take 5-Game Lead in AL West

At the Los Angeles Times, "Angels complete four-game sweep of A's with 8-1 victory."

It feels great if you're an Angels fan, but man, this has been an astonishing collapse for the Athletics.

Sounds like team meeting going on right now in #Athletics clubhouse.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

This is a pretty long closed-door meeting.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

Melvin says team should be embarrassed. He feels bad for fans. #Athletics

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

Melvin held meeting to impart that to team. Cuts session with reporters short after blasting team's performance past three games.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

Kazmir says #Athletics disappointed in selves. "This is not who we are."

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

Donaldson: "Something had to be said. ..this is a wakeup call. This is the time of year to be playing our best and we're playing our worst."

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

Kazmir questions Gerry Davis' professionalism with strike zone today, says he was hitting his spots every time with nothing to show for it.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

Kazmir says Davis made "cry baby face" at #Athletics dugout last night, A's lodged complaint and Davis was reprimanded.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

Norris says #Athletics cant piss away season after getting such good opportunity. "We have to figure it out."

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

#Athletics Drumbeat: Melvin airs team out; more on Kazmir/strike zone/Gerry Davis weirdness: http://t.co/7Hx4XOScB2

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

Bob Melvin: "That was embarrassing. The last 3 days the worst I've seen. #Athletics

— John Hickey (@JHickey3) August 31, 2014

#Athletics Derek Norris: "We've got to figure it out. Frustration, anger, disappointment, embarrassment all added up today."

— John Hickey (@JHickey3) August 31, 2014

#Athletics Brandon Moss on mgr Bob Melvin's closed-door meeting: "he's as tired of watching it as were are of doing it."

— John Hickey (@JHickey3) August 31, 2014

NBC's Richard Engel: Military Commanders, Former Officials 'Apoplectic' Over Obama's National Security Failures

Engel has been hitting the White House hard, but this report just rips the administration. And the Ryan Crocker interview at the segment helps bring down the hammer:

Asian-Bashing #Dems and Doormat Minorities Who Enable Them

ICYMI, from Michelle Malkin, a great piece.

Professor Charli Carpenter Boycotts #APSA for Placing an 'Undue Burden' on Her 'Gender-Conscious' Work-Life Balance

Boy, this might as well be a parody of the life of a far-left politically correct academic, except that it's not a parody. Behold this "brave" statement of "gender consciousness" from Professor Charli Carpenter, at the hate-site Lawyers, Guns and Money, "Why I Am Not at APSA This Labor Day":

I’m boycotting my professional organization for scheduling a conference so as to inhibit work-life-balance and pose an undue burden on parents in the profession, especially mothers. I’m boycotting APSA because they have done this year by year over the protest of their members. What began as an irreconcilable personal conflict for a parent of grade schoolers and partner to a dual-career spouse – what began, that is, as a simple work-life balance choice – has turned over the years into a political statement that I’ll continue to make until APSA’s policy changes.

I’m not saying APSA is an inherently family-unfriendly organization....

So starting when my daughter was 8, my husband and I decided to try a new system: alternating APSAs. Each year, one or the other of us would go from now on, and one would stay. This idea made sense in theory, but in practice it put strain on our family’s carefully cultivated and gender-conscious balance between work and family life, as we each navigated life on the two-body tenure track striving for equity both in child-rearing and career opportunities...

Oh brother. The drama is excruciating.

Wouldn't want to upset that "carefully cultivated and gender-conscious balance between work and family life." No siree!

Besides, child-rearing equity is important!

A little late for National Offend a Feminist Week, but Charli's "work-life balance" rants are precious, heh.

IMAGE CREDIT: Serr8d's Cutting Edge.

Professor Daniel Drezner Speaks at Another Controversial Conference Panel — #APSA2014

Dan Drezner is Professor of International Politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Folks will recall that Drezner's blog was one of the first I used to read on a regular basis, over a decade ago. He quit the blog recently when Foreign Policy moved to a weekly column format for its online writers, and now Drezner's set up shop at the Washington Post as a contributor.

But Drezner's also known for his questionable ethics and intelligence when it comes to conference participation. Earlier this year he appeared on a panel with Holocaust denier William Lind, who has been described by Michael Goldfarb as a "paleoconservative Jew-baiter extraordinaire."

@mattduss @dandrezner try taking your lumps like a man and apologizing for elevating a holocaust denier—you did that, not anybody else.
— Michael Goldfarb (@thegoldfarb) July 3, 2014

Here's the report on the controversial event from Alana Goodman, "Antiwar Conference Featured Panelist Who Spoke at Holocaust Denial Conference."

So, with that kind of disgusting conference participation, one might expect Professor Drezner to be more choosy in aligning himself with enemies of Israel. (One might be even more likely to think so, as Drezner is himself Jewish.)

But no. It turns out Drezner spoke this weekend at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, at a panel called "Navigating a Career in International Relations." Well, "navigating" an IR career these days apparently means getting on the good side of the most vile anti-Israel academics in the field, Professors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, authors of the widely condemned book, The Israel Lobby.

At the APSA website, here's the panelist lineup for "Navigating a Career in International Relations":

Date: Saturday, Aug 30, 2014, 4:30 PM-6:00 PM

Location: Only those registered for the meeting can see room assignments. If you have registered, login to see rooms. Subject to change. Check the Final Program at the conference.

Co-sponsored by 18 International Security-33

Chair(s):

Leslie Vinjamuri
University of London, SOAS

Participant(s):

Helen V. Milner
Princeton University
Helen V. Milner
Princeton University
John J. Mearsheimer
University of Chicago
Daniel W. Drezner
Tufts University
Stephen M. Walt
Harvard University
Colin H. Kahl
Georgetown University
Jennifer M. Lind
Dartmouth College

Drezner, of course, is well-versed in the controversies surrounding Walt and Mearsheimer's The Israel Lobby. Indeed, back in 2005, he offered a robust defense of the embattled authors, going so far to argue that "Walt and Mearsheimer should not be criticized as anti-Semites, because that's patently false."

Really? "Patently false."

Well, the widely respected Anti-Defamation League, which describes itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", would beg to differ. Here's this ADL response to Walt and Mearsheimer at the website, from 2006, "A Review of Mearsheimer and Walt's "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" -- An Anti-Jewish Screed in Scholarly Guise."

And then there's the authoritative response from political scientist Eliot Cohen, who is the Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University, at the Washington Post, in 2006, "Yes, It's Anti-Semitic."

I could go on listing eminent, reputable voices who have slammed The Israel Lobby for precisely what it is: hatred and bigotry.

But hey, nowadays hate and bigotry are apparently resume enhancers in the political science discipline.

In 2011, Professor Walt spoke at the far-left Code Pink's Move Over AIPAC! Summit, where attendees bestowed honors on the late White House correspondent Helen Thomas, whose later years where mired in controversy over vile comments she made, caught on tape, attacking Israel and suggesting that the Jews should "move back to Europe." Professor Mearsheimer, as well, has done little to clear his name of anti-Semitic aspersions, going so far as writing a book-jacket blurb for vicious Israel-basher Gilad Atzmon, who the ADL describes as:

... an outspoken and prolific promoter of classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Jewish control over American foreign policy, and has written that Jews have a plan for world domination. He has trafficked in anti-Semitic canards such as the notion that Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus.

And here's Jeffrey Goldberg's dramatic headline on Mearsheimer, at the Atlantic, "John Mearsheimer Endorses a Hitler Apologist and Holocaust Revisionist." And see Commentary, "Mearsheimer’s Anti-Semitism Scandal." [Added: Don't miss Alan Dershowitz as well, at the New Republic, "Why are John Mearsheimer and Richard Falk Endorsing a Blatantly Anti-Semitic Book?"]

Drezner is no doubt aware of all the latest controversies surrounding Walt and Mearsheimer, although he obviously remains untroubled and unconcerned with his own reputation. It'd be one thing if Drezner had appeared on a panel to debate Walt and Mearsheimer on some topical issue in international politics (Obama's bumbling foreign policy; Israel's third Gaza war). But Drezner's appeared at a professional development panel, and thus gave a disciplinary imprimatur to the views of Walt and Mearsheimer.

I called him out on Twitter yesterday:

.@DanDrezner Well, hope you were spared the anti-Semitic tropes and slurs of Walt and Mearsheimer. Not spared: your honor. #TheIsraelLobby
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 31, 2014

In all, a sad statement on the state of the field: Israel-hatred as a career-booster in political science.

Revolt Against the Brassieres

At Barnorama, "Join The Fight Against Bras, Today!"

Plus, elsewhere it's Rule 5 Sunday, at Pirate's Cove, for example, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup," and "If All You See……is CO2 infused beer killing the climate, you might just be a Warmist."

And at 90 Miles from Tyranny, "Morning Mistress."

Also, from last Sunday at the Other McCain, "Rule 5 Sunday: Peaches En Regalia."

BONUS FLASHBACK: "#NOAFW – Exclusive: Feminists Attempt to Brainwash Kate Upton."

Check back here for more regular babe blogging updates.

Joan Rivers on Life Support

It's all so unreal, as she just performed on Thursday night.

But by Friday, she was rushed to Cedars Sinai.

At London's Daily Mail, "Joan Rivers' celebrity friends take to Twitter to pray for her recovery as her family face agonizing decision over whether or not to turn off life support machine."

And on Twitter:

Remains on life support... http://t.co/Ea6GSCmvGQ

— DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) August 31, 2014

JOAN NEEDS MIRACLE http://t.co/0GzPzfLdXO

— DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) August 31, 2014

Yes, Indeed, Let's Be Mindful of What 'the Left has already accomplished...'

Demonic hate-troll Walter James Casper tweets:

#TheSixtiesCNN reminds me how much the Left has already accomplished, how much further we have to go, and the likelihood of our success.

— W. James Casper (@repsac3) August 31, 2014

Oh, and we have "further to go"?

Right. We certainly wouldn't want to waste any time destroying the rest of the moral and strategic order that's taken decent society decades to build. The 1960's saw the rise of the most "destructive generation," and pity the next generations of Americans, who will live in greater danger and less prosperity than those who came before.

But according to vile Utopian assholes like Walter James Casper III, all of this is progress.

More at Instapundit, "A FACEBOOK FRIEND WHO’S TOO MODEST TO WANT CREDIT HERE POSTED THIS...":

Let’s accept, arguendo, that the outgoing DIA chief is right, and that we are now in an era of danger similar to the mid-1930s. How did we get here? It’s worth looking back into the mists of time — an entire year, to Labor Day weekend 2013. What had not happened then? It’s quite a list, actually: the Chinese ADIZ, the Russian annexation of Crimea, the rise of ISIS, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the fall of Mosul, the end of Hungarian liberal democracy, the Central American refugee crisis, the Egyptian-UAE attacks on Libya, the extermination of Iraqi Christians, the Yazidi genocide, the scramble to revise NATO’s eastern-frontier defenses, the Kristallnacht-style pogroms in European cities, the reemergence of mainstream anti-Semitism, the third (or fourth, perhaps) American war in Iraq, racial riots in middle America, et cetera and ad nauseam.

All that was in the future just one year ago.

What is happening now is basically America’s version of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The President of the United States — supported to an exceptional extent by an electorate both uncomprehending and untrusting of the outside world — is Clarence the Angel, and he’s showing us what the world would be like if we’d never been born, Unsurprisingly, Bedford Falls is now Pottersville, and it’s a terrible place. Unfortunately we do not get to revert to the tolerable if modest status quo at the end of the lesson: George Bailey will eventually have to shell the town and retake it street by street from Old Man Potter’s Spetsnaz.

But the larger point here is not what’s happening, because what’s happening is obvious. Things are falling apart. The point is how fast it’s come. It takes the blood and labor of generations to build a general peace, and that peace is sustained by two pillars: a common moral vision, and force majeure. We spent a quarter-century chipping away at the latter, and finally discarded the former, and now that peace is gone. All this was the work of decades.

Look back, again, to Labor Day weekend 2013, and understand one thing: its undoing was the work of mere months.

Coco Crisp Scratched from #Athletics Starting Lineup for Second Day in a Row

Per Susan Slusser, on Twitter.

And Slusser at SF Gate, "A’s acquire Adam Dunn from White Sox."

The A's are in a slumpin' funk.

Donaldson says if he had answers for why offense struggling, "we wouldn't be struggling."

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

Asked about confidence level, outlook going into final month of season, Donaldson said, "I don't know. We'll see."

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

Donaldson said of recent team struggles, "Pretty much everything's been said. Everyone sees it." Team morale? "I think it's pretty obvious."

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

A couple of people have asked if the A's sound defeated. No, they sound like a mix of pissed and frustrated. Exactly as you would expect.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) August 31, 2014

Bad News for Al Gore: Arctic Sea Ice Growing Thicker and Larger (GRAPHS)

At London's Daily Mail, "Myth of arctic meltdown: Stunning satellite images show summer ice cap is thicker and covers 1.7million square kilometres MORE than 2 years ago...despite Al Gore's prediction it would be ICE-FREE by now."

Also at WUWT, "‘The Arctic sea ice spiral of death seems to have reversed’."

Al Gore is such an ass.

More from Debra Saunders, at the San Francisco Chronicle, "Al Gore suit against Al Jazeera the height of hypocrisy."

Brutal Rise of Islamic State Turns Old Enemies Into New Friends

At WSJ, "Nations Long at Loggerheads, Such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, Find Common Ground in Bid to Curb Extremists":

In the brutal calculation of Middle East politics, the baseline for friendship has always been simple: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

By that standard, the Islamic State extremist group is creating friendships aplenty. An odd set of bedfellows or potential bedfellows, transcending geographical, ideological and alliance bounds, is emerging from the ranks of those threatened by what many see as the most dangerous militant movement in a generation.

Shiite Muslim Iran and Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, for instance, have been bitter foes since at least 1979, when the Iranian revolutionary government of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini hoped to inspire similar revolutions in the Sunni world. But both countries now fear Islamic State's armed radical Islamist movement, which seeks to usurp their own claimed leadership of the Muslim world.

That led Iran and Saudi Arabia to independently back the same candidate to lead Iraq, in a push for a new government that might unite Sunnis and Shiites to battle Islamic State. This week, Iranian and Saudi diplomats held a rare meeting to consult.

Turkey has long distrusted and worked against ethnic Kurds, especially a violent splinter group known as the PKK that operates out of the mountainous environs of northern Iraq. But the Turks looked the other way when Syrian Kurdish militias affiliated with the PKK played a starring role in the rescue from Islamic State fighters of thousands of Yazidis stranded on a mountainside.

Russia and the U.S. are at loggerheads in Ukraine and elsewhere, including the Middle East. But they agree that the sort of violent Islam practiced by Islamic State, which now controls large swaths of Iraq and Syria, endangers the global order in which both countries compete for influence.

Islamic State even has had a falling out with al Qaeda, the group that spawned it. Al Qaeda's official Syrian branch, known as the Nusra Front, is outflanked and mocked by Islamic State. So Nusra has joined the fight against Islamic State, clashing violently on the battlefields of Syria.

These countries and movements may be at odds over nearly everything else, but nothing focuses the mind like a mortal threat, say some analysts and former top security officials. Given not only Islamic State's savagery but its potential to overthrow regimes and spill over borders, they all seem to agree on only one thing: It needs to be stopped.

Lacking a coalition of the willing, the Obama administration should muster up a sort of alliance of the unwilling, these analysts argue. Whether that is possible, and whether the U.S. has the guile and clout to unite such disparate forces—either formally, or more likely in a combination of overt, covert and arm's-length arrangements—is an open question.

"It has to be patched together, somewhat ad hoc, with maybe some sort of informal and even clandestine agreements on who does what," says Zbigniew Brzezinski, a former U.S. national-security adviser.

More at that top link.

The Macan, Porsche's New 'Speed-Hunting' SUV

I've loved these cars ever since I was a little kid.

Some day. Some day.

At LAT, "The Macan, Porsche's New 'Speed-Hunting' SUV":

Pay no mind to the Porsche Macan's 18 cubic feet of cargo room, its capacity to carry five adults comfortably and its commanding view of the road. With 340 horsepower and reflexes that would make Catwoman jealous, the Macan S never got the memo that it's not a sports car. Porsche's speed-hunting pedigree shows in every corner of this all-new small SUV.

The Macan is the smaller sibling to the Cayenne, the German marque's original SUV, which sent Porsche purists into fits when it was introduced a decade ago but reaped huge profits in the U.S. and globally.

The company is hoping for similar success with the Macan, which is Indonesian for "tiger." For sale now, it's Porsche's play for the burgeoning compact crossover segment — one of the fastest-growing areas of the luxury vehicle market, fueled by wealthy empty-nesters, first-time luxury buyers and professional women.

More.

How Erin Andrews Stays So Fit

At Health Magazine, "Erin Andrews: On Staying Energized, Working Out, and Being Outspoken."

The September issue of @goodhealth is available today! pic.twitter.com/BbdSvjrpM8

— Erin Andrews (@ErinAndrews) August 15, 2014