Softpedaling Our Way Through the Threat Matrix

2011-10-13~ Perhaps one of Obama's favorite new developments is the turning of the Arab world toward a far more virulent strain of Islamofascism. FT.com (via Council on Foreign Relations): "Comment - Iran will benefit from this Arab spring":

'via Blog this'

In my opinion, these revolutions are most likely fostered by Iran to consolidate their anticipated caliphate, esp. in Yemen as an effort to encroach on their chief rival the Saudi Kingdom. I expect the next move is to stir up the Shiites in Dammam (eastern Arabia).

2013-5-23.15:00~ In similar fashion to the Pollyannish desire to bring about intranational peace by disarming law-abiding citizens, liberals think (or claim to believe) they can establish world peace by eliminating, first of all, nuclear arms from the US & Israel. China apparently is taking advantage of the latest manifestation of their efforts (Obama's pledges toward winding down American nuclear arms) by secretly running a nuclear arms race against both the US & Russia. The Japan Times/Opinion: "China’s nuclear program still shrouded in secrecy"

2013-5-24.04:44~TheAtlantic.com: "How Guantanamo Bay's Existence Helps Al-Qaeda Recruit More Terrorists"

The above article cites a public statement by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ("mouthpiece of the Taliban") & an essay by bin Laden in Inspire (the new Al Quaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fanzine) as evidence that Abu Ghraib & Guantanamo are recruiting tools for terrorists. I think Napolitano & Obama, in believing this trite talking point, are playing straight into the Islamoterrorists' hands, as the latter surely know that drone strikes are much more effective recruiting tools among heretofore moderate Muslims [leaving aside the difficulty of establishing ideological bounds for where Islamomoderates stand in the spectrum of Islamic sociopolitical positions between liberals (favoring tolerance of the existence & free religious expression of competing religions) & extremists (favoring violent means of spreading the religion)]. They know this so well that they know they don't even need to speak out against the drone strikes before their fellow Muslims in order to recruit new terrorists. The drone strikes do the work for them.
So why are we so gullible as to believe Obama's claim that drone strikes are a more effective means of conducting the campaign against terrorism than waterboarding in a piece of Cuba which escapes the attention of Arabic- & Farsi-speaking Muslims (the "propaganda cited in the above article is possibly in the English versions of these media for our ears only).

Building Recovery on the Backs of the Unemployed

As long as Washington (both parties) pursues a hostile takeover of the private sector, the latter must take a defensive stance by using their cash for M&A, downsizing to stay profitable. Hence the jobless recovery & the success of upscale brands like Apple (manufacturing at a Chinese plant w/ a rash of suicides), Ltd., Coach, etc. while Walmart, which initially benefitted from the recession, is being undercut by the dollar stores while the lower & middle classes are floundering -- paying taxes to rescue large corporations who proceed to lay off more workers in order to survive. I have a bachelor's degree but the only work I can find is volunteer work, at least until special elections. Hooray for the distributed workforce.

Mixed Signals

Hillary Clinton’s Remarks on bin Laden’s Death - Washington Wire - WSJ "You cannot wait us out." We sure know how to put those words into action, don't we?

Reid: Troop-exit timetable stands - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Iraq withdrawal agreement still stands | baghdad, iraq, mullen - Mullen - Cannon Connections: News

Nuechterlein: U.S. withdrawal: the political debate | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Obama, Osama

2011-5-2~Transcript of President Obama’s Speech - Washington Wire - WSJ
"Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader ..."
I am relieved that Obama has finally disabused Americans of this popular misconception. True, Osama led Muslim terrorists, but he was actually a Quaker. Remember, the term Quaker originates from the desire to make unbelievers quake in fear.

WikiLeaks: Osama bin Laden killed after tip-offs from Guantanamo - Telegraph
Conveniently, Obama omitted any references to Guantanamo Bay from his speech (which would show that his efforts to close the prison, if successful, could have protected bin Laden). This clears the way for Obama to take credit for the kill in his reelection bid.

2013-5-24~ HuffPo headline: “Drummer Lee Rigby Identified As Killed Soldier In London Attack”
The picture gets clearer w/ Gawker’s revelation that Rigby was only wearing a “Help for Heroes” shirt when he was attacked: http://gawker.com/lee-rigby-soldier-and-drummer-killed-by-woolwich-mons-509517927
So as far as I can tell he never even killed a Muslim in the line of action (being a member of the Drum Corps) but was only killed for daring to honor others who risk their lives to protect their fellow Brits (& others in the West such as the US & Israel or moderate Muslims anywhere who fail to toe the radical Wahhabi/Salafist/Shiite line) by killing those who pose a threat to the UK.

Subtle Suicide

I recently became concerned about our military training foreign nationals in specops, esp. those who may eventually become our enemies -- like the Zetas cartel? I recently read about the Zetas (one of the more active drug cartels on the border) & learned we trained some of them in the School of the Americas (SOA) at Ft. Bragg:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Zetas_Cartel
The SOA later became WHINSEC at Ft. Benning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Hemisphere_Institute_for_Security_Cooperation
I'm not just concerned about WHINSEC, where some enemy countries in this hemisphere have already pulled out of the school. (That means we already trained some enemies, right?) I'm also wondering if there are other schools where we're training Muslims, e.g., who are our allies today & foes tomorrow. Hopefully we're not training any Libyan rebels, among whom are a lot of guys who have already been killing our men in Iraq:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8407047/Libyan-rebel-commander-admits-his-fighters-have-al-Qaeda-links.html

Removal of Ruler

The Apr. 8 issue of "The Week" magazine had an interesting article on Michele Bachmann's potential presidential candidacy. I find much to like about her, most of all her fearless advocacy of conservative principles (chief among them her strong prolife stance backed up by her living it out w/ 23 foster children in addition to her 5 "biological" children). But also telling was the fact that Mike Murphy (among other "moderate" Republicans) dislikes her. That only increases my respect for her. After Dole & McCain (to say nothing of the litany of RINOs lauded by the liberal media outlets), I'm sick of leftist pundits & liberal Republican "strategists" giving the Republican party advice on how to commit suicide in the guise of a strategy for appealing to the mythical left-leaning independent bloc of voters. I prefer to stand firm for my principles -- remember Goldwater's line in his nomination acceptance speech in '64: "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!" Barry Goldwater - Wikiquote So in sum, I think Bachmann presents the strongest combination of principled conservatism, name recognition, public speaking aptitude (her occasional gaffes may be fodder for leftists, but will not stand in the way of her ability to clearly & convincingly state her case for the conservative approach to restructuring DC). That she's also a woman may be icing on the cake, but perhaps not coincidental, given the presence of other strong female conservatives such as Sarah Palin, Nikki Haley, and (to some degree) Jan Brewer. I think the presence of so many all-too-flexible male conservatives is symptomatic of the feminization of American men. The women are just filling the vacuum.

Michele Bachmann: A Serious 2012 Contender | The New Republic

Dark Underbelly of American Consumerism

Foxconn/Hon Hai, a Taiwanese manufacturer, owns a plant in Shenzhen (southern Communist China), which makes iPods, iPhones, & iPads for Apple, computers for HP, & phones for Nokia. Fourteen suicides and 2 attempts have occurred there. Apple, HP, & Nokia say they're investigating the matter, but why can't they just switch to another manufacturer? Is our need for cheap electronics really worth the lives of Chinese workers?Wikipedia's blurb on Foxconn suicides

Wall Street Journal article on the suicides:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704026204575267603576594936.html

The Economist reveals that the company also prevented 20 suicide attempts at this plant:
http://www.economist.com/node/16231588?story_id=16231588

Fibya

"the course of history poses challenges that threaten our common humanity"
It's reassuring that Obama cares enough to sacrifice American warriors' lives to defend the "common humanity" of Hasidi's men who were previously killing our warriors in Afghanistan. How noble of him.

"As commander-in-chief, I have no greater responsibility than keeping this country safe. And no decision weighs on me more than when to deploy our men and women in uniform." Obama implies that his kinetic Libyan activity is making us safer; however, it's protecting the lives of soldiers who can now travel to Afghanistan to kill more of our soldiers.

"I believe that this movement of change cannot be turned back and that we must stand alongside those who believe in the same core principles that have guided us through many storms: our opposition to violence directed at one's own people; our support for a set of universal rights, including the freedom for people to express themselves and choose their leaders; our support for governments that are ultimately responsive to the aspirations of the people."

Obama here craftfully unites the heady ideals of conservatives & liberals under the American flag which he cleverly uses to obscure the terrorists we are helping in Libya. Unfortunately, reports about Hasidi's work recruiting Libyans to fight the "great Satan" in Afghanistan have been sparse, so most Americans will not whom we've helped in Libya and will think we did a noble thing there. I have to hand it to his speechwriters: they're going to give him a reelection.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/03/28/Transcript-of-Obama-speech-on-Libya/UPI-45771301359661/#ixzz1IXs0nGGq