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SEPTEMBER 27, 2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE:

REPORT FROM PRINCETON, WITH ALMOST A SMILE:  The old school actually has conservatives, and some of them are happy.  From College Fix:  Just over 11 percent of the Princeton University freshmen students are “somewhat right-leaning” or “very right-leaning,” according to The Daily Princetonian’s third annual “Frosh Survey.”  Only 7.6 percent have a “somewhat favorable” or “strongly favorable” view of the Republican Party, the undergraduate campus newspaper survey found. In contrast, 40.6 percent of freshmen said they are “somewhat left-leaning,” while 27.7 percent described themselves as “very left-leaning,” according to the survey.  One freshman who spoke to The College Fix said there is a supportive community of conservatives on campus, but there is definitely a “leftward lean” at Princeton.  “Whether it be mandatory DEI training in orientation or disparaging comments of President Trump in a lecture, there’s no denying the leftward lean of campus politics,” freshman Joseph Tyson told The College Fix via email. “However, I have been pleasantly surprised to find a vibrant conservative community that supports each other as the ideological minority,” he stated.  “While I wouldn’t go as far to say I feel comfortable to share all my views openly at any time on campus, I feel supported as a campus conservative and have a space to share my true beliefs unfiltered,” Tyson wrote.  That's a better report than I would have expected.  Maybe there's some light at the end of the tunnel, although I don't think there'll be a Ronald Reagan Hall at Princeton just yet.

September 27, 2022       Permalink

MORE TENSION IN EUROPE.  As if we need more.  Energy is the key issue in Europe today.  There has apparently been an act of sabotage to a new European pipeline.  With Ukraine on fire, and Russia threatening to use nuclear weapons, the region doesn't need more tension, but it's getting it.  From AP: 

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Denmark believes “deliberate actions” caused big leaks in two natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, and seismologists said powerful explosions preceded the leaks.

European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage amid the energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. Although filled with gas, neither pipeline is currently supplying it to Europe.

“It is the authorities’ clear assessment that these are deliberate actions -– not accidents,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday.

But she added “there is no information indicating who could be behind it.” Frederiksen rejected the suggestion that the incident was an attack on Denmark, saying the leaks occurred in international waters.

The incident overshadowed the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster the continent’s energy independence from Moscow.

The first explosion was recorded early Monday southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, said Bjorn Lund, director of the Swedish National Seismic Network. A second, stronger blast northeast of the island that night was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake.

Seismic stations in Denmark, Norway and Finland also registered the explosions.

“There’s no doubt, this is not an earthquake,” Lund said.

On Wednesday, Danish defense minister Morten Bødskov will travel to Brussels to discuss the leaks with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said Sweden, Germany and Poland have been kept informed, and “we will inform and reach out to Russia in this case.”

He said Denmark’s foreign intelligence service didn’t see any increased military threat against Denmark after the three leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.

They created a foamy white area on the water’s surface, images released by Denmark’s military show. Danish Energy Minister Dan Jørgensen said that “we cannot say how long the leak will go” on for as the gas has not been turned off. There was no indication when the gas would be turned off.

The German operator of the pipelines, Nord Stream AG, said it’s preparing a survey to assess the damage.

“Currently, it is not possible to estimate a timeframe for restoring the gas transport infrastructure,” a company statement said. “The causes of the incident will be clarified as a result of the investigation.”

In Sweden, acting Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said “it is probably a case of sabotage,” but not an attack on Sweden.

Andersson added that neighboring oil-rich Norway “has informed us about increased drone activity in the North Sea and the measures they have taken in connection with it.”

COMMENT:  It is understandable that spokesmen want to downplay the threat to individual countries, but you may be sure this development is being taken very seriously, as it demonstrates European vulnerability to energy sabotage.  If an opponent can smash an underwater line, imagine how easy it would be to take out an above-ground line. We certainly have the same concerns here.

It seems to me that, with Ukraine, Iran, Taiwan and a possible economic recession, the world is getting darker.

September 27, 2022       Permalink

YOU REALLY CAN'T MAKE THIS UP:  When a parent dreams of sending a son or daughter, or whatever, to medical school, is this what the parent has in mind?  Really?  From Campus Reform: 

The University of Minnesota Medical School (UMMS) class of 2026 recited an oath during the white coat ceremony that included references to anti-racism, climate advocacy, commitment toward indigenous ways of healing, and collaboration with political and social systems.

A handout provided at the ceremony indicated the oath was written by the oath writing committee, which comprised fifteen medical students in the class of 2026.

Students began the oath by stating, “Our institution is located on Dakota land…We commit to uprooting the legacy and perpetuation of structural violence deeply embedded within the health care system.”

“We recognize the inequities built by past and present traumas rooted in white supremacy, colonialism, the gender binary, ableism, and all other forms of oppression,” the oath continued.

UMMS Media Relations Manager Kat Dodge told Campus Reform that “[i]t is a common practice at medical schools in the United States to build upon the intent of the Hippocratic Oath to promote humility, integrity, and beneficence.”

“Each year at the University of Minnesota Medical School, the incoming students work with faculty to write an oath that reflects these core elements, values, and ethics the class aspires to uphold,” Dodge explained.

The medical students pledged “to honor all Indigenous ways of healing” that are “historically marginalized by Western medicine.”

UMMS students also committed to climate advocacy stating, “health is intimately connected to our environment, we commit to healing our planet and communities.”

COMMENT:  I have a dream today.  Oh yes, I have a dream – that every patient entering a doctor's office to have life-saving treatment will demand proof that the doctor has taken the above oath.  Let's not fool around with the planet any longer! 

September 27, 2022     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 25-26, 2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE 

SOME EXPERTS SAW THIS COMING, FROM FOX BUSINESS:  The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. started rising again in the past week, after declining for nearly 100 days in a row during the summer driving season.  The price on Sunday was $3.417 a gallon, according to AAA.  That makes it five straight days of increases that began on Wednesday morning, when the price ticked up to $3.381 per gallon from $3.674 the previous day.  The average price a week a go was $3.678. A year ago it was $3.188.  Gas hit a high of $5.016 on June 14.  The Biden administration manipulated the price of gas at the pump by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, thus depressing prices in time for the election.  But the effect may be wearing off.  Some experts predict a rise of prices at the pump in coming weeks, or, certainly, right after the election.  The driver is knifed in the back again.

September 25-26, 2022      

DEMS WOBBLE ON CRIME ISSUE:  The economy, crime, and education dominate the list of issues of greatest concern among voters.  The Dems are losing, in polls, on all three.   Consider crime, from Breitbart: 

The White House on Monday tried to downplay President Joe Biden’s responsibilities on crime, telling reporters that the problem is “complicated.”

Wasn't too complicated in New York when Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg reduced the murder rate by 80 percent and made New York the safest big city in America.  Those were the days.

Fox News reporter Peter Doocy questioned White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about crime during the daily briefing, asking her whether Biden believes that America’s major cities are safe.

Referring to a recent New York Times article on rising crime, Jean-Pierre noted “the crime is complicated and multifaceted” and pivoted to promoting Biden’s spending bills.

Doocy noted murder rates in major cities were still stubbornly high, and that thefts and robberies in major cities increased by around 20 percent in the first half of 2022.

Jean-Pierre responded by blaming high crime rates on former President Donald Trump, noting that Biden “inherited a rising crime rate” when he took office.

When Doocy asked again whether Americans in major cities should feel safe, she replied, “It is not a yes or no question, it is very much a question of what has he done, that’s how we see the question.”

What an answer!  How did she get the job?

Doocy further pressed the questions on crime and safety, asking Jean-Pierre about her predecessor, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, warning Democrats about their vulnerabilities on crime.

“In Pennsylvania, the Republicans have been spending millions of dollars on the air on crime ads against Fetterman because that’s where they see his vulnerability,” Psaki said in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday adding that crime was “a huge issue” in Pennsylvania.

But Jean-Pierre dismissed the comments from her former boss, accusing Doocy of mischaracterizing the comments.

“I don’t agree with your characterization of what she actually said,” she replied.

COMMENT:  In other words, this administration, and the Democratic Party generally, have nothing really to say about crime.  They want Americans to believe that it's not a big problem at all, merely a nuisance.  One of the great rules of journalism is that you never tell people that they don't see what they actually see.  The Democrats are doing just that, and they will pay for it.

September 25-26, 2022      

IRAN BOILS, BIDEN BORED:  Far too little attention is being paid to the rioting in Iran.  Clearly, there is a thirst for regime change, but the Biden administation seems intent on appeasing that same regime, pretty much the foreign policy of Barack Obama.  From AFP:

Iran’s judiciary chief on Sunday vowed no leniency against the wave of unrest that has rocked the country since the death of the young Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police.

The warning by the head of the Judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, came after nine nights of protests and street clashes and echoed earlier comments by ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raisi.

At least 41 people have died so far, mostly protesters but including members of Iran’s security forces, according to an official toll, although human rights groups say the real figure is higher.

The judiciary chief “emphasized the need for decisive action without leniency” against the core instigators of the “riots,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.

Hundreds of demonstrators, reformist activists and journalists have been arrested amid the mostly night-time demonstrations that have spread to scores of cities since unrest first broke out after Amini’s death on September 16.

Security forces have fired live rounds and birdshot, rights groups charge, while protesters have hurled rocks, torched police cars, set ablaze state buildings, and shouted, “Death to the dictator.”

Iran’s largest protests in years have been led by women and triggered not by classic political or economic grievances but by anger over the Islamic republic’s strictly enforced gender-based dress code and general resentment against the conservative regime.

Amini, whose Kurdish first name was Jhina, was arrested on September 13 for allegedly breaching the rules that mandate tightly-fitted hijab head coverings and which ban, among other things, ripped jeans and brightly colored clothes. She had been wearing a hijab, but was allegedly not wearing it properly, meaning some of her hair may have been exposed.
Some Iranian women protesters have since taken off and burned their hijabs in the rallies and cut off their hair, some dancing near large bonfires to the applause of crowds that have chanted “zan, zendegi, azadi” or “woman, life, freedom.”

Iranian Academy Award-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi was the latest to add his voice of support for Iran’s “progressive and courageous women leading protests for their human rights alongside men.”

“I saw outrage and hope in their faces and in the way they marched in the streets,” he said in a video message on Instagram. “I deeply respect their struggle for freedom and the right to choose their own destiny despite all the brutality they are subjected to.”
Advertisement

The world has learned of much of the turmoil and violence through shaky mobile phone footage posted and spread on social media, even as authorities have throttled internet access...

...The foreign ministry said Sunday it had summoned Britain’s ambassador over what it described as an “invitation to riots” by Farsi-speaking media based in London, and Norway’s envoy over “unconstructive comments” made by the parliament speaker.
Iran has also organized large rallies in defense of the hijab and conservative values, and another pro-government rally was set to be held Sunday in Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran.

The main reformist group inside Iran, the Union of Islamic Iran People’s Party, has called for repealing the mandatory dress code and winding down the morality police.

The party — led by former aides to ex-Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, who oversaw a 1997-2005 thaw with the West — also called on the government to “authorize peaceful demonstrations” and release those arrested.

Human rights groups based abroad have sought to shine a light on the turmoil rocking Iran, citing their own sources in the country.

Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights has put the death toll at 54, excluding security personnel.

COMMENT:  Please note, among other things, the silence of so-called "women's" organizations in the United States.  You'd think they'd be interested in the fate of the women of Iran.  Think again.  Their first loyalty is to the political left, women be damned.

And how about the groups that anguish over the so-called "legitimate rights of the Palestinian people"?  Do they have any interest in the legitimate rights of the Iranian people?  Apparently not.  Even though Iranians are shot down in the street for protesting, these "rights" groups are uninterested.  Have you ever seen any press coverage of this massive contradiction?  If so, let me know.

September 25, 2022

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