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MAY 18,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET: 

MAJOR CULTURAL NEWS – From AFP:  "Iranian actress Leila Hatami on Sunday angered authorities in Tehran by kissing the Cannes film festival's president on the cheek, an act seen as affront to the 'chastity' of the Islamic republic's women.  A photograph carried by Iranian media shows Hatami kissing Gilles Jacob at the opening of this year's festival.  'Those who attend intentional events should take heed of the credibility and chastity of Iranians, so that a bad image of Iranian women will not be demonstrated to the world,' Deputy Culture Minister Hossein Noushabadi said, quoted by the website of state broadcaster IRIB."  It's good to know that someone is keeping up standards.

EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE NEWS – From AP:  "BALTIMORE (AP) — The number of public college presidents earning over $1 million more than doubled in the 2012-2013 fiscal year from the year before, according to a new survey.  The Chronicle of Higher Education study found that nine college presidents earned more than $1 million in total compensation in 2013, compared to just four in 2012.  Public college presidents first exceeded the $1 million total compensation mark in 2006-2007, according to the survey.  Gordon Gee topped the list, earning $6.1 million as the head of Ohio State University. Gee resigned that post last year after making comments about Roman Catholics, the University of Notre Dame and Southeastern Conference schools. He is now president of West Virginia University."  I'm sure all these worthies have delivered first-class, politically balanced education.  I'm all sure Barack Obama is secretly competent.

SAN FRANCISCO PRANK – From CBS:  "SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — A prankster is getting points for creativity after hacking an electronic traffic sign in San Francisco warning of a 'Godzilla Attack.'
The sign was spotted on Van Ness Avenue Wednesday night, reading ‘Godzilla Attack – Turn Back.'
The mobile sign was supposed to be warning drivers about traffic delays during Sunday’s Bay to Breakers foot race.  The sign has since been fixed."  The story is incomplete.  I'd like to know how many people actually turned back...and where they went.  It's San Francisco, after all.  The first demand of the city council would probably be that Godzilla be treated equally, and have representation in city government.

May 18,  2014     Permalink

YOUNG VOTERS AND NON-VOTERS – AT 8:41 A.M. ET:  We seem to spend an inordinate amount of time fretting over the deep political opinions of the young.   It turns out that the young don't vote all that much and have a generally low opinion of the political climate.  When they protest, they seem most animated against commencement speakers they don't like.  From The Politico: 

Students across the country are protesting commencement speakers of all political varieties. Rutgers students balked at Condoleezza Rice and her ties to the Iraq War. Smith College kids and professors threatened to jeer IMF director Christine Lagarde’s monetary policies. And Robert Birgeneau faced protests at Haverford College over an incident involving campus police and batons. All the high-profile speakers are taking a pass.

The dispassionate protest represents a certain irony: The under-30 set is deeply dissatisfied with politics and institutions of government — an attitude emerging ahead of an election year when Senate Democrats could use some first-term Barack Obama-style enthusiasm from the young.

But a recent national poll of 18- to 29-year-olds conducted by Harvard’s Institute of Politics found that few intend to vote in the midterms. Less than one in four said they “definitely” planned to vote in November. Young Republicans showed more enthusiasm than young Democrats for participating in the midterms.

Another Harvard poll showed that post-election partisanship on a number of issues is deepening. Young adults are losing their faith in government.

COMMENT:  Why shouldn't they lose that faith?  They're also losing faith in their own future, which was supposed to be safeguarded by Obama, come to save us.  Notice how effectively the demigod has been in the five years of his presidency. 

Winston Churchill once said that if you're not a liberal at 18 you have no heart, but if you're not a conservative by 30 you have no head.  It's an exaggeration, of course, but the spirit of youth is often tempered by the reality of experience. 

The jury verdict on every generation is out until that generation is tested.  I fear that the young generation of today will be severely tested by by the legacy handed it by the sixties generation, which has proved as empty and immature as many of us thought when it made its first appearance. 

May 18, 2014       Permalink

A SPREADING THREAT – AT 8:32 A.M. ET:  The terrifying group behind the kidnapping of the Nigerian girls may well be spreading its influence in Africa.  Indeed, Africa is fast becoming a major front in the war on terror.  From Fox: 

Nigerian forces believe they are zeroing in on Boko Haram, but the Islamic terror group behind a wave of murders and abductions has long tentacles that reach into the Central African nation's neighbors.

In Cameroon, which shares much of Nigeria's northeastern border, officials say militants from the group led by Abubakar Shekau have sneaked in with a tide of refugees, causing a rise in kidnappings, fighting and criminal acts just across the border from Nigeria’s Borno state.

"Right now, we are being infiltrated by Boko Haram,” Col. Didier Badjeck, spokesman for the Cameroon Ministry of Defense, told AllAfrica.com. “The military has decided to strengthen the intelligence system to effectively counter this threat, which seems to be gaining local support.”

No one knows exactly how many fighters comprise Boko Haram, which one month ago kidnapped more than 300 Christian schoolgirls who Shekau has said will be sold into slavery or as child brides. Estimates range from a few hundred to a few thousand, but experts say that does not include a much wider network of sympathizers, informants and spies placed in the Nigerian government.

COMMENT:  And that's the point.  The core group doesn't have to be that large, as long as it builds a structure based on its "winning" ideology.  Terror groups in Africa can count on the history of corruption and power grabbing in African governments.  They can also count on a West that is particularly indifferent to Africa, whether for racial or historic reasons.

Terrorists trained in Africa can strike here. 

May 18, 2014       Permalink

CHILLING – AT 8:21 A.M. ET:  Taking a page from the Hitler playbook, Russia's Vladimir Putin is pledging to protect ethnic Russians, even if they aren't living in Russia.  And he is not backing down from his defiant stance, despite threats from the West of commercial consequences if he plunges forward.  From WaPo: 

MOSCOW — Vowing to defend ethnic Russians wherever they live, President Vladimir Putin has embarked on an aggressive campaign to rebuild the pride and assertiveness of the Russian people, which he says was lost in the breakup of the Soviet Union.

A week ahead of a presidential vote in Ukraine that will help determine that nation’s relationship with Russia, Putin has been devoting new power to redressing what he has called the historical tragedy that shattered the Soviet Union into 15 nations.

From annexing Crimea to collecting separatist petitions in Moldova to handing out passports to compatriots in the Baltics, Putin has spent recent weeks focused on neighboring countries, many of which have substantial ethnic Russian minorities.

The strategy puts Russia on a collision course with the NATO defense alliance, because two of its members — Estonia and Latvia — have significant Russian-speaking minorities that have long complained of discrimination. NATO has boosted air patrols over the Baltic states and sent troops to do exercises on the ground. Russia this month unleashed missile tests and massive war exercises, including along the border with Latvia and Estonia.

COMMENT:  I would take this very seriously.  Putin has sized us up.  He's looking at a weak American president going into his last two years in office, and a lame duck.  He is looking at American and Western universities that continue their march, begun in the 1960s, to disparage the principles and ideals of our civilization.  He is looking at serious cuts in Western, especially American, defense.  Putin sees this as his moment. 

That's generally how most wars begin. 

May 18,  2014     Permalink

MAY 17,  2014

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

SEE HOW IT FEELS – There is an active attempt to turn the firing of Jill Abramson as executive editor of The New York Times into a decisive moment in feminism.  Now maybe the publisher of The Times, Pinch Sulzberger, understands what it's like to face the kind of accusations that his editorial-page editors throw at others regularly.  He is fighting back.  From capitalnewyork.com:  "New York Times Co. president and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. issued a statement on Saturday afternoon pushing back against stories that the paper fired former executive editor Jill Abramson in part because she inquired into salary inequities between herself and her male colleagues.  'Perhaps the saddest outcome of my decision to replace Jill Abramson as executive editor of The New York Times is that it has been cast by many as an example of the unequal treatment of women in the workplace,' Sulzberger said in the statement. 'Rather than accepting that this was a situation involving a specific individual who, as we all do, has strengths and weaknesses, a shallow and factually incorrect storyline has emerged.'  Following Abramson's firing this week, The New Yorker's Ken Auletta reported that Abramson had hired a lawyer after learning that her salary was less than that of predecessor Bill Keller."  I have no idea where the truth lies here, but, despite my criticisms of Sulberger's management of the paper, I think it's almost impossible that he would risk a lawsuit over a pay equity issue involving the paper's first female executive editor.  I suspect this really was an issue of management style.

A NEW WARNING THAT WILL PROBABLY BE IGNORED – From The Hill:  "The chances that a terrorist will try to target the United States are growing increasingly high, according to the former head of the National Security Agency.  'The probability is growing,' Gen. Keith Alexander told The New Yorker in an interview.  'What I saw at NSA is that there is a lot more coming our way, just as someone is revealing all the tools and the capabilities we have,' he added, referring to leaks from former contractor Edward Snowden.  'What that tells me is we’re at greater risk,' warned Alexander."  Americans do not seem to be in a "security" mood these days, and Obama has done his best to divert attention from the threat of terror.  We'll have to be woken up the hard way.   As for Snowden, he is a turncoat and probably a traitor.  I continue to wonder how an unstable character like that had access to so much classified information.

FIGHTING SHAPE? – From CNBC:  "Want to improve national security without spending billions on a new weapons system? Slim down America's kids and teach them to read, some retired generals say.  The Army says more than three-fourths of 17- to 24-year-olds today are not eligible to join the military because they aren't fit enough or don't meet other basic requirements, such as having a high school diploma or being able to read or write properly.  That's got some of the nation's highest-ranking retired military officials advocating a radical way to improve national security—improve the lives of children. 'It's not just a school problem. It's not just a Department (of Education) problem. It's a national security issue and it needs to be prioritized that way,' said retired Maj. Gen. D. Allen Youngman."  Imagine, this is the country that sent a man to the Moon 45 years ago.

May 17,  2014     Permalink

OH DEAR, OH DEAR, WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL HILLARY – AT 8:31 A.M. ET:   You know, keeping records is usually a good thing.  But there can be these moments of embarrassment.  From Fox: 

As Hollywood hotshots protest the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel over its ownership by Brunei's sultan -- and his recent full-fledged embrace of Islamic law -- it turns out the Brunei government has financial connections to another American institution: The Clinton Foundation.

The nonprofit foundation lists Brunei alongside Kuwait, Oman and Qatar as donors that gave between $1 million and $5 million through last year. The foundation confirmed the donation from Brunei was made in 2002, in connection with the construction of the Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas.

"The Clinton Foundation's impact would not be possible without the generous support of our donors," the foundation's website reads. "Their contributions have made a difference in the lives of tens of millions across the world."

The contribution could prove an uncomfortable detail in the foundation's financial records, particularly as Hillary Clinton weighs a possible presidential run. Though The Clinton Foundation has thus far avoided any major controversy over the matter, a Brunei connection has caused headaches for the Beverly Hills Hotel on the other side of the country.

Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has come under heavy criticism since the ultra-wealthy leader, who has been in power for decades, embraced a harsh Islamic penal code for his southeast Asian nation of roughly 408,000 residents. The change would make adultery, abortion and same-sex relationships offenses punishable by ancient methods -- flogging, or even stoning.

COMMENT:  Let's see which reporter has the guts, and professionalism, to ask Hillary, directly, about this.  It's a headline story when celebrities boycott the Beverly Hills Hotel because it is owned by aforementioned sultan of Brunei.  Should they now be boycotting Hillary for accepting the sultan's cash?  If not, why not?  Why don't I think I'll get answers.

Hillary would probably say she never knew about it.  I mean, amounts like that – a million, five million – who would notice?  Besides, at this point, what difference does it make?

May 17, 2014       Permalink

SUSPICIONS – AT 8:19 A.M. ET:  There is a possible new scandal brewing in the land of climate "research."  This has the potential to turn into a major story, if it is vigorously pursued.   From Fox: 

Some are calling it the new "Climategate."

A paper by Lennart Bengtsson, a respected research fellow and climatologist at Britain's University of Reading, was rejected last February by a leading academic journal after a reviewer found it "harmful" to the climate change agenda. The incident is prompting new charges that the scientific community is muzzling dissent when it comes to global warming.

"[Bengtsson] has been a very prolific publisher and was considered one of the top scientists in the mainstream climate community," said Marc Morano, of the website ClimateDepot.com, which is devoted to questioning global warming.

Bengtsson had grown increasingly skeptical of the scientific consensus, often cited by President Obama, that urgent action is needed to curb carbon emissions before climate change exacts an irreversible toll on the planet with extreme drought, storms and rising seas levels.

The president repeatedly has rejected naysayers in the climate debate -- most recently, when he spoke May 9 in Mountainview, Calif. "We've still got some climate deniers who shout loud, but they're wasting everybody's time on a settled debate,” he said.

The administration recently released a comprehensive climate report that critics worry will be used to justify additional environmental regulations.

Bengtsson's paper, submitted to the journal Environmental Research Letters, found that greenhouse gas emissions might be less harmful and cause less warming than computer models project. For that, Morano said, Bengtssonpaid a steep price.

"They've threatened him. They've bullied him. They've pulled his papers. They're now going through everything they can to smear his reputation. And the ‘they’ I'm referring to is the global warming establishment," Morano said.

The Times of London reported that Bengtsson resigned from the advisory board of a think tank after being subjected to “McCarthy-style pressure” from other academics. Pressure even reportedly came from one U.S. government scientist.

COMMENT:  Who will have the courage to follow this up?  Who will expose the corruption, the huge amount of grant money involved, the politics of science?

Obama has made it clear his mind is closed.  (When was it ever open?)   And the scientific establishment has made it clear that it will destroy anyone who doesn't go along.

Yes, McCarthyism. 

May 17, 2014     Permalink

TROUBLE IN VIENNA? – AT 8:11 A.M. ET:  There are some signs of trouble in the negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.  I certainly hope so.  Trouble means the West might finally be developing a spine, and treating an Iranian nuclear weapon as a major threat.  From the Jerusalem Post: 

WASHINGTON -- Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program appear to have hit a wall, as Iran charged Western powers on Friday with "excessive demands" for a peaceful resolution to the crisis while the United States warned that the parties are running out of time for diplomacy.

The fourth round of negotiations in Vienna, with the goal of reaching a comprehensive solution to the longstanding nuclear impasse, ended on Friday without a press conference from the parties— a linchpin in previous rounds between Iran, the US, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany.

An interim deal reached last fall grants world powers and Iran until July 20 to negotiate a comprehensive plan of action. That deadline, however, can be extended an additional six months, should all parties agree that more time is needed.

An EU official told members of the press on Friday that meetings had been agreed to by the parties for June and July, though no dates were specified.

"The West should avoid having excessive demands," an Iranian source close to the country's negotiating team was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars News Agency. "The Iranian nation has shown that pressure on them always backfires."

Iran's deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Friday that "no tangible progress" had been made— but that negotiations were first hitting sensitive points of contention, and that progress would invariably be slow.

"Talks have been slow and difficult. Significant gaps remain," a US official said after the talks concluded. "Iran still has some hard decisions to make. We're concerned that progress is not being made and that time is short."

COMMENT:  I remain concerned that, faced with the possibility of no deal, Barack Obama will cave, and that we'll come away with a useless piece of paper.  It is in his nature, which includes a certain contempt for his own country.

May 17,  2014     Permalink