http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/ There was a time when the United States government ran on hooch. Hard up for cash, taxes on whiskey and beer funded the Civil War. With 40 percent of government revenues coming from liquor taxes, alcohol made the dramatic post-war expansion of government possible so that by the 20th Century, the Federal government would […]
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/the-political-superstorm-that-devastated-new-york?f=puball “Superstorm” Sandy killed more than 100 people, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, and left millions without food, water, electricity, sanitation or shelter for days or even weeks. Our thoughts and prayers remain focused on its victims, many of whom are still grieving as they struggle with the storm’s wintry aftermath and try to […]
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/our-zombie-culture Without going much into the lore, literature, and filmography of zombies, there is an appropriate analogy to be drawn between the notion of the “living dead” and the living that deserves to be illustrated. Metaphorical zombies rule our current political culture, as well. At least, that is how I often feel when engaging others […]
http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/911-warrior-myrick-leaves-legacy-of-courage/
I HAD THE HONOR OF INTERVIEWING REP. SUE MYRICK FOR FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS:
An Interview With Rep. Sue Myrick (R), North Carolina District 9
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/an-interview-with-rep-sue-myrick-r-north-carolina-district-9
WASHINGTON – Just hours before a group of U.S. lawmakers were scheduled to hold a press conference to blow the whistle on a secret plan by the radical Council on American-Islamic Relations to infiltrate sensitive committees dealing with homeland security on Capitol Hill, lawyers for CAIR contacted the group’s leader and tried to intimidate her into canceling the news conference.
CAIR’s threatening tactics, which had worked on countless other officials, did not work this time, however.
The leader of the group, Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., co-founder of the bipartisan House Anti-Terrorism/Jihad Caucus and a member of the House Permanent Select Committee On Intelligence, went ahead with the event, showing again an intrepid spirit that has marked the retiring congresswoman’s 18-year career in Washington.
At the 2009 press conference, Myrick revealed an internal CAIR memo written in 2007 that called for infiltrating the “judiciary, intelligence and homeland security committees” by, among other things, “placing Muslim interns” in those offices.
The memo was obtained by the authors of “Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret World That’s Conspiring to Islamize America,” which also uncovered new evidence that CAIR directly funded Hamas and al-Qaida terrorist fronts.
Fight back against CAIR’s attack on First Amendment by making a contribution to WND’s “Legal Defense Fund.” Donations of $25 or more entitle you to free copy of “Muslim Mafia” – the book so devastating to CAIR the group is trying to ban it.
www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com
http://blogs.jpost.com/users/just-look-us-now
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Israeli neurologist discovers positive side effect. A study by Israeli neurologist Dr. Rivka Inzelberg has identified that patients taking dopamine-stimulating medication (to control symptoms of Parkinson’s disease) have contracted artistic or literary creative skills. Reducing the medication suppresses these new skills.
http://israel21c.org/health/parkinsons-treatment-may-boost-creativity/
Calcium control prevents brain diseases. Hebrew University researchers have discovered that the protein Calphotin regulates the amount of Calcium contained in the body’s cells. Loss of Calphotin (e.g. due to aging) causes Calcium levels to rise and accelerates cell death. In the brain this leads to diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=127280&CultureCode=en
Approval for Israeli tumor test. The US Food and Drugs Administration has approved the MarginProbe breast cancer test from Israel’s Dune Medical. Surgeons performing lumpectomy operations use MarginProbe to ensure that the whole tumor has been removed, thus avoiding the need for further operations.
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000811270&fid=1725
More power to the brain. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Max Planck Society of Germany are to build a 3 million euro Brain Research Center on the Hebrew U’s Givat Ram site in the nation’s capital. It is hoped that the research will lead to improved treatment for destructive neurological diseases.
http://www.jpost.com/Health/Article.aspx?id=298114
New vaccine for dogs. (From Israel21c) Two Hebrew University veterinary scientists have developed the first vaccine effective against canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME), a sometimes fatal tick-borne disease in dogs.
http://israel21c.org/environment/israeli-vets-formulate-new-vaccine-for-dogs/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
More help for educating minorities. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is creating a program for students from minority backgrounds to encourage access to higher education. To lead these efforts, the University has appointed Prof. Nayef Jarrous as the Minority Affairs Advisor to Hebrew U President Menahem Ben-Sasson.
http://www.huji.ac.il/cgi-bin/dovrut/dovrut_search_eng.pl?mesge135703497705872560
Penny gets Queen’s honor for the Queen’s English. (Thanks to Israel21c) English-born teacher, lecturer and writer Penny Ur from Moshav Amnon has just been awarded the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for her work promoting English language-teaching methodologies. Penny made Aliya in 1967.
http://israel21c.org/news/queen-to-honor-israeli-professor/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsHM6db99jQ
Asperger’s Birthright tour. 20 young North American Jews with Asperger’s Syndrome have just experienced Israel together on a special Taglit-Birthright tour. They also met Israelis with Asperger’s at Shekel, an umbrella organization for Israelis with special needs.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/aboard-the-aspergers-bus-a-quirky-mishpocha/
Arab states love Israeli produce. A major Lebanese supermarket chain is selling Israeli goods, contrary to the 64-year-old Arab boycott of the Jewish State. Amazingly, according to a Tel Aviv University report, Israel’s exports to Middle Eastern markets in 2011 were over $6 billion, about 13 percent of overall Israeli exports.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=298200
Only Israel. Excellent article that sums up the upside-down world we live in.
http://frontpagemag.com/2013/ronn-torossian/the-sickening-double-standard-applied-to-israel/
Israel is one with Newtown. The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School invoked much empathy from Israeli leaders and organizations. Both President Peres and Prime Minister Netanyahu sent condolences. Israel Humanitarian Aid donated boxes of fresh food to first responders in Newtown. And Hadassah has raised funds to plant a grove of 3,000 trees in Beersheva River Park, Israel, in memory of the 26 victims.
http://unitedwithisrael.org/israel-condemns-newtown-massacre-and-offers-assistance/
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/12/31/3115736/3000-trees-to-be-planted-in-israel-to-memorialize-newtown-victims
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Two Israeli apps are among Apple’s “Best of 2012”. Two Israeli applications have made the Apple App Store’s Best of 2012 list. Any.Do allows users to manage a task list using voice commands or touchscreen technology. GroupShot allows group photos to be edited so that everyone looks their best.
http://sizedoesntmatter.com/technology/israeli-apps-make-apples-best-of-2012-list/
Israel introduces “perceptual computing”. Using a unique platform developed at Intel’s Haifa center, it will soon be possible for computers to anticipate the needs of their owners. Intel is offering developers $1 million in prizes to come up with the software of tomorrow, in the Intel Perceptual Computing Challenge.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/intel-offers-a-million-bucks-for-app-game-changers-using-tech-developed-in-haifa/
Waze can help reduce accident numbers. Ben Gurion University researchers have analyzed data from Israeli GPS navigation application “Waze “to highlight traffic trouble spots where police can be deployed more effectively. The data highlighted slow police response times and unmonitored busy intersections.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkObY7Uerpo
Singer Stevie Wonder agreed to perform at the 2012 winter gala of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, until anti-Israel groups pressured him to cancel. Stevie caved.
Take a look at this response. It is cool.
Thanks e-pal Paul S.
http://www.andrewbostom.org/blog/2013/01/04/interview-on-mainstream-islamic-jihadism-antisemitism-and-totalitarianism-sharia/
Description: Author, Islam, Middle East, and Sharia Law expert Andrew G. Bostom, M.D. joins Host, Lee Lazerson for a very candid discussion on Islam, Sharia Law, Jihad and his conviction that Islamic “Extremism” is more in the mainstream than people want to believe. Dr. Bostom is author of The Legacy of Jihad, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism, and Sharia versus Freedom – The Legacy of Islamic Totalitarianism. To Life, L’Chaim airs Tuesday’s at 8pm ET/PT on Jewish Life Television – JLTV. (The interview was originally conducted in the Fall of 2012.)
http://www.dianawest.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryId/2367/The-War-on-Free-Speech-the-War-on-Dispatch-International.aspx
DISPATCH INTERNATIONAL is a new weekly newspaper, for which, as some readers know, I am Washington correspondent. Our motto, from Thomas Jefferson, is “Freedom of the press cannot be limited without being lost.” Co-edited by Lars Hedegaard of Denmark and Ingrid Carlqvist of Sweden, veteran journalists of note in Europe and determined free-speech-warriors, the paper now appears in three languages: English, Danish and Swedish.
But powerful forces with deep pockets are trying to destroy Dispatch International even as we try to set up shop in the Public Square. Small as we are at this early date, we have come under intense and sustained and no doubt expensive hacker attack to deny us a place on the web. Such attacks have happened before, during our run-up to regular publication, as noted most recently last month here. Now, with the new year, the attacks have begun again. Someone — some people, some groups, some extremely repressive forces — don’t want us to publish our news and analysis. Why? Are Dispatch stories blasphemous? Non-Establishment? Challenging to the “official narrative”? Without a doubt — at least so far as those arbiters of “blasphemy,” keepers of “establlshment” doctrine, and creators or official narrative are concerned. We are simply trying to report what’s happening in a PC world, sans PC. Obviously, this frightens the PC-masters.
This means we are doing something that is not only right but also very potent: earth-shaking, even; threatening to the prevailing controls and self-controls on speech and debate in the so-called Free World. After all, imagine what citizens empowered with facts and stimulated by heterodox analysis might do. Even in their last gasps, they might reject “blasphemy,” vote out the Establishment, and debunk the official narrative.
No wonder we’re under attack. If you would care to strike a blow with us as we battle this barbaric totalitarianism, subscribe to Dispatch International today. Send an email expressing your interest in a subscription to subscribe@d-intl.com, and someone will be in touch with you soon with rates and terms.
http://www.dianawest.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryId/2366/Facing-Reality-in-Afghanistan-Nothing-to-Salvage.aspx
Armed Forces Journal posted this Letter to the Editor in December 2012. It is a concise, nuts-and-bolts argument for what I believe should be done: Declare the defeat of COIN, get out of Afganistan ASAP, and hold Congressional hearings to determine who was responsible for the strategy, and why they were permitted to procede in failure unchecked. Maybe that would help prevent such lunacy from taking hold again, although I doubt it. Still, the deceptions and self-deceptions should not slip away unrecorded by history.
The letter is headlined “Get out of Afghanistan”:
I cannot believe that anyone in their rational mind would believe that there is anything to salvage out of the Afghanistan fiasco as described by Joseph Collins in “No time to go wobbly” [September]. The thought of even staying there until 2014 is dangerous, and we should not continue to support them financially until 2014.
Afghanistan is a tremendous liability. We have passed the “let’s drink tea together” cultural awareness and COIN nonsense phase of our relations, and should be able to see them as corrupt, dishonest and unchangeable people who will never come around to our way of thinking. The recent and ongoing surge of terrorism and violence during the “Arab Spring” should teach us that, as should our failed efforts in Vietnam to change those people 40-plus years ago.
Progress in Afghanistan is being defined by a bunch of Marine Corps officers who want to keep the war going forever. The Marines have finally got the area of operations that they always wanted and by staying there, they can save the Marine Corps for many more years. It was said that the Inchon landings in Korea in 1950 kept President Truman from doing away with the Marine Corps and prolonged its life for 50 more years. The Persian Gulf wars and Afghanistan will do the same thing.
Yes, the letter-writer is a retired Army officer. I can’t speak to this point, but it’s certainly something to think about.
Now, for a really burning, tip-top-logical question:
How we could ever have been so stupid as to buy off on a plan that would train, equip and pay for an Afghan uniformed force of 350,000 soldiers and police is mind-boggling. That is a larger force than any of our NATO allies, and far exceeds anything the Afghans can pay for themselves. Even if it is reduced by 120,000, the Afghans still cannot afford it. (How could we be so stupid as to pay for a force of 350,000 and then, before it is fully ready, cut it back by 120,000?)
The letter-writer never gets into the US strategy to ignore the teachings, law and culture of Islam — and how it is thoroughly antithetical to our own — but that is a root cause of our “stupid” strategy if ever there was one.
The letter continues, referring back to the “wobbly” article it is responding to: “Collins was right when he said, “We overbuilt the infrastructure” for that force.” At which point I offer Exhibit A (one of a thousand Exhibit A’s), the Kajaki Dam, an almost River-Kwai-bridge-like and Sisphyusean US public works project in A-stan overseen by, yes, the Marines. This fiasco, which itself should be investigated by Congress, is updated today by the AP (read and weep/gnash). Over the years, I’ve tried to keep an eye on both the Kajaki dam and doings around the town of Kajaki in Helmand Province as a hub of hubristic, obfuscating and fatal COIN, also citing the clear history of pointless failure of our earlier, more sustained if little-known attempts to infuse Afghanistan with money and know-how and infrastructure.
Back to the letter:
The Afghans will never figure out how to support it, and they don’t care as long as we are paying for it. As an example, we are about to transfer a billion-dollar fuel program to them, which means that money for their fuel will go directly to the corrupt Afghan government. An audit of that fund shows that the records for the past five years have been lost or destroyed. No doubt millions have been diverted to other purposes.
Afghans are a tribal society, and whatever force they end up with will be co-opted by warlords, crooks and thugs so that it will never be a truly national force. Also, it will be a serious threat to the U.S. and its own government. Witness the number of U.S. and NATO soldiers being killed by the people that we have trained.
The idea of giving the Afghans our 100 A-10 “Warthog” close-air support aircraft is also ridiculous. Even though they are 1970s/1980s-era planes, anything better than a Sopwith Camel biplane is too much for the Afghans.
http://freebeacon.com/the-saga-of-hagel-and-haifa/ Potential SecDef nominee tried to shut down USO port in Israeli city of Haifa, sources say A popular USO port in the Israeli city of Haifa was the center of a bitter dispute over U.S. funding for overseas operations in the late 1980s. Chuck Hagel, the one-time Republican Senator from Nebraska who President Barack […]
