RUTHFULLY YOURS

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=2311

Two recent videos-gone-viral should cause pause to anyone still harboring hope about the direction that Egypt has taken since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

The first of these clips, released and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), was taken from Egyptian broadcasting for the Ramadan holiday. The second was produced and circulated by the Israel-based Temple Institute, in honor of Tisha B’Av.

Let’s begin with the former — an Arabic version of “Candid Camera” — in which celebrities are invited to what they think is a serious talk show ostensibly conducted by German TV. When the guest arrives at the studio and the interview begins, he (or she, since there is also a segment with a female interviewee) is told that the program is actually Israeli. This is the point of the prank: to watch how each reacts to this news and to film them doing it.

One of these Egyptian celebs goes so ballistic that he begins punching a camera man — whom he now believes is an Israeli Jew — and then smacks the woman interviewer so hard that she is flung a few feet into a wall. Before he manages to kill someone on air, the crew hastily informs him that he has been the butt of a joke — and then they all have a big laugh together. No hard feelings. It is understandable that he should want to murder Jews, after all. Ha ha.

The second star engages in similar behavior. Again they all hug and make up at the moment that things start getting mega-violent.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/312312/declining-defense-budgets-and-end-jointness-mackubin-thomas-owens Since the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reform Act of 1986, “jointness” — cooperation and harmony among the armed services — has been an important consideration in the planning and funding of U.S. military forces. Congress passed the act in response to the operational deficiencies it perceived to be plaguing the military […]

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/mark-tapson/ramadan-ding-dong/

As is customary, President Obama and wife Michelle released their annual Ramadan greetings last Friday. Also customary for Obama, it was full of platitudes about Islam’s supposedly invaluable contribution to American culture, and devoid of any acknowledgement of the dark reality of the Arab Spring that he helped facilitate.

The statement began:

Michelle and I extend our warmest wishes to Muslim Americans and Muslims around the world at the start of Ramadan. For Muslims, Ramadan is a time of fasting, prayer, and reflection; a time of joy and celebration. It’s a time to cherish family, friends, and neighbors, and to help those in need.

In ironic response, CNN posted this headline two days later: “Iraq Bombs Kill 25 People as Muslims Celebrate Ramadan.” Similar headlines followed: “Ramadan Fails to Curtail Syrian Violence.” “Muslims Begin Ramadan Fast; Bombs Hit Thai South.” “7 Shot Dead in Karachi on First Day of Ramadan.” So much for reflection, joy, and celebration.

Even if many Muslims around the world weren’t respectful of Ramadan, at least American officials in Guantanamo were. In deference to the Muslims who are vacationing – sorry, I mean incarcerated – there, they graciously postponed any court hearings to allow the murderous 9/11 plotters their time of contemplation and joy.

Ramadan is also a reminder, the Obamas’ statement went on, “to people of all faiths of our common humanity and the commitment to justice, equality, and compassion shared by all great faiths.”

Not according to a group by the name of “Qaedat al-Jihad,” a branch of al Qaeda that has been described as one of the “affiliates of the Global Jihad movement.” This is their take on Ramadan, delivered in their statement claiming responsibility for last Wednesday’s terror attack against Israeli tourists in Bulgaria that killed seven and wounded dozens more:

The month of Ramadan is a month of holy war and death for Allah. It is a month for fighting the enemies of Allah and God’s messenger, the Jews and their American facilitators… The holy war is not confined to a particular arena and we shall fight the Jews and the Americans until they leave the land of Islam.

So much for our common humanity, “shared by all great faiths.” Holy war? That’s odd – Western academics and Muslim Brotherhood front groups here in America keep insisting that jihad is about “inner striving” and has nothing to do with holy war. Studying for a college exam is jihad. Raising your children well is jihad. Quitting smoking is jihad. Qaedat al-Jihad clearly didn’t get that memo.

URL to article: http://frontpagemag.com/2012/michael-widlanski/sleepless-in-seattle-clueless-in-dc-and-new-york/

It is hard for the average American to answer tough questions about terrorism or Mideast politics. It is natural, then, to rely on “experts” in government, the press and academia to give responses to the following queries:

* Is Islamic extremism a growing force inside the United States?

* What chances are there to develop more peace and stability from the political upheavals that have been called “Arab Spring”?

* How can we work with the Syrian government or against the Syrian government to end the bloodshed in that country?

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/davidhornik/iran-strides-toward-nukes-west-fiddles/ Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced this week that Iran now has “11,000 centrifuges active in [uranium] enrichment facilities.” That’s a thousand more than the 10,000 centrifuges that, according to a May 25 report by the International Atomic Energy (IAEA), Iran was operating just two months ago. Never fear. Also this week, the P5+1 powers […]

URL to article: http://frontpagemag.com/2012/giulio-meotti/how-europe-funds-israels-destruction/ While the U.S. is home to many Christian supporters of Israel, the Christian groups more closely linked to global public opinion, bureaucracy, media and legal forums are all violently anti-Israel and anti-Jewish. This month, for example, the Church of England voted to support the boycott movement against Israel. A special report […]

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/terror-warning-grid-down?f=must_reads

Could the reluctance to secure our nation’s critical electric infrastructure be considered an act of terrorism? Or might it possibly be an act of providing material support for terrorism? If so, who would the terrorists be?

Which is the greater threat to America’s national security-coordinated terrorist acts on major cities, such as the 9/11 attacks, or the deliberate inaction of corporate executives to secure our nation’s electric grid? Consider the consequences: nearly three thousand people died in the 9/11 attacks; but a widespread and prolonged electric grid collapse, caused by a naturally-occurring coronal mass ejections (CMEs) or nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack, could result in the deaths of over two-thirds of the population-200 million Americans. Given these dire statistics should those in positions of authority over the security and reliability of the bulk power system be held accountable for lack of action before a “grid-down” scenario becomes a reality?

We live in a terrifying world-and it’s getting more so by the day. If you listen carefully to the news, you’ll hear about localized natural disasters, failing global economy, the specter of creeping socialism, and potential violence from “domestic extremists,” as well as from a vague assortment of international terrorists. If you go beyond the mainstream news, you’ll find that natural disasters can, indeed be continental-wide (and possibly global). You’ll find that our economic woes-beginning with the 2008 “crash”-have been manipulated by foreign interests and “financial terrorists.” You’ll realize that “creeping Shari’a” is on par with, if not more dangerous than creeping socialism. And you may discover that the real threats to national and homeland security are not from American “liberty loving” patriots who are prudently preparing for emergencies, but from an Iranian theocratic regime driven by an apocalyptic agenda (plus its allies) and a “global jihad movement” intent on establishing global Islam. You may also learn that our adversaries know exactly what our vulnerabilities are. They know precisely how to take us down, instantaneously and long-term. They know how to take down the nervous system of our country-the electric grid.

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/high-cost-impact-of-more-regulation-staff-on-health-care-inflation?f=must_reads

You have heard a lot about ‘health care inflation’ over the past 40 years or so. You would think that much of the ‘inflated’ cost of health care would have to do with paying a massive skyrocketing number of highly-skilled physicians, surgeons and specialists, right? After all, these doctors are the most important part of any medical procedure when it comes to figuring out what is wrong with your body, isn’t it?

We have had several surgical procedures over the course of our lifetime. The two most important people I wanted to talk to before the surgery were 1) the surgeon but most especially, 2) the anesthesiologist.

To surgeon: ‘Surgeon, can you perform this procedure really well?’
Surgeon: ‘I have done more thymectomies that any person who has ever lived in Planet Earth. I have done so many of them I could do this one stoned, blindfolded and half-crocked!’
‘Ok, then. You are my man!’

To anesthesiologist: ‘Will I wake up after the surgery?’
Anesthesiologist: ‘Yes, sir, you will!’
‘That is all I need to know. When do we start?’

(unabashed plug for Duke University Medical Center surgeons and anesthesiologists…they were awesome…and right)

If you thought most of the increased costs in health care were going to the physicians and surgeons and specialists, you would be most definitely wrong. Take a close look at the chart that accompanies this article. The number of doctors in America has roughly doubled, perhaps a little more. Perhaps 125% growth. The population of the US has increased about the same amount over the same period of time.

But take a good look at the number of administrators that have been added to the US health care scene in these past 40 years! Over 3000%!

When something, ANYTHING, increases by 3000%, that means the number has increased exponentially, not linearly or even geometrically. 125% growth over 40 years is about a doubling in number. 3000% growth means ‘it has grown in magnificent leaps and bounds’!

If there were 10 doctors in your hometown in 1970, there would be roughly 25 doctors working there today to take care of everyone. If there were 25 administrators in the medical field in your town in 1970, there would be over 750 health care administrators in your town today. Where do you think the increased costs in health care have occurred over that time frame, in doctor’s salaries or what is more commonly referred to as ‘G&A’ expenses (‘General Administrative’)?

The federal government has made it clear that they think the problem is in doctors’ fees since they have repeatedly been lowering the ‘Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement rates’ for the past 2 decades at least.
But they don’t control the salaries of the CEOs and the administrative staff of these large hospitals and medical practices so they can’t ‘lower’ the reimbursement rates to them directly, at least as they can with the doctors.

Are there more or less support staff nowadays than way back when? Think about the elementary school, junior high school, high school you attended perhaps as far back as the Dark Ages of the 1960’s (Triassic Period) or the 1970’s (Jurassic Period). Do you remember tons of ‘other people’ working there other than the great teachers you had and perhaps a principal, assistant principal, some office support staff, coaches and 2-3 driver’s ed teachers?

http://pjmedia.com/claudiarosett/olympic-gaffe-apologizing-to-the-wrong-korea/

For a moment, it looked like even before Friday’s opening ceremony, the London Olympics were off to a visionary start. On the first day of competition, just before a women’s soccer match between North Korea and Colombia, an introductory video shown on big screens in the Glasgow stadium displayed the flag not of North Korea, but of South Korea.

Shock! Horror! The North Korean team stormed off the field, and refused for a while to come out and play. The game was delayed. The incident spawned a host of headlines such as the Wall Street Journal’s “North Korea Outraged Over Flag Flub,” and, from the Associated Press, “Chorus of Apologies at Olympics for North Korean Flag Flap.” Members of a CNN panel denounced it as a “national insult” to North Korea. The Olympic organizers issued groveling apologies to North Korea. International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge called the flag mixup “most unfortunate.” As for British Prime Minister David Cameron, he tried to excuse it as an “honest mistake,” leading to headlines such as that in the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper: “David Cameron joins scramble to placate North Korea after flag fiasco.”

Seems to me they’re all apologizing to the wrong Korea. If any nation had rights to be insulted by the mixup, it was not North Korea. It was South Korea.

http://pjmedia.com/spengler/2012/07/26/what-would-egypts-morsi-have-to-do-to-get-disinvited-by-obama-eat-babies/ So far, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Mursi has called for the release of the “Blind Sheikh” Abdul Rahman — the convicted mastermind of the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 — released 25 convicted terrorists from Egyptian prisons, and met with the leaders of the Gaza-based terror organization Hamas. President Obama invited […]