Sunday, August 31

Democrats Have The Most To Lose in a New Orleans Hurricane Strike

So, the leadership (or former leader) of the Democratic Party thinks having a hurricane wipe New Orleans off the map during the Republican Convention is a great thing for his Presidential candidate.
Here's yet another of the "compassionate, level-headed, classy" Democrats taking a cue from the clouds of pollution escaping from Michel Moore's obese piehole and wishing a hurricane to hit the US so that the Democrats can...gain some kind of political advantage by the death, destruction and tragedy. - Jawa Report, including a h/t for the video below


(Direct Link)

And he is not the only one.  So does the hero of the Democrat Party, Michael Moore:
“I was just thinking, this Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven,” Moore said, laughing. “To have it planned at the same time – that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for day one of the Republican Convention, up in the Twin Cities – at the top of the Mississippi River.” - Business and Media
These complete asses better be careful what they wish for.

Do they really want to remind the country with fresh scenes of (mainly Democrats) helping themselves to other people's property with massive looting? This time they won't be able to play the victim card given that everyone is being ordered out and this time they even remembered to use all the buses they have. And this time they will not have video from the Superdome of desperate evacuees to counterbalance the images of locals looting and wilding in the city.

Also, the country will be reminded that New Orleans and Louisiana is run by Democrat politicians, and a direct hit on New Orleans will trigger more press over how much Federally-funded Katrina reconstruction aid money was wasted.

Also, everyone will also be reminded of the massive amount of fraud, waste and abuse was committed by 'victims' who received aid money:
Debit cards issued by FEMA to cover emergency expenses, the GAO reported, were frequently used for purchases ``that did not appear to meet legitimate disaster needs." Like diamond jewelry. And fireworks. And season tickets to the New Orleans Saints, a bottle of champagne at Hooters, $300 worth of ``Girls Gone Wild" videos, and a Caribbean vacation. And that doesn't include the 381 debit cards, worth $762,000, that FEMA lost. - Boston.com
(These are the same people who claim to have no money to purchase photos ID for voting.)

And these are probably going to be the same people demanding more money this time around.


And maybe this time people will notice all those flooded cars in a city that was full of people who claimed that they couldn't afford a car.



So, the Democrats might want to rethink whether they want New Orleans to be a disaster or not. I doubt the country is going to be half as sympathetic as they were last time as last time they could have claimed ignorance. This time they have no excuse.


One of the complaint's Barack Obama has about the Republicans is that we don't care:
For over two decades, he’s subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy — give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps — even if you don’t have boots. You’re on your own. - Politico
Well these people were at least given the opportunity to get boots or whatever they needed to be able to 'pull themselves up by their bootstraps'.  Not only that, but a good number of them helped themselves to boots and everything else they could get their hands on. The rest of us are tired of hearing that nothing is their fault. It is one thing to provide aid to someone who needs it. It is another thing to pay people off year after year, mainly in exchange for votes.

These Democrats should be concerned in another way. Every death in New Orleans is one less vote for their candidate...  For me, I just hope that everyone heeds the warning and order to leave the city.  People who stay in New Orleans not only risk their own lives, but also the lives of those who may be asked to come and rescue them later on.

Link:
DNC Chairman Piece of Sh*t Gleefully Wishes for Hurricanes to Destroy, Kill for Political Gain - Jawa Report
Michael Moore: Hurricane Coming During GOP Convention 'Proof There Is a God in Heaven' - Business and Media

Previous:
UN Demands That US Poor Be Returned To New Orleans Slums - 14 March 08
Being Less Poor: Update - 18 June 06
To ABC's Surprise, Katrina Victims Praise Bush and Blame Nagin - Newsbusters - 16 Sept 05
Who owned all those sunken cars in New Orleans? - 4 Sept 05


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Friday, August 29

'First Female President' - A Fake Milestone ** PALIN Update **

I posted out in (this post here) February how the issue of 'First Female President' was such a load of bull, especially when you had Hillary supporters claiming that people against Hillary were simply against having a woman as President.  Too bad they still haven't figured out that it has nothing to do with Hillary being a woman, but with her being the wrong woman.

So now we have a second woman enter the race as John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska.  She is a true conservative.  She is someone whose name had been bouncing around the internet for months already and I always thought she would be a great pick, just not the choice that McCain would make.  So, I am pleasantly surprised.

One of my staff who is currently working in Europe called me to find out what I thought.  She is a big Obama supporter.  She knew that I was voting for McCain but was shocked to hear how excited I was about his VP choice.  She thought I was joking saying that she believed that Palin was a horrible choice for conservatives.  I explained otherwise.  My completely unexpected reaction left her very confused.  I also heard from my mom, who loved her speech and was excited that a good woman was on the path of the presidency, given if they win, she would probably run in four years for the top job.

I was confident of McCain's chances before, and now I am even more so. Don't even get me started on my concern upon hearing the rumors that McCain's VP pick was Pawlenty!

Go McCainPalin!

Previous:
'First Female President' - A Fake Milestone





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Thursday, August 28

Look Where Much Of the New Oil Is Being Found

Take a look at this graphic. How amazing is it that out of the whole globe, the area making the most major new oil discoveries is the United States. This kind of puts into some doubt into the Democrats objections to oil drilling by claiming that drilling here will not lower gas prices. Well then, just where are we to drill, considering that a third of the new oil on this map is located in the US.


What great luck to have all this oil within reach of the US. Now we just need the US Government to permit the oil companies to drill for it.

Link:
(h/t Instapundit)



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Tuesday, August 26

The Ad Obama Is Suing To Keep You From Learning The Truth

Barack Obama has strong ties with a known terrorist. However, most people don't know about this, which is why the Obama Campaign is working overtime to bury this ad:






Just think, if Barack Obama becomes President, this traitor will surely be a guest in the White House.

Not only that, but keep in mind that Barack Obama denounced his decades-long association with Reverend Jeremiah Wright over his ideology. So why won't Obama do the same with his association with Ayers, a man who is/was a domestic terrorist.  A man who engaged in violent attacks against the Country.



Link:
They Can’t Shut Us All Up! Obama/Ayers Ad Blog Burst - Macsmind


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Why Russians Steal Toilets

So, one amusing story that has come out of the Russian invasion of Georgia has been stories of the items that the Russian Army has been looting including items the rest of us consider trash, including broken kitchen appliances and even broken toilets:
Toilets. They are looting Georgia for Toilets ??!!!

What does it mean? What does it say about an army that invades a country with tanks, shoots people, rapes, and pillages, burns houses, and a prize they consider worth hefting is toilets??? - Mom is a Verb
Well a toilet is a wondrous modern convenience in Russia. Look at what the Russians are used to for going to the bathroom. Here is a description of how the Soviet Union treated political prisoners, and I dare say that the general population probably did not fare much better.




PARASHA

I was not able to find the definition or explanation of the word "parasha" in any Latvian or Russian dictionary or encyclopedia.


"Parasha" is a mobile, always disgustingly smelling commode used in Russian jails and concentration camps.


With deep irony, and having a second meaning in mind, it was called "Red Moscow" (a perfume produced in Russia)


In all of Russia's jails for the repressed as well as in concentration camp cells, barracks, cattle wagons and stolipin's wagons, on board ships and boats, the "parasha" was always present. It accompanied us with its nasty, extremely wretched and intolerable stench. Usually, the Checkists did not bother to take the arrested to bathrooms, however good or bad they were. We were forced to use the "parasha", even though Latvians were not used to relieve themselves in such a way and especially not in public. Usually a "parasha" was made of metal or wood. Used fuel barrels with sharp rims were frequently used. The volume of the barrel was proportional to the number of cell mates/inhabitants. In the central jail of Riga the "parasha's" were more decent, with lids, while in Russia we never saw this luxury. Hooks were fashioned to the sides of the "parasha", and plants or sticks were placed in them. That made carrying easier. Another and even more important reason for this was to prevent the contents from spilling in the corridor where the guards were standing. These sticks were usually kept outside the cell, but if it was permitted to keep them inside, then using the parasha was easier.


In July and August of 1941, 900 Latvians were transferred from the prison of Krazha to a jail in Astrakhan using a barge on the Volga. Because of the unfamiliar food and unsanitary conditions, Latvians suffered from diarrhea. All those driven by necessity took turns sitting on the sharp rim of a "parasha" in order to relieve their sickly natural needs. For us, the Latvians, this procedure was especially unpleasant, appalling and demeaning. The lines were long, and many did not manage to get to the parasha (on time).... The falling or pouring excrement hit the liquid already in the "parasha" and splashed the behinds and the clothes of those sitting. During the 15 years in jail I was never given a piece of toilet paper.


For us prisoners on the barge, the same buckets which had been used for emptying the contents of the "parasha" were also used for gathering drinking water from the Volga.


Everywhere in Russia prisoners were always accompanied by the awful stench of the "parasha". It was present at all places where the repressed were taken. All the rooms, our clothes and even our food, if there was any, was saturated with this stench. We stank from unbelievable filthiness, which was worse than anything else done to us. And still we Latvians retained our humanity in order to survive all humiliation and proudly return home to Latvia. - Martins Bisters, June, 1994
Keep in mind that although this treatment was meted out by Russians under the Soviet Union, it gives great insight into the Russians themselves, even today as they have never been forced to confront the crimes committed by their population and Government under Soviet rule. It is also a perfect example of how little Russians value life, especially the life of others.






Photos found at Memoirs of a Wayward Estonian Prince here and here.  They are from an exhibit at the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia.


You think the horror described above is bad? Then take a look at what happened to the Members of the Latvian Government after the Soviets invaded their country during WWII. (Click to see the list in the image below) The list is also in the Occupation Museum of Latvia.










(The Fate of Members of the Government (1940) of Latvia)




There are 13 names on that list. Only one managed to escape the Soviets.


Of the 12 that were caught, only one managed to survive his imprisonment. The 11 remaining members died in Soviet captivity, with only one managing to live past the end of 1943. Seven of them simply 'Died'. The other four were shot, most likely for refusing to die.


This would be a joke, but the killing goes on in Russia. Take a look at the List of journalists killed in Russia at Wikipedia which notes that "many of the journalists killed were critical of the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin."


Maybe, just maybe, one day Russia will decide that it wants to be a first-world nation. Until then, it will remain a third-world joke, and a dangerous one at that, as their recent invasion of Georgia proves. (This section originally posted on 10 July 2007 in "Mushroom Soup. Mushroom Soup. Mushroom Soup...")




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Maritime Monday 124 Posted at gCaptain

This week's edition of Maritime Monday has been posted at gCaptain on Monday.




You can find last week’s edition here.


You can find Maritime Monday 74 here. (Published 3 September 2007).









Previous Editions:

As linked below or click on the label ‘MaritimeMonday’:





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gCaptain editions: 99 - 100 - 101 - 102 - 103 - 104 - 105 - 106 - 107 - 108 - 109 - 110 - 111 - 112 - 113 - 114 - 115 - 116 - 117 - 118 - 119 - 120 - 121 - 122 - 123 - 123a - 124 - 125








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Saturday, August 23

Obama's Biden = Kerry

Ha! What a joke.
(CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama has picked Delaware Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate. Delaware Sen. Joe Biden has been tabbed as Sen. Barack Obama's vice-presidential running mate.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden has been tabbed as Sen. Barack Obama's vice-presidential running mate.

The longtime Democratic senator was long considered a likely choice for vice president, but the buzz surrounding him intensified after he returned earlier this week from a two-day trip to the Republic of Georgia after Russian troops invaded. - CNN
I wrote about Biden back in October, 2005. Watch, before this is all over, Biden is going to look much like John Kerry.



What a joke. Hundreds of millions of Democrat-funded dollars wasted and this is what they end up with?
Obama - Biden?

I guess we can at least count on Delaware not raising tolls on I-95 until at least after the election. Thanks for that. They are gouging us enough already.  And thanks for handing the election to Senator John McCain.  I just hope he doesn't blow it.

Previous:
Biden 2008? - Last Exit Before Toll - 9 Oct 2005
Price Gouging in Delaware - 23 Apr 06


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Friday, August 22

Democrats F-Up Everything, Even Email Unsubscription

I have been cleaning up my email accounts and have been unsubscribing from many newsletters that I have been receiving.  Normally the process is simple.  Click on the link and either I get immediate confirmation that I have been removed from their email list or go to a page asking me to hit a confirm button that I actually want to be removed.  It all takes two seconds.

Somehow I got added to the Democrats mailing lists. (Most likely because I emailed them asking when I could order a cool ExxonMcCain t-shirt.  No, I didn't get a reply.)  So it takes me to their website where I have to input my email address.  I found that odd since they know it already and very rarely does any other site ask for that.  Then, instead of getting confirmation that they removed my email address, I get this:


Confirm Your Unsubscription
To ensure the security of your account, we've sent you an email at the address you provided us. This email contains a 4-digit code that you will need to enter below. If you do not see the inbox within a couple of minutes, check your junk or bulk mail folder as your ISP may have incorrectly marked this message as spam.

Are you kidding me?  I can understand that they don't want those 'evil' Republicans to unsubscribe their voter base, but give me a break.  I requested to unsubscribe from inside my email account, and that is something that they should have been able to trust.  So, the only reason they might have this extra step is either because they were too lazy or incompetent to properly code their emails to provide simple removal from their mailing address or they intentionally made the process complicated to deter people from leaving the collective.  

Neither reason is good.

Worse, I am still waiting for that confirmation email.  And no, it's not in my spam folder.  What a bunch of clowns.


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Why it's OK to Stop Paying $1 Billion a Year to Protect Russia's Nukes

So Russia invades Georgia and the West is now looking for ways to punish Russia or at least provide negative reinforcement to encourage them to withdraw from Georgia. So far NATO is suspending cooperation with Russia and a couple joint naval operations with Russian warships have been canceled.


The US currently gives Russia close to $1 billion a year in aid, mostly to help secure Russia's nuclear weapons and materials. I mentioned this aid before (US Assistance to Russia (2007) $913.28 Million AND US Assistance to Russia (2006) $949.3 Million) as one way that the US can strike back, by cutting off this aid money. Others have also been re-evaluating the aid to determine whether the program should be halted, retaliation or not.  However, many seem to want to defer that it is better to be safe and pay the money than risk being sorry and not.  Well, here are a couple issues that would support the cutting off of this aid money:


1. At the moment, those most likely to steal a nuclear weapon from Russia are probably the same groups who are most likely to detonate a nuke inside Russia.  Remember that Russia has a terrorist problem in Chechnya and they have struck inside Russia proper.  Careless accountability puts Moscow at as much if not more risk for a nuclear attack than any Western country.  Also, there is much less risk of being caught getting a nuke to Moscow than trying to move it halfway across the planet to get it to US soil.  As a bonus, international stupidity has awarded Russia the Olympics games.  So in addition to having Moscow as a target, terrorists might just as well target Sochi Olympics with the goal of wiping the city (and everyone in it) from the map.


2. Russian Nuclear scientists.  Paying this money provides many of these scientists with support, but probably keeps them either idle or doing busy work that they have no interest in.  A US Government study had already suggested that work from some of these scientists directly benefited the Iranian nuclear program. (See: US Assistance to Russia Funding Iranian Nukes)  With all the calls around the globe for new nuclear plants, how about letting these nuclear experts move abroad and help the world increase its nuclear power generating capacity.  If it takes aid money to facility the shift, then that is probably money much better spent than it is now.


3. Speaking of the Iranians, while the US is paying to secure existing Russian nukes, the money does nothing to prevent Russia from teaching the Iranians to build their own.  This has included not only the supply of scientists, but also equipment, machinery and raw nuclear material.  So while they are not passing whole nukes out the door, they are essentially sneaking out nukes in pieces.
Iran's first nuclear plant in the southern city of Bushehr, which is being constructed in cooperation with Russia, is expected to become operational later on in 2008.


In December 2007, Russia began delivering 82 tons of nuclear fuel to the Bushehr plant, under the supervision and subject to the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).


The United States, Israel and their European allies allege that the enriched uranium provided by the Russians could be used to produce weapons-grade substances, and accuse Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of pursuing a military nuclear program. - Hurriyet












Putin and Ahmadinejad - Each the other's most Useful Idiot




4. Russia has already used nuclear material in an attack, littering Europe with radioactive material in the process, exposing thousands of travelers to the nuclear radiation in the process.
Vladimir Putin should be known throughout the world as "Putin the Poisoner." His signature act -- the action that defined Putin's character for all the world to see -- was the radioactive poisoning of  KGB turncoat Alexander Litvinenko in London, using polonium-210.  The kicker is that you can't just buy polonium-210 at your local chemical supply store. You can only get it if you have a nuclear weapons industry, because there you need it to start a nuclear chain reaction. It's a super-tricky substance to control. Putin's assassins left their traces all over London. Chemically, Po-210 is 250,000 times more toxic than hydrogen cyanide. But the Russians have always favored overkill. - American Thinker
5. Russia and the former Soviet States are still littered with unsecured nuclear material:
Another DOE effort that has been upended by the local violence is the tracking of abandoned radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs) – thousands of highly radioactive strontium and caesium powered batteries that were placed throughout remote portions of the Soviet Union as navigational beacons and power sources.


These sources have fallen into decrepitude, and much of the paperwork on their whereabouts and conditions were lost with the Soviet Union’s fall. The RTG units are frequently dismantled for valuable scrap metal by scavengers. More troubling, the strontium and caesium sources also go missing.


The DOE-led effort to isolate, dismantle and dispose of these forgotten facilities “will, for the time being have to be shelved,” said a DOE source in a telephone interview. - Bellona
AND:

Georgian interior ministry officials maintain that much of the nuclear material they stop can be traced directly to Russian sites, largely in Siberia. But, complained on official in an interview with Bellona Web Tuesday, the Russians are satisfied to leave these clean up efforts to Georgia, and will rarely take responsibility for Russia nuclear material ending up in the hands of Georgian law enforcement.


“To say that we are intercepting materials that come from Russia, and have the Russian’s admit it, means that the Russian sites are not as secure as they want the world to believe,” said the Georgian interior ministry spokesman, who, citing the current violence requested anonymity. - Bellona


6. Russia itself is a threat to nuclear material stockpiles:

“Russia will say that they will secure these radioactive sources, but the truth is they are as liable to take them as any smuggles we have apprehended,” said the Georgian interior ministry official in an email interview on Monday. - Bellona
 You can bet that material stolen by the Russians will not end up in any facility subject to US-paid security.


7. Finally, the money spent securing Russian nukes will do nothing to prevent Russia's access to the weapons. As it is, there are two recent stories noting either Russian movement of nuclear weapons or their suggestion of re-deploying them.
LONDON- Russia is considering arming its Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads for the first time since the cold war, warned senior military sources late August 17.


The Sunday Times wrote that under the Russian plans, nuclear warheads could be supplied to submarines, cruisers and fighter bombers of the Baltic fleet based in Kaliningrad. - The Baltic Times
And:

Russia has inserted into Georgian territory two SS-21 "Scarab" short-range missile launchers. The only possible use for these in a conflict of this type is for delivery of tactical nuclear weapons. They are Russia's insurance policy, deterring those who would come to Georgia's aid to prevent it being torn asunder by the Kremlin's war machine. - Irish Times
And:

Russia no longer maintains a 'no-first-use' policy, and is considering re-deployment of tactical nuclear weapons. - American Chronicle
And:

As recently as July, the newspaper Izvestia floated the idea that Moscow would station nuclear weapons in Cuba if the U.S. went ahead with the deployment of an antiballistic missile radar in the Czech Republic and interceptors in Poland. Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, chief of Russia's strategic missile command, has openly spoken about aiming nuclear-tipped missiles at those two countries. Vladimir Putin has warned Ukraine that if it were to join NATO, "Russia will have to point its warheads at Ukrainian territory." Not long before that, Mr. Putin cheerfully described a series of ballistic-missile flight tests as "pleasant and spectacular holiday fireworks." - The Wall Street Journal 
Then there is Russia's threat to nuke Poland in response to Poland's agreement to host American missile interceptors.  Of course, they only agreed to host them in order to get their hands on some Patriot missile batteries all the better to shoot down Russian missiles and jets.  Only Russia can get pissed off over military equipment that is useful only on the defender's territory. Mainland Russia does not even border Poland. However, the Russian seaport of Kaliningrad, seized from the Germans at the end of WWII does border Poland. To make sure the Poles take the threat seriously, Russia is suspected of stockpiling many tactical nukes there. Those being weapons you toss into neighboring countries. So before you even think of listening to Putin bitching about the US 'stirring things up' by placing a couple defensive missiles in Europe (See: "Washington and Poland just moved the World closer to War"), consider that Putin has nukes already placed right in the center of Europe.
Russia has reportedly moved tactical nuclear weapons to a military base in Kaliningrad, an action that would contravene its apparent pledge to keep the Baltic region nuclear-free and could violate its 1991 commitment not to deploy tactical nuclear weapons. Russian officials have vehemently denied the allegations.


The move was first reported January 3 by The Washington Times, which cited unnamed intelligence sources and classified Defense Intelligence Agency reports, and stated that U.S. officials first became aware of the weapons transfers last June. Following initial press reports, U.S. news organizations reported senior U.S. officials as confirming that the Clinton administration believes Russia has moved tactical nuclear warheads during the past year to the isolated Russian region, which is located between Poland and Lithuania. - Arms Control Association, 2001
Of course the Russians promised not to do such a thing:

The presence of any stockpiled weapons in Kaliningrad would violate Russia's apparent pledge to keep nuclear weapons out of the Baltics, and the more serious step of deploying tactical nuclear weapons would clearly violate its 1991 commitment. Russian officials have so far failed to clarify whether the Baltic outpost serves as a storage site for tactical nuclear weapons, although U.S. intelligence officials told The Washington Post that Russia used Kaliningrad as a depot for tactical nuclear weapons that were removed from naval vessels in the early 1990s. - Arms Control Association, 2001
It's not a pretty picture is it?  It's even worse when you consider that this is what we are paying close to a billion dollars a year for.  We are getting ripped off by the Russians.  It's time that this stops and it's time to push the Russians to own up to their responsibilities of being a nuclear power.  They keep acting like assholes because they know they can get away with it. Just like they are now.


Previous:

US Assistance to Russia (2007) $913.28 Million

US Assistance to Russia (2006) $949.3 Million

US Assistance to Russia Funding Iranian Nukes

"Washington and Poland just moved the World closer to War" - Yeah Right









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Wednesday, August 20

How to Tell when Russia is Lying

How can you tell when Russia is lying?

 - They are lying every time they say something you want to hear.

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Tuesday, August 19

United Nations Shame V

Here is the latest collection of news stories that I have collected of misdeeds that the UN is accused of doing around the world.  Seems that top honors again goes to the UNDP.

UNDP - Interfering in Kenya's recent elections:
A few weeks before Kenya’s elections, in mid October 2007 to be precise, this author caught a UNDP vehicle based in Nairobi distributing hate leaflets targeting Raila Odinga, the then main challenger to Mwai Kibaki in Dagoretti Corner of Nairobi. This muddy Saturday afternoon, a Volvo with UN registration looked stuck in the mud.

As he drove by after getting a tip from some young men, he stopped to find out what the UN vehicle was doing in that God-forsaken place so late in the evening on a Saturday afternoon bearing in mind that most UN offices close down on Friday midday. When he moved closer, he found two young men seated comfortably distributing Raila Odinga’s alleged version of his MoU with the Muslim community. That document was as damaging as it possibly could. It talked of Raila in future introducing Sharia law in Kenya and turning Kenya into an Islamic state. - UNDP Watch
When will the UN learn to take control of it's motor pools around the world? Their vehicles are constantly used by outside parties and never by any forces that can be confused for being the good guys. On the bright side, you're not likely to run into any counterfeit UN vehicles as it seems easier to borrow real ones.


UNDP - Poor Oversight in North Korea including Cover-up
The UNDP's transgressions in North Korea include personnel practices that gave Pyongyang officials access to sensitive information; limited oversight; poor tracking of funds, including money that was diverted to the North's purposes; and transfer of dual-use technology. It adds up to a picture of how Pyongyang manipulated the UNDP for its own financial ends – while the U.N. agency let it happen. In March 2007 the executive board took the unprecedented step of suspending operations in North Korea, and two investigations – by the U.N.'s own Board of Auditors and the U.S. Congress – have confirmed the U.S. allegations.

In yesterday's report, the auditors write that they "are unable to confirm the total size" of the UNDP program in North Korea between 1997 and 2007 – an amazing indictment of UNDP financial practices. They calculate total expenditures between $57.1 million and $72.3 million, which roughly accords with what the U.S. had estimated and far exceeds the UNDP's guess. - Wall Street Journal

UN - Admits $10 M Currency Exchange Rate Loss in Myanmar
UNITED NATIONS, July 28 -- At least $10 million in UN aid money raised by the UN after Cyclone Nargis hit has been lost in government-dictated currency exchanges, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes admitted on July 28. He stated that at the time he launched a second appeal for aid on July 10, "we here" in New York had not been aware of the seriousness or extent of the losses. But an internal UN document obtained by Inner City Press shows that the UN knew as early at June 26 of a "very serious 20% loss on foreign exchange... changing US Dollars to Foreign Exchange Certificates [FEC] then to local currency, Kyats." This appears in the internal "Notes for the Record" of an "Emergency Task Force Teleconference" call involving top officials in Yangon, Bangkok and Rome, available here. - Inner City Press


United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - Invites Indigenous People Representatives to attend meeting and then refuses entry
A delegation of indigenous peoples was forcibly barred from entering the meeting between UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer and civil society representatives, despite the fact that the indigenous delegation was invited to attend. This act is representative of the systematic exclusion of indigenous peoples in the UNFCCC process, the group said. - Patagonia Under Seige


UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - Biased Global Warming Report
A good example of a principle clearly violated is "Make sure forecasts are independent of politics." Politics shapes the IPCC from beginning to end. Legislators, policymakers and/or diplomatic appointees select (or approve) the scientists — at least the lead scientists — who make up the IPCC. In addition, the summary and the final draft of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report was written in collaboration with political appointees and subject to their approval.

Sadly, Mr. Green and Mr. Armstrong found no evidence the IPCC was even aware of the vast literature on scientific forecasting methods, much less applied the principles. - Washington Times


Russian Delegation to the UN - Half Billion Stolen in Oil-for-Food
This weekend the Globe and Mail is reporting on accusations by the former Russian spy Sergei Tretyakov, who claims that he assisted other UN agents in helping Russia steal $500 million from the UN's oil-for-food program in Iraq.

Describing the Russian delegation to the UN, Tretyakov described it as a "nest of spies" and a fertile ground for recruiting international experts to share damaging information about the United States - including one Canadian nuclear specialist. - Russia Journal

UN Peacekeepers - Millions wasted in Sudan
Several internal audits by one of its own agencies reveal that the UN has wasted tens of millions of dollars in its "peacekeeping operations" in Sudan over the past three years.Follow this link to the original source: "Audit of U.N.’s Sudan Mission Finds Tens of Millions in Waste"The UN Security Council established its mission in Sudan in March 2005, under the guise of helping to settle a 22-year-old civil war that has left 2 million dead, leaving tens of thousands, if not millions, homeless and hungry.Earlier this month, the Washington Post obtained a copy of a confidential audit from October 2006 where "a number of potential fraud indicators and cases of mismanagement and waste," were noted by the UN Office for International Oversight Services, the UN agency conducting the audits. - Sound of Cannons

Go read the list of waste as well as the pitiful UN excuses. Remember these guys are supposed to be the experts.

UN Peacekeepers - Sexual Abuse of Children in Ivory Coast
A 13-year-old girl described to the BBC how 10 UN peacekeepers gang-raped her in a field near her Ivory Coast home, and left her bleeding, trembling and vomiting on the ground.

No action has been taken against the soldiers. - Gateway Pundit

UNICEF - Partnership with Terrorists
UNICEF Partners With Terrorists - No, really. UNICEF is partnering with the Islamic Relief Organization, listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Treasury Department. - The Jawa Report

UN’s clean development mechanism (CDM) - Billions Wasted
Billions of pounds are being wasted in paying industries in developing countries to reduce climate change emissions, according to two analyses of the UN’s carbon offsetting programme.

Leading academics and watchdog groups allege that the UN’s main offset fund is being routinely abused by chemical, wind, gas and hydro companies who are claiming emission reduction credits for projects that should not qualify. The result is that no genuine pollution cuts are being made, undermining assurances by the UK government and others that carbon markets are dramatically reducing greenhouse gases, the researchers say.

The criticism centres on the UN’s clean development mechanism (CDM), an international system established by the Kyoto process that allows rich countries to meet emissions targets by funding clean energy projects in developing nations. - Guardian (Found at Sweetness & Light)

International Atomic Energy Agency - Radioactive Leak
A SMALL amount of plutonium leaked overnight in an ageing laboratory operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) near Vienna, Austria's environment ministry said today. - Jammie Wearing Fool

UN Refuses to Define TERRORISM - Video


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Previous Editions:

-- Don't worry. There is more coming in future updates. --

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Friday, August 15

"Washington and Poland just moved the World closer to War" - Yeah Right

What a load of crap:
The signing on August 14 of an agreement between the governments of the United States and Poland to deploy on Polish soil US ‘interceptor missiles’ is the most dangerous move towards nuclear war the world has seen since the 1962 Cuba Missile crisis. Far from a defensive move to protect European NATO states from a Russian nuclear attack, as military strategists have pointed out, the US missiles in Poland pose a total existential threat to the future existence of the Russian nation. The Russian Government has repeatedly warned of this since US plans were first unveiled in early 2007. Now, despite repeated diplomatic attempts by Russia to come to an agreement with Washington, the Bush Administration, in the wake of a humiliating US defeat in Georgia, has pressured the Government of Poland to finally sign the pact. The consequences could be unthinkable for Europe and the planet. - GlobalResearch.ca
Russia's invasion of Georgia is the act bringing Russia closer to war with others.  Nothing else.  Russia does not respect the former Soviet occupied countries and Putin has said before that the breakup of the Soviet Union was one of the worst things to ever happen to Russia.  Poland has to this point not made the agreement so as not to piss of the Russians.  Well now that all have seen that Russia was not just threats, the other states are going to scramble to arm up to protect themselves.  Sure, the US is going to place some missile interceptors in Poland, but Poland is also going to get Patriot missile batteries in exchange.  All the better to shoot down Russian jets with.  The Patriots are entirely defensive in nature, as are the missile interceptors as they are only designed to shoot down missiles in the sky.  And just what is the valid reason Russian has against staging anti-missile missiles?

At least Poland has no Russians living there for Russia to come and protect as the excuse used for invading Georgia.  They all left when the Russian army left in the early 1990's.  I was told by a Polish friend that when the left they stole everything they could get their hands on and load on trucks.  (On top of that, Russia demanded a payment of compensation to withdraw from/leave Poland)

One more thing, we are going to hear more details about war crimes committed by Russian soldiers and pro-Russian militants.  Surely they are killing indiscriminately.  It is mean to be a message to the rest of us to think twice before confronting them, because given the chance, they will just put a bullet in our head.  The west values life.  So Russia wants to make sure that the message gets out that you are surely risking your life if you choose to confront them. (With the idea that you'll just decide that resisting their actions is not worth your life, which is the message in a number of editorials that nobody is going to risk their blood for Georgia.)

As for this "Global Research" group, I can't tell if they are just a bunch of useful idiots or socialist sympathizers.  Seems that they are busy covering all the dictator's backs, Putin, Chavez, Iran.  Looks like a site where good is bad and bad is good. And it's based right up in Canada.  Oh joy.


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Thursday, August 14

About ExxonMobil's $1,400 in profit per second...

It was recently big news when ExxonMobil released it's quarterly earnings and it was a record breaker, with pundits noting that the corporation made $1,400 in profit per second.  Well, here is what they didn't tell you:
"I saw someone characterize our profits the other day in terms of $1,400 in profit per second. Well, they also need to understand we paid $4,000 a second in taxes, and we spent $15,000 a second in cost," Tillerson told ABC News' Charles Gibson. "We spend $1 billion a day just running our business. So this is a business where large numbers are just characteristic of it." - ABC News
People seem to want to ignore the sheer size of the corporation.  It is large.  After all, it is the result of the merger of two oil corporations, namely Exxon and Mobil.  Such a large company has many shareholders, including myself.  So, even though the company was making $1,400 profit a second, it needed to make such a profit to give shareholders a profit for the whole quarter of $2.27 for each share.  That's earnings for over 616 shares a second.
Earnings per share excluding special items were up 24% to $2.27 reflecting strong earnings and the continued reduction in the number of shares outstanding. - ExxonMobil Second Quarter results
And keep in mind that it is the shareholders who own the company and who benefit from the profits that ExxonMobil is taking in.  So I wonder, if all these people think that ExxonMobil is taking in so much cash, why aren't they buying as much stock in the company as possible?  You can do so for as little as $250 or $50 if you willing to make monthly purchases of at least $50.

Previous:

Are ExxonMobil's Profits all that Bad? - Update - FFI -
Are Record Oil Company Profits all that Bad? - FFI - 14 Sept 05
How Much Gasoline do 12 Million Illegal Aliens Consume? - FFI -
Impending Ethanol Shortage? - FFI -
CO2 Capture to Result in Improved Oil Production - FFI

Wednesday, August 13

Amazing Afghanistan Chinook Helicopter Video

I found this amazing video uploaded on YouTube:
Chinook Pinnacle Landing
CH-47D Chinook Helicopter doing an Aft Wheel Pinnacle Landing in the mountains of Afghanistan to pick up some Special Forces Operators. Watch how close the Aft blades get to the Hill! - Link



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Amazing.  Simply amazing.

Previous:
Amazing Afghanistan Helicopter Rescue Photo - FFI - 17 Oct 06



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Tuesday, August 12

Most Americans Don't Need To Learn a Second Language

It seems that once a year or so the media gets into this obsession that Americans need to learn a second language, most recently in response to Barack Obama's comments that Americans should do so.

This is silly. Most American's don't need to learn a second language. There are however some people who either should learn a second language or might want to because of good opportunities to take advantage of knowing one such as:
  • Americans living on the Mexican Border
  • Americans living on the northern border with French-speaking Canada
  • Americans who speak a language other than English, in that they should learn English as their second language
  • Americans living in foreign countries long-term
Take this example:

In a room you have:
  • An American
  • A Brit
  • A German
  • A Frenchman
  • A Spaniard
What language do they speak?
Of course this one is easy as there is an American in the room, most certainly the only common language is English.  That is provided that the German Frenchman and Spaniard also speak English.  But in this case, let's assume that they do.  So there you have it.  Those Americans need to learn a second language......

Now let's remove the American from the room:
  • A Brit
  • A German
  • A Frenchman
  • A Spaniard
What language do they speak?
English.

Chances are the Brit doesn't speak any language other than English.  Perhaps he knows French as well, but that's no good as the German and the Spaniard would need to speak it as well.  They might speak French, especially if they live near the French border, but most likely do not. 

Now let's remove the Brit from the room as well:
  • A German
  • A Frenchman
  • A Spaniard
What language do they speak?
English.

So is this still the American's fault?  Of course not.  It is just easy to blame Americans for most of them don't know a second language.  However, most of them have no need to learn a second language.  Really, does it make sense for an American to spend years learning French, just so that he can show it off on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Paris?  Doesn't make much sense does it?

So lets say that Americans decide that yes, they should be learning a second language.  The next question is which one?  At the moment, everyone is talking about learning Spanish, because of all the Spanish speakers flooding into the country.  But, they are the ones who should be learning a second language.  They should be learning English.  Why force the citizens of a country to learn a second language because the newcomers don't speak yours? (It is even more absurd when you consider that many of them are here illegally.)  At the least this is proof that Americans aren't the only large group of people who do not speak a second language.  There is a whole continent of people south of the US Border who do not speak English.  Maybe they should learn a second language.

So again, which language?  If French, which French?  Those living near the Canadian border might see that as a good option, the only problem is that Canadian French is so different from French spoken in France, that when the two meet, they might just speak to each other in English.  Too complicated?  Then how about learning German?  Again, it might depend on where you want to speak German as Germany, Austria and Switzerland have variations.  It might be best learning high German.  With that, you might actually intimidate some native German speakers.

The funny thing about this whole issue is that many Americans do speak a foreign language both at home and abroad, especially those who are living overseas. I learned Finnish while living in Finland.  There were other Americans living over there who were at least trying to learn Finnish.  Even just a couple words to make their life easier, like push and pull for doors and the obligatory please and thank you.  So it could just be that if you put an American in a room with five Germans or five Frenchmen the language spoken just might not be English!  I have been in many work situations when I was working in Finland where the locals spoke Finnish and I responded in English.  That is a very fair compromise in that all parties get to speak in their own language.  All the better if you can pull it off.

Still, most Americans are probably better off learning something else.  Remember, we Americans are presented as being intellectually deficient by our high minded European friends.  So just how do they expect us to learn a second language anyway?



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Monday, August 11

US Assistance to Russia (2007) $913.28 Million

So with the Russian military making a mess of the country of Georgia, I would like to think that the Governments of Norway, Germany, the UK, Italy, and US (as well as others) are wondering just why they are showering Russia with hundreds of millions in aid money. The amount of US aid alone has been averaging close to $1 billion a year since 2000.

Here is the history of US aid to Russia:

U.S. assistance to Russia from 1992-2007:
  • In Fiscal Year 1992 total United States Government (USG) assistance was 328.42 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 1993: Total USG: 1,454.75 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 1994: Total USG: 1,915.79 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 1995: Total USG: 570.26 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 1996: Total USG: 492.86 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 1997: Total USG: 545.52 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 1998: Total USG: 599.04 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 1999: Total USG: 2,132.47 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 2000: Total USG: 1,053.99 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 2001: Total USG: 955.52 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 2002: Total USG: 1,014.54 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 2003: Total USG: 912.50 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 2004: Total USG: 944.67 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 2005: Total USG: 1,008.06 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 2006: Total USG: 961.65 Million dollars;
  • Fiscal Year 2007: Total USG: 913.28 Million.
  • (Source: US State Department
And just what has it gotten us?  Russia still has not totally committed to cleaning up it's nuclear mess, instead leaving it to the west to worry about it.  Hell, our own assistance money is reaching as far as Iran's nuclear program:
In the continuing US Congressional investigation of a post-Soviet programme to employ Russian nuclear weapons scientists to prevent them from selling their expertise, a congressional committee has said US Department of Energy (DOE) funding has assisted in building Iran’s Bushehr reactor. - Bellona
And, the following confirms a point I have made before, in that giving Russia money frees them up to use their own money to do things that are harmful to the US.
At the hearing last month on the anti-proliferation program, a State Department official, Richard Stratford, acknowledged that “you could argue if you give Russia a dollar for whatever purpose, it frees up a dollar that can then be spent elsewhere.” But he said the programme would reduce the risk of proliferation. - Bellona
This is what I said last year. The problem is that Russia is not going to clean up their mess with their own money. As far as I'm concerned, if they want their country littered with nuclear radiation, then so be it. Giving them a free pass may very likely result in a much larger mess later on as there is no incentive to be responsible.  That last quote above also puts in question the idea of paying to secure Russia's nukes.  At the very least, we are paying too much.


Maybe it's time to suspend these payments.  Russia's is quickly becoming the most imminent threat of using the nukes and no amount of money is going to secure these nukes from their owner.

Previous:
US Assistance to Russia (2006) $949.3 Million - FFI - 15 August 2007
Norway and UK Pay Nuke Money as Russia Threatens West - FFI - 7 March 2008
US Assistance to Russia Funding Iranian Nukes - FFI - 21 Feb 2008


For laughs:
Mushroom Soup. Mushroom Soup. Mushroom Soup...

Saturday, August 9

"No-one ever stopped the bullies from taking your lunch money by being nice"

I ran across this great tagline today:
No-one ever stopped the bullies from taking your lunch money by being nice
I found it on this blog End of the Road which was linked in the comments of this post: ' Where have all the Vikings Gone?' on the Dr. Helen blog.  The link was to 'The War of the Toilet Seat'. Seems that some liberal women are trying to emasculate men by forcing them to sit when going to pee.  And women can't figure out why men don't want to get married anymore...

As for that tagline, it's a perfect response for all of those who call for the US to talk to our enemies, especially with Iran and North Korea.  Perfect and worded in such a way that even a child can understand.

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Thursday, August 7

McCain Channels Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt and Daisy H-Bomb Girl

There has been lots of talk about one McCain ad mocking Senator Obama. But McCain has lots of web ads uploaded to YouTube here.

They all seem to be pretty good in their own way.  I particularly like this ad titled 'Man In The Arena' that features McCain speeches interlaced with speeches from the UK's Winston Churchill and former President Theodore Roosevelt.  (No he doesn't mention that he's old enough to remember them.)






Link to ad

Did you catch the 'flower girl' at the end?  For some reason it immediately reminded be of the 'daisy girl' Lyndon Johnson Presidential ad.







Link to ad

I guess it is possible that this is just a coincidence but I am going to assume that the association was on purpose. Really, the people throwing these ads together are experts at imparting images. So just maybe, this was put in there to remind the old folks of that ad, which proved to be very effective.
"Daisy," sometimes known as "Daisy Girl" or "Peace, Little Girl," was a controversial campaign television advertisement. Though aired only once (by the campaign), during a September 7, 1964, telecast of David and Bathsheba on The NBC Monday Movie, it was a factor in President Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide defeat of Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election and an important turning point in political and advertising history. Its creator was Tony Schwartz of Doyle Dane Bernbach. It remains one of the most controversial political advertisements ever made. - Wikipedia
Anyway, it is a good ad whether the link to the daisy ad was done on purpose or not.



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Wednesday, August 6

Obama 2008 - Talking to Big Oil bad - Talking to Terrorist Regimes Good

This has been on my mind for a while.  It seems that Barack Obama thinks that it's extremely bad to talk to 'Big Oil'.  He restated this most recently in his statements of yesterday.

Yet, at the same time this bozo (and Democrats in general) has no problem offering to talk to 'BIGGER OIL' in the likes of terror-supporting Iran.  Is this how his reasoning goes?  Companies that provide jobs to Americans are bad and should not be able to talk to 'Big government' about the business environment the country's laws and taxes set for them to operate in and which ones are causing problems for growth.  However, countries that kill Americans need our understanding and a free ear to tell us what we are doing that makes them want to kill us. Also odd in his thinking (and Democrats in general) is that the unions that represent employees of these big, evil corporations also get a free ear to tell them how much life sucks working under these corporations.  In each case it seems that the Democrats only want to hear half of the story and they are listening to the wrong half. After all, what good is it to hear from a union that company x is laying off workers without listening to company x explain why he is doing so.

No matter, the Democrat party is marking forward with this 'Big Oil is bad' message with an ExxonMcCain`08 campaign:


Personally, as a shareholder of ExxonMobil (that is its proper name.  It used to be two large oil companies before merging to become the huge company it is now.) I would love to see something like this. Maybe ExxonMcCain will finally open up offshore drilling and lower the cost of doing business in the US so that my dividend payments can increase.  Oddly enough, by restricting the flow of US oil, the Democrats are probably most responsible for ExxonMobil's profits, as higher costs per barrel leave bigger profits to take.  At the very least ExxonMobil is less corrupt than many members of Congress and would not waste time with pork-projects as they would probably result in lost money for them.

Anyway, if the Republicans have Exxon as a running mate, then perhaps Obama's running mate is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Let's call it Obama-Ahmadinejad`08:


Beware of Bigger Oil and beware of presidential candidates who want to destroy our energy supply and go soft on countries that hate us.  Really, which outcome is worse?




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