Smart Power: Team Obama Abandons Embassy In Yemen

By William Teach February 11, 2015 – 7:35 am

Well, at least they learned something from the Benghazi affair

(Fox News) The State Department announced late Tuesday that the U.S. Embassy in Yemen had been closed and evacuated after much of the country was taken over by Shiite rebels last month.

Hours later, Britain and France followed suit and ordered their citizens to leave Yemen as soon as possible.

The U.S. embassy had already been operating with severely reduced staff for several weeks. State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said remaining diplomatic personnel had been relocated “due to the ongoing political instability and the uncertain security situation.”

Yemen has been in crisis for months, with Iran-linked Shiite Houthi rebels besieging the capital and then taking control and forcing the resignation of the U.S. and Saudi-backed president and his government.

Hey, remember this from September 2014?

“But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This counter-terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years.”

Obama has done a good job in using drone strikes to play whack-a-mole against Islamic jihadis. Ted Cruz noted on January 25, 2015

In Yemen, as in so many places around the globe, however, this approach has left the United States with few good options and with our influence in shambles. We need to face the reality that Yemen is being torn apart by two sworn enemies of America and our first priority should be to secure any remaining U.S. personnel in the country. We must then explore how to defend our strategic interests in the region without benefiting either Iran or al Qaeda.

Back to Fox article

The embassy closure will also complicate the CIA’s operations in Yemen, U.S. intelligence officials acknowledge. Although CIA officers could continue to work out of U.S. military installations, many intelligence operations are run from embassies, and the CIA lost visibility on Syria when that embassy was evacuated in 2012. The CIA’s main role in Yemen is to gather intelligence about members of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and occasionally kill them with drone strikes. Both the CIA and the military’s Joint Special Operations Command run separate drone killing programs in Yemen, though the CIA has conducted the majority of the strikes, U.S. officials have said.

In all due fairness to Obama, this could have happened no matter what he did, with hardcore Islamist forces, some backed by Iran, fighting against each other for control of a nation that has a long history of being a hotbed of Islamic terrorism and extremism. Obama could have done everything perfectly, and the country still may have melted down. But, as said when George Bush was president “who’s president now?” Perhaps Obama should have more strongly supported the Arab Spring, particularly in Iran, with their Green Uprising, as well as not played footsy with Iran.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Smart Power: Team Obama Abandons Embassy In Yemen »

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Have You Ever Read A Book That Seemed More Like A Newspaper Or Magazine Article?

By William Teach February 10, 2015 – 7:43 pm

In all my years, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that unintentionally mimicked a newspaper or magazine article. I’ve read, and enjoyed (and not enjoyed) fiction books that were intended to be like a non-fictional account, such as Zombie War by Nicholas Ryan (his 3 other zombie books are damned good, too). However, The Gray Ship was just strange, and read the way the first few paragraphs of so many news stories read. You know, where they bring in the human interest? Things like “The captain is seated at the far end of the table. Ashley Patterson runs a tight meeting. She asks questions, listens to the answers, and will not tolerate political sideswiping.” It just seems stiff, rather than flowing, and I kept expecting the meat of the investigative journalism story to show up.

Perhaps you would need to read it yourself to understand. Me, I gave up at 5%, which is a shame, because the premise, namely that a modern day U.S. warship is transported to the 1861, right before the battle of Ft. Sumter, is something that I really love. A good time travel story with history. Oh, well.

Interestingly, this is the third straight book I’ve abandoned. The previous two were at around 50% and 40%, because they just kept plodding on without really going anywhere. Viva la Kindle Unlimited!

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Major Snowstorms Are Cause For “Climate Change” Concern

By William Teach February 10, 2015 – 3:25 pm

I’d wonder if Warmists are trolling Skeptics with this kind of insanity, but, no, they really do believe this

Major snowstorms in B.C. prompt climate-change worries

Warm weather and rain linked to the Pineapple Express weather system is forcing Mount Washington Alpine Resort on Vancouver Island to shut down its winter operations as of Monday, a rare situation that comes as industry operators fear the impact of climate change.

While too little snow put the brakes on ski season in one region of the province, Kitimat Village – a First Nations settlement near the town of Kitimat in northern British Columbia – was reeling from a major snowstorm that compelled Haisla First Nation to order the evacuation of the community’s 800 residents on Sunday. Kitimat and Terrace have received nearly two metres of snow this week from that same Pineapple Express system, which knocked out power for days and required at least one person to be airlifted to hospital.

The so-called Pineapple Express is something that has been going on for a long time, and has nothing to do with Hotcoldwetdry, much like El Nino’s, mentioned later in the article.

He added he thinks climate change is a factor in the industry’s woes, though the resort’s business director, Mr. Sharpe, said things are not that clear cut. The resort, he points out, had its deepest snowfall on record two years ago.

“It’s all over the map,” he said. “For us, it doesn’t appear that there’s an ongoing trend. It just so happened that we had a warm spell that wiped out all the snow that we did have.”

So, maybe yes, maybe no?

The Canada West Ski Areas Association, representing 135 ski areas and 153 industry suppliers, has a sharply different view, with plans at its annual convention in April to have five presentations on climate change and the environment. Part of the association’s posted climate-change policy includes diversifying into summer businesses such as ziplines, gondola rides and mountain biking.

“Climate change and adapting to climate change is a big issue for the industry,” David Lynn, association president and chief executive officer, said in an interview on Sunday.

Interesting: an industry that relies on people taking fossil fueled trips, along with vast amounts of energy to run the business, has an issue with “climate change”. So they want to diversity and make sure people use more fossil fuels and industry uses more energy during other times of the year.

Anyway, despite the hysterical headline, there really is no attempt to specifically blame “Climate Change” for big snow storms, beyond hinting. But, good news, USA Today gives it a shot with a bit of quibbling

Buried in Boston? Blame it on climate change — maybe

What’s going on? Although no individual storm can be directly linked to climate change, Boston’s snowy winter could point to weather patterns affected by global warming.

“The environment in which all storms form is now different than it was just 30 or 40 years ago because of global warming,” said Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

Higher temperatures warm the oceans and allow the atmosphere to hold a greater amount of water vapor, said Brad Johnson, a meteorologist with the University of Georgia. “Both of these factors, among others, contribute to stronger storms in general,” he said.

Johnson also said scientists are not able to attribute just a single storm or series of storms directly to climate change.

So “zoMyGod we’re doomed!!!!” with a splash of ass covering. The Washington Post gives it a shot, too. Climate Crocks digs deep into the idiocy.

Just to wrap up, here’s insanity from the Detroit Free Press

Read: Major Snowstorms Are Cause For “Climate Change” Concern »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 11 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach February 10, 2015 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible fridge contributing to heat hiding in the deep oceans, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Israel Matzav, with a post on Obama playing the race card against Netanyahu.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Atlanta Radio Host Offers Crusader Wager

By William Teach February 10, 2015 – 9:59 am

One of the things I mentioned (multiple times) regarding Obama’s cute little “hey, but Christians were bad hundreds and thousands of years ago” comment at the National Prayer Breakfast, a comment that refused to acknowledge the problems with extremist Islam, was that so many immediately went on the defensive, throwing out comparisons, and, really, going down the road Obama wanted them to travel. Because the comment from Obama was meant to distract, deflect, and make those who are against radical Islam defensive.

Since then, a few have started to wise up. Here’s one, as pointed out by Jazz Shaw, from Michael Graham at News Radio 106.7 in Atlanta

The Crusader Wager

Put up or shut up.

Every time the topic of violence in the name of Islam comes up on my radio show or my Twitter timeline, I hear the argument that President Obama made: “The problem isn’t Islam—it’s extremism.” While it may appear that Islam has a unique problem regarding fundamentalist violence, you p.c.-types say, the real problem is fundamentalism in and of itself. And since other religions have fundamentalists and extremists, too, (which they do) Christians should “get off their high horse,” “slavery,” “Crusades,” etc. etc.

This is, obviously, nonsense. No one who says it believes it. It’s just a dodge, a political-correct blocking movement for people, who for whatever reason, don’t want to deal with the Natural Truth:

No other religion today has the same problem of fundamentalist violence as Islam.

I’ve gotten so tired of this ridiculous claim, that I’m now insisting the people who make it put their money where their mouth is—and do so for a good cause.

It’s called the “Crusader Wager.”

I will set aside $100 for every death committed in the name of fundamentalist Christianity in the year 2015. You—the “The problem isn’t Islam” adherent—will set aside just ONE dollar for every death committed in the name of Islamist fundamentalism and violent jihad. Here’s the wager: if, on January 1, 2016, I have set aside more money than you have, I will donate every penny to the charity of your choice. If, however, your total is higher than mine, you will donate it to the Salvation Army. (Hey—it’s about the Crusades, right?).

The Crusader Wager is open to all comers. Email me Michael@MichaelGraham.com and I will send you a signed contract for you to sign, scan and return.

Clearly this is a great deal for the “It’s not Islam—it’s extremism!” crowd. I’m giving you a 100-1 advantage. If the problem of Islamist terror is even 50 TIMES worse than Christian violence—you still win! Which means that, if you refuse, you’ve proven my point: Islam has a problem unique among religions in the world today.

Go for it, all you folks you utterly refuse to condemn Islamists, and do all you can to defend the Islamists, with your deflections, distractions, “Islamophobia”, and “but, hey, Christians!!!!!!” I probably shouldn’t say anything, but you are in for a loss. The Jihad body count for January was 3998 killed.

Note: headline and text updated to reflect that 106.7 is in Atlanta, not NYC, just as Jazz Shaw did.

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Posted in War On Terrorism | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

It’s Bobby Jindal Vs The World, Baby!

By William Teach February 10, 2015 – 8:56 am

Yes, I know, Bobby Jindal supposedly has some problems, but, then, what politician doesn’t? Including Republicans. It all depends on the level of problems. Jeb Bush? Big problems, such as Common Core and his amnesty belief. Marco Rubio? Amnesty. Rick Perry? Never sure what blunder will come from his mouth. Mike Huckabee? I like the guy, he says some great things, but, he is a bit too much of a Social Conservative for my liking as a presidential candidate. Someone is always going to have a problem with candidates. The American Conservative is upset because they say Jindal’s “victim act” is pitiful, but, then, the writers have long been against Jindal.

(Politico) In the past few weeks, Bobby Jindal has been attacked for insisting that Europe allows Muslims to control special “no-go zones,” belittled by the Weekly Standard for offering a “bizarre, anti-intellectual” position on overturning Obamacare, and dismissed as an underachieving lightweight for the Republican 2016 nomination.

The Louisiana governor is relishing it all.

No go zones are real, they are areas where it is a Bad Idea for you to enter. Much like Detroit, parts of New Orleans, parts of South Chicago, Birmingham’s Bluffs, sections of Atlanta. Syria.

During a 40-minute interview in Washington late last week, an energized Jindal hit back at his critics on the right and left, dismissing them as elitist hacks who can’t stand the idea of an Ivy League-educated, unapologetic conservative. He accused GOP bosses in Washington of trying to sanitize the nomination battle and “get us to stop being so rude.” He blasted right-leaning writers who’ve criticized him, saying they’re just out to curry favor with the editorial page of The New York Times and get booked on the Sunday shows. And the 43-year-old governor argued that some Republicans are fine with crony capitalism, as long as their pockets are being lined.

It’s all part of a concerted effort by the likely presidential candidate to run as the purest anti-Washington conservative in the GOP field – one who unlike, say, Ted Cruz, boasts years of executive experience.

“There’s this tendency amongst even conservative elites to back away from our principles,” Jindal told POLITICO at the offices of the Republican Governors Association. “We need to be unafraid…We don’t need to apologize for our beliefs.”

He’s absolutely correct. There’s a schism between the Inside The Beltway establishment Republicans and the Conservative base. Just like there is a schism between the average Democrats and the hardcore Progressives in the Democrat Party. A conflict of ideas is a Good Thing. Should we all simply be homogenous and refuse to stand for principles and ideas?

Jindal argues that any Republican replacement plan must focus on reducing costs and not replacing taxes with new revenue hikes.

“I said famously in ’12 that we can’t be the party of no, that we can’t be the stupid party,” he added. “We’re beginning to realize we have to offer solutions, especially now that we’re in the majority in both chambers. But there’s still a reluctance to go all the way and stand up for our conservative principles.”

The big question, is he the one who can offer the ideas and stand up for Conservative principles?

Red State notes

It’s another budget year in Louisiana, which means that it’s time for the annual festival in which lily-livered Republicans and the media they enable gather to wring their hands about Bobby Jindal’s fiscal policies. This year the hand wringing is perhaps more fervent than ever given governor Jindal’s elevated national profile due to the speculation that he will run for President. A sample of the kvetching can be found in Politico and the New York Times. Over at AmCon, serial changer of religious and political convictions Rod Dreher shows us how some alleged “conservatives” are doing it.

Here are the undisputed facts on the ground: 1. Lousiana is facing a $1.6 billion shortfall heading into this budget year. 2. A significant portion of that, by all accounts, is due to falling oil revenues, which are more or less constantly in flux. 3. Louisiana over the last several years has faced several such budget shortfalls and has, every year of Jindal’s tenure, made up the shortfalls by making real cuts in the budget as opposed to tax increases. If you add all these facts together, you have a perfect stew for the anxious and weak-willed to simmer in and complain about how Bobby Jindal has destroyed the State of Louisiana. I was privileged to be on the ground in Lousiana when the poltroons were playing this exact same chorus in 2011 and you can read some of the stories I wrote about this then and note the eerie similarities.

These stories crop up every year in Louisiana and have several features in common: 1. an observation that the state faces a budget shortfall, 2. complaining from various Republicans indicating that revenues (read: taxes) should be raised 3. anecdotal evidence that previous years’ budget cuts have wrought terrible hardships on the people of Louisiana. They always conveniently omit 1. Actual data 2. The context of previous years which indicates that this truly is another instance of same song, different verse.

Interestingly, if you actually look at Jindal’s record and beliefs, you find that they dovetail very well with the Conservative Base.

  • He’s heavily against Common Core
  • He’s heavily in favor of tax reform
  • He’s against slapping higher taxes on “the rich”, otherwise known as “producers”
  • He signed a bill authorizing chemical castration of sex offenders
  • The Business Journals ranked him #5 on a list of governors with the best job growth
  • He’s most definitely pro-life
  • He’s pro-offshore drilling
  • Seriously anti-Obamacare
  • Heavily pro-2nd Amendment.

And so much more. He’s a more outgoing version of Tim Pawlenty, who sadly dropped out of the 2012 primaries too early. Great ideas, unfortunately, Pawlenty was rather, um, boring. Jindal is not.

Unsurprisingly, with Jindal’s prospects for a presidential run rising, many liberal media outlets are taking shots at him. The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank runs a big hit piece, which includes a rather unpleasant looking picture of Jindal.

Read: It’s Bobby Jindal Vs The World, Baby! »

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Man With Largest Footprint In World Thinks “Climate Change” Bigger Threat Than Terrorism

By William Teach February 10, 2015 – 8:17 am

Mr. Obama is a guy who has a massive, giant “carbon footprint”, estimated several years ago to be 41000 metric tons. The average American’s footprint was rated at 19mt, and I doubt that Obama’s has actually gone down. This is a guy who will take a cross-country trip to attend a brief official event before jumping into multiple fundraisers/campaign speeches on a constant basis, with all the planes, helicopters, automobiles, and everything else that is required. But, you know….

(Daily Caller) In a continuation of the softball White House media strategy that saw the president interviewed by “YouTube Stars” like the Fruit Loops bathing GloZell, Barack Obama sat down with Vox media, the progressive activist blog, to discuss the issues of the day.

In the course of that discussion, the site’s executive editor asked the president if the media “overstates the sort of level of alarm people should have about terrorism and this kind of chaos as opposed to a longer-term problem like climate change and epidemic disease?”

Obama quickly agreed, saying the media lives by the mantra, “If it bleeds, it leads.”

In all fairness, Vox guided Obama to the answer, but we shouldn’t be surprised by it, as Obama bows down to the the notion of Man-created Hotcoldwetdry. And, like the vast majority of Warmists, refuses to practice what he preaches. And, like most of the big shots in the Warmist cult, he increases his carbon footprint. And, while Warmists are blaming all the snowstorms in the Northeast on global warming/climate change, the RoP has been busy (via The Religion Of Peace)

  • 2015.02.09 (Kadhimiyah, Iraq) – A Sunni suicide bomber takes out eighteen innocents near a Shia shrine.
  • 2015.02.09 (Mogadishu, Somalia) – A member of parliament is assassinated by a group fighting for Islamic law.
  • 2015.02.08 (Diffa, Niger) – A Shahid suicide bomber detonates at a pepper market, killing five patrons.
  • 2015.02.07 (Baghdad, Iraq) – A brutal suicide bombing at a packed restaurant snuffs out the lives of twenty-two innocents.

Obama’s schtick was also about positioning terrorism as just news sensationalism

Oh, and here’s one for all the “zoMyGod, Christians are killing supposed witches in Africa!!!!!!” meme-ers

ISIS behead man… for WITCHCRAFT: Barbaric execution for ‘invoking magic’ plunges Middle East further into the Dark Ages

Climate change is something that happens, and always has. Yes, Mankind plays a small part in it, mostly from agriculture and landfills, as well as land use. Not too mention falsifying data. Islamic radicalism is a threat to 1st World societies, and it still shocks me that Liberals refuse to acknowledge the threat, since the hardcore Muslims, called “Islamists” to distinguish them from the so-called moderate Muslims, pretty much stand against everything Liberals believe in, and are competing for the same world-wide dominance as are Progressives.

BTW, Politico trashed the Vox interview with Obama and the way it was put together, noting that “I’ve seen subtler Scientology recruitment films.”

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Buzzfeed Seems Shocked That People Can Be Fired For Exceeding Their Work Hours

By William Teach February 9, 2015 – 8:56 pm

Hyper-leftist Buzzfeed runs this story in their business section, as written by Sapna Maheshwari, who, like most liberals, seems shocked at The Way Business Works

Staples Threatens To Fire Staff For Working More Than 25 Hours A Week

Last year Alice*, 19, typically clocked anywhere from 25 hours to 40 hours a week at the Staples store where she works as a part-time staffer. The hours were great, she says, because she loves her co-workers and uses the job to help support her family.

She started working at Staples around the same time the office-supply chain was making headlines by forbidding its part-time employees from working more than 25 hours a week. The rules, rolled out in the lead-up to the Affordable Care Act, were seen by many staff members as an effort by the company to avoid paying benefits to “full-time” employees — classified under the law as anyone working more than 30 hours a week.

But for most of 2014, the rules didn’t really affect Alice or her colleagues, who regularly exceeded the threshold and were still considered part-time. That all changed this year, though, as the employer mandate kicked in; if Staples doesn’t pay benefits for people working more than 30 hours a week, it could face up to $3,000 in penalties per person.

Now, Alice is working far fewer hours — and if she clocks above 25, she may be fired.

“Before January, it was a smack on the wrist if anyone went over 25 hours — they got an email scolding them saying, ‘You went over 25, try not to do that,’” she told BuzzFeed News in an interview on the condition of anonymity, given she still works at the company. “But now it’s become really serious…they’ve threatened to write up managers and every person that goes up over 25 hours.”

In fact, quite a few companies do the same thing, even before the issues of Obamacare and the 30 hour classification. Two of my previous jobs at Very Big Companies had roughly 25% of their inside sales force as part timers, and have significant restrictions on the allowable hours. The first had a requirement that the part-timers did not average more than 33 hours a week over a 3 month period of time, otherwise they would be classified as full time, and significant benefits kicked in at full time hours. So, we scheduled them for no more than 25 hours, and had to keep a close eye on those hours. Write-ups could occur, and extra hours impacted the P&L. The other scheduled for 20 hours. Period. This gave them 5 hours to play with if they had to come in to do a deal. And they would literally have to hand deals as splits over if they were going to go above. And write ups kicked in immediately on a weekly basis.

Companies do his, both for cost control, because they have certain operational budgets, and second, for benefits of full time workers. Now with Ocare and the 30  hour classification, this is even more important, and, surprise!, guess who gets the pay the penalty: that’s right, the employees. Staples had the policy well before Ocare, but are now forced to stringently enforce it.

Read: Buzzfeed Seems Shocked That People Can Be Fired For Exceeding Their Work Hours »

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Strange: An Ancient Event Confirms That The Climate Changes

By William Teach February 9, 2015 – 3:24 pm

Of course, this ancient event is supposed to create fear and anxiety and push Other People to give up their use of fossil fuels and move towards a 15th Century lifestyle

Climate Change Predications Confirmed by Ancient Warming Event

Current climate change predictions have been confirmed by an ancient warming event that surpasses today’s warming world, according to a new study.

Between 2.3 to 3.3 million years ago during the Pliocene Epoch, the Earth’s temperature was around 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than it is today, while atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) were around 350-450 parts per million (ppm), similar to the levels reached in the past few years (400 ppm).

Evidence of this previous warm period came from an analysis of ancient plankton fossils drilled from the ocean floor.

By studying the relationship between CO2 levels and climate change during a warmer period in Earth’s history, the scientists have been able to estimate how the climate will respond to rising CO2 levels – a parameter known as “climate sensitivity.” The findings, published in the journal Nature, are in line with future predictions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), according to the international research team.

So, wait, what caused the increase in CO2 and temperatures?

Skeptics of man-made climate change (including even members of the US Senate) have long referred to the global warming “pause,” or “hiatus” as evidence that humans are not to blame for the changing climate, and that climate models are inaccurate. But this new study shows that despite this pause, climate models are right on target.

Ah, So, this is meant to protect the 95% failed computer models over real world data, as well as continue the trope that doom is coming sometime in the future, and that mankind is to blame. But, again, what caused that CO2 increase millions of years ago which supposedly caused the warming? And, can it be specifically blamed on CO2? The Sun is the primary driver of climate, and the weather that, over long periods of time, creates climate. If this all happened before fossil fuels, modern industry, DVRs, and hair dryers, could this not mean that the current warm period, which has a temperature that is below the temperature of several previous Holocene warm periods, is caused mostly by Nature? Warmists will say “no”, but, their own failure to modify their own lives to match their rhetoric gives lie to that notion.

Read: Strange: An Ancient Event Confirms That The Climate Changes »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 24 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach February 9, 2015 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrid washing machine, sucking up energy and precious water, when Everyone Else should be washing by hand, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Jammie Wearing Fools, with a post on Democratic imbeciles at the Grammys.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 1 Comment | Trackback URL
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