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JANUARY 10,  2015

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

NO SHOW – There will be a mass rally against terrorism tomorrow in Paris.  At least 30 world leaders will attend, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron.  Guess which leader won't be there.  Hint:  He takes a lot of Hawaiian vacations and refuses to use the term "Islamic terrorism."  Not only will Obama not be there, he isn't even sending the vice president or the secretary of state.  He's sending outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder.  Please note that Obama attended Nelson Mandela's funeral personally.  The man has no sense of his office, and, really, no sense at all.

THERE, HE SAID IT – From The New York Times:  "PARIS — Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared Saturday that France was at war with radical Islam after the harrowing sieges that led to the deaths of three gunmen and four hostages the day before. New details emerged about the bloody final confrontations, and security forces remained on high alert." Perhaps the French prime minister can send the text of his statement to "Barack, the White House, Washington."  It'll get there, and maybe the chief resident and partygiver will realize that the world won't end if he, too, used the term "radical Islam."

LATEST ACADEMIC NEWS – From the New York Post:  "A wacky former MIT professor took cinema verite to a whole new level by robbing a Manhattan bank and recording the heist, authorities said.
Joseph Gibbons, 61, a filmmaker and 'visual artist’ who taught for a decade at one of the world’s most prestigious universities, has gone rogue, robbing banks as part of his latest 'art' project.  Gibbons was charged on Friday with robbery after allegedly making off with $1,000 from a Capital One branch at Bowery and Grand Street in Chinatown.  While waiting for his arraignment, the eccentric academic boasted to fellow inmates that his crime was for art’s sake."  The fact is that MIT has the best bank robbery program in the country, especially at the Ph.D. level.

January 10, 2015       Permalink

REMINDER OF HISTORY – AT 11:32 A.M. ET:  Representative Mike Rogers reminds us that yesterday was a day in American history that needs to be remembered.  From the House: 

(WASHINGTON, D.C.)—Congressman Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee, made the following statement today congratulating the U.S. Navy and Naval Reactors program on the 60th anniversary of the USS Nautilus being underway with nuclear power.

“Today we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the USS Nautilus first being underway under nuclear power. That day marked the beginning of a new era for the U.S. Navy and we remember not only that historic achievement, but also the 60 years of unparalleled nuclear safety, technical brilliance and operational excellence in our Naval Reactors program and nuclear Navy. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Admiral Greenert, Admiral Richardson and the many thousands of men and women who have contributed to this tremendous success.”

COMMENT:  The message, "Underway on nuclear power," was one of the most important in the nation's history.  It ushered in a power revolution for the US Navy and signaled the start of a new age of deterrence.

Nuclear-powered ships could, from that time on, operate for months at a time, sometimes years, without refueling.  The eventual nuclear missile submarines, a key component of the deterrent strength that contributed heavily to ending the Cold War, could operate under the seas for months, without having to surface. 

And the safety of nuclear power was proved. 

So remember this day, and reflect on the importance of scientific and technological development to this nation's progress and defense.

January 10, 2015       Permalink

HERO – AT 10:56 A.M. ET:  Occasionally we get a college professor, or even a retired college professor, willing to reveal corruption in the academic world.  We have waited, usually in vain, for academics to demand higher standards in the study of "climate change."  We have a new hero, although a retired one.  He must be heard.  From College Fix:   

While much of the debate over climate change surrounds whether or not it is occurring, one glaciologist and retired professor says the real issue is that the topic is being used as a political pawn to siphon money and votes.

Dr. Terry Hughes, in an interview with The College Fix, said researchers want to keep federal funding for climate change alive, and politicians want to earn environmentalist votes, and both predict global pandemonium to that end.

Hughes, a professor emeritus of earth sciences and climate change at the University of Maine, said for years his colleagues urged him to be in lockstep with former Vice President Al Gore – “the drum major in the parade denouncing global warming as an unmitigated disaster,” he told The College Fix.

But Hughes – who believes global warming is actually a good thing because more carbon dioxide is good for the environment in many ways – said he does not want to march to that beat.

“Too many (the majority) of climate research scientists are quite willing to prostitute their science by giving these politicians what they want,” he said.

Hughes – who worked for 35 years at the Department of Earth Sciences and the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine – said climate cycles overlap with election cycles, which helps politicians “get electoral visibility by pounding the panic drums.”

But what he wants people to understand is that climate change researchers and politicians collude to create fear of a disaster that will never happen.

"You will never read or hear any of this from the scientific and political establishments,” he said. “I’m now retired, so I have no scientific career to protect by spreading lies.”

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  There are plenty of people benefiting from the climate-change panic.  Some are "green energy" companies that produce little or no benefit.  Others are grant recipients. 

If a Republican becomes president in 2017, I hope he or she will impanel a presidential commission to look into the climate-change matter and determine 1) what we know; 2) what we don't know; and 3) what we need to know.  The global-warming "community" (I love that term) is asking for trillions of dollars to cure a problem that may actually not exist.  We'd like some unvarnished information.

January 10, 2015       Permalink

AFTERMATH – AT 10:31 AM. ET:  What will the impact of the days of terror in Paris be?  One possible impact is itself chilling – the recruiting of new fanatics.  From AP:

BEIRUT (AP) — The chatter spread like wildfire. Within minutes of news breaking about the deadly terror attack on a Paris newspaper this week, supporters of extremist Islamic groups extolled the suspects in the massacre as “lions of the caliphate” and praised the killings on social media.

Loyalists of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group alike described the assault on Charlie Hebdo’s offices that killed 12 people as revenge for the French satirical publication’s mockery of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and France’s military involvement in Muslim countries.

Brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi became icons in the terror-sphere.

Many terrorist supporters organized under the Arabic hashtag #Parisattack and #Parisisburning, with some calling the newspaper assault a holy attack by the “lions of the Khalifa,” or caliphate.

Over and over, Twitter users who identified with the Islamic State group or al-Qaeda posted pictures and videos of a black-clad gunman — presumably one of the brothers — shooting a French policeman in the head as he lay on a Paris sidewalk before fleeing the scene in a getaway car.

“Watch how a brother kills a French policeman,” some wrote. Others described the slaughter at Charlie Hebdo as a “heroic” and “joyous” event.

The Kouachi brothers’ military-style assault — and their death as “martyrs” in a hail of bullets on Friday after police raided the building where they had holed up with a hostage north of Paris — undoubtedly resonates with extremists’ repeated calls for attacks in France, echoing chilling images from their slick propaganda videos.

Though it is impossible to gauge in any tangible way the effect the attack will have on recruitment by extremist groups — and there is no evidence so far that it is mobilizing large numbers of would-be jihadis — experts believe the perceived professionalism of the brothers’ assault and their subsequent showdown with police could rally more supporters to jihadist ranks.

“It is that quality to such operations that helps recruitment,” said Aymenn al-Tamimi, a UK-based expert on Syrian and Iraqi extremist groups. The obviously well-planned attack in the heart of Paris serves “as an example to would-be operatives,” he said.

COMMENT:  Even if these Paris attacks recruit 100 jihadis, that is 100 too many.  Paris was terrorized by three or four operatives.  Imagine if three operatives attacked each of five American cities on the same day.  That's 15 operatives typing up New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas, to name five.  Imgine if 15 more did the same thing in five other cities the next day. 

The purpose of terror is to terrorize.  They're perfecting the techniques.

January 10,  2015     Permalink

JANUARY 9,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:01 P.M. ET:

INCREDIBLE – While Americans were riveted by the terror attacks in France, the president of the United States today still refused to use the term "Islamic terrorism."  In fact, he only made brief mention of the attacks, preferring to speak to audiences about his new proposal to provide free community-college educations for some students.  Nothing like a president with a sense of priority.

MITT? – We noted Jeb Bush's campaign launch a few days ago, and the fact that Mitt Romney wasn't doing much.  That has changed.  From WaPo:  "Mitt Romney forcefully declared his interest in a third presidential run to a room full of powerful Republican donors on Friday, disrupting the fluid 2016 GOP field as would-be rival Jeb Bush was moving swiftly to consolidate establishment support.  Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, has been mulling another campaign for several months, but his comments Friday mark a clear step forward in his thinking and come amid mounting tensions between the Romney and Bush camps."  Let them fight it out.  I have a gut feeling that the real emerging guy is Scott Walker, but that's just a feeling.

YIKES! – From The New York Times:  "The F.B.I. and Justice Department prosecutors have recommended bringing felony charges against retired Gen. David H. Petraeus for providing classified information to his former mistress while he was director of the C.I.A., officials said, leaving Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to decide whether to seek an indictment that could send the pre-eminent military officer of his generation to prison."  I would hope that Holder would decline to seek an indictment unless Petraeus's behavior was truly outrageous, which I seriously doubt.  The classified information, if the accusation is true at all, may well have been on a low level.  Petraeus has served his country well, and seeking an indictment can raise questions as to whether the charges have some political motivation.

THE OTHER SIDE SPEAKS – From The Times of India:  "MUMBAI: Two of three scientists at a session on climate change and society at the Indian Science Congress on Tuesday felt fears of man-made global warming were greatly exaggerated. Their presence at the conference was particularly significant in light of the current 'development-versus-environment' debates.  'While I agree that glaciers are melting because of global warming, if this is because of man, then what was the reason for the melting of the glaciers in the Gondwana period long before man arrived on the planet?' asked Dhruv Sen Singh, Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, University of Lucknow."  Yeah, lots of people finally asking questions like that.

January 9, 2015       Permalink

A WARNING – AT 10:19 A.M. ET:  We're getting a lot of terror warnings, and doing very little about them.  The president wants to talk about almost anything else.  From Reuters:   

(Reuters) - Al Qaeda militants in Syria are plotting attacks to inflict mass casualties in the West, possibly against transport systems or "iconic targets", the head of Britain's MI5 Security Service said on Thursday.

Speaking after gunmen killed 12 people in an assault on a French satirical newspaper, MI5 boss Andrew Parker warned a strike on the United Kingdom was highly likely.

"A group of core al Qaeda terrorists in Syria is planning mass casualty attacks against the West," Director General Parker said in a rare public speech at MI5 headquarters in London. His last public speech was in October 2013.

In the speech, planned before the killings in Paris, Parker said seasoned al Qaeda militants in Syria aimed to "cause large-scale loss of life, often by attacking transport systems or iconic targets" in the West.

Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people by attacking the United States with hijacked passenger planes on September 11, 2001. Militants inspired by the group killed 52 commuters in London on July 7, 2005 with suicide bombs.

COMMENT:  The world has a way of surprising American presidents.  Things are getting very tense all over, as we start to realize that the war on terror isn't over.  It's just starting.  This is a multigenerational conflict, as was the Cold War.  Someone tell the White House, and any number of college professors.

January 9, 2015       Permalink

BE CAREFUL! – AT 9:51 A.M. ET:  When Republicans start talking about tax increases, we'd better look with two eyes.   From The Hill: 

Record-low gas prices across the U.S. have given rise to fresh talk in Washington of raising the federal gas tax for the first time in over 20 years, with leading Republicans now saying a hike must not be ruled out.

The GOP has long resisted calls from business leaders and others to boost the 18.4 cent-per-gallon tax as a way to pay for upgrades to the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges.

Yet in recent days, senior Senate Republicans have said they want to keep options open and that "nothing is off the table" when weighing the best mechanisms to pay to finance infrastructure projects.

"I just think that option is there, it's clearly one of the options," said Sen. Inhofe (R-Okla.), new chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the third-ranking Senate Republican, also said they were open to the possibility of raising the tax.

Democratic leaders in both chambers of Congress, meanwhile, declared this week that “now is the time” for an increase.

While major obstacles stand in the way — namely the House of Representatives —business groups believe there is a real chance to raise the tax in the final two years of the Obama administration.

“Comments this week from Sens. Inhofe, Hatch and Thune signal a growing recognition that the gas tax is a fair and consistent way to fund our infrastructure needs,” Association of Equipment Manufacturers spokesman Michael O’Brien said in an interview on Thursday.

Democrats have typically been more open to the idea of hiking the gas tax, but it’s the shift in Republicans' tone that is drawing more attention to the possibility.

COMMENT:  Okay, taxes go for stuff we sometimes need.  These are the things I want to know:  If the tax is raised now, will it automatically be lowered if gas prices rise?  And...how can I be sure that the tax increase will go specifically to infrastructure spending?  How do I know that a good chunk won't be siphoned off for Democratic "social" programs that help no one except the people running the programs?

When those questions are answered, we'll talk.   I hope Republicans have enough spine to ask them.

January 9, 2015       Permalink

MORE ON PARIS – AT 9:12 A.M. ET:  This is Fox's latest.  There may be some repetition in these reports, but that's okay.  From Fox: 

Two people were reportedly dead in a second hostage situation in Paris, 25 miles south of a printing plant where police had the suspects Wednesday's massacre at a Paris satirical magazine holed up, authorities said.

The hostage takes in the second case, at a kosher grocery store in eastern Paris, were identified by police as Amedy Coulibaly and Hayat Boumeddiene, a couple suspected in the murder Thursday of Paris Police Officer Clarissa Jean-Philippe as she conducted a routine traffic accident in the city. Authorities believe the case is related to Wednesday's attack, which 12 people, including two cops, dead at the publication Charlie Hebdo, which has angered Muslim radicals by publishing images of Prophet Muhammed.

The Islamist brothers suspected of killing 12 people in an attack on a French satirical magazine were holding at least one hostage inside a printing house surrounded by police northeast of Paris Friday morning, and at least two people were reportedly dead in a separate, but likely related hostage situation in Paris.

Hundreds of French security forces backed by a convoy of ambulances streamed into Dammartin-en-Goele, a small industrial town 25 miles outside the capital in a massive operation to seize the men suspected of carrying out France's deadliest terror attack in 54 years. The suspects reportedly told police negotiators they were ready to "die as martyrs."

COMMENT:  Every American must be asking the same question this morning:  How long will it be before this happens here? 

We'll add a question:  When it does happen here, what will the reaction of Barack Hussein Obama Jr. be?  This hopeless administration still will not use the term "Islamic terrorism."

January 9, 2015        Permalink

CHAOS IN FRANCE – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  There is chaos in Paris this morning.  There are two hostage situations.  This is incomplete, from CNN:

Dammartin-en-Goele, France (CNN)Two intense standoffs with gunmen were underway in and around Paris early Friday afternoon -- one involving the two brothers wanted in the Charlie Hebdo massacre and the other a hostage situation at a kosher grocery store near eastern Paris' Porte de Vincennes.

It was not immediately known if the two situations were related, but both underscored France's nightmare and anti-terrorism fight.

UPDATE:  It is now believed the two are related.  The two perps in the grocery store are believed to have been involved in the fatal shooting of a policewoman yesterday, and, in turn, to be linked with the perpetrators of the attack on Charlie Hebdo.

The hostage situation spurred police anti-terror units and the French internal security directorate, known as the DGSI, to race to the scene in eastern Paris, the city's prosecutor's office said. Hostages were taken after a shooting there or nearby.

CNN affiliate France 2 aired live video of police tactical teams getting into position at the scene of the standoff.

Meanwhile, law enforcement officers had also surrounded a building about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast in the town Dammartin-en-Goele.

Authorities have expressed a high degree of certainty that they have surrounded the Kouachi brothers -- the suspects in Wednesday's killing of 12 people at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo -- in Dammartin-en-Goele, which is northeast of Paris and a few miles from Charles de Gaulle Airport. Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre Henri Brandet tweeted that it's not confirmed whether or not the brothers are holding anyone hostage.

COMMENT:  This is developing.  Both Fox and CNN are covering live, continuous.

January 9,  2015     Permalink