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MAY 27,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:57 P.M. ET: 

FINALLY – From AP:  "MIAMI (AP) -- President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the relatively short amount of time he has left in office 'really concentrates the mind.'  For the first time.

GOOD IDEA? – From The Hill:  "Nebraska abolished its death penalty Wednesday after a political standoff over the use of capital punishment in the Cornhusker State.  Lawmakers in the unicameral Legislature voted 30-19 to override a veto issued by Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) over their initial legislation ending the practice.  The landmark vote makes Nebraska the first traditionally red state to eliminate the death penalty since 1973, according to the ABC News affiliate in Omaha.  Nebraska now joins 18 other states and Washington, D.C., in banning executions."  One can argue the case either way, but at least this was done by a state legislature, and not some unaccountable court. 

PROFOUND – After the U.S. Justice Department announced indictments of major soccer officials of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), The New York Times ran an editorial headlined
FIFA’s Corruption Stains World Soccer.  We express appreciation to The Times for its deep insight.

OUT OF HIS MIND – From AP:   "WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul is blaming his own party for the rise of the Islamic State group.  The freshman senator from Kentucky said Wednesday that the GOP's foreign policy hawks 'created these people.' That assertion led potential 2016 rival Bobby Jindal, Louisiana's governor, to say Paul was unqualified to be president.  The Islamic State group, commonly referred to as ISIS, has seized one-third of Iraq and Syria and in recent days made gains in central Iraq.  'ISIS exists and grew stronger because of the hawks in our party who gave arms indiscriminately,' Paul said on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.' He continued: 'They created these people. ISIS is all over Libya because these same hawks in my party loved — they loved Hillary Clinton's war in Libya. They just wanted more of it.'"  For months Rand Paul tried to separate himself from the extreme foreign-policy views of his father.  Now he's moving closer to dad.  I think that, from here on, he'll be seen as the fringe candidate that he really is.  He and his father use the Republican Party, but are not really part of it.  ISIS was created by an extreme ideology, not by John McCain.

May 27, 2015       Permalink

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. WOUK – AT 8:31 A.M. ET:  Today is the 100th birthday of Herman Wouk, one of the best of the quality popular novelists of post-World War II America.   He is still with us, and will soon publish a memoir. 

When I was growing up, Herman Wouk was a literary giant.  His novel, "The Caine Mutiny," won the Pulitzer Prize.  Its main character, an eccentric Navy destroyer-minesweeper captain, was played on film by Humphrey Bogart, in one of his last performances.  "Caine Mutiny" introduced the term "paranoid schizophrenia" into the popular vocabulary, and remains one of the best novels of World War II. 

"Marjorie Morningstar" became the great American love story of the 1950s.  Although based on the coming-of-age of a Jewish girl in New York in the thirties, its themes were universal, and it was read and loved throughout the country.  Some colleges use it in literature classes.  Marjorie was immortalized on screen by Natalie Wood. 

In 1983 we were treated to a wonderful miniseries, "The Winds of War," from another of Wouk's World War II novels.  It starred Robert Mitchum in one of his few television roles.     

Wouk has always been a patriot, a man who believes in America and in defending the nation he believes in.  He also believes in tradition and religion, and understands their importance in the life of a nation and a family.  For these beliefs, of course, he has been somewhat marginalized by the literary "sophisticates" of the last 30 years or so.   But they cannot take away Herman Wouk's contribution.  From Lieutenant Commander Philip Queeg's rolling of steel marbles in his nervous hands in "Caine Mutiny," to Marjorie Morningstar's pursuit of, and abandonment of, her dreams, we remember the images that Herman Wouk created to make the great American story. 

May 27, 2015       Permalink

NEW WORLD OF ELECTRONIC WEAPONS – AT 8:24 A.M. ET:   It's remarkable.  But if we have this, it won't take long for others to have it.  From London's Daily Mail:

From Ocean's Eleven to Star Trek, weapons that wipe out enemy electronics are a staple of science fiction films.

For years, scientists have been attempting to create such a weapon as part of Champ, or the Counter-electronics High-powered microwave Advanced Missile Project.

Now, the US Air Force claims it has advanced the technology, and says it can deploy it using the stealthy Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM).

According to Foxtrot Alpha, once integrated into JASSM, Champ will be a 'first day of war' standoff weapon.

Because it can be launched by both bombers and fighters, Lockheed's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, is an ideal platform for Champ.

'The capability is real … and the technology can be available today,' said Major General Thomas Masiello, the Air Force Research Laboratory.

'That's an operational system already in our tactical air force'

In 2012, aircraft manufacturer Boeing successfully tested the weapon on a one-hour flight during which it knocked out the computers of an entire military compound.

During Boeing's experiment, the missile flew low over the Utah Test and Training Range, discharging electromagnetic pulses on to seven targets, permanently shutting down their electronics.

COMMENT:  This reminds us of articles warning of an EMP (electronic magnetic pulse) attack on the United States, which would require a nuclear weapon to be set off high above our country.  The explosion's electronic pulses would, theoretically, destroy the electronics that run electric generating stations, hospitals, communications networks, trains, airliners, and commercial offices. 

It now appears, from the weapon described above, that miniature EMP attacks could be launched closer to the ground, using missiles or perhaps low-flying aircraft, without setting off a nuclear weapon. 

We have, as an advanced country, become almost completely dependent on electronics.  A successful EMP attack, or a series of strategically placed mini attacks, could paralyze the nation for days, weeks, or months.  Some say that a massive EMP attack could kill millions because food, water and fuel supplies could be cut off and emergency services brought to a halt.

Maybe digging that self-contained shelter, with supplies and protected generators, isn't so nutty after all.

May 27, 2015       Permalink

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER SCANDAL – AT 8:14 A.M. ET:  Why don't we just say that the Clintons are a public embarrassment, and that the election of Hillary Clinton would raise questions about the moral values of the American people.  From Fox: 

The newly released financial files on Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton's growing fortune omit a company with no apparent employees or assets that the former president has legally used to provide consulting and other services, but which demonstrates the complexity of the family's finances.

Because the company, WJC, LLC, has no financial assets, Hillary Clinton's campaign was not obligated to report its existence in her recent financial disclosure report, officials with Bill Clinton's private office and the Clinton campaign said. They were responding to questions by The Associated Press, which reviewed corporate documents.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide private details of the former president's finances on the record, said the entity was a "pass-through" company designed to channel payments to the former president.

Under federal ethics disclosure rules, declared candidates do not have to report assets worth less than $1,000. But the company's existence demonstrates the complexity of tracking the Clintons' finances as Hillary Clinton ramps up her presidential bid.

While Bill Clinton's lucrative speeches have provided the bulk of the couple's income, earning as much as $50 million during his wife's four-year term as secretary of state in the Obama administration, the former president has also sought to branch out into other business activities in recent years. Little is known about the exact nature and financial worth of Bill Clinton's non-speech business interests.

COMMENT:  And the worst part is that some of the untrackable money may come from foreign enemies of the United States.  And who is backing these "business activities"?

It's hard to believe that America would elect a president like Hillary Clinton, with so many ethics clouds hanging over her and her husband.  But, of course, America elected Barack Obama, who had no visible qualifications for the job.

May 27, 2015       Permalink 

ISIS ACES SOCIAL MEDIA – AT 8:03 A.M. ET:  American intelligence operatives are being overwhelmed by ISIS's use of social media.  The implications are serious.  From Fox: 

U.S. investigators are becoming overwhelmed trying to keep up with the social media barrage by U.S.-based supporters of the Islamic State -- with the latest information suggesting "US military bases, locations, and events could be targeted in the near-term."

The warning comes in a new, six-page bulletin obtained exclusively by Fox News. It warns law enforcement and specifically military personnel to be vigilant during upcoming national holidays and military events due to the "heightened threat of attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)."

Sent one day before the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the joint bulletin -- from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center -- advised there is no "credible" threat information targeting events on U.S. federal holidays. But it said, "we are aware of recent information suggesting US military bases, locations, and events could be targeted in the near-term."

While the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have given generic warnings in the past, this bulletin spelled out the heightened chatter and advised precautions that should be taken. The list of "observable behaviors" also points to so-called insider threats, and warns about individuals asking "unusual questions" about building maintenance or security procedures.

Importantly, it speaks to the sheer volume of social media activity by pro-ISIS users, and the challenge that poses for analysts and investigators.

COMMENT:  A few years ago not many people had heard of ISIS.  Now the group controls large land areas in the Mideast and is clearly threatening the United States.  It's easy to dismiss it as nuts, but it isn't.  ISIS operates carefully, and with a full understanding of modern media and its impact.  With its viciousness it is very intimidating.  More frightening than Al Qaeda.

May 27,  2015     Permalink

MAY 26,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 6:04 P.M. ET: 

IRAN DEAL DELAYED? – From AP:  "France’s ambassador to the US said Tuesday that world powers and Iran will probably miss an end-of-June deadline for a comprehensive nuclear agreement, as his German and British counterparts warned the sanctions against Tehran could crumble if no deal was reached.  Gerard Araud said it’s 'very likely' there will be no deal in the next five weeks, or even afterward.  He said much technical work remains, meaning any understanding reached could just be 'fuzzy air.'"  The Iranians really have us.  As each week goes by without an agreement, they will do what they wish in terms of developing nuclear weapons.  Yet, if we sign a week agreement, the only kind the Iranians will allow, it will provide a route for them to have the bomb anyway.  Nice going, Barack.

THE PARTY LINE – We reported this morning on the carnage in both Chicago and Baltimore over the Memorial Day weekend.  Together, the cities accounted for 21 homicides.  Now Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced, apparently after deep thought, that what Chicago needs to stem the violence is...more gun control.  The city already has some of the most stringent gun laws in the country, but they haven't done a thing to control the violence.  Of course, as usual, the people who pulled the trigger are never blamed.  That would be insensitive to the "community."

MOGUL NEWS – From CNN:  "A new billionaire was created almost every week in China in the first quarter of 2015, according to a report by UBS and PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Wealth creation is booming for the Chinese -- supported by strong economic growth and robust capital markets -- and it's all happened in the last 15 years, said Francis Liu, a managing director at UBS Wealth Management.  They're primarily pulling in the big bucks from real estate, technology, healthcare and other consumer industries, he said.  In 2014, there were about 200 billionaires in China, versus 570 in the U.S., according to UBS."  I'm glad we're still ahead in something.

MORE MOGUL NEWS – From the College Fix:  "Arizona State University gave $500,000 to the Clinton Foundation for hosting a Clinton Global Initiative University event on the Tempe campus in 2014, The Arizona Republic reports.  Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton all headlined the three-day meeting, which encourages student attendees to pledge themselves to causes such as education, climate change, human rights, poverty, and public health, the initiative’s website states.  'Student attendees had the opportunity to attend … working sessions and other special events covering topics across CGI U’s five focus areas and allowing them to network with their peers, build skills, and identify potential partnerships,' the initiative’s website states. 'Youth organizations, topic experts, and celebrities joined students at the CGI U meeting to help them gain the skills and knowledge needed to take action.'  ASU spokesman Mark Johnson told The Arizona Republic in an e-mailed statement that the money used to pay for the event did not come from publicly funded coffers, but rather other parts of the university’s budget, such as tuition, private donations and grants."  I'm sure the students paying their parents' incomes in tuition are just thrilled at this use of funds.  That $500,000 would have paid for 50 students getting $10,000 merit scholarships.

May 26, 2015       Permalink

UTTERLY CHILLING – AT 11:47 A.M. ET:   This is an expansion of our earlier report of claims by ISIS that it could soon acquire a nuclear weapon from Pakistan.  The additional detail is chilling.  There is no independent reporting to back up these claims, but, given the history of ISIS, I'd take the claims very seriously.  From PressTV of Iran: 

The ISIL terrorist group claims that it has enough money to buy a nuclear weapon from Pakistan and carry out an attack inside the United States next year.

The group said in an article in its English-language online magazine Dabiq that the weapon could be smuggled into the United States via its southern border with Mexico.

British journalist John Cantlie wrote in the article ISIL “has billions of dollars in the bank, so they call on their wilayah (Province) in Pakistan to purchase a nuclear device through weapons dealers with links to corrupt officials in the region.”

“The weapon is then transported overland until it makes it to Libya, where the mujahidin move it south to Nigeria,” the journalist said.

He added that “drug shipments from Columbia bound for Europe pass through West Africa, so moving other types of contraband from East to West is just as possible.”

Cantlie continued the weapon and accompanying radicals would then move up through Central America and Mexico before entering the US.

"From there it's a quick hop through a smuggling tunnel and hey presto, they're mingling with another 12 million 'illegal' aliens in America with a nuclear bomb in the trunk," he wrote.

"Perhaps such a scenario is far-fetched but it's the sum of all fears for Western intelligence agencies and it's infinitely more possible today than it was just one year ago,” Cantlie said.

Cantlie is a photojournalist who was abducted in Syria by ISIL in November 2012. He has appeared in several videos since his abduction and criticized Western powers.

COMMENT:  Nice, huh?  And yes, despite the propagandistic tone of the article, it is more realistic today than last year.  And in five years it will be very realistic. 

But still, our borders are porous, and we have a president who is indifferent at best.

May 26, 2015       Permalink

JAPAN GETS READY – AT 10:21 A.M. ET:  For decades Japan tried to avoid greater involvement in military affairs.  With the rise of China and the weakening of America, that is no longer possible.  Japan is now rising, once more, as a military power, although it remains discreet in its public acknowledgment of the change.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Japan will join a major U.S.-Australian military exercise for the first time in a sign of growing security links between the three countries as tensions fester over China’s island building in the South China Sea.

While only 40 Japanese officers and soldiers will take part in drills involving 30,000 U.S. and Australian troops in early July, experts said the move showed how Washington wanted to foster cooperation among its security allies in Asia.

The Talisman Sabre biennial exercises, to be held in locations around Australia, will encompass maritime operations, amphibious landings, special forces tactics and urban warfare.

“I think the U.S. is trying to get its allies to do more,” said Euan Graham, director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute in Sydney.

“There is an obvious symmetry between Japan as the upper anchor of the Western Pacific alliance and … Australia as the southern anchor.”

All three nations have said they were concerned about freedom of movement through the seas and air in the disputed South China Sea, where China is creating seven artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago, a vital shipping corridor.

COMMENT:   This year Japan will place in service a large helicopter carrier.  It is expanding its submarine fleet.  Some expansion of its military may require changes in the constitution of the country, imposed on Japan after World War II to prevent it from becoming a threatening power again. 

May 26, 2015       Permalink

AIR FORCE WARNING – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  I guess this member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will get in trouble, but we're grateful for his warning.  From Fox: 

Will US continue to have air superiority over its enemies?

In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Gen. Mark Welsh, the head of the U.S. Air Force, warns that severe defense budget cuts will impact U.S. air superiority against enemies that the nation may not be thinking about right now.

“China and Russia are two good examples of countries who will be fielding capability in the next three to five years; if they stay on track, that is better than what we currently have in many areas,” Welsh said during a three-day visit to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

“Fighter aircraft in the next three to five years that have more capability than what we currently have sitting on the ramp. The F-35 will stay a generation ahead of them. F-22 will, too. Everything else we have will not stay ahead. The gap has closed.”

And...

“By 8 to 10 years from now, we could be facing as many as 50 countries who use Russian and Chinese top-end fighters today,” Welsh said. When asked how much of Russia and China’s innovations in fighter jet technology is based on stolen U.S. technology, Welsh just smiled.

"When you look at pictures you go, ‘man -- that looks familiar,’" Welsh said during the interview with Fox.

And budget cuts have trimmed more than planes.

“We are 200,000 people fewer in the active component. That's 40 percent less than we were during the first Gulf War. It's a dramatically different Air Force," Welsh explained.

“We have to stop this drawdown and build a red line right now in the size of the active force.”

COMMENT:  The numbers are scary.  They reflect the general weakening of this country in many areas.

If Democrats win the White House again, the weakening will continue.  Those who control the Democratic Party want to see defense cut to the bone, the money shifted into "social programs" that rarely work.  And I must point to Republicans here as well.  A disturbing number of Congressional Republicans seem to be remarkably indifferent to our weakening defense, focusing instead on budget cuts and tax policy.  The age of Reagan is fading.

May 26, 2015       Permalink

A WEEKEND – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  It was a Memorial Day weekend for most of us, but Silvio Canto Jr. refers us to news dispatches showing that, in Chicago and Baltimore, it was a weekend of the usual combat.  From CBS Chicago: 

Twelve people were killed and at least 43 — including a 4-year-old girl — were wounded in shootings across Chicago this Memorial Day weekend, police said.

The 4-year-old, identified by her family as Jacele Johnson, was shot about 8 p.m. Friday in the West Englewood neighborhood. She and her 17-year-old cousin Romare Wilson were inside an SUV in the 7000 block of South Justine when another vehicle pulled up and someone inside opened fire, according to their family and Chicago Police.

The girl was shot in the head and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition, authorities said. She has since been upgraded to fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said Monday morning.

The teen was shot in the chest and grazed by a bullet in the neck. He was in serious condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. A 15-year-old girl standing on a sidewalk nearby was shot in the forehead and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where her condition stabilized, police said.

The weekend’s most recent fatal shooting happened Monday night in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side, police said. About 7:50 p.m., a 17-year-old boy was shot in the back and the leg in the 4900 block of West Erie, police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died. The Cook County medical examiner’s office could not confirm the death Monday night.

And from CBS Baltimore: 

BALTIMORE (WJZ) – It’s the deadliest month Baltimore has seen in more than 15 years. More than two dozen shootings over the holiday weekend alone have city police working around the clock.

Now, leaders hope community members come forward to help stop the violence.

From West Baltimore, to the East Side, Govans, to Reservoir Hill–a spike in weekend violence is plaguing all parts of the city. Over the Memorial Day Weekend alone– city police report 28 shootings and 9 homicides.

Baltimore Police say they responded to 6 shootings on Friday night, 7 on Saturday, 5 on Sunday and 10 by night fall on Monday.

One of those include a double shooting in which a 9-year-old boy was found shot in the leg and a man who suffered a grazed wound to his head.

COMMENT:  Where is the passion?  Where is the anger?  Despite the news media's trying to avoid the issue of race, it's obvious from other sources that these are largely, possibly completely, black-on-black crimes, leaving innocent African-American children dead in the streets.

Perhaps the attorney-general of the United States will demonstrate some interest.

Maybe the mayor of Baltimore, who shot off her mouth regularly over the recent police incident, might take some action.

I thought black lives mattered.  They apparently matter only when they're politically useful.  It is a typical approach of the political left – a human being is only a political object.  Recall please the slogan, "The personal is political."  You're seeing it played out.

May 26,  2015     Permalink