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NOVEMBER 29,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:49 P.M. ET:

WELL, HE WAS IN TOWN, SO WHY NOT? – From the Washington Examiner:  In Paris for the international climate summit, President Obama made a surprise stop to the Bataclan concert hall early Monday morning, Paris time.  He was accompanied by French President Francois Hollande and the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.  All three of them laid white roses at the site, while saying nothing to nearby media. The streets near the site were deserted, and the trip had been planned for a few days, but kept secret, according to Agence France-Presse.   Obama should have made this pilgrimage right after the attacks, when he was in Turkey.  It wouldn't have been a long side trip.  This is too little, too late.

IMPORTANT, OR LAST GASP? – From Fox:   Chris Christie won a key endorsement Sunday from New Hampshire’s largest newspaper, another sign that the moderate Republican presidential candidate could perhaps win the GOP primary in the early-voting state.  “We doubt that too many people across New Hampshire have politics front and center right now,” wrote Union Leader publisher Joe McQuaid. “But in just 10 weeks, New Hampshire will make a choice that will profoundly affect our country and the world. We better get it right. … Our choice is Gov. Chris Christie.”  Political analysts have said that Christie could win New Hampshire, considering its voters' so-called “independent streak” and Christie’s ability to get elected and re-elected as governor in such a Democrat-leaning state as New Jersey.  “Christie is a solid, pro-life conservative who has managed to govern in liberal New Jersey, face down the big public unions, and win a second term,” McQuaid also wrote.  Christie won the primary endorsement despite struggling to break into the top tier of 2016 GOP candidates, even failing to qualify for the main-stage event in the last primary debate.  The Union Leader has influence, but I wonder if this isn't a bridge too far.  Christie has had many opportunities to prove himself to primary voters, and hasn't made much of an impression.

WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? – From London's Express: SCIENTISTS claim we are in for a decade-long freeze as the sun slows down solar activity by up to 60 per cent.  A team of European researchers have unveiled a scientific model showing that the Earth is likely to experience a “mini ice age” from 2030 to 2040 as a result of decreased solar activity.  Their findings will infuriate environmental campaigners who argue by 2030 we could be facing increased sea levels and flooding due to glacial melt at the poles.  I say let's not spend a red cent on this until 2035, 20 years from now, when we should know whether the global-warming panic has any legs to it, or is wrong and possibly a fraud.

November 29, 2015       Permalink

HEROINE – AT 12:51 P.M. ET:  Britain's Spectator has a fine piece about Judith Curry, a brave professor at Georgia Tech, who has taken on the "climate change" lobby.  The result, as she says, is being ostracized from her own profession.  She is considered a heretic.   In the Middle Ages she would have been burned at the stake.  But she is fighting on, and has a wonderful attitude: 

Curry’s independence has cost her dear. She began to be reviled after the 2009 ‘Climategate’ scandal, when leaked emails revealed that some scientists were fighting to suppress sceptical views. ‘I started saying that scientists should be more accountable, and I began to engage with sceptic bloggers. I thought that would calm the waters. Instead I was tossed out of the tribe. There’s no way I would have done this if I hadn’t been a tenured professor, fairly near the end of my career. If I were seeking a new job in the US academy, I’d be pretty much unemployable. I can still publish in the peer-reviewed journals. But there’s no way I could get a government research grant to do the research I want to do. Since then, I’ve stopped judging my career by these metrics. I’m doing what I do to stand up for science and to do the right thing.’

She remains optimistic that science will recover its equilibrium, and that the quasi-McCarthyite tide will recede: ‘I think that by 2030, temperatures will not have increased all that much. Maybe then there will be the funding to do the kind of research on natural variability that we need, to get the climate community motivated to look at things like the solar-climate connection.’ She even hopes that rational argument will find a place in the UN: ‘Maybe, too, there will be a closer interaction between the scientists, the economists and policymakers. Wouldn’t that be great?’

COMMENT:  It would be great, but Professor Curry may not fully understand the religious fanaticism of the left.  They're not interested in science.  They're interested in changing the way we live to conform to their idea of what is good.  They don't accept any other idea.

November 29, 2015       Permalink

THIS IS GETTING SERIOUS – AT 12:10 P.M. ET:  We reported yesterday that an upcoming UN report on Iran's past nuclear program would not come to definite conclusions as to whether Iran was pursuing a bomb.  Now, today, Iran is making ominous threats about this very issue.  From AFP: 

TEHRAN — Iran said Sunday there would be no final implementation of a nuclear deal with world powers unless a probe into allegations of past weapons research is closed.

The declaration, by a top security official, comes after the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said a report into the possible military dimensions of Iran’s activities would not be “black and white.”

Iran has always denied seeking to develop an atomic weapons capability, insisting its nuclear program is for peaceful energy production and medical purposes only.

Referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the July 14 agreement’s official name, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, said anything short of the watchdog’s probe being closed was unacceptable to Iran.

“Without the closure of the file regarding past issues, there is no possibility of implementing the JCPOA,” the official IRNA news agency reported him as saying.

COMMENT:  But if the UN shuts down that probe, we're flying blind as to where Iran stands with nuclear knowledge.  I hope the negotiating powers stand firm, but I doubt they will.  Field Marshal Obama will probably figure out a "compromise," which will be in Iran's favor.

November 29, 2015       Permalink

OH MY , HOW THEY LIE – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  Lying in Hollywood is routine.  You don't lie, you don't play.  But sometimes the lies are truly embarrassing.  From the New York Post: 

It’s “Pulp Fiction,” all right.

Quentin Tarantino — under fire for recent comments about police violence — has claimed for decades that, as a young man, he served time in a Los Angeles County jail.

One problem: The LA County Sheriff’s Department has no record of the filmmaker ever being in its system. At The Post’s request, the department searched its files back through the 1980s, when, according to Tarantino, he would have been incarcerated.

“A check of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department jail records revealed no evidence that Mr. Tarantino was ever incarcerated in our jail system,” said Capt. Christopher Reed of the Sheriff’s Office.

Tarantino used to tell the story as evidence of his outlaw bona fides. But on a recent episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Tarantino, now 52, recounted it again to claim solidarity with police protesters — that he understands what it means to be frightened of cops.

“Back when I was in my 20s and broke, I was a little scared of the cops, all right?” Tarantino told ­Maher. “And oftentimes, I had warrants out on me for traffic stuff that I never took care of and everything . . . I’d get stopped, and I’d have to do eight days in county jail.”

COMMENT:  Hillary will advise him to say, "At this point, what does it matter?"  Perfectly good answer.  If it worked for Hillary, it should work for Quentin.

November 29,  2015     Permalink

NOVEMBER 28,  2015

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

QUOTE OF THE DAY – From the Daily Caller:  “If Churchill were on Twitter today, he would be shouting against this deal with Iran and saying that this is the second most unwise thing we have ever done, the first being allowing Hitler to rise,” Sir Winston Churchill’s great-grandson Jonathan Sandys tells The Daily Caller. “And he would be warning the world to sit up and wake up.”  The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action adopted by the United States, United Kingdom, China, France, the Russian Federation, and Germany with the Islamic Republic of Iran gives the sworn enemy of Israel the privilege of doing business with the U.S. provided they promise to tame their nuclear program. Implementation begins in early 2016.  Iran has never formally accepted the agreement.  The hardliners oppose it.  We have no guarantee that Iran will carry out its end of the bargain.  However, the Obamans and their princes of appeasement will probably "interpret" Iran's actions favorably, letting the agreement go forward.  We're saying to our children, "You deal with this."

HONORED MEMORY – From Fox:  The officer killed in the shooting Friday at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic had lived a life devoted to his job, his family and his Christian faith, according to his friends.  The body of the fallen University of Colorado at Colorado Springs officer Garrett Swasey was transported from the crime scene to the El Paso County Coroner’s office early Saturday, accompanied on the snowy 10-mile trip by a long line of police vehicles.   Officers who participated told KRDO-TV they wanted to honor Swasey, 44, who left behind a wife and two young children.  Swasey was killed as cops exchanged gunfire with 57-year-old suspect Robert Dear during a five-hour standoff Friday at the clinic Planned Parenthood runs in Colorado Springs. Dear, of Hartsel, Colo., later surrendered to police. His life mattered.  And of course the Planned Parenthood crowd, including Hillary Clinton, has already tried to politicize the tragedy by suggesting it was an attack on Planned Parenthood.  No evidence of that thus far.

THE SHOOTER – This refers to the post just above.  From London's Daily Mail:  The man accused of the Planned Parenthood massacre spent the last year living in an isolated shack and rarely spoke to anyone, it has been revealed.  Robert Dear, 57, moved from North Carolina to Colorado and set up home in an area where people 'like to be by themselves'.  But he never gave any hint of any political views when he ate his meals at the only cafe in the isolated town of Hartsel, eight miles from his remote cabin.  Dear is due to be arraigned on Monday over the deaths of three people at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.  Sounds lie a nutjob, and little else.  What a tragedy for the families affected.  Did mental-health agencies ever check on this guy?

November 28, 2015       Permalink

NOTHING TO SEE; THIS IS SO LAST MONTH – AT 12:38 P.M. ET:   Remember Iran?  There's still this matter of the Iran nuclear deal, which depends on rigorous inspections.  Not going so well, we think.   From Reuters: 

VIENNA A U.N. report on whether Iran has in the past carried out work related to nuclear weapons will not reach a definitive conclusion on the subject, the chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday.

The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is required under a landmark deal between major powers and Iran, which provides for a lifting of sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.

A clear verdict that weapons-related work occurred would have made it difficult for the deal to proceed, but diplomats have said for weeks that they do not expect the report to be clear-cut, which IAEA chief Yukiya Amano confirmed on Thursday.

"The report will not be black and white," Amano told a news conference when asked about the final assessment of possible military dimensions, or PMD, file which is due next week.

In November 2011, the IAEA issued an annex to a regular report on Iran, listing twelve issues which could indicate Iran might have had a nuclear weapons program.

Iran denies these allegations, but the IAEA, which says it takes no information at face value, has described the intelligence from its member states which formed the basis of the PMD file as "overall credible".

COMMENT:  Sounds awfully vague, and very political, to me.  The powers that be want this deal to proceed.  Some will adjust their "conclusions" accordingly.  It is Obama's crowning "achievement" in foreign policy, even though it may not achieve anything.  The next president will have to look at this very closely, if he or she wants to prevent a catastrophe.

November 28, 2015       Permalink

TRUMP SLIPS – AT 9:46 A.M. ET:  After a series of gaffes, Donald Trump slipped in the Reuters daily tracking poll.  

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump's support among Republicans has dropped 12 points in less than a week, marking the real estate mogul's biggest decline since he vaulted to the top of the field in July, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Trump was the favorite of 31 percent of Republicans in a rolling poll in the five days ended on Nov. 27. That was down from a peak of 43 percent registered on Nov. 22.

The dip follows criticism of Trump for comments he made in the aftermath of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more.

Following the attacks, Trump told an NBC News reporter that he would support requiring all Muslims within the United States to be registered to a special database, which his critics have likened to the mandatory registration of Jews in Nazi Germany.

Trump has also been criticized for flailing his arms and distorting his speech as he mocked a New York Times reporter, Serge Kovaleski, who is disabled.

Trump mocked the reporter as he defended his unsubstantiated assertion that during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, he watched on television as "thousands and thousands" of people in New Jersey cheered while the World Trade Center fell.

Still, Trump is not the only front-runner to slide in the latest survey.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has seen his poll numbers drift downward and now trails Trump by more than half, with just 15 percent of Republicans polled saying they would vote for him in the same Nov. 27 poll. As recently as late October, Carson trailed Trump by only six points.

Following Carson, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Texas Senator Ted Cruz are tied for third place, with more than 8 percent each.

COMMENT:  And yet, Trump is still the frontrunner by quite a bit.  He is still seen as the rebel candidate, and his coarseness hasn't destroyed him.

I'm hoping that the "insider" group, currently represented by Cruz and Rubio, will eventually come down to one of the two, to take on Trump for the nomination.  That will be the key battle.

As we've noted before, there is a real possibility of a brokered convention, which would be terribly exciting, and possibly result in a nominee who's not even running.   High electricity coming.

November 28, 2015       Permalink

A PRANK, OR SOMETHING OMINOUS – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  Some disturbing "art work" has been found on airliners...in France.  From London's Express: 

AIRLINE officials have launched an investigation after Arabic graffiti was found daubed on planes in France.

The graffiti was found covering fuel tanks of four easyJet planes at airports which cannot be named for security reasons.

The probe comes two weeks after 130 people were killed by twisted Islamic State terrorists in co-ordinated attacks across Paris.

Airports in the capital have tightened security since the horrific shootings and bombings amid fears of follow-up attacks.

Airline security expert Philip Baum said: "Graffiti in itself won't hurt anybody.

"But the ability of anyone to place a prohibited item near fuel tanks is a concern, of course."

He added: "We know there are people working in restricted areas of airports with extremist sympathies."

COMMENT:  They know?  Is anything being done about those with extremist sympathies, or would that be considered "Islamophobia"?

I find the report chilling.  The extremists will not yield.  And we're now seeing the expected left-wing backlash against strong action toward ISIS building in the West.  A major leftist demonstration is already scheduled for London.  The left, too, being a religion, will not yield.

There was a time when leadership was provided by the United States.  That time is gone, at least temporarily.  Today we have a pro-Islam president with little regard for his own country.   He'll be with us for another year and two months.  No leadership.

November 28,  2015     Permalink