In Anticipation Of Tonight's Debate, An Essay That Deserves To Go Viral

These are busy busy days for  OS, with little time to read, much less write.

However, this essay merits attention, as we limp down the home stretch of a dispiriting political season.

What, one may ask, does the account of this particular obscure 20th-Century monster have to do with the situation we now confront?

In a word, everything.

Our President, and those around him, and those around them, all arrive to us from an academic and intellectual universe that deliberately turns the blind eye to atrocities committed in the name of Progress. Historical Necessity, you know. 

It's all so very polite, well-dressed, well-spoken, tweedy-jacket and sensible hairstyles for both genders. White wine, aged cheese, gossip over who will and won't be granted tenure.

It lionizes people like Castro, Chavez, Che, Arafat, Mugabe, Eva Peron, even Ken Philby wasn't that bad a chap.  He had his reasons, and he was sincere in his feelings as he created all that havoc. One must understand these things, you know.

That horrible man Mr. Solzhenitsyn, well he just doesn't exist. The cheek of him, saying all those things at Harvard after we had honored him so. 

He'll not be invited back, Nobel Prize or no. What was the committee thinking?

Ideas have consequences, and ideologies produce outcomes.

OS asks one thing of his readers. Consider the consequences and outcomes, historically, of the ideas and ideologies promoted by this present administration.

Then, go vote--early--as OS has a premonition of chaos engendered at the polling places of America on Election Day.

While The World Chatters About Obama And Greece, Israel's Credit Rating Goes UP

It's too good not to mention on a Friday.

International credit rating agency Standard & Poor's announced on Friday that it has raised Israel's credit rating from A to A+. The company said that the decision reflects the government's responsible economic policy. Company officials said they do not believe the national budget will explode despite the mass social justice protests demanding reformed economic policies. Standard & Poor's is the same company which, in August, lowered the credit rating of the United States.

The news is full of Greece's meltdown--how'd you like to have to borrow money at 80% interest for one year, just to keep the lights on?

Lots of chatter about Himself, including this bit from Doug Mataconis, who is no fire-breathing conservative.

The mosques in Syria will conclude services in a few minutes, and the bloodshed will pick up where it left off last Friday after prayers and wing-nut sermons, and more mothers will bury more of their children on Sunday. Nothing new here.

Libya is now being divided up amongst its various tribal warlords, including some very interesting-looking jihadist types. Are we surprised? Egypt is choatic, no news here. Gold is spiking, as is silver, but OS has decided to get out of the way of all the oncoming freight trains proceeding through the tunnel in his direction.

The world is so busy chattering about the turmoil, that they will barely notice this nugget of good news. The logical question is, of course, 'What are the Israelis doing right that we aren't?' it's a dangerous question, but it is the logical question.

The weather is lovely. The migration of mourning doves from points north has begun, and OS is cheerily leaving them cracked corn in abundance, to welcome them back. There is a very nice roosting area on an abandoned farm property behind OS's house, and ponds, and gravel roads for craw.

OS played a fun round with an old friend at an unfamiliar course yesterday. Luckily, his order of new golf balls was in his mailbox when he returned home. It's the weekend. OS has time, Mrs. OS, a few things to get done, and an immense sense of gratitude for his life. He will be looking for Israeli bond funds during the day, though.

Zero, Zilch, Nada, Jobs Created In August--Likely Jobs Lost--Please, No More Blather About 'Jobs Saved Or Gained'

It's September 1, 2011. Obama took office two years eight months ago, plus a few days.

It's his economy, not Bush's.

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, today:

Nonfarm payroll employment was unchanged (0) in August, and the unemployment
rate held at 9.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Employment in most major industries changed little over the month. Health
care continued to add jobs, and a decline in information employment reflected
a strike. Government employment continued to trend down, despite the return
of workers from a partial government shutdown in Minnesota.

Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons, at 14.0 million, was essentially unchanged
in August, and the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent. The rate has shown
little change since April. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (8.9
percent), adult women (8.0 percent), teenagers (25.4 percent), whites
(8.0 percent), blacks (16.7 percent), and Hispanics (11.3 percent) showed
little or no change in August. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.1 percent,
not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was
about unchanged at 6.0 million in August and accounted for 42.9 percent of the
unemployed. (See table A-12.)

The labor force rose to 153.6 million in August. Both the civilian labor force
participation rate, at 64.0 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at
58.2 percent, were little changed. (See table A-1.)

Oh, by the way, the final paragraph of the report shares this gem with us:

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised from
+46,000 to +20,000, and the change for July was revised from +117,000 to
+85,000.

20/46 is....43%. Thus that was a 57% miss on the estimate.
85/117 is...72%. Thus that was a 38% miss on the estimate.

There are people who went out and bought stocks based on those 'estimates'-- damn ya'll, there was euphoria in July!

November 2012 cannot arrive too quickly.

Boehner Reminds The One That The Grownups Are In Charge Of The House

The Obama White House is run by hustlers, pure and simple. John Boehner won't be rolled on this one. Read and enjoy. No comment needed.

While We're Being Lectured By The Mexicans About Our Poor Treatment Of Illegal Aliens...

This little gift arrives on the door-step:

According to Mexico’s Center for Human Rights of Migrants (CNDH), Mexico operates on a double standard in regards to the treatment of undocumented migrants. In a communique issued from Cd. Juarez, the organization pointed out that while the Mexican government demands respect for their countrymen in the US, it violates the human rights of Central and South Americans in Mexico. In reference to the recent massacre of 72 people in Tamaulipas, what happened there is only a reflection of the vulnerability of migrants in Mexico. Just this past May, they point out, the United Nation’s Human Rights Council expressed surprise at the growing xenophobia, aggressions, tortures, anti-migrant laws and even murders suffered by undocumented Central and South Americans in their transit through Mexican territory.

One of the most serious problems facing migrants in Mexico today is kidnapping. The CNDH documented the kidnapping of 9,758 undocumented migrants in Mexico between September 2008 and February 2009, more than 1,600 per month. The report also warned that the kidnapping of migrants has become a common practice, usually unpunished and with acts of extreme cruelty, carried out as much by the authorities as by organized crime. The crime is very lucrative. In the total number of cases cited above, the take in those six months was approximately 25 million US dollars.

Did you catch that clause in the last line?

'...carried out as much by the authorities as by organized crime.'

'...carried out as much by the authorities as by organized crime.'

'...carried out as much by the authorities as by organized crime.'

And the Obama administration is pursuing Arizona instead of the Mexicans?


HT M3 Report.

If You Pull Demand Forward....It Falls Down Later: July House Sale Numbers

It's breathtaking to watch ThePeopleInChargeOfSuchThings commit such obvious knucklehead mistakes.

If you bribe people 8K to buy houses, and then stop bribing them, they'll stop buying.

This is a bit like watching a train wreck from a distance. One can jump up and down, wave the arms and scream, but those two locomotives will meet on the same track, nonetheless.

This is about the culture, which shapes the economy. This approach to human behavior is destructive, of people, of culture, and of the economy at the last.

Heaven have mercy on us.

Hope And Change Tour Arrives In East Point, Georgia: The Rent Voucher Mob

30,000 people in East Point, Georgia (an area of Atlanta) showed up Wednesday to pick up an application 'for a chance to receive a government-subsidized apartment', according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Washington Times provides narrative of the event:

EAST POINT, GA. — About 20 people were taken to area hospitals after pushing and shoving broke out Wednesday at a strip mall parking lot filled with thousands of people lined up for an application to get on a federal housing aid waiting list, authorities said.

By the time the East Point Housing Authority began handing out applications to apply for a voucher to get help paying rent, a crowd of 30,000 people — three times the number expected — had gathered. The line wrapped around the strip mall where the distribution was to take place, authorities said.

"It was chaotic," said longtime community activist Sharon Owens. "People were pushing and shoving, hollering and yelling."

Fire department Deputy Chief William Ware said 42 people were treated onsite, mostly for heat-related problems. None of the patients taken to the hospital was believed to be in critical condition, Ware said Wednesday afternoon.

Fire, police and emergency medical personnel had been on hand for several days, with cooling stations and medical triage centers to help people cope with temperatures that topped 90 degrees.

Police had "all hands on deck" to deal with the crowd but no arrests were made, said police Chief Leander Robinson, who said the situation was "probably as orderly as it could be," given the number of people.

Not to be deterred, they are lining up again this morning, and the Atlanta paper picks up the story for us:

East Point residents began lining up to turn in Section 8 housing applications before daybreak Thursday, a day after a crowd of 30,000 mobbed a shopping center to pick up the forms.

On Wednesday, 30,000 people suffered through hours in the hot sun, angry flare-ups in the crowd and lots of frustration and confusion for a chance to receive a government-subsidized apartment.

The massive event sometimes descended into a chaotic mob scene filled with anger and impatience. Some 62 people needed medical attention and 20 of them were transported to a hospital, authorities said. A baby went into a seizure in the heat and was stabilized at a hospital. People were removed on stretchers and when a throng of people who had been waiting hours in a line was told to move to another line, people started pushing, shoving and cursing, witnesses said.

Still, officials of East Point declared the day a success. Nobody was arrested and nobody was seriously injured, they said. It was an assessment roundly challenged by many of the people who had to go through it.

Ah, yes. The sweet smell of 'success'. Nothing quite like it.

Update, just in: Michelle sent greetings, saying she had meant to be there to help organize things, but something came up at the last minute.

Everyone Behaves Better When All Interests Align: BP's Recovery Fund

Details of the fund for Gulf Coast recovery now being released.

The money will come from BP's earnings from its Gulf of Mexico operations.

Appropriately so. And that arrangement will dissuade the more nutty types from attempting to destroy BP over this one incident. Which is what Himself had in mind all along.

All interests align, and everybody has to play by civilized rules.

Definitely, not the Chicago way. More the English way, actually.

BP really screwed the pooch in allowing the spill to happen, and in some of its subsequent responses. That does not give any US President or Congress the right to disembowel the entire enterprise.

James Corum On The Obama Defense Cuts

Quietly, the announcement was made. Secretary Gates announces, in time of war, that the US will be making deep cuts in defense spending.

OS keeps encountering articles from time to time, where people claim that Obama has an active agenda to kick the legs our from under the country. In general, OS dismissed that as tin-foil-hat chatter.

It is now time to rethink, in the wake of Obama's war on the Gulf Coast economy, and now upon the military.

James Corum, as always, has cogent words to share, from long experience.

There is no military rationale for major cuts – this is 100 per cent politically driven cutting. The President wants to use the massive deficit he has created as an excuse to cut the vital infrastructure of US defense. He has endorsed a stimulus package that is really about bailing out bankrupt states and preserving state worker union jobs. So it’s not about saving money—it’s about cutting defence.

Given the international situation – a violent and volatile North Korea, trouble in Afghanistan, an Iran well on the way to nuclear weapons, the continued threat of Islamic radicalism – cutting some of the essential military infrastructure needed for training and preparedness is irresponsible.

There's a pattern here since the 70's. Carter enters office, slashes the military he so despises(the one that gave him his first career leg up, by the way), and very soon we are in a world of trouble. Reagan comes in, and restores it. The Soviet Union collapses, and the US kicks Hussein out of Kuwait. Clinton comes in, and the slashing begins. He bombs the Balkans from 20,000 feet, not willing to risk any casualties. By 2001, when we really need it, Bush finds himself hamstrung with a much reduced military, which he sends to war without a major expansion.

Now, Obama slashes further, while the dangers grow.

Gotta go. That tin-foil-hat in the back of OS's closet is stored behind the work boots, last he saw it.

The Oil Spill Cleanup: David Jones Of Daily Mail Visits The Gulf Coast

An extended article by David Jones of the Daily Mail, detailing his recent visit to the Gulf Coast to view the damage caused by the BP oil spill.

He makes two or three cogent points:

1. It could have been much much worse.

2. BP (and Heyward in particular) blundered at the beginning, and thus made themselves the target for Obama and company's cynical scapegoating.

3. Even at that, BP emerges with its reputation much more intact than Obama and company.

OS will keep repeating--BP has been around a lot longer than the clowns in the White House and Congress, and have been successful, if not saintly. They'll still be around long after this particular clown show leaves town.

And, for the record, OS is accumulating BP stock, while it is still cheap. Gonna make him some money, honey, on the back of The One's ignorant venality.

Static Kill Achieved: Louisiana Oil Spill

The Wall Street Journal reports that BP may have achieved a static kill of the well.

By GUY CHAZAN

LONDON—BP PLC said it has scored a "significant milestone" in its efforts to plug its blown-out Gulf of Mexico oil well as a procedure to subdue it with heavy drilling mud appeared to be working.

BP may now move to seal the well for good by cementing it shut, if it gets the go-ahead from government scientists and officials. But the company has stressed that the only permanent solution is a relief well, which will be completed by the middle of this month.

BP said that over the course of eight hours on Tuesday, its engineers pumped hundreds of barrels of heavy drilling mud into the runaway well from vessels on the surface, pushing the oil back into the reservoir.

And, interestingly, this bit ends the announcement:

BP last week posted a loss of $17.15 billion for the second quarter, stemming from a pretax charge of $32.2 billion to cover future and current costs from containment, cleanup, compensation and fines relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

In other words, BP has already taken its hit on its books, out front, unlike the creative accountants at firms like GM, Chrysler, most US banks, and the US Federal Government. Thirty-two large. And they're selling stuff off to raise money to pay for the mess they admit they created.

Unlike the creative types listed above--especially the last one on the list.

Blessedly, the damage, although bad, could have been much worse.

And, it is noted, there have been other bad oil spills, and the world did not come to an end.

OS has a prediction to make:
There is a competition underway to decide which party is competent to address this sort of disaster, repair the damage, and survive long into the future. Who will emerge from this piece of history with their credibility intact?

OS thinks BP, with all its many failings, will be around and thriving long after Obama and Company are out of office and public favor.

And justly so.

Update:

BP's press release regarding the static kill, dated 4 August.

BP's technical update, delivered by Ken Wells on 3 August.

Even NPR Won't Propogandize Anymore

If they wish to keep their listeners, with donors writing checks to local affiliates, they must eventually tell the truth. Even liberals notice the smell, when you lie to them long enough.

And they report: No economic growth in June.

The pace of consumer spending stalled in June and personal incomes failed to increase, further evidence that the economic recovery slowed in the spring.

Personal spending was unchanged in June, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. It was the third straight month of lackluster consumer demand. Incomes were also flat, the weakest showing in nine months.

The lack of growth for spending and incomes shows the economy ended the second quarter on a weak note. Many analysts believe growth will slow further in the second half of the year as high unemployment, shaky consumer confidence and renewed troubles in housing weigh on the year-old economic recovery.

Americans appear to be preparing for tough times. The personal savings rate rose to 6.4 percent of after-tax incomes in June, the highest reading in nearly a year. The savings rate is now about three times the 2.1 percent average for all of 2007, before the recession began.

Consumer spending is closely monitored because it accounts for 70 percent of total economic activity.

Note to The One: If you ram through outrageous federal takeovers of entire portions of the economy (like health care), demonstrate your incompetence and venality when an oil well blows up (by not picking up the phone to call the oil company...), put 39 million people on food stamps, and generally create anxiety about the Brave New World you have planned for us all, guess what?

People lose faith in the future, and sit on their cash. Given events of the past sixty months, what sane person would finance a car for the next sixty?

Even NPR, lead cheerleader for The One, can't keep up the pretense anymore.

You on yoh' own thea, Missah Prezident.

From Sister Jail: Alejandro Peña Esclusa

OS, not certain why this story hits his buttons the way it does, searched for more news of Alejandro Peña Esclusa, imprisoned by the Chavez regime in Venezuela.

He found this letter, dated 17 July, and attributed to Mr. Pena.

It is obvious that his arrest was not surprise to him.

For two years I have been waiting for my imprisonment, due to the effective work I have been achieving against Mr. Chavez and his allies of the Forum Sao Paulo. In the coming days and weeks, the extent of this work will be disseminated.

Friends and acquaintances, and even fellow UnoAmerica across the continent, insisted I had to leave Venezuela and work from abroad. “From the outside you can be more helpful to the cause, because in prison you’ll be will be given up for lost” they said.

However, I answered: “Venezuela needs leaders willing to sacrifice themselves for their country. So much disappointment and dejection is present that we must provide the country with proof of love for Venezuela. It’s the only way to boost morale among the people” I told them.

I have also restated to my colleagues, that this struggle is not only a political one, but primarily spiritual. A materialist and atheist model cannot be overcome with political recipes; but transcendent values and principles embodied in leaders who with their example instill optimism and hope, can.

There's more at the link--and versions in Spanish,English, and Portugese

OS thinks this merits attention, to see if pressure can be brought to bear. Also, it will serve as a litmus test of the Obama administration's commitment to human rights. Its silence in the face of the human rights tragedies in Iran and Venezuela is pretty deafening. However, on behalf of Gaza, run by Hamas, it is relentless.

Something is deeply amiss.

Planet Obama: Today's Rose Garden Pronouncement

OS hardly knows whether to laugh or cry while reading this.

To that end, we all have to continue our efforts to do everything in our power to spur growth and hiring. And I hope the Senate acts this week on a package of tax cuts and expanded lending for small businesses, where most of America’s jobs are created.

What planet does he inhabit?

Enough already...not worth going through the litany...

Hat-tip to JDA, who always knows what to say while the rest of us just splutter in frustration.

The Well Is Holding: Keep A Good Thought

The BBC reports that the cap installed by BP is performing up to expectations.

The story also contains a slide show with diagrams of how the solution is supposed to work.

Keep a good thought, and let's all hope this works.

Assuming it does, the really hard part now begins: Rebuilding an economy and way of life battered on one side by BP's colossal blunder this spring, and the Obama administration's Machiavellian attempts to exploit the misfortune that followed.

OS intends to keep paying attention, and hopes you do as well. Engineers can cap wells, build berms, come up with solutions to clean up oil, etc. A well-run compensation fund can go a long way toward setting people and businesses back up on their feet. State and local authorities, if allowed, can do much to set things right locally.

The real problem is a federal government in the hands of nihilists, who have worked actively to impede progress toward any solution.

It sounds harsh to say such things, but until consistent evidence exists that the executive branch has changed its ways, it is the the only explanation that accounts for their behavior.

Now, about that ban on exploration and drilling, that is currently bankrupting the families, parishes, and State of Louisiana....

Happiness Is An Oil Well That Doesn't Leak: So Far So Good On The Well Test

From the BP website, today at 6:00 pm. CDT

Subsea operational update:

* The well integrity test on the MC252 well commenced today; full closure of the choke valve occurred at approximately 2:25pm.
* Currently the well remains shut-in with no oil flowing into the Gulf; any significant change to this operation will be announced via a press release.
* For the first 12 hours on July 15 (midnight to noon), approximately 5,875 barrels of oil were collected and approximately 3,430 barrels of oil and 22.5 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared.
* For the last 12 hours on July 14 (noon to midnight), approximately 2,040 barrels of oil were collected and approximately 1,230 barrels of oil and 7.4 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared.
* We anticipate the next update will be provided at around 9:30am CDT on July 16, 2010.


OS was in the car and followed the announcement on NPR.
The gist of the news is: So far, so good. This is a test, one event on the way to getting this thing resolved, so don't get too excited yet. If it holds, we'll know in a few days. If it doesn't work perfectly, they can shunt oil from it to the surface ships. Of course, if they're doing that, and a hurricane occurs, we'll be back to the oil spill. In the meantime, progress is being made on the relief wells, with the final aim being to shut down this well permanently.

But again, this is a test, not the solution, yet.

*****

Yes, BP deserves its trip to the doghouse for getting complacent and allowing the tragedy to occur. And, they did not do a good job responding at first, and there are multitudinous problems still in getting things cleaned up, getting checks to people and businesses that have been totally upended by this colossal demonstration of Murphy's Law. It's a mess, and they created it, and its incumbent upon them to clean it up.

But they have every incentive to fix it, clean up the damage, and regain their reputation around the world. They have bondholders, and shareholders, employees and customers to answer to. Any and all of those people can turn on their heel and walk away on any given day, never to return. They, unlike the US federal government bureaucracy, and the White House that sits atop it, live in an atmosphere of accountability. Their shares trade daily. On the New York exchange, they traded at $60 before the spill, went to the high 20's a couple of weeks ago. They had to suspend the dividend to pay for the costs incurred, and will end up selling some profitable operations off. It will be some years before we see BP at 60 and a generous dividend.

Has it occurred to anyone that the contrast between BP and the Obama White House is growing? Who is a pro here, and who is an amateur?

Who was it that didn't even bother to pick up the phone to call BP for weeks after the oil spill began?

Who was it, when the meeting finally occurred (weeks overdue), that made the agenda essentially a Chicago-style 'This-is-a-nice-little-oil-company-you-got-here-so-hand-us-20-billion-or-else' event.

Who decided to shut down the entire economy of the Gulf Coast from the Panhandle all the way to Galveston, just to prove they could, even though the courts keep saying 'no', and the vast majority of the people in that part of the world are screaming 'no' at the top of their lungs?

Who has made it damned-near-impossible for the states and communities to protect themselves from the oil spill, citing 'environmental concerns'?

Who speaks in government-ease, and who communicates in straightforward English?

Who designed, built, and installed a 75 ton containment dome to cap the well in under eighty days? Who decided to delay the tests for two days, just 'cuz they could, only informing the engineers of their intentions after the well cap was installed?

Who installed cameras at the well head, and let the world watch oil spill into the Gulf from their well for some eighty-five days? Who is being informative, and who is using the occasion to shift blame and play to the cameras?

Who are the pros, and who are the amateurs? Where is the moral hazard? Who has a stake in success, and who has a stake in failure?

Tragic To Read, But Should Be Read: The Death Of Amir Javadifar

Persian2English provides news from the Iranian resistance--the one that the Obama White House refuses to mention, 'cuz they're much to busy suing Arizona.

This kid was an artist, not a bomb-thrower, with a family that loved him and a future to live for. He was beaten during a demonstration, arrested, disappeared, tortured, and then murdered.

Of course, the folks in the US State Department, who swoon daily for Hamas, are positively apoplectic about these blatantly criminal human rights abuses, right?

Right?

(...sound of crickets chirping...)

Hilary?

(...sound of crickets chirping...)

Bill? AlGore? Barry? Eric? RehvruhndJesseJackson? Pastor Sharpton? Miss Nancy? Rahm?

Anybody?

(...sound of crickets chirping...)

OK, let's ask Jimmy Carter. After all, he kicked the legs out from under the Shah in favor of Khomeini ack in the late 1970'a, because of the Shah's bad record on human rights. If memory serves, the Revolutionary Guards were soooooooo grateful they invaded our embassy and held a bunch of our people hostage for about a year.

Jimmy, you got anything to say, bubbah?

(...sound of crickets chirping...)

Didn't think so...

So, here we go, an incredibly painful tale. If this one isn't painful enough, just click on that link above. They's plenty more where that came from.

And remember, the government they're protesting against, with zero support from our White House, is working feverishly to develop nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them to places like...Europe.

Of course, we'll be able to trust their moral uprightness to not use them to threaten the world around them, right?

After all, The One does. So that must make everything o.k.


[begin copy]


Despite all his injuries and to respect the laws of his country, Amir Javadifar voluntarily turned himself in to the police to clarify his situation.

On July 10, 2009, Amir’s family never thought he would be arrested again, given his health conditions.

On July 9, 2009, Amir was severely beaten by eight to twelve individuals. Then he was arrested.

On July 9th at 9:00pm, an agent called the family using Amir’s cell phone and asked them to go to Firoozgar hospital.

The first published photos from Amir were taken that night at Firoozgar hospital.

Hospitals were instructed not to keep injured demonstrators. Amir was injured but his life was not in danger.

Amir was transferred to Laleh hospital where he was treated for injuries. He was forced to leave by a regime agent.

Amir: “I only went out to protest peacefully. I had no weapon. I did not insult anybody. I was just standing silently.”

Amir: “I didn’t do anything to be afraid of. I’ll go [voluntarily to the police] and I will be back.”

Amir’s brother: “Do you need a wheelchair?” Amir: “No, I can stand on my feet. Lovers die standing.”

After leaving the hospital, the family brought Amir to the preventive police at Enghelab Square. It was there that he was abruptly separated from his family.

His family was forced to leave the police station without saying goodbye to Amir or exchanging any last words.

A few hours later, his brother returned to the police station. He was told that three buses had left; one to Evin prison and two to Kahrizak prison. It was July 10th at 8:00pm.

The day after at the Revolutionary Court, the families of those arrested on July 9th were told to “wait 10 days.”

On July 14, 2009, a bus arrived at Evin from Kahrizak with 130 prisoners. An agent read the names. Amir was not among them.

Amir’s family visited Evin every day holding with Amir’s picture. None of the released prisoners recognized Amir.

His family learned on July 25, 2009 that Amir was killed. He died on July 14th, after four days in Kahrizak prison, during the transport by bus.

It was one of the released Kahrizak prisoners who finally recognized Amir’s picture on July 24th and informed the family that he was dead.

On July 25th, the family was asked to go to Kahrizak’s “legal medicine” department to identify his body. His brother identified him.

His family was not allowed to see the body. They were instead given three photos. Amir’s body was autopsied.

Other Kahrizak prisoners said Amir could not see on his last day due to eye injuries and infections.

During the last day, Amir screamed out to his deceased mother, “Return my eyes mother!”

His body was returned to the family two days after identification. The family filled a form and where it stated: “Do you want to sue anybody?” they left the field blank.

His brother: “Amir was not a political person at all. He was an artist. His view of the world was the one of an artist. He loved poems, movies, and books, but he was socially engaged. He came to the streets with awareness. He took part in peaceful demonstrations and he believed [in what he was doing].”

His brother remembers when Amir returned from the “great demonstration of silence” (June 15, 2009)

Amir: “I loved it. Today was one of the best days of my life. We said what we had to say in silence.”

Amir’s Brother: “[That day] Amir’s eyes were completely peaceful. He didn’t believe in violence.”

The Federal Slow-Walk Begins: No Testing Of The Well Containment System Allowed

Here we go...the Obama slow-walk is underway.

From the BP site:

Release date: 13 July 2010
Following a meeting with Secretary Chu and his team of scientific and industry experts, the National Incident Commander announced that additional analysis of the well testing procedure should be performed before starting the well integrity test. This analysis will be conducted tonight and into tomorrow. Consequently, the well integrity test did not start today.

Let's see if it is allowed to begin tomorrow...that 'analysis of the well testing procedure' could be very complex, you know. Several committees to form, regulators to consult, etc. It could take, well, days. Weeks even.

Smell the moral hazard yet?

Ineptitude. Incompetence. Inattention: The Obama Administration vs. The Oil Spill

Anybody notice that the Gulf oil spill seems to have taken back burner in the media and at the White House?

The Heritage Foundation noticed, and sent its own team to report on progress, or lack thereof.

They met a universal response of disgust with the behaviour of the federal government, beginning with the ban on oil exploration, twice struck down by the courts, and reimposed again today. The rigs are picking up and moving away, perhaps never to return. An entire industry knee-capped, businesses ruined, careers lost.

In other words, just what Obama intends. Never let a crisis go to waste, ya'll.

In the meantime, the New Orleans Times-Picayune just released a photo showing the new cap installed by BP, now beginning testing.

Did BP and its contractors create this mess? Yep. And, they are working to fix it. For all their many failings, amply discussed already, they have a huge stake in successfully capping the well, cleaning up the mess, and restoring credibility with the Gulf Coast. The existence of the firm is on the line, and potential criminal liability for many executives, if they fail.

Has the federal government worsened the damage? Definitely. And they are working to spread the pain far and wide. They have a stake in failure, as it creates chaos, and the opportunity to expand power. They need the crisis, and thus exacerbate it.

When all else fails, check for moral hazard. Insurance agents do. So should we.

In the meantime, a chart of the oil spill based on yesterday's overflights, provided by BP.

Obama Loses Round Two In His Ongoing War Against The Gulf Coast

The appeals court just struck down the drilling ban--again.

Of course, Ken Salazar will attempt to re-write and reimpose the ban. Can't have all those thousands of people working, producing, making money and living their lives, you know. That's not the plan, since that does not create a crisis.