OK, he went out for a round of golf on Saturday afternoon.
OS is no fan of this guy, and sincerely hope the electorate will send him on his way about eighteen month from now.
But, please...
Gadafi is going to slaughter his citizens, whether WinnerOfTheNobelPeacePrize is in the situation room watching it unfold live or not. That North African despot been at it for decades now, by the way, and has gotten really good at it. The fleet's in the Med, and the admiral has his orders. For today, that is what anyone can do.
Maybe, even Himself (and we) might benefit from four hours outside, with little to think about except advancing that little white ball toward the little hole.
OS has a gentle suggestion for all those who are apoplectic about Himself hitting the links: Take up the game yourself, and allow yourself the relief and joy of walking the golf course. The world really will be there when you head home, probably not much deteriorated from when you teed off, and you'll likely be in better shape to address your corner of it.
Just sayin'...
Saturday, March 5, 2011
£100,000,000 In Lybian Currency Seized In British Waters By UK Customs
...to add to the £900,000,000 impounded before it could be shipped to Gadafi.
Score one for our cousins in the UK. Mercenaries from tribes in Chad don't take checks...
This is, and will be, a bloody and confusing mess for a long long time.
Half of Libya's oil production capacity was knocked out Friday.
Score one for our cousins in the UK. Mercenaries from tribes in Chad don't take checks...
This is, and will be, a bloody and confusing mess for a long long time.
Half of Libya's oil production capacity was knocked out Friday.
Meanwhile, Back In Tehran...
...and the popular uprising Obama wishes would Just. Go. DaBlank. Away.
('Cuz he's got no skin in that game!)
March 3, 2011 RoozOnline – Fakhrosadat Mohtashamipour, a member of the the Participation Front and wife of Mostafa Tajzadeh [incarcerated adviser to opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi] was arrested during the March 1st, 2011 demonstrations and is now currently behind bars at the IRGC Ward 2A at Evin prison. Her family has been informed that she will remain incommunicado while under interrogation.
Mohtashamipour’s arrest took place as a result of increased pressures leading from letters she published over the past 20 months, protesting the unjust incarceration of her husband Mostafa Tajzadeh. Recent reports indicate that although Tajzadeh’s health has deteriorated and he is still being held at the Quarantine Ward. Based on their last visitation with him, his family has become gravely concerned for his well-being.
('Cuz he's got no skin in that game!)
March 3, 2011 RoozOnline – Fakhrosadat Mohtashamipour, a member of the the Participation Front and wife of Mostafa Tajzadeh [incarcerated adviser to opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi] was arrested during the March 1st, 2011 demonstrations and is now currently behind bars at the IRGC Ward 2A at Evin prison. Her family has been informed that she will remain incommunicado while under interrogation.
Mohtashamipour’s arrest took place as a result of increased pressures leading from letters she published over the past 20 months, protesting the unjust incarceration of her husband Mostafa Tajzadeh. Recent reports indicate that although Tajzadeh’s health has deteriorated and he is still being held at the Quarantine Ward. Based on their last visitation with him, his family has become gravely concerned for his well-being.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Sense of Events: Obama is neither Kenyan nor Hawaiian
Sense of Events: Obama is neither Kenyan nor Hawaiian
Donald Sensing is dead on target, answering the final question of OS's previous post.
Donald Sensing is dead on target, answering the final question of OS's previous post.
The Libyan Civil War: Gadafi's Mercenaries Being Trucked In From Mali
The BBC reports large numbers of trained, equipped, and very well-paid (thus highly-motivated) mercenaries are being trucked in from Mali, over the southern border of Libya.
Members of the Tuareg community in Mali say a large number of men from the Tuareg ethnic group have left Mali in the last week to join pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya.
"About 2-300 have left in the last seven days," said a senior elected official, who did not want to be named, from the Kidal region in the north of the country, where many Tuareg live.
Another Tuareg man from Kidal said: "It's true many young men are leaving. It all started about a week back."
He said he had spoken to a convoy of 40 vehicles who are in southern Algeria waiting to cross the border into Libya.
The elected official said: "They are being paid about $10,000 (£6,000) to join up and then I've heard they are being told that they will get $1,000 a day to fight."
Much more, and much more chilling, to be read at the link.
Gadafi has decided to stand and fight it out. All he has to do is:
1. Not get killed or injured.
2. Inflict massive bloodshed and chaos, thus wearing down any who might oppose him.
3. Hunker down, and not lose for a year.
4. Spike oil prices ToTheMoonAlice.
5. Export some chaos while he's at it, just to keep the West busy.
He saw what has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is not stupid, just evil.
He knows that, even if we had the resources to launch some sort of massive military initiative (which the US, UK and NATO together now lack), there is no willingness to undertake it. No sane US politician is going to risk the life of a boy from Topeka to guard the border between Libya and Mali, attempting to stem the flow of fighters and arms.
Not. Gonna. Happen.
If we had our own domestic sources of oil, gas, coal, and nuclear, and thus impervious to the crazies who run oil-exporting countries, we would save countless lives around the world. If the Gadafis and Chavezes and Iranian kooks can't hold the world hostage, the world settles down. Lybia, Venezuela and Iran may still be terrible places, but the misery is localized, not an item for export.
Of course, we have a President who steadfastly is ignoring a federal court order to allow drilling to resume, and who will not will not will not allow this country to do the simple things necessary to secure its energy needs domestically.
Do we ever ponder why he seems to embrace chaos and poverty, when a path to prosperity and order is obvious?
Members of the Tuareg community in Mali say a large number of men from the Tuareg ethnic group have left Mali in the last week to join pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya.
"About 2-300 have left in the last seven days," said a senior elected official, who did not want to be named, from the Kidal region in the north of the country, where many Tuareg live.
Another Tuareg man from Kidal said: "It's true many young men are leaving. It all started about a week back."
He said he had spoken to a convoy of 40 vehicles who are in southern Algeria waiting to cross the border into Libya.
The elected official said: "They are being paid about $10,000 (£6,000) to join up and then I've heard they are being told that they will get $1,000 a day to fight."
Much more, and much more chilling, to be read at the link.
Gadafi has decided to stand and fight it out. All he has to do is:
1. Not get killed or injured.
2. Inflict massive bloodshed and chaos, thus wearing down any who might oppose him.
3. Hunker down, and not lose for a year.
4. Spike oil prices ToTheMoonAlice.
5. Export some chaos while he's at it, just to keep the West busy.
He saw what has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is not stupid, just evil.
He knows that, even if we had the resources to launch some sort of massive military initiative (which the US, UK and NATO together now lack), there is no willingness to undertake it. No sane US politician is going to risk the life of a boy from Topeka to guard the border between Libya and Mali, attempting to stem the flow of fighters and arms.
Not. Gonna. Happen.
If we had our own domestic sources of oil, gas, coal, and nuclear, and thus impervious to the crazies who run oil-exporting countries, we would save countless lives around the world. If the Gadafis and Chavezes and Iranian kooks can't hold the world hostage, the world settles down. Lybia, Venezuela and Iran may still be terrible places, but the misery is localized, not an item for export.
Of course, we have a President who steadfastly is ignoring a federal court order to allow drilling to resume, and who will not will not will not allow this country to do the simple things necessary to secure its energy needs domestically.
Do we ever ponder why he seems to embrace chaos and poverty, when a path to prosperity and order is obvious?
In Memoriam: Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistani Christian
If anyone, anywhere in the West thinks it's not a problem for Sharia law to take hold in a culture, OS suggest they view the BBC's account of this gentleman's funeral.
Thousands of Pakistani mourners have attended the funeral of murdered minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti.
Mr Bhatti, a Christian, was shot dead on Wednesday by the Taliban after he urged reform to blasphemy laws.
There were emotional scenes as several thousand Christians buried their leader in his home village near Faisalabad.
Earlier, hundreds turned out for a church service in the capital. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told them his colleague had been "very rare".
Wednesday's assassination in Islamabad was the second this year of a Pakistani politician who wanted to reform the controversial blasphemy laws.
The article includes a brief video, prepared by Mr. Bhatti four months ago. He knew the likelihood of death by assassination was very high, and he was effectively resigned to it. It is a moving two minutes.
A correspondent at the funeral reports:
Bishop of Faisalabad Joseph Coutts told those present that the blasphemy laws - which Mr Bhatti wanted to reform - were being misused to persecute minorities.
Referring to those who would glorify the minister's murderers, he said: "We don't want to worship a God who rewards killers."
OS, as a child, would privately chuckle when missionary hymns such as 'We've A Story To Tell To The Nations' were belted out in church. He was wrong to do that. Those old hymn writers said things that arrogant boy, in his comfortable surroundings, did not wish to hear.
Where the Christian gospel is allowed to take root, freedom flourishes, and there is hope for the culture. Islam breeds violence, poverty and despair. Socialism breeds violence, poverty and despair. To refuse to speak the simple truth, in the interests of a pretense of civility, is to stand by while millions fall victim to the violence, poverty, and despair.
Shahbaz Bhatti was a Christian, a faithful devoted follower of Christ, who advocated for freedom and against violence. He is now a martyr, and an example to us all.
Thousands of Pakistani mourners have attended the funeral of murdered minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti.
Mr Bhatti, a Christian, was shot dead on Wednesday by the Taliban after he urged reform to blasphemy laws.
There were emotional scenes as several thousand Christians buried their leader in his home village near Faisalabad.
Earlier, hundreds turned out for a church service in the capital. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told them his colleague had been "very rare".
Wednesday's assassination in Islamabad was the second this year of a Pakistani politician who wanted to reform the controversial blasphemy laws.
The article includes a brief video, prepared by Mr. Bhatti four months ago. He knew the likelihood of death by assassination was very high, and he was effectively resigned to it. It is a moving two minutes.
A correspondent at the funeral reports:
Bishop of Faisalabad Joseph Coutts told those present that the blasphemy laws - which Mr Bhatti wanted to reform - were being misused to persecute minorities.
Referring to those who would glorify the minister's murderers, he said: "We don't want to worship a God who rewards killers."
OS, as a child, would privately chuckle when missionary hymns such as 'We've A Story To Tell To The Nations' were belted out in church. He was wrong to do that. Those old hymn writers said things that arrogant boy, in his comfortable surroundings, did not wish to hear.
Where the Christian gospel is allowed to take root, freedom flourishes, and there is hope for the culture. Islam breeds violence, poverty and despair. Socialism breeds violence, poverty and despair. To refuse to speak the simple truth, in the interests of a pretense of civility, is to stand by while millions fall victim to the violence, poverty, and despair.
Shahbaz Bhatti was a Christian, a faithful devoted follower of Christ, who advocated for freedom and against violence. He is now a martyr, and an example to us all.
Just Because It's Friday: Psalm 84
In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible, one of the truly soaring moments of the English language: Psalm 84.
1 How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
And, the most famous musical setting of these words, by Johannes Brahms:
1 How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
And, the most famous musical setting of these words, by Johannes Brahms:
What The NEA Leadership Tells The NEA Rank-And-File
It's or interesting to see what the leadership of an organization, any organization, says to the rank-and-file. Everybody does it--churches, businesses, organizations like NRA, or...labor unions. OS thinks the folks who turn out this copy, day after day, lull themselves into thinking they are holding a private conversation. They forget that, when they hit than 'Print' of 'Send' button, it actually means 'Publish'.
The following is a sample from today's 'NEA Today' email, which arrives every morning in OS's mailbox. OS, as a public service, shares them with you...with explanatory notes included.
A proclamation by President Obama declared today Read Across America Day, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel told the event’s crowd of students decked in “Cat in the Hat” stovepipe hats.“Today, there are 45 million people doing what we’re doing: wearing funny hats and reading!” he said.
You really must must must hit the link to see The First Lady in front of a crowd of Cats-In-Hats. Words fail. Not even Dr. Suess is equal to this occasion.
Day-in, day-out, year-in, year-out, the copywriters grind the verbiage out. Little wonder they, and their audiences, come to assume that they have a true and unique grip on reality, sharing a unique knowledge with a private audience.
Little wonder we witness the protests in Madison and Providence.
As he types out his thoughts, to be launched in a blog-bottle onto the sea of the internet, OS is watching Waiting For Superman, currently available on DirectTV Pay-Per-View movie service. It is staggering to watch, dismaying to view. The segment showing the lotteries for spaces in the good schools is agonizing to view.
The 4.99 spent keeps the movie going for twenty-four hours, and OS will be viewing it again.
The NEA loathes it, preaches against it, vilifies it at every turn. Little wonder. Prophetically, some of the most damning anecdotes are told about Madison, Wisconsin.
The following is a sample from today's 'NEA Today' email, which arrives every morning in OS's mailbox. OS, as a public service, shares them with you...with explanatory notes included.
- Ohio Senate Passes Collective Bargaining Overhaul (Those Wascawy Wepubwikans,Winning That Election Without Our Permission)
- Public Adamantly Opposed to Cuts in K-12 Education, Social Security (Sit tight! We've got those conservatives cornered!)
- NEA Kicks Off Read Across America Day
A proclamation by President Obama declared today Read Across America Day, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel told the event’s crowd of students decked in “Cat in the Hat” stovepipe hats.“Today, there are 45 million people doing what we’re doing: wearing funny hats and reading!” he said.
You really must must must hit the link to see The First Lady in front of a crowd of Cats-In-Hats. Words fail. Not even Dr. Suess is equal to this occasion.
- Wisconsin Governor is Waging ‘Jihad’ Against Unions (Beheadings? Honor Killings?)
- What You Need to Know About State Pensions (It's all the fault of greedy legislators and the housing meltdown. Stand fast, brethren, we'll get every penny. There is no real crisis...)
- House of Representatives Slashes Education for Low-Income Kids (Those Wascawy Wepubwikans, With Their Dwaconian Cuts!)
Day-in, day-out, year-in, year-out, the copywriters grind the verbiage out. Little wonder they, and their audiences, come to assume that they have a true and unique grip on reality, sharing a unique knowledge with a private audience.
Little wonder we witness the protests in Madison and Providence.
As he types out his thoughts, to be launched in a blog-bottle onto the sea of the internet, OS is watching Waiting For Superman, currently available on DirectTV Pay-Per-View movie service. It is staggering to watch, dismaying to view. The segment showing the lotteries for spaces in the good schools is agonizing to view.
The 4.99 spent keeps the movie going for twenty-four hours, and OS will be viewing it again.
The NEA loathes it, preaches against it, vilifies it at every turn. Little wonder. Prophetically, some of the most damning anecdotes are told about Madison, Wisconsin.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Teacher Protests--Providence Rhode Island
Facing huge deficits in a small city, the mayor took radical action: He fired every teacher in the system, and will rehire in line with what the city will be able to afford.
Understandably, a lot of folks are upset.
From today's NPR Morning Edition:
About 1,500 people jammed the street in front of City Hall in Providence, R.I., on Wednesday to protest last week's dismissal of the city's entire teaching force.
"I thought the only insanity was in Wisconsin, not in Rhode Island," Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told the crowd, which raised signs and banged drums.
Weingarten calls the terminations insane, but city officials say they had no choice: The city is facing an estimated deficit of more than $100 million for the next fiscal year, or roughly 20 percent of the city budget.
Providence's new mayor, Angel Taveras, says he is considering school closures and layoffs for many city workers, but teachers are feeling the pain first, because of a state law that requires districts to notify teachers by March 1 if their jobs are in jeopardy. He says he chose terminations instead of layoffs, because it ensures that teachers the city can't afford will be completely removed from the city payroll.
"With a layoff, for various reasons, you can be responsible for paying teachers who are not teaching in a classroom," he said. "In addition to that, if they go into the substitute pool, you're paying them their full pay and benefits, and that's costing an enormous amount of money. I can't allow the taxpayers to be on the hook for paying teachers who are not teaching."
OS observes, for what it's worth: The union members, and many normal folks, honestly do not believe there is a real problem, that the states and municipalities are not strapped. 2007/2008 is beginning to fade from memory, and Da Stimulus (which ballooned the federal deficit dramatically) helicoptered money to the school systems, and lulled everyone into thinking that there wasn't a real problem.
In frustration, and in an effort to shock everyone out of their sleepy denial, elected officials take actions like this. What they don't calculate is the tendency of this sort of route to poison the well with people whose future high morale is desirable--teachers, police, firefighters, road crews, etc. After the crisis, those that remain will either come to work feeling like they are part of a greater good, or arrive with an even more entrenched us-vs-them chip on the shoulder. They'll either give that little extra bit of effort for the home team, or resentfully go through the motions--doing just enough to avoid termination for cause, and creating chaos daily. OS has seen this in action, and it is a miserable thing to deal with.
There's a lot of the latter attitude already baked into the culture of many states and municipalitles, to be certain. And, given the human condition, it won't ever completely go away.
But it seems that the art of leadership entails the ability to deliver bad news, and make ugly ugly decisions without pouring excess gasoline onto the fires of resentment.
This is going to be an ugly ugly period, 'cuz the money has run out. Doesn't mean we have to draw knives on one another. That only delays the day when we are prosperous enough to not wring our hands over every budget.
This story from Business Insider gives a picture of the cultural quandry:
Understandably, a lot of folks are upset.
From today's NPR Morning Edition:
About 1,500 people jammed the street in front of City Hall in Providence, R.I., on Wednesday to protest last week's dismissal of the city's entire teaching force.
"I thought the only insanity was in Wisconsin, not in Rhode Island," Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told the crowd, which raised signs and banged drums.
Weingarten calls the terminations insane, but city officials say they had no choice: The city is facing an estimated deficit of more than $100 million for the next fiscal year, or roughly 20 percent of the city budget.
Providence's new mayor, Angel Taveras, says he is considering school closures and layoffs for many city workers, but teachers are feeling the pain first, because of a state law that requires districts to notify teachers by March 1 if their jobs are in jeopardy. He says he chose terminations instead of layoffs, because it ensures that teachers the city can't afford will be completely removed from the city payroll.
"With a layoff, for various reasons, you can be responsible for paying teachers who are not teaching in a classroom," he said. "In addition to that, if they go into the substitute pool, you're paying them their full pay and benefits, and that's costing an enormous amount of money. I can't allow the taxpayers to be on the hook for paying teachers who are not teaching."
OS observes, for what it's worth: The union members, and many normal folks, honestly do not believe there is a real problem, that the states and municipalities are not strapped. 2007/2008 is beginning to fade from memory, and Da Stimulus (which ballooned the federal deficit dramatically) helicoptered money to the school systems, and lulled everyone into thinking that there wasn't a real problem.
In frustration, and in an effort to shock everyone out of their sleepy denial, elected officials take actions like this. What they don't calculate is the tendency of this sort of route to poison the well with people whose future high morale is desirable--teachers, police, firefighters, road crews, etc. After the crisis, those that remain will either come to work feeling like they are part of a greater good, or arrive with an even more entrenched us-vs-them chip on the shoulder. They'll either give that little extra bit of effort for the home team, or resentfully go through the motions--doing just enough to avoid termination for cause, and creating chaos daily. OS has seen this in action, and it is a miserable thing to deal with.
There's a lot of the latter attitude already baked into the culture of many states and municipalitles, to be certain. And, given the human condition, it won't ever completely go away.
But it seems that the art of leadership entails the ability to deliver bad news, and make ugly ugly decisions without pouring excess gasoline onto the fires of resentment.
This is going to be an ugly ugly period, 'cuz the money has run out. Doesn't mean we have to draw knives on one another. That only delays the day when we are prosperous enough to not wring our hands over every budget.
This story from Business Insider gives a picture of the cultural quandry:
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