A federal judge halted a controversial immigration law in Alabama. The judge blocked the law from taking effect for up to 30 days to allow more time to review various challenges. Most of the provisions were supposed to take effect Sept. 1. (Aug. 30)
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In the wake of Hurricane Irene, there are signs of the storm’s brutal force all around Fleischmanns, New York. Irene has been blamed for at least 40 deaths in 11 states, including one in Fleischmanns. (Aug. 30)
Continue reading …Allen West (R-FL) Says the ‘Arab Spring’ Is Actually About Reestablishing the Caliphate
August 30, 2011 No CommentExtreme right-wing Florida Congressman Allen West, who recently declined to run for United States senate, said in his weekly address that the Arab Spring of democratization in the Middle East and surrounding areas is really about Muslims trying to re-establish the historical caliphate: This so-called “Arab Spring” is less about a democratic movement, than it is about the early phase of the restoration of an Islamic Caliphate, the last being the Ottoman Empire. We are witnessing secular Muslim leaders being deposed in very volatile and unstable nations. This growing Islamic Totalitarianism manifested in militant Islam has had a modus operand [sic] of capitalizing on unstable political situations (Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia). Now we see these same types of instances occurring in Egypt, Libya, and Syria and the rose-colored glasses of some seek to portray this as a great awakening of liberty. History does not support this in the Middle East. We must evaluate these occurrences through the prism of keen strategic and operational insight which looks out 10, 20, or 30 years. If we had done so during the deposing of the Shah of Iran, we might have been able to prevent what arose. The Iran with which we must contend today is the major exporter of Islamic totalitarianism and state sponsored terrorism. In the rest of the essay, he goes on to condemn Barack Obama, Palestine and the United Nations, while calling for militant support for Israel and its current borders. The term “caliphate” refers to the historical unified Islamic government that dominated much of the Middle East and northern Africa through 1924. West and others seem to be suggesting the return of a caliphate would involve a anti-Western, anti-Israeli unified Muslim front that could threaten the United States and its allies. West’s remarks echo those of Glenn Beck who frequently warns of a coming caliphate. West has a history of extreme rhetoric relating to Islam and the caliphate comments are far from the worst: (h/t Saint Petersblog )
Continue reading …Sharpton Peeved That City Pulled Permits for ‘March on Washington’ – With Irene Looming
August 30, 2011 No CommentNo politician wants to be “Katrina-ed,” observed NBC reporter Jamie Gangel on this past Sunday's “Meet the Press.” Such reluctance doesn't extend to politics as practiced by the Rev. Al Sharpton. Sharpton told listeners of his radio show on Friday how he was chagrined that city officials in Washington, D.C., pulled the permits for a “March on Washington” to coincide with the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. (audio after page break) Problem was, the dedication and march were planned for Aug. 27 — the same day that Irene, the most serious threat from a hurricane to the capital since the mid-1980s, was expected to sweep past the city on its rampage up the East Coast. Sharpton talked about this with author and radio host Andre Eggleston, who guest hosted for Sharpton on Friday while Sharpton phoned in (audio) — SHARPTON: How you doing, Andre? EGGLESTON: Rev, I'm doing fine and congratulations again on “PoliticsNation” (Sharpton's new cable show, the result of an affirmative action hiring by MSNBC). It's well deserved, long overdue too for you, Rev. You're doing fantastic. … followed by Sharpton graceless in response … SHARPTON: Well, it will start Monday night, but I will be doing the show tonight from here live at six o'clock Eastern and five o'clock Central time on MSNBC. People can watch tonight and then the permanent show starts Monday night and then from then on at six o'clock. And it's going to be a good show. I'm going to make sure I keep it real. We are in Washington a day before what had planned to be our march and I resisted all the way until they pulled the permits late last night. The National Mall will be closed tomorrow and on Sunday as a result of Hurricane Irene even though the hurricane will not reach Washington until after the march. Their concern is the winds and the sound equipment and all after what happened in Iowa and the concern is about buses and trains will be down and how people cannot get back to their homes. They can get into Washington. Question is, would they be able to get out? I understand the governor of New Jersey is calling a state of emergency which would close that turnpike. We had about 300 buses alone coming from New York that use that turnpike. So we reluctantly will delay the march. We're going to have it but we'll delay it and probably do it late September around the date that they have the dedication. (of the MLK Memorial) “… After what happened in Iowa” — Indiana, actually. God is in the details, reverend. “… Even though the hurricane will not reach Washington until after the march” — yes, all of hours after the march. Not so funny thing about hurricanes – they're unpredicable. Bet the ranch that one will head out to sea and you might lose your ranch instead. Is Sharpton aware that much of Washington was built on a swamp? Or that the site of the MLK Memorial , overlooking the Tidal Basin, is one of the areas in the capital most prone to flooding? Not incidentally, it was the organizers who raised money and built the MLK Memorial who postponed its dedication, not city officials.
Continue reading …Sony MDR-DS7500 headphones promise 3D sound, will play nicely with your 3D glasses
August 30, 2011 No Comment
Are you settling for non-3D sound to go with all of your 3D movies? You should be ashamed of yourself. Thankfully, Sony’s looking out for you. The company’s new MDR-DS7500 headphones promise 3D surround sound, thanks in part to the inclusion of Dolby Pro Logic IIz technology. The headphones have a number of different sound settings, serving different audio needs, including Cinema Mode, Game Mode, and Voice Mode. Also, that extra padding assures that they’ll play nicely with your 3D glasses. The headphones will be hitting Japan on October 10th, running
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Imagine waking up as your alarm’s going off, reaching over and opening a window…and gazing out at terra firma in repose. No, not a poster of planet earth affixed to your window, but the real deal, viewed from your very own hotel suite, hundreds of miles above the planet’s surface. If a bunch of Russian
Continue reading …With 66 American troops killed in Afghanistan so far in August, this month has been the deadliest for US forces since the war began in 2001, reports the AP . Before this August, the deadliest month had been July 2010, when 65 US soldiers died. Nearly half of those deaths come…
Continue reading …I’m always pleased when judges actually uphold our constitutional values . After all, it happens so rarely these days! Last week, Rep. Steven Chabot (R-OH) banned ordinary citizens from bringing cameras into a town hall meeting — even having police confiscate cameras from citizens who dared to violate this rule . Bizarrely, Chabot still allowed reporters to bring in cameras and record the event. Coincidentally, just four days after Chabot took this extraordinary measure to prevent embarrassing clips of him from appearing on YouTube, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit handed down an opinion saying citizens have a right to film police engaged in their official duties . The court’s reasoning, however, has very clear implications for Chabot’s camera ban : Gathering information about government officials in a form that can readily be disseminated to others serves a cardinal First Amendment interest in protecting and promoting “the free discussion of governmental affairs.” Moreover, as the Court has noted, “ [f]reedom of expression has particular significance with respect to government because ‘[i]t is here that the state has a special incentive to repress opposition and often wields a more effective power of suppression.’” The First Amendment right to gather news is, as the Court has often noted, not one that inures solely to the benefit of the news media; rather, the public’s right of access to information is coextensive with that of the press. The proliferation of electronic devices with video-recording capability means that many of our images of current events come from bystanders with a ready cell phone or digital camera rather than a traditional film crew, and news stories are now just as likely to be broken by a blogger at her computer as a reporter at a major newspaper. Such developments make clear why the news-gathering protections of the First Amendment cannot turn on professional credentials or status. Chabot might take some small comfort in the fact that he does not reside in the First Circuit — Ohio is part of the much more conservative Sixth Circuit — but Chabot should not expect the right-leaning judges on his home circuit court to bail him out. As the First Circuit notes, at least three other appeals courts and numerous trial courts agree with their holding that government officials cannot simply ban cameras.
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Over the last decade, some of country’s most dominant industries have become those least liked by Americans. And that downturn in public perception has been particularly pronounced amongst sectors playing direct roles in the economy’s collapse, according to a poll released by Gallup on Monday. Gallup interviewed 1,008 adults during August 11-14 to find out to find out how they viewed a wide variety of American industries. Those industries experiencing the greatest decline in popularity were the ones receiving extensive media exposure since the recession first started: Banking, real estate and the federal government. Both the banking and real estate sectors have taken heat for their respective roles in the collapse of the housing market, especially with stories of allegedly wrongful foreclosure continuing to surface. In August alone, a couple faced foreclosure because of a mortgage payment made too early, and a soldier returned from Iraq to find his home had been repurchased that same day. That’s not even considering the anger over the lack of tough punishment for banks. Yet it’s the federal government itself that’s now the least popular industry in the country. Frustration with the inability of Congress to raise the debt ceiling until the final available days pushed two important approval ratings to all-time lows: 39 percent for President Obama and 13 percent for Congress. Here are the ten industries Americans view most negatively, according to Gallup:
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Onyango Obama, President Obama’s uncle, was arrested on August 24 in Massachusetts for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, CBS News reports. According to CNN, Onyango Obama was arrested in Framingham, a Boston suburb, after not stopping his SUV at an intersection. The Metro West Daily News reports that he had a blood alcohol level of .14 when tested with a Breathalyzer at the police station. The legal limit in Massachusetts is .08, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. From the Associated Press: Police said that when asked if he wanted to make a phone call, Obama said: “I think I will call the White House.” A spokesman for Cleveland immigration attorney Margaret Wong, who is representing him, confirmed that the 67-year-old is the president’s uncle. … Police say the president’s uncle is originally from Kenya and is being held without bail on a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Wong was one of the attorneys who represented Zeituni Onyango, President Obama’s aunt, who last year was granted political asylum after spending ten years as an undocumented immigrant in Boston. The White House did not respond to a request for comment from The Boston Herald, the paper reports.
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