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They have gotten much quieter than before. Don't want to be too critical, but these things remind me of the scenes in The Empire Strikes Back.

The Futility of Apology

FrontPage Magazine

• The violence in Cairo and Libya happened on the anniversary of 9/11, and was clearly intended to demonstrate approval of those attacks, with the rioters in Cairo chanting, “We are all Osama!”
• The embassy in Cairo said it condemned “the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims,” and exhibited a profound ignorance of the First Amendment by adding, “We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.”
• Worse yet, it validated the blasphemy laws of Islamic shari’a
• the statement threatened, going on to demand that “assaults on the sanctities of all heavenly religions” be criminalized.

That's what's wrong with the Embassy's statement.  It validated blasphemy laws of Islamic sharia--- which contradicts our Bill of Rights.  Which in turn led to the demand for criminalization which would positively violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment.  We didn't establish our Constitution in order to enforce sharia upon all US citizens.

Romney was absolutely right to condemn the statement made by the Embassy in Egypt.

Alleged 'Innocence of Muslims' filmmaker taken in for interview

La la land times via Instapundo

I take this as an opportunity for a correction.  I said I found no fault in what Saletan said.  Actually, Saletan has already convicted the man. But this hasn't been proven yet. He is merely accused of violating his parole.

Which strikes me as something quite strange going on here.

Why?  If he made a pro Islam movie, he'd still be guilty of violating his parole, but nobody would have died if he had actually done something like that.  So, if he had made a pro Islam movie, would this administration be so hot to trot to put him behind bars?

Innocent until proven guilty.  But even more so--- guilty of what?  Guilty of embarrassing this administration?

Colonel: Hillary Made Decision Not to Post Marines at Benghazi

Breitbart via Instapundit

• In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Fox News military analyst Colonel David Hunt laid the blame for the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans at the Benghazi, Libya American mission on Hillary Clinton and the State Department
• Hunt told Breitbart News that the new State Department Rules of Engagement for Libya, approved and signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Libya.
• ...the decision not to staff Benghazi with Marines was made by Secretary of State Clinton when she attached her signature to the State Department Rules of Engagement for Libya document.
• We allowed a contractor to hire local nationals as security guards, but said they can't have bullets. This was all part of the point of not having a high profile in Libya."  [ emphasis added]

Bingo.  This is the same kind of thinking that led to the Black Hawk Down incident.  In that incident, during the Clinton years, the forces attempting the raid were under-equipped.  This was done so as to keep it low- profile, just as in Benghazi.  It led to the deaths of the soldiers there, and gave Osama bin Laden the notion that America can be defeated because of what he believed that this meant.  It may even have given him the notion that he could attack American soil itself, which implies that it could have led directly to 9/11.

It bears repeating, and I've written this before, so it is repetitive indeed, but here goes anyway:   When asked why they attacked us at Pearl Harbor, the Imperial Japanese officials said that they thought we would not fight.---- The proper lesson from this history should have been that weakness invites attack.  Strength discourages it.

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

That's what it's all about.  Freedom of speech.  It doesn't mean anything if your speech agrees with everything I believe, it matters most when you say something that isn't popular nor agreeable, and you are allowed to say it.

It's easy to have freedom of speech when everybody agrees.  If I am not mistaken, this notion is included in some Supreme Court opinions.  I'd say that's is a good thing.

I get the impression that people really don't understand what the First Amendment actually means.  Or they could care less.  Agree with me, or I'll punch you in the nose, or cut your throat.  That's the attitude.  But it is not in agreement with the Bill of Rights, don't you see.

What makes something popular, revisited ( part 3 )

Maybe this can become a series of posts.  What makes a thing popular?  I recall a book I read by Zimbardo, which said that "liking" something or what have you, is one of those knee-jerk type responses that manipulators use to their advantage.

To illustrate that point, a cartoon was included, which showed a car salesman wearing a bird costume in order to sell something to birds.  I think it doesn't take much imagination to see the technique and why it works.  For example, he wouldn't have much success selling to the birds if he dressed up in a cat costume.

People respond to those things that they like.  It works on a knee-jerk, or subconscious level.  But if you want to rise above the unthinking, you may want to reconsider responding to your own knee-jerk responses to what- have-you.  If you do this, it will be much more difficult for the manipulators to get you to do their bidding.

If people would just use their heads a little better, the world may be a bit better than what it is.

I don't get it

Normally, I agree with Ace. But this flap about Saletan leaves me in a quandary.

David Steinberg at PJ Media also said something that seems strange to me. Saletan's remarks did not seem like Cultural Marxism to me. It seemed to be rather reasonable.  I've been writing pretty much the same kind of thing here on this blog.  This blog ain't Marxist by any stretch of the imagination.

What am I missing?

Futuristic motorcycle won't fall down

foxnews via Instapundit

Carney gets it wrong

It is most definitely about America. In particular, freedom of speech.

Carney:

'This is not a case of protests directed at the United States writ large or at U.S. policy, this is in response to a video that is offensive to Muslims'

But the right to make a video like this is guaranteed by our Constitution. So, how could it not be about America?

'Innocence of Muslims': Administration asks YouTube to review video

La La Land Times

Administration officials have asked YouTube to review a controversial video that many blame for spurring a wave of anti-American violence in the Middle East.

Kinda late for that if the idea is to prevent violence.  That cat is already out of the bag.  Now it looks like the administration is trying to appease the violent.  Bad optics, you guys.

Earlier in the week, YouTube said it found that the video was "clearly within" its guidelines, which bar sexually explicit content, gratuitous violence, hate speech and what it termed "bad stuff" such as animal abuse, under-age drinking and bomb-making.

I guess this is the administration asking YouTube to reconsider.  What for?  Because the administration is in some hot water for this?  But why? If it was okay before, what has changed?  Hmmm???

Update:

Confirmed.  This is what the rioters are after.  To impose sharia upon the entire world.  The Obama administration seems all too willing to cave in on that just because of some violence.  Hey, we shouldn't back down to anything like this.  They'd should have bring a lot more than this to make us shut up.

Update:

Stories like this may panic Obama into doing something to curtail civil liberties.  That's the idea, I think.

I don't think there should have been any evacuations.  It is a bluff.

If it isn't a bluff, these people are even more stupid than I thought.

Andrew Klavan: How to Behave During an Islamic Massacre

Uploaded by Pajamasmedia on Apr 21, 2011 [emphasis added, prophetic isn't it?]



The real target for the jihadists is our freedom.

Innocence Of Muslims Movie Trailer (HD)

Here's the movie trailer that has these people in an uproar. If they ignored it, the movie probably would never have gotten the number of views that it is getting now. I would never put it up, either. The reason I wouldn't put it up is that the movie is ridiculous.

I'm putting it up now as my effort at solidarity with our First Amendment rights. I think the reason that the violence is occurring is to intimidate people into silence. That is not permissible in this country, at least not yet.

Violence or the threat of violence should never be rewarded nor appeased.

As violent protests spread in Middle East, Canadian Hindu group screening anti-Islam film to make a point about tolerance

National Post via Free Republic

Maryam Dadabhoy, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the screening will bring needless hurt to Muslims...The best approach would be for everyone to ignore it, she said.

You mean the way they ignored it in Egypt?  A Salafist TV station aired it, so that isn't exactly "ignoring it".  The "screened" it themselves so as to incite a mob.

Practice what you preach, CAIR spokeswoman.

Video: The Obamacare Mess Explained in One Sentence

Guy Benson ,Political Editor, Townhall.com

This puppy's going viral, so we might as well hop aboard the train and toot the horn a few times

Yowsa, I think so.

Yahoo: Feds ID California man's role in anti-Islam film

EILEEN SULLIVAN and STEPHEN BRAUN | Associated Press   via Instapundit

Here's a way for a conviction to proceed:

He was also sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered not to use computers or the Internet for five years without approval from his probation officer.

The person in question would have violated parole, if he is indeed the person responsible for the video.

So, so convenient.  I smell a rat.  This movie was so bad that it could not have ever become popular on its merits.  It is also becoming clear, from the article, that it has fraudulent aspects.  Consider this:

• American actors and actresses who appeared in "Innocence of Muslims" issued a joint statement Wednesday saying they were misled about the project and alleged that some of their dialogue was crudely dubbed during post-production.
• actors aren't seen when the name "Muhammad" is spoken in the overdubbed sound, or they appear to be mouthing something else as the name of the prophet is spoken.
• One of the actresses...the film was originally titled "Desert Warriors" and that the script did not contain offensive references to Islam.
• About 15 key players from the Middle East — people from Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan and Iran, and a couple of Coptic Christians from Egypt — worked on the film
• Hollywood and California film industry groups and permit agencies said they had no records of the project under the name "Innocence of Muslims," but a Los Angeles film permit agency later found a record of a movie filmed in Los Angeles last year under the working title "Desert Warriors."
• Klein told the AP he vowed to help make the movie but warned the filmmaker that "you're going to be the next Theo van Gogh." Van Gogh was a Dutch filmmaker killed by a Muslim extremist in 2004 after making a film that was perceived as insulting to Islam.
  
  "We went into this knowing this was probably going to happen," Klein said.
• a Christian activist involved in the film project, Steve Klein, told the AP on Wednesday that Bacile was a pseudonym and that he was Christian.

Hard to say from all this, but it could be a disinformation initiative that has a political goal of some kind.

It is almost comical in its ineptitude, but considering the impact thus far, I'd say that the ineptitude is deceiving because the political effect is what may have been the intention all along.  That is to say, that the intention was not to make a work of art, nor social commentary, but to cause political damage--- provided that this is ultimately successful.

Morsi says embassies in Egypt will be protected

www.rr.com

BRUSSELS (AP) — Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on Monday condemned the attack on Libya that killed the American ambassador and vowed to protect foreign embassies in Cairo, where police were using tear gas to disperse protesters at the U.S. mission.

This doesn't square with what I posted earlier today.  Morsi released the Salafists who incited this riot.  Now, he is condemning it?  Bullshit.

He also harshly criticized the movie, which came to attention in Egypt after its trailer was dubbed into Arabic and posted on YouTube.

"We condemn strongly ... all those who launch such provocations and who stand behind that hatred," Morsi said, adding that he had asked Obama "to put an end to such behavior."[emphasis added]

Projection.  The movie would have been completely unknown if those who incited the violence had not made such an issue out of it.  They used it as a pretext for violence.  How could such an amateurish video ever be a threat to these people?

Officials were investigating whether the Libya rampage was a backlash to the video or a plot to coincide with the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

I smell a whitewash in the making.  Of course it was a plot.  This is a no-brainer.

Morsi, who is hoping to carry out structural reforms to overhaul Egypt's ailing economy, is seeking a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, but more could be required.

He should not be rewarded for this.  The money should be rejected until those who incited the riot are punished and Morsi issues an apology.  Morsi acts as if he is doing us a great favor in protecting the embassy.  Bullshit.  Romney can have a field day with this shit if he wants.

What really motivated the embassy attacks?

michaelrubin.org

• The September 11 murder of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, a mob's sacking of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, and the attack on the U.S. embassy in Cairo demonstrate the war against terrorism is far from over. Disturbingly, 11 years after al Qaida's devastating attack on New York and Washington, neither the White House nor the State Department appears to recognize what the fight is about.
• The idea that the riots were spontaneous shows detachment from the reality of the Middle East.
• The White House and diplomats may wish to believe a distasteful, provocative, and inflammatory film motivated the violence in both Egypt and Libya. It is comforting for politicians and officials to ascribe the root cause of Islamist terrorism to grievance because if grievance motivates terror, then resolving the grievance could provide the solution.
• Free speech? An excuse to kill. Simply put, when the grievance is Western freedom, there can be no compromise. It is time that President Obama and the men and women representing the United States abroad understand that.
  
  The war on terrorism and, more specifically, the fight against Islamist radicalism, is an ideological battle.

The Salafists are using the movie in order to get political concessions from Obama.  They've already got an apology for the movie, now Morsi is demanding prosecution of the makers of the movie.  This is clearly impermissible under our Constitution.

Actually, Morsi should be persona non grata until he apologizes for the violence and brings to justice those who initiated it.  The situation is ass-backwards and it is because of this administration's policies that it is so.  Morsi would not be so bold if it weren't so.  He may not even be in power if it weren't so.  Obama's policies put him there.  Obama's policies freed the Salafists who were behind this.  Obama's policies enabled this situation.

Attacks on U.S. Embassies Were Not About a Movie | FrontPage Magazine

FrontPage Magazine

You may be wondering how some movie no one’s heard of has caused such a hullabaloo. Well, as it turns out, the film was screened on an Egyptian Salafist television channel. Obviously the Salafists — many of whom, like Zawahiri were released from prison by Morsi, wanted to stir up anti-US violence on the eve of 9/11. So if the film is responsible for the violence, a finger needs to be pointed to its chief distributor — Al Qaida’s Egyptian friends and members.

If, by any chance that you have seen this video, then you know somebody had to promote it vigorously because it could not have been taken seriously on its own.  It is one of the most amateurish looking videos that I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them.

I'm Melting! - The Wizard of Oz (7/8) Movie CLIP (1939) HD

Somebody's melting after today. I guess we'll see who shortly.

Pure political spin

I've  been trying to understand the left's line of reasoning for criticizing Romney.  There are all agog that Romney spoke before events completely unfolded.  That's implying something that really isn't plausible.  For example, is Romney's criticism exploiting deaths that he doesn't know about yet, or what?  Or is it that Romney's criticism actually caused anything to happen?  Or, are they mad that this reflects badly upon Obama, and Romney's criticism isn't fair?

Let's look at this quote from Reuters:

He said it was "disgraceful" to be seen to be apologizing for American values of free speech. Obama's campaign accused Romney of scoring political points at a time of national tragedy.

The "national tragedy" hadn't happened yet when Romney criticized the Egyptian Embassy's pre-emptive apology for the so-called offending video--- a video that nobody knows about because it is so bad.  But the left is so agog that Romney jumped the gun to score political points for something that hadn't happened yet.  I suppose their position was that he should have known that it was going to happen, so he shouldn't have said anything in the first place.  As if by saying nothing, that the ambassador would still be alive?  Or is Obama and his cohorts mad that Romney's criticism scored points because it was true?

I think that this is spin control and the media is in on it.  Big time.

Texas Terror (1935)

Very old John Wayne flick!

Kinda squirrelly though when I played it last night.

My thoughts exactly

trivial excuse for murder and violence

Instead of an apology for that flick, the administration should have said the above.  The flick is only an excuse for mayhem, and not a very good one at that.

I see it as Romney's strong statement pushed Obama to make a "strong statement" of his own against the murder.  But where was he before, and why did it take this long?

The media is in cover-up mode.  Circle the wagons.

Next Big Future: Could 100 Kilometer high towers usher in the next ...

Next Big Future: Could 100 Kilometer high towers usher in the next ...: A private European organization has a proposal for creating 100-300 kilometer high multipurpose towers. The towers would be composed of m...

Change of pace here.  Space is a big interest of mine, so I won't neglect the topic.

The interesting thing here is to make a tower of lighter than air components.  Provided that the components can be kept stable, which to me is a bit "iffy", the tower can be of enormous size.   From the top of the tower, space missions could be launched.

I'm reminded of JP Aerospace's idea of getting to space with balloons.  This is quite similar, but the difference is that a static structure is used, instead of a moving vehicle.

The article discusses why this is possible and it is a fascinating discussion.  For example:

Question: What diameter would the SpaceShaft need to be?
The larger the diameter of the shaft, the stiffer it will be, and the less effort that will be needed to keep it stable against side winds. To get a better sense of the dimensions we are talking about, at sea level; the diameter of the shaft will be about one kilometer, while at the top about 100 m, pretty much like a gigantic tapered mast. It is important to underline that the system is tapered because is telescopic in nature, (that the external tubular shafts allow for the innermost ones to move vertically,) and that guy lines are also used to force it to a vertical orientation.

The discussion, while fascinating, didn't spell out enough detail in how and why it would work.  So, I'm just a bit skeptical.

Dueling pressers: Romney takes questions, Obama doesn’t on Egypt & Libya attacks

hotair via Instapundit

Mitt Romney came under considerable media criticism today at a press conference on the topic of the day — the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Egypt and Libya, and the deaths of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi. Romney stood his ground on his criticism of the initial responses from the Obama administration despite repeated questions from the press as to whether he’d jumped the gun.

How should Romney have reacted?  I wonder if Romney should let himself be a sitting duck for a hostile press, when Obama won't take any questions himself.

All Romney has to do is point out Obama's incompetence, in my opinion.  That's why Obama won't take questions.  He can't say anything without compounding his problems.  So he says nothing.

Sometimes less is more.

Is This For Real? DNC Puts a Retired Navy 4 Star on Stage with a Pic of Russian Ships Behind Him?

Dave In Texas, Ace of Spades

“The ships are definitely Russian,” said noted naval author Norman Polmar after reviewing hi-resolution photos from the event. “There’s no question of that in my mind.”

Naval experts concluded the background was a photo composite of Russian ships that were overflown by what appear to be U.S. trainer jets. It remains unclear how or why the Democratic Party used what’s believed to be images of the Russian Black Sea Fleet at their convention.

 Unclear?!?  I think it should be blindingly obvious.  The left is so corrupt and incompetent that they can't attend to these details with any degree of competence and ability.

We are so screwed as long as they are in power.  Unless they are booted out en masse, we cannot even begin to rebuild.

News roundup 9/12/2011

There's so many stories out there about the embassy attacks that you cannot link to just one, so I'll link to a bunch of them that I find interesting.

1. Is this 1979?  Deja vu all over again.
2. SARAH PALIN: “Apparently President Obama can’t see Egypt and Libya from his house.” Ouch.
3. DANIEL DREZNER: “How in the hell do the attacks in Cairo and Benghazi not make the front page of the New York Times?” #ProtectingObama
4. “SMART DIPLOMACY” (CONT’D): US Embassy in Cairo quietly deletes its ‘we stand by our apology’ tweet.  The cover-up begins.
5. Storming Embassies, Killing Ambassadors and 'Smart' Diplomacy  "Man's gotta know his limitations".
6. How murder of U.S. ambassador to Libya plunges Obama's re-election campaign into crisis
7. New York Times Buries Attacks...  An inconvenient truth.
8. Hillary Doubled Down on Egypt 'Apology'  Hillary is sabotaging Obama's effort at whitewashing the apology.  Could this be an effort to damage Obama's campaign and set up a Hillary candidacy in 2016?  Just like Bill's speech at the DNC...
9. Islam’s Black Flag Flies Over U.S. Embassy in Egypt  The folly of appeasement.
10. ISLAMISTS DRAG DEAD BODY OF US AMBASSADOR THROUGH THE STREETS OF BENGHAZI! (Updated)  Deja vu all over again.  Black Hawk Down. 
11. Marine unit dispatched to secure consulate in Benghazi after deadly attacks  Closing the barn door after the horses got out.  Really on top of things, aren't they?

How does Obama put lipstick on this pig?   How do people not understand this man's incompetence?

'American Dunkirk' - TCS Daily

'American Dunkirk' - TCS Daily

Yesterday was the anniversary of 9/11/2001.  I didn't have anything not because I forgot, but because I couldn't find anything that I thought was suitable for the times.

This is.  We need to be more self-reliant, not more dependent upon government.  That was the message here in this piece, and one that needs to be emphasized as a way out of the mess we are in.

Drudge: D'Souza Fires Back...

EXCLUSIVE: ’2016 Obama’s America’ Filmmaker Reacts To President’s Slam; Looking For Network To Air Before Election; Says Mainstream Media Refusing Coverage

• DINESH D’SOUZA: “I welcome Obama’s critique of the film. He has probably figured out that he cannot ignore it any longer. Obama’s response is a characteristic mix of name calling and false allegations.
• D’SOUZA: The criticism of the film actually bothers me less than the neglect of the film.
• D’SOUZA: I tried very hard with this film to make an intelligent film with credible sources and new information.
• D’SOUZA: Look, what I say is it’s not that Obama hates America. It’s not that he’s a traitor, that he’s a secret Muslim, that he’s a Manchurian Candidate. He simply subscribes to an ideology that thinks it would be good for America to have a diminished economy and a diminished role in the world.
• D’SOUZA: I’ve been pleasantly surprised and thrilled by its success which I attribute to the deep hunger on the part of people for factual information about Obama, combined with a sense that the full story about Obama is not out there, combined with an intuitive sense that the mainstream media has not been doing its job in fully vetting Obama.  [emphasis added]

Comment:  The media is worthless.  D'Souza is too kind.

President Obama's Campaign Trashes '2016: Obama's America'

hollywoodreporter  via Drudge

• The entry at BarackObama.com quotes from several negative reviews of the film
• The entry is dated Sept. 5, just ahead of the weekend in which 2016: Obama’s America became the second-highest-grossing political documentary in history, behind only Fahrenheit 9/11
• The film, which its marketers dubbed, “the movie the White House doesn’t want you to see,” was in 2,017 theaters during the weekend and is expected to be on the same number this coming weekend.
• “It should say enough about D’Souza’s credibility that a movie catering to the Tea Party attacks someone for allegedly ‘anti-colonial’ views,” the entry reads. “His attempts to hide his lies behind pseudo-scholarly presentation and glossy production values cannot withstand basic scrutiny. 

I would suspect that this is yet another example of the kind of projection that seems to be so common on the left.  Perhaps it is the President himself who cannot withstand basic scrutiny.

It would be one thing if the public fully understood what Obama is and endorsed it.  But it is another thing to have been deceived about what Obama really is.

Why did Obama use the N-word to describe his grandfather?

Fox News via Drudge

• In one of the most remarkable passages in Barack Obama's "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance," he uses the terms "collaborator," "Uncle Tom," and "House nigger" to describe someone he detests.
• he views people who disagree with him—including members of his own family—in terms of ideological kinship or betrayal
• By the time Onyango was 25, Kenya was an official British colony. Onyango was a house servant in Nairobi. He had to carry around identity papers that included evaluations of his previous domestic work.
• During the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s he was detained in an internment camp
• So far we might expect that Onyango would have his grandson's full sympathy, and this indeed was the case.
• It is what followed in Onyango's life that got Barack Obama thinking very differently about him.
• Throughout his life, Onyango identified the British with civilization and progress. 
• From Obama's point of view, Onyango's unforgivable heresy was not merely his admiration of the British, but how this man contemplated the differences between Western and African ways.
• Onyango's favorable disposition toward the West, provoked in Obama a visceral reaction. Obama reports that as he heard Onyango's views, "I...felt betrayed."

If you can think like Sun Tsu, then you can see the way Obama sees this country.  The people need to be lied to in order to defeat them.  According to Sun Tsu, warfare is all about deception.  Obama needs to deceive the public in order to conquer them, and impose upon them his will.  So, he misrepresents himself to the public.  He misrepresents his true intentions.  That to me is what the significance of this is.  Obama is at war with the American people.

Poltical Math: Obama's Record on Private Sector Jobs

Published on Sep 10, 2012 by 10000Pennies

President Obama has been touting his jobs record in a very peculiar and specific way, citing millions of "private sector jobs" over a specific monthly time period. This video looks at the statements he makes and asks why he is being so specific about his jobs record and if that is really an accurate way of looking at the current jobs situation.

Comment:

Enough with Obama's bovine scatology.

Full Interview With Billionaire Frank Giustra

courtesy of Kitco

Published on Sep 3, 2012 by cambridgehouseintl

http://cambridgehouse.com - Mining and entertainment mogul Frank Giustra in conversation with Tommy Humphreys - August 28th, 2012. Topics include inflation, natural resources and wealth creation. Join us Sept 27-28, 2012 for the Toronto Resource Investment Conference - http://cambridgehouse.com/TRIC12

I agree with a lot of what he says, but not all.  I'm adjusting my thinking on the basis on new information.

A claim that may not hold up: Worlds Fastest RC Turbine Jet!

Ok, it may not be the fastest. I mean, I don't know. The reason I put this up is because I wanted to show how small this little sucker is and it is fast ( 200 mph).

Now, yesterday, I put up a butt load of videos that cluttered up my page. This may have led to some adverse viewer reaction, as my page hits went way down. Or maybe it was because of something else.

I didn't make the point that all of this technology could be standardized and miniaturized so that it can be made into something like this miniature. Not only that, it may be possible to fabricate all these parts and assemble them in your own garage. The parts could be fabricated with one of those 3D printer gizmos that I've seen around.

Just goes to show what may be possible in the future.

If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it...

Ace

I think he got that wrong, because he finishes the sentence with "...it has not fallen, for all political purposes."  Actually, it was supposed to be "does it make a sound".  For "sound" was defined as being audible by the human ear, and if there aren't any humans around, there could be no sound--- at least according to that definition.

But it is valid point, just the same.   If nobody hears it, it may as well as not happened.  Kinda like this blog.  If it is brilliant, and nobody reads it, what good is it?  But I am biased.  Maybe my blog isn't brilliant, but it deserves better than this, I should think.  I've been bitching long and hard about this, but that tree keeps falling in an empty forest too.  Oh, well.  Back to Ace.

I'd love to see the various claims of Obama and Clinton run in a Romney add with the words "LIE" or "MISLEADING" popping up, with the actual facts rebutting them.

Yeah, that's what I said yesterday.   Nice to know that Ace and I on the same page on this point.

But here's where I disagree with those who think Romney is wrong to make this about competence.  It is incompetence for Obama to run on this because the claim is so easily refuted.  The only thing more incompetent is not to use it.  So, if Romney loses, it will be mostly due to default.  He has to prove his own competence as he demonstrates Obama's.  This is something Dukakis couldn't do.  It is a good strategy only if you can execute it.  It's not a bad strategy per se, or just because Dukaka couldn't execute it.

Update: Cold Fusion Progress in 2012

oilprice.com  via Pesn

Sterling Allen interviewed Michael McKubre of SRI International, the international research lab in Menlo Park, CA in a one and a half hour talk covering a wide range of topics. McKubre, long-time cold fusion researcher, has one of the best views of the LENR or Cold Fusion field with experience to match.

I didn't know that Martin Fleischmann had died (Aug 3rd).

There was an E-cat conference Zurich (video).

How To Build A Jet Engine

This is an interesting series of videos.  This guy is self-admittedly not a jet engine expert.  Also, this is not the complete deal here.

I wouldn't advise anybody to do any of this.  So, why put it up?  Cuz it's interesting.

Part 1



Part 2



Part 2.5



Part 3



Bonus video



Part 4




Turbojet Engine Test (JUST THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER)




Homemade Turbojet




How To Build A Jet Engine - FAQ's

The Truth About the Unemployment Rate in 2 Graphs

http://www.americanthinker.com

According to the St. Louis Federal Reserve office, there are about 240 million Americans of working age. When the President took office in 2009, the Labor Participation rate was 65.8% but has fallen to 63.5% --the lowest in 30 years -- as of Friday's BLS report. This means that since the President has taken office, 5.5 million Americans have stopped looking for work and are not included in the un-employment rate![ emphasis added]

Obama can't win this argument.  All he can do is put lipstick on the pig and hope that nobody notices.

By the way, I emphasized "working age" above because it is an objective number.  Labor participation rate, therefore, is an objective number that can't be politically spun.  However, the unemployment rate is not objective, because it can and it is being spun.

Don't be fooled.

Un-Spinning Jobs Numbers

http://www.americanthinker.com

using the same measure Obama uses: private-sector job increases over the 30 months from the low point associated with a recession. And since the number of total private jobs varied from 37 to 115 million over those years, a percentage change is a more fair comparison than absolute numbers.

So how does Obama stack up against other recession-recovery presidents? The worst except for Jimmy Carter. That's because, in Carter's case, a second recession started within that 30-month window. [emphasis included]

Another winning issue for Romney.  Obama keeps touting it as a recovery, which it clearly isn't.  It isn't a recovery until jobs return to what they were before the recession began, and we are 4.2 million jobs short.

The Democrats’ GM Fiction

It's the winning issue for Romney.

The Democrats have decided to run in 2012 as the bailout party. It is an odd choice — the 2008–09 bailouts were deeply unpopular among the general public, and even their backers were notably conflicted about the precedent being set and the ensuing moral hazard.

The bailouts were not popular.  Not to mention that the GM bailout will not succeed in the long run.  The upcoming failure of the company will be proof positive that this presidency has been a failure.  It is also true that incompetent people don't know how or why they are incompetent.  That's why they keep talking it up as a success.  They really don't know why this was a failure.

Obama Misrepresents Auto Bailout– GM DID Go Bankrupt

http://nlpc.org
via Free Republic

• The clear implication is that GM never went through the bankruptcy process that Romney suggested.
• And the fact is, GM DID go bankrupt.
• The evidence that union friends of Obama received favorable treatment is also irrefutable.
• Nowhere is the evidence clearer that the UAW was favored over non-union parties as in the Delphi (GM's parts supplier) retiree case.
• GM could have now been in a much better position right now if over $100 billion dollars of UAW benefits were not deemed untouchable by the Obama Administration.
• The manner in which GM was "saved" is nothing to brag about, much less to run a presidential campaign upon. Unless you believe that bankrupting a major American corporation under a process that favors political friends using billions of taxpayer dollars is a worthy accomplishment.

That bailout wasn't really popular, except amongst Democrats.  This could be a campaign issue if Romney would use it.  How else will people learn about it, unless Romney makes an issue out of it. The media certainly won't inform the public.

One commenter on Freeper said that the taxpayer is still on the hook for the AIG bailout too.  Hell, even I didn't know that.  Geez.

Iceland Shows Other Europeans How to Survive Bankruptcy

http://reason.com  via Instapundit

Update:

Clarification:  I have to clarify that the link above is not what I'm writing about below.  Read both and compare in order to get the point.  I apologize for any confusion.

Actually, this video shows another theory as to why Iceland has done better than the rest of Europe.  That theory is that central bankers should not control monetary policy, but that the government should.  Plus, that there should be no leverage in the banking system--- that is, no fractional reserve policy.  Iceland may be following that prescription.

Milton Friedman's theory was to increase the money supply on a regular basis--- in conformance with a long term average of 3% economic growth in the United States.  How you do this under our current system is by increasing debt.  As I wrote earlier, much of this debt has no real significance--- it is simply going from one pocket of the government to the other.

It may be better to get rid of all leverage, but that can't be done now.  But to get rid of debt may not be such a hot idea.  It simply would be too tempting for the government to load up on spending just by printing greenbacks.  I think debt keeps some discipline in the system.  But it does give you some pause in criticizing monetary stimulus.  Yet, I haven't been that critical of monetary stimulus, but there ought to be some reason behind the spending aside from pure politics.  The spending should encourage desirable goals, which I have stated over and over again as the mastery of energy and space.  These could be the new growth drivers for the future prosperity of the nation.

Scientists cast doubt on Heisenberg's uncertainty principle

www.sciencedaily.com

Nagoya University physicist Masanao Ozawa suggested in 2003 that Heisenberg's uncertainty principle does not apply to measurement, but could only suggest an indirect way to confirm his predictions. A validation of the sort he proposed was carried out last year by Yuji Hasegawa's group at the Vienna University of Technology. In 2010, Griffith University scientists Austin Lund and Howard Wiseman showed that weak measurements could be used to characterize the process of measuring a quantum system. However, there were still hurdles to clear as their idea effectively required a small quantum computer, which is difficult to build.

Could it be possible to make a Star Trek type communication device that would allow you to talk to somebody in real time on Mars?

Milton Friedman Puts A Young Michael Moore In His Place

I included the description because this isn't actually Michael Moore, but someone who is like Michael Moore in his way of thinking.

Uploaded by ScrewJJ on Feb 21, 2010

Milton Friedman Puts A Young Michael Moore In His Place
*Update*
Holy cow! I never thought this video would get so many views. I uploaded it as a joke - this is not the real Michael Moore (although if you add some neckfat it would be hard to tell the difference). I meant "A Young Michael Moore" in the sense that a child who is great at basketball is a "Young Michael Jordan". Nevertheless, I'm glad it stirred some debate in the comment section, it's a great back and forth between Friedman and the kid, IMO. I thought the metaphor would be obvious, seeing as how the kid is a skinny redhead, while Michael Moore... well, isn't a skinny redhead. I apologize for the confusion.

Friedman does a good job to knocking this kid's arguments in a cocked hat, as it were. Too bad that we don't have a Friedman anymore who could do this as well as he did here.

What I'm referring to the real Michael Moore's arguments in his movies. First, this video, then I'll carry on with that thought.



You see, one of the things I did yesterday was watch Moore and Hannity together, and after thinking it over, I think Hannity didn't do a good enough job with Moore. People on the conservative side look up to Hannity to provide some leadership here, and I think the best he could do was a draw.

After watching Moore and Hannity on YouTube, I decided to watch Moore's movie Capitalism: A Love Story.    It is just like Roger and Me, which I reviewed here recently.  Moore is a gifted propagandist.  The main thing to remember about propaganda is that it isn't truth, but it is taken as truth by the gullible.  That's what Moore is preying upon--- the gullibility of his audience.

It is too bad that Hannity could not show why Moore isn't enlightening anybody, but inciting people instead.  Incitement isn't enlightenment, but the opposite.