REPORTING FOR DUTY
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Jul
1
How Many Sheep Does It Take To Clean Up An Oil Spill?
July 1, 2010 | 1 Comment
An old family friend, Daniel Sinykin, sends in the following video of his potential solution to the BP Oil disaster. His idea is an improvement on the hair based techniques that have received attention in the wake of the ongoing spill. (According to one report the hair booms are not being used because in early tests they became water logged and sank.)
In the following clips, Daniel demonstrates the potential effectiveness of using wool to soak up the oil.
Daniel is hoping for two things over the coming days and weeks. First, he hopes that field trials in the Gulf prove successful. And second, he hopes that he can get the attention of BP and Federal Government.
From an interview Daniel gave to NBC Chicago:
So far, Monterey Mills has yet to be contacted by BP or the government, but Sinykin said they expect a meeting very soon. In the meantime, they plan to head to the Gulf Coast in a few weeks’ time and, armed with rolls of wool, attempt to prove their concept.
Good luck with that Daniel! A few questions come to mind though, some of them serious… It’s one thing to soak up oil in a small tub or pool, but another task altogether to do it in open water. Will it work on a much larger scale, in choppy water? Just how many sheep would it take to clean up a gusher of this magnitude? Are there possibly enough wool producing livestock in America to meet the demand? Will alpaca wool work as well as cashmere? Would it be just as effective to simply dump millions of sheep into the Gulf, and then scoop them up after they are done soaking up the oil? Do sheep float, or just their wool?
Our guess is that it is going to take a diversity of solutions to treat the largest man-made environmental disaster in American history. Maybe this is one of them.
Jun
30
Report: “White House Interferes with New York Times Investigation of Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan”
June 30, 2010 | 3 Comments
This report kind of makes you wonder what the White House is attempting to avoid.
Washington, DC — June 30, 2010 Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents from Hunter College High School regarding a White House effort to deny New York Times education reporter Sharon Otterman access to Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s brother Irving, who currently teaches at the New York school. Otterman requested and received permission from both the school and Irving Kagan to attend one of Mr. Kagan’s constitutional law classes before White House Deputy Press Secretary Joshua Earnest intervened. “I’m definitely not comfortable with that at this point,” Earnest wrote to Ms. Otterman on May 11, 2010.
On the other hand, maybe this is just a smoke screen to prevent people from reading this partial-birth abortion memo Kagan wrote (emphasis added in red):
December 14, 1996
MEMORANDUM FOR JACK QUINN
KATHY WALLMAN
FROM: ELENA KAGAN
SUBJECT: PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION
Some news on the partial-birth abortion front (especially apropos in light of the President’s remarks on Friday):1. Todd Stem just discovered that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is thinking about issuing a statement (attached) that includes the following sentence: “[A] select panel convened by ACOG could identify no circumstances under which [the partial-birth] procedure … would be the only option to save the life or preserve the health of the woman.” This, of course, would be disaster –not the less so (in fact, the more so)
because ACOG continues to oppose the legislation. It is unclear whether ACOG will issue the statement; even if it does not, there is obviously a chance that the draft will become public. (The AMA last week decided to continue to take no position on the partial-birth issue.)
Jun
30
(ORIGINAL VIDEO) Jon David Kahn’s American Heart
June 30, 2010 | 1 Comment
At least one of your Founding Bloggers has been toiling endlessly to bring you the following music video for the amazing song, “American Heart”, written and performed by Jon “David” Kahn. Please visit his website AmericanHeartMusic.com, and consider purchasing the song for download. A portion of the proceeds go to a worthy cause, Ride2Recovery.
Be sure to set the YouTube player quality to 480p for the best version of this video.
Directed by Andrew Marcus
Produced by Maura Flynn and Andrew Marcus
Edited by Michael Kadela and Andrew Marcus
Jun
29
Non-Violent Rioting In Toronto: A Brief Round-Up
June 29, 2010 | 3 Comments
Below is a brief roundup of some of the Progressive-Marxist non-violent rioting that took place over the weekend in Toronto.
Progressive-Marxists hate the G20, and have declared it illegitimate.
The actions started with a raid on the University of Toronto campus, where “street weapons” were found, as were the black ‘uniforms’ of the Anarchy faction of the Progressive movement known as the “Black Bloc”.
More than 600 arrests as G20 protests swell
The day had begun with a raid during which security forces made 70 arrests at the University of Toronto campus in the early-morning hours. The Integrated Security Unit said they seized a “cache of weapons” including bricks and other “street weapons” as well as black clothing.
Here is another account of the University of Toronto’s role in the violence:
Student Union Provides Housing For Out Of Town Anarchists
Toronto Police raided the building and took about 70 people into custody.
“We’ve seized bottles with unknown substances inside, we’ve seized black clothing, bricks, sharpened sticks, items that you definitely do not need to spend any time in Toronto,” Constable Rob MacDonald said.
That’s the same type of weapons and clothing that violent protesters used in the downtown core.
The Toronto police have announced that they found weapons stashed along protest routes. They said they will be displaying them soon.
Here is a video of the Progressive Anarchists setting fires, rioting, and destroying property.
Here is a rather sympathetic video report from Russia Today about the violent tactics of the Progressive-Marxist rioters:
From Seattle, to St. Paul, to Toronto, the Progressive Left has their very own Black Bloc of violent rioters, yet the Conservative Tea Party movement is the threat to peace and security?
Jun
29
We submitted this to Big Government a couple of days ago, so the events are already over, but we thought it would be appropriate to post it here now, and provide some roundup of the Progressive-Marxist-Jihad that unfolded last weekend in Canada. First, the original post, and then the roundup at the bottom:
This weekend (starting today) looks like it is shaping up to be the next chapter in the ongoing Progressive-Marxist revolution now underway across the globe. Previous chapters of the revolution include, but are not limited to, the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle, the “anti-war”* protests during the Bush presidency, the 2004 and 2008 protests against the Republican conventions, the Bank of America protests, the Gaza Flotilla movement, etc… *The asterisk marks the discredit earned by the “anti-war” movement through their silence since President Obama took office, despite the continuation of the wars allegedly being protested against.
Here is their description of the event they are holding Saturday night:
GET OFF THE FENCE
Confrontational Anti-Colonial, Anti-Capitalist
Convergence in solidarity with the
People’s First Demonstration
26 June 2010, 1pm, Queen’s Park
And then onwards to the Fence
If you want to understand the art of confrontational anti-capitalism, look no further than this Organizing Manual produced by one of the leading organizers of confrontational street (and flotilla) demonstrations. Pay special attention to the sections entitled, “198 Methods of Nonviolent Action” and “Tools for White Guys who are Working for Social Change and Other People Socialized in a Society Based on Domination.” Below is an excerpt from their section about the intentional tactic of getting arrested.
Stay in jail or not:
In-jail solidarity uses our strength of numbers to raise the political and economic costs of the system. It cost the authorities both economically and politically to keep large numbers of people locked up after an action, especially if we can mobilize outside pressure. Large numbers of people in jail can give us lots of leverage with the system.
But stay-in-jail strategies are very costly to us, as well. In situations where jail conditions are extremely hazardous to the very life and safety of protestors, we want to get people out of jail as quickly as possible and mobilize pressure in other ways. In an extended action, or when the authorities use preemptive arrests to undercut our numbers, we may want to get people back on the street quickly. When legal consequences of an action are likely to be minor, an in-jail strategy may not be worth the cost. And people may also have individual reasons for getting out of jail as fast as they can: family responsibilities, medical conditions that put them at risk in a jail situation, work responsibilities, etc.
Stay-in-jail strategies work best with larger numbers, but they do not require unanimity to work. We want to encourage people to do actions whether or not they can stay in jail afterwards. Solidarity is no longer effective movement building if the costs of an action become so high that only the extremely heroic or the chronically unemployed can do actions. When people feel judged or coerced into solidarity stands, they often react against the whole idea and may be reluctant to do future actions. When people feel supported in their choices, they will often make great personal sacrifices to support the group.
If we’re trying to keep people out on the street for an extended action, or if projected legal consequences are slight, we might want to take opportunities to get quickly released from custody. If we have people to protect: individuals who might be singled out, internationals who face immigration issues, etc., we might employ a strategy that involves staying in jail until everyone is released. Or if we are asked to make unacceptable compromises in order to be released, for example, posting high bail or accepting conditions that might prevent us from doing future actions, we may need to use in-jail solidarity.
A stay-in-jail solidarity strategy needs some coordination before the action, so that people are prepared and know what choices to make under the stressful conditions of arrest.
How to Stay in Jail:
Refuse to sign out:
In mass actions, authorities are often willing to release most people if they sign a promise to appear for a court date, or if they post a reasonable bail.
The authorities may also ask people to sign statements saying they will not return to a certain action or area.
To stay in jail, refuse to sign or to post bail.
Bail is one of the ways the poor are kept incarcerated and people with money get released. Some activists refuse to post bail as part of their moral or political stand. For others, the choice may depend upon the situation.
Refuse to give names:
Authorities are generally reluctant to free prisoners without knowing who we are. For this tactic to be effective, protestors should not carry identification to the action. For this reason, it needs to be coordinated ahead of time. This tactic also greatly interferes with the smooth running of the jail system, and is a tactic generally hated by the authorities. It can be a powerful bargaining point in solidarity negotiations.
However, it’s a bargaining point we most often concede in the end. Protestors should not hold the illusion that they will be able to go through the entire system and be released without giving names. Occasionally this happens, but generally not.
Here is a video clip of the organizers of this weekend’s G8/G20 protests holding a press conference.
Will any of the skeptical press that covered this conference dig into who these groups are and who is organizing them?
Here is link to the video that preceded the one embedded above. In it, they state their goal to destroy the G8/G20.
No confirmation if this report is connected to the planned protests, but given the tactics of “direct action,” it hardly seems implausible:
June 24 (Reuters) – Canadian police said on Thursday they had pulled over a car containing “dangerous materials” near the site where an international summit will be held in Toronto this weekend.
Toronto police chief Bill Blair told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that there had been sticks — possibly ax handles — and gasoline in the car. The driver was arrested.
UPDATE: And now a brief summary of the violence committed by the Progressive-Marxist Social Jihadis.
The day started with a raid on the University of Toronto campus, where “street weapons” were found, as were the black ‘uniforms’ of the Anarchy faction of the Progressive movement known as the “Black Bloc”.
More than 600 arrests as G20 protests swell
The day had begun with a raid during which security forces made 70 arrests at the University of Toronto campus in the early-morning hours. The Integrated Security Unit said they seized a “cache of weapons” including bricks and other “street weapons” as well as black clothing.
Here is another account of the University of Toronto’s role in the violence:
Student Union Provides Housing For Out Of Town Anarchists
Toronto Police raided the building and took about 70 people into custody.
“We’ve seized bottles with unknown substances inside, we’ve seized black clothing, bricks, sharpened sticks, items that you definitely do not need to spend any time in Toronto,” Constable Rob MacDonald said.
That’s the same type of weapons and clothing that violent protesters used in the downtown core.
The Toronto police have announced that they found weapons stashed along protest routes. They said they will be displaying them soon.
Here is a video of the Progressive Anarchists setting fires, rioting, and destroying property.
Here is a rather sympathetic video report from Russia Today about the violent tactics of the Progressive-Marxist rioters:
Jun
23
It Hurts Because It Is True
June 23, 2010 | 5 Comments
Claudia Rosett offers this wise observation regarding the speed with which the Obama administration has summoned General McChrystal to Washington following his recent critical comments in Rolling Stone Magazine:
If only Obama had been as eager to clear time on his calendar for McChrystal back in 2009. That’s when really getting to know the general — the man entrusted with winning the war in Afghanistan — should have been one of the top priorities of the new president.
It hurts because it is true.
Jun
23
Tribune Corp Runs Interference For Hamas – Reminds Readers Of Hamas Social Work
June 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Chicago Breaking News is reporting that the Illinois State Police failed to perform background checks on individuals receiving training as volunteer chaplains.
State police said they discovered after all seven volunteers completed the training that detailed background checks had not been performed.
Turns out one of the trainees, Sheikh Mustapha, was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial, a fact pointed out to the Illinois State Police by Steve Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism.
In the Holy Land Foundation case, the founders were sentenced to 6 1/2 decades in jail for raising money for Hamas. Reportedly, Sheikh Mustapha was their Chicago rainmaker.
In their reporting on this story, Tribune Corp goes out of its way run interference for the terrorist organization, Hamas.
The foundation’s two founding members were sentenced last year to 65 years in prison each for funneling millions of dollars to Hamas, a militant Palestinian group that the U.S. has labeled terrorist but also does social work. Mustapha raised money for the group in Chicago.
Yeah sure, Hamas openly declares their Jihad to kill all of the Jews. And okay, they did take over the Gaza Strip in an extremely bloody wave of violence, declaring an Islamic state with the mission of destroying the Jewish state. But they aren’t all bad. They also do some social work and community organizing.
Why would mainstream media outlets like Tribune corp offer an alternative narrative on an openly homicidal Jihad terror organization? They are probably just making a down payment on the safety and access of Tribune stringers delivering valuable on the scene reports and images of Hamas actions against the Jews. Put another way, cash strapped Tribune corp profits off of the distribution of this dramatic content. In that sense, corporate media giants like Tribune and Reuters and AP are war profiteers who depend on access to jihad war zones.
Interestingly, this piece ran the same day the Supreme Court ruled that you cannot differentiate between the terrorist arm of a Jihad organization and its so called humanitarian components, a decision sure to disappoint the mainstream Progressive Democrats who are behind the recent pro-Hamas actions against Israel.
Jun
21
Oliver Stone thinks that the world has gotten the wrong idea about Marxist revolutionary Hugo Chavez. Sure his government doesn’t appear to recognize any limit on its power, and has systematically dismantled the private economy, Cuba style. Sure, he jails and intimidates his political opposition. That doesn’t mean Hugo is all bad, right?
In an attempt to balance the evil-and-imperialist-American public relations campaign to assassinate the character of this misunderstood Marxist, former feature filmmaker, Oliver Stone, has produced and premiered his first political porno video about the life and times of Hugo Chavez and the glorious rise of Marxist-Fascism in South America.
Click here or image below to view the video:
WARNING: NSFW – Oliver Stone gets down on all fours and takes the ‘big red one’ FULLY into his mouth and elsewhere. Watch at your own risk.
Oliver Stone is also a public supporter of the Progressive Jihad against Israel.
Jun
20
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
June 20, 2010 | 4 Comments
On one hand, Illinois tax payers are going to fork over $6 million to complete the Museum of Broadcast and Communications (pictured above), a project which has been stalled midway through construction for the past couple of years.
On the other hand, Illinois has the highest rate of under-funded pensions in the nation.
Illinois is number one! In under-funded pensions and per capita debt
Priorities!
Jun
20
Gateway Pundit V. Adam Horowitz
June 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Jim Hoft was asked to offer his take on President Obama’s response to the Hamas Flotilla. His essay runs counter to a pro-Hamas Flotilla perspective on the issue.
Obama defends jihad and hurls stun grenades at U.S.-Israel relations
by Jim Hoft
Do you remember when Jesse Jackson said that under Obama Jews would lose all of their clout?
He was right. In truth, Jews will be lucky if they only lose their clout during the Obama years.
Read the whole thing.
Here is what the pro-Hamas Flotilla writer had to say:
Weak response a reminder that Obama hasn’t changed Israeli-Palestinian policy for better
by Adam Horowitz
For many, the Obama administration’s response to the recent Israeli attack on the flotilla bringing humanitarian supplies, and political attention, to the besieged Gaza Strip only confirms what they have come to fear in the past year: Not much has changed in U.S. foreign policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the George W. Bush administration. Although President Barack Obama raised many hopes a year ago with his landmark speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, his administration’s apparent unwillingness to apply meaningful pressure on Israel shows the status quo remains.
How conveniently this ignores the close ties President Obama has to the community organizers behind the Hamas Flotilla. Adam Horowitz must not be satisfied with wink-nod permissiveness the Obama administration currently offers their Alinsky comrades. We would suggest Adam be patient. It’s only a matter of time before President Obama either extracts an agreement from Israel wherein they agree to commit national suicide, or more overtly supports his Marxist friends actions against the Jews.
Jun
18
President Obama’s First Boss (VIDEO)
June 18, 2010 | 3 Comments
Gateway Pundit recently posted something related to President Obama’s former co-professors at the University of Chicago.
Well, Obama got the last laugh there because he is the President, but it reminded us of this video we unearthed some time back, of Barack Obama’s first boss in the community organizing world, Greg Galluzzo.
Mr. Galluzzo appears to take a bitter swipe at the newly elected President Barack Obama starting at :55 seconds
“An organization is created and great hope arises. and the people in the community say oh my god we are on a journey someplace. And then the organizer goes off to law school and the organization hits a train…becomes a train wreck. And collapses so.. Thousands of organizations were created, created tremendous hope and expectations in the hearts and minds of people, and then it’s all dashed. In fact the organization becomes nothing more than a plaything, a tool, a stepping stone for a person on their path to the presidency of the United States, or to a foundation, or to law school. And uh, so, the people’s hopes are dashed, People’s expectations are dashed. So that makes me angry.”
That would sound very bad in a letter of reference.
Jun
18
Tell Me Who Are You?!
June 18, 2010 | 2 Comments
When you slow Etheridge down like this, it really makes him look and sound very intoxicated.
