I don’t understand Why Ann Cecil Did what she did

I HAD A VERY DEAR FRIEND.
Her name was Roberta Ann Cecil but for reasons best known only to her, she disliked “Roberta” and always went by “Ann.”

So that this Ann Cecil won’t be confused with other Ann Cecils,

Ann was the daughter of Paul and Faith Cecil and sister to one brother, John. John married Janice and after living in Michigan for some years, they moved to California. John and Janice had a daughter named Morgan.

Ann had an English degree from Rutgers and a masters in Statistics from Syracuse.

She was active in literary groups and worked for years at the local university.

She lived for awhile in Danbury CT, Syracuse, Harrisburg PA, and Pittsburgh.

Ann died childless at age 71 in Pittsburgh PA.

 

So what is the point of this entry?

Ann was interested in genealogy.

She was not just a tombstone reader; she visited any living relative she could locate and delved into their — and her — history.

When she died of cancer at only 71 years she asked to be cremated and the ashes — for wont of a better term — “disposed” of with little fanfare.

“Fanfare”probably is an excellent choice of word for Ann since she had fans aplenty.

But the thing that continues to haunt me is her desire to leave no trace.

Certainly she left her mark on a number of individuals, including this scrivener.

She left her mark on the literary group.

She left her mark on the university.

But for those who come after her, those budding genealogists who want to follow the Cecil line, there is a dead end; no “Who was Ann?” or any history at all of the woman known to most as Ann Cecil.

Once the on-line obits and eulogies are forgotten, so too Ann Cecil.

No one, not even those of us who knew Ann, live forever, and as we fade from life so, too, the memory of Ann Cecil.

It’s sad.

Ann was a woman of many talents and even more interests.

She was a woman who deserved to be remembered if by nothing more than a marker, a “Kilroy was here” plaque somewhere.

As I get older, I realize that even if Ann had children of her own, one or two generations later family would be hard pressed to remember Ann.

On the other hand, people such as this scrivener occasionally visit cemeteries — especially old cemeteries in odd places — to read and cogitate or speculate on the “residents.” Who they were, how they lived; how they died.

When you see a number of markers with close dates of death the assumption is that a disease passed through, taking its toll. If a marker lists a date of death shortly after a date of birth you almost can feel the parents’ pain.

I don’t know WHY Roberta Ann Cecil elected to forego a marker, a plaque, or some other physical indication that she shared herself with so many.

Ann always did things her way. For her, that was the right way.

But I still can’t fathom why a person who chased history would erase herself from the history that she made.

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Houses of worship Around the world Targeted by crazies

PASTOR MARTIN NIEMÖLLER’s famous quote: "When they came for ...”¹ is, sadly, applicable for houses of worship around the world.

After the Chabad House shooting in Poway CA on Shabat on 27 April, police claim to have found a virulently anti-Semitic “open letter” published by the gunman on the far-right forum 8chan. The letter was reportedly similar to a document published on the same platform by the suspect arrested after the terrorist attack inside two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand last month.²

MEANWHILE, in Mount Royal, Canada, a knife-wielding man attacked a Catholic priest as the priest was saying mass. ³ The priest received non-life threatening injuries and was back on the job quickly.

In all the attacks (ibid.), only one person was responsible for killing and maiming innocent people.

Add to the attacks in New Zealand, Poway, and Mount Royal, the attack on the Pittsburgh synagogue.

“Church may be one of our last places of refuge. Now it’s as if that is even being challenged,” said Joey Spann, the pastor of Burnette Chapel Church of Christ near Nashville. Spann was shot in the hand and chest on Sept. 24. That Sunday, a 25-year-old former congregant waited in the parking lot for people to leave the morning service then opened fire, killing a mother of two and injuring seven others. ⁴

2012 Six people were killed at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in 2012

In 2012, a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., was getting ready for Sunday services when an armed man walked in and started firing.
Congregants ran for shelter and barricaded themselves in bathrooms and prayer halls, where they made desperate phone calls and sent anguished texts pleading for help as confusion and fear took hold.
The gunman, Wade M. Page, an Army veteran with ties to white supremacist groups, killed himself.

2015 Nine people were killed at a historic black church in South Carolina in 2015.

In 2015, a white gunman killed nine black parishioners at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, S.C.
Dylann S. Roof, a self-radicalized white supremacist, confessed to the killings.

2017 26 people were killed at a Texas church in 2017

Law enforcement authorities have said the shooting might have stemmed from a dispute between Mr. Kelley and his mother-in-law.
Among those killed were several children, the pastor’s 14-year-old daughter and eight members of a single family.

2018

11 Killed in 2018 Synagogue Massacre; Suspect Charged With 29 Counts

Armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and at least three handguns, a man shouting anti-Semitic slurs opened fire inside a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday morning, killing at least 11 congregants and wounding four police officers and two others, the authorities said.
In a rampage described as among the deadliest against the Jewish community in the United States, the assailant stormed into the Tree of Life Congregation, where worshipers had gathered in separate rooms to celebrate their faith, and shot indiscriminately into the crowd, shattering what had otherwise been a peaceful morning.

Preceding from http://tinyurl.com/yb5q8uhq

2019 New Zealand Mosque Massacres

At least forty-nine people were killed and dozens injured in shootings at two mosques in New Zealand's second-largest city of Christchurch on Friday (March 15) in what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said was a well-planned terror attack, forcing the government to place the country on its highest security threat level.

http://tinyurl.com/yy55kpaf

ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD (http://tinyurl.com/y6sqkp35)

Oct. 31, 2010 - Baghdad : Al-Qaida in Iraq militants attack Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church in Baghdad during Sunday night mass, killing 58 people in the deadliest assault targeting Christians since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion there. Al-Qaida in Iraq later became the Islamic State group.

Dec. 15, 2010 - Iran: Two suicide bombers from the Sunni extremist group Jundallah blow themselves up near a mosque in southeastern Iran, including six Revolutionary Guard commanders.

July 16, 2010 - Iran: Jundallah group kills 27 and injures 270 after it carries out a double suicide bombing against another Shiite mosque in southeastern Iran.

Nov. 18, 2014 - Israel: Two "Palestinians" using axes, knives and a gun kill four Jewish worshipers and an Israeli police officer in an attack on a Jerusalem synagogue.

Jan. 30, 2015 - Pakistan: Suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in the Pakistani town of Shikarpur kills 71. Jundullah claims responsibility.

March 20, 2015 - Yemen: Islamic State suicide bombers attack a pair of mosques in Yemen’s capital, unleashing monstrous blasts that ripped through worshipers and killed 137 people.

Sept. 24, 2015 - Yemen: A suicide bomber strikes a mosque in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, killing 25 worshipers during prayers for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Nov. 12, 2016 - Pakistan: Suicide bomber from Islamic State group kills over 50 at the shrine of Shah Noorani, in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.

Dec. 11, 2016 - Cairo: Suicide bomber strikes inside a Cairo chapel adjacent to St. Mark’s Cathedral, seat of Egypt’s ancient Coptic Orthodox Church. The Islamic State group claimed the attack, which killed at least 25 people.

Jan. 29, 2017 -Quebec City: A gunman killed six men during evening prayers at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City. Alexandre Bissonnette pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and attempted murder charges and was sentenced to serve 40 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

Feb. 16, 2017 - Pakistan: Suicide bomber detonates his explosives vest among the devotees at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Pakistan’s Sindh province, killing 98.

April 9, 2017 - Egypt: Twin suicide bombings rock churches in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria and Tanta, killing at least 45 people. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group.

June 15, 2017 - Afghanistan: A suicide bomber kills four people at a Shiite mosque in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul. Among the dead is a leader of Afghanistan’s ethnic Hazaras, who are mostly Shiite Muslims.

Aug. 1, 2017 - Afghanistan: A suicide bomber storms into the largest Shiite mosque in Afghanistan’s western Herat province, opening fire on worshipers before blowing himself up, killing at least 90 people. Hundreds more were wounded in the attack, which happened during evening prayers.

Aug. 3, 2018 - Afghanistan: Suicide bombers disguised in burqa robes attack a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan, killing 27 people.

Aug. 25, 2017 - Kabul: Militants storm a packed Shiite mosque in Kabul during Friday prayers. The attack ends with at least 28 worshipers killed and 50 wounded, many of them children. Two of the assailants blow themselves up and another two are shot dead by Afghan security forces.

Sept. 29, 2017 - Kabul: A suicide bomber blows himself up outside a Shiite mosque in Kabul, killing five. The attack took place as worshipers were leaving the mosque after Friday prayers.

Oct. 20, 2017: The Islamic State group claims a suicide bomber attack, killing 31 and wounding 29 people, at a Shiite mosque in Kabul.

Nov. 24, 2017 - Egypt: Militants kill 311 worshipers in a mosque attack in north Sinai, the deadliest such terrorist attack in Egypt’s modern history.

Dec. 17, 2017 - Pakistan: Islamic State attack on a church in Pakistani city of Quetta kills 16 people.

Jan. 27, 2019 - Philippines: Two suicide attackers detonate two bombs during a Mass in a Roman Catholic cathedral on the largely Muslim island of Jolo in the southern Philippines, killing 23 and wounding about 100 others. Three days later, an attacker hurls a grenade in a mosque in nearby Zamboanga city, killing two religious teachers.

Apr. 22, 2019 - Sri Lanka: Suicide bombers struck churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing more than 290 people in a highly coordinated attack targeting Christians and foreigners that left this island nation reeling. (http://tinyurl.com/y2v99zxc)
The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday for the Easter Sunday bombings at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, as the government there raised the number of people killed to 321. The group’s Amaq news agency called the bombers “Islamic State fighters.” (http://tinyurl.com/y2v99zxc)

 

President Donald Trump offered his condolences and condemned the San Diego shooting. “Our entire nation mourns the loss of life, prays for the wounded, and stands in solidarity with the Jewish community,” he said. “We forcefully condemn the evil of anti-Semitism and hate, which must be defeated.”

This attack, like the attack in Pittsburgh and attacks elsewhere, was preceded by threatening messages on the internet; messages posted by the attackers; messages that apparently — like the 9-11 (2001) rantings and those before mass murders at U.S. schools — went unnoticed or simply were ignored.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tweeted about the shooting in her home state: “Coming just six months after the horrific mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, we are confronted with what appears to be another anti-Semitic attack. We all stand with the Jewish community against this act of hate.” ²

I wonder if Ms. Pelosi would call another attack on a mosque (following the attack in New Zealand) “what appears to be” an anti-Islamist attack. It is interesting to note the absolute silence from Reps. Omar, Tlaib, and Ocasio-Cortez, and Sen. Bernie Sanders regarding the attacks by Islamist terrorists against Christians, Jews, and their fellow Muslims.

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References

1. First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
   Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
   Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
   Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

2. http://tinyurl.com/y29adf4s

3. http://tinyurl.com/y4rluy9l

4. http://tinyurl.com/yywwf86j

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Unsafe to pray

Opuscula Who stokes Anti-Semitism Fires in the U.S.?

QUICK ANSWER: THE NEW YORK TIMES TRASH, the rag that claims it is America’s newspaper.

Americans know the likes of Omar, Tlaib, AOC, and Bernie Sanders and most thinking Americans tend to ignore their anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rants.

But the NYT?

The NYT is like Franklin Delano Roosevelt to many Jews; they can’t or won’t believe it hates Jews as much as it does.

Brass idols with feet of clay.

 

Anti-Semitic/Anti-Israel and anti-Trump cartoon from NYT on 25 April, in the middle of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Source: NYTimes

 

For generations, left-leaning Jews had a love affair with the rag. Sunday was not Sunday sans the NYT. For New York’s denizens, the fish wrapper DID contain local, neighborhood news.

For Jews “in the arts,” this paper bound for the floor of a bird cage, told them what to see, what to hear, what to read, as well as what to avoid. If something “made the” publication — All the news that fits — it “made” it financially. Usually.

Outside of The City (East) — there is a cultured City-West called San Francisco — the rag was just a show piece. See, I have the NYT; I read the (book/movie/play) review or I always do the crossword. A once-a-week coffee table display in the ‘burbs.

When I lived in Trenton — I worked for the new defunct Trenton Times-Advertiser — I would on a rare occasion buy the New York publication. What I wanted then, the classifieds, was missing from the hinterland editions. My own paper had everything else: international, national, and local news as well as comics. And since I worked for the Trenton newspaper, I got it free. (I always thought a free newspaper was a great perk.)

Since I was not a frequent reader of the NYT, I don’t recall its politics of the time.

I do know its politics of today.

Leftist.

Anti-Israel and anti-Jewish; pro-UN, pro-PLO, and pro-Hamas.

I am not like some who consider any word critical of Jews or Israel to be anti-this or that.

Neither are above reproach.

But then, who is?

Jesus — the Jew, not the NYT’s fake “Palestinian” — allegedly said that who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone. (http://tinyurl.com/y6mkamdk)

There IS a difference between what, and how leftists such as Ilhan Omar (D-Minn), Rashida Harbi Tlaib (D-MI), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Dem-Socialist NY), and Bernard Sanders (Socialist-VT) say about Jews and Israel and honest criticism by people who have knowledge of Israel and its neighbors, both immediate (the PLO and Hamas) and regional. Even a cursory review of their words about Israel proves beyond any doubt that all their “facts” are fabricated by others of their ilk.

To be very clear, not all Muslims and self-hating Jews are in agreement with the foregoing racists. White supremacists? Who knows WHAT they believe except that they are “better” than everyone not in their camp.

The UN is the bully pulpit to castigate Israel for the sins of the nations throwing stones.

The NYT is no friend of democracy; nothing Trump can do is acceptable — despite the millions of Americans who support him — and every attack his opponents level against him is valid and honorable . . . 

If anything, the self-proclaimed America’s paper of record is a promoter of hatred.

The cartoon, above, is a prime example of bigotry and it is designed to at once generate hatred of elected leaders who hold a political philosophy different from the publication’s masters and to incite the simple-minded to attack, both verbally (as in congress) and physically (as in Pennsylvania, California, Florida and elsewhere) people who hold a different opinion.

Fortunately, there are better newspapers and news sites available around the country, sites that still believe in truth, at least in the news sections (vs. editorial pages). I wish I could write the same sentiments for the national tv “news.”

When, I wonder, did those who call themselves reporters and editors decide that fiction trumps facts? When did publications decide that unbiased reports from people who “are there” or at least “were there” have no value.

Accept a handout as “gospel” and conjure up a 60 point headline to go above the mast.

The NYT has gone from reporting the news to making the news.

That's bad news.

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Pharmaceuticals From China add Risks for patients

THERE IS A MOVE UNDERWAY TO ALLOW Chinese-manufactured pharmaceuticals into the U.S.

According to the move’s sponsors, the purpose if to lower the cost of medications in the U.S.

At what cost to patient’s health?

”Big Pharma” and “Big Business” obviously are against the plan. Cheap off-shore pharmaceuticals will cut into their profits. Generic drugs from outside the U.S. already take a cut from the ethical pharmaceuticals profits.

Is China any different than, say, drugs from Israel or Canada?

In a word, YES!

China has a well-deserved reputation for exporting dangerous products to the U.S. and elsewhere. To cite just a few of China’s products once sold in the U.S.:

*  Dry wall

*  Fish that feed on feces

*  Flammable clothing for children and adults

*  Garlic grown in feces

*  Tires

*  Toys painted with lead-based paint>

In addition to selling unsafe products, China also steals products from other countries, including the U.S.

The main problems with Chinese products are two:

*  Total disregard for consumer safety

*  Total lack of quality assurance/quality control

In order to protect Americans from Chinese disregard for consumer safety, the importers would have to do 100% sampling, and that is not possible with pills.

It might be possible if the raw drug was imported (as a power) and encapsulated by a U.S. company after each batch is sampled. Federal inspectors would need to monitor the U.S. company.

If the governments allow Chinese pharmaceuticals into the country, it also should oblige insurers to allow insureds to opt out of “Chinese generic medicines” without penalty.

Prescription pads would need a new line:

Allow generic
Allow Chinese generic

This scrivener will be first in line to reject any medicine from China, be it Over The Counter (OTC) or prescription.

The problem is not the Chinese practitioner in the U.S.

The problem is the Chinese government and the Chinese mentality. Neither is compatible with U.S. demands.

Because of its widespread and government-approved lack of QA/QC, this scrivener tries to avoid anything “Made in China.”

Buying anything made anywhere in the “Far East” is problematic due to the countries of origin lack of respect for workers and their lives. U.S. companies, e.g., Apple and other computer and cell phone merchants, need to force their contractors to meet U.S. worker safety requirements and they must provide on-site, unannounced inspections to assure compliance.

Could China improve?

It could; but will it?

A similar problem was encountered when Japanese products started to flood the U.S. market. (There even was a town in Japan named “USA” so Japanese products could be stamped “Made in USA.”)

Honeywell imported 35 mm SLR cameras from Pentax, a Japanese company. As the cameras arrived in the U.S., they went through Honeywell’s own QC; defective products were ejected and Honeywell’s name was safe. I owned a Honeywell Pentax H3v. I used it for years as a reporter, gave it to a friend who used if for years, and who then gave it to his son-in-law.

China CAN make quality products as evidenced by its state of the art military equipment. (Granted, most of it is a copy of someone else’s product, but improved upon.)

Military equipment is one thing; pharmaceuticals, food, clothing, etc. are another matter entirely.

Given a choice between buying a Chinese-made product or a Honduran product (as an example) I will opt for the Honduran product every time.

Remember thalidomide?

Not from China; from (then-West) Germany. It was marketed, according to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide) for use “against nausea and to alleviate morning sickness in pregnant women.” Sold over-the-counter in Germany it was blamed for a number of birth defects.

Thalidomide caused major changes to the way drugs were tested in the U.S.

Allowing Chinese medicines into the country sans rigorous testing and constant monitoring by frequently rotated U.S. government employees at the pharmaceutical site AND performing high-count sampling on drugs entering the U.S. is inviting another thalidomide.

The Chinese have repeatedly proven that they cannot be trusted to export safe products to the gullible, penny-pinching U.S. market.

The only option is to block the move to make Chinese pharmaceuticals available in the U.S.

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Lawless Lawmen In South Florida

SHERIFFS’ DEPUTIES IN TWO SOUTH FLORIDA counties have lost self control and respect of the people.
Deputies in Dade (Miami) and Broward (Fort Lauderdale) have been shown, repeatedly, beating people sans cause; using unnecessary force to subdue people who are not resisting.

Who am I to complain? I am a political conservative, a law-and-order person. One son is a policemen with a dozen years on a force elsewhere in the state and never accused of brutality. I consider myself law abiding, but I’ve seen too many cops abuse the badge.

Lately in the two south Florida counties sheriffs’ deputies have been caught on camera abusing both their badge and the people they are subduing.

The sheriffs’ reaction always is “You (the non-law enforcement officers or LEOs) don’t see everything.”

Yet, when the incident gets to court, and before judges who CAN “see everything,” the case against the victim — usually a trumped up charge that the victim touched the cop (assaulted the deputy) — all charges are dismissed.

While not exclusively limited to sheriffs' departments, the majority of the “excessive force” complaints are against deputies.

Are municipal cops better trained? Are they psychologically better equipped to do their job? If so, why don’t sheriffs copy the cities’ hiring practices? This is a blog; I’m no longer a reporter with the authority of a newspaper (or even tv station) to check budgets and salaries or even pre-employment practices.

I’ve been around awhile.

At one point I was a reporter covering law enforcement. I knew sheriffs on an almost first name basis. In my day their main function was as jailers and to police unincorporated areas. Now, at least in south Florida, the sheriffs’ departments are assuming police duties in incorporated areas.

In Dade County, the Miami-Dade Police are, in truth, sheriff’s deputies under a sous un faux nom — “false name” sounds better in French. The county also has a sheriff’s department — so much for the highly touted, cost-reducing, efficiency-enhancing consolidation of a county-wide police operation. Many local municipalities still maintain their own police departments, and the taxpayer enjoys ever higher taxes.

 

Broward County Sheriff’s badge

 
In Broward County, the elected sheriff, Scott Israel, was removed by the new governor, Ron DeSantis, for Israel’s department’s inaction during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that caused the deaths of 17 students and faculty.

In Israel’s defense, it should be noted there were multiple issues, in addition to an experienced deputy’s failure to act as expected.

DeSantis appointed a former police sergeant, Gregory Tony, as the county’s top LEO. Despite Tony’s impressive academic credentials (see http://tinyurl.com/y25o9w45) his official biography fails to show any command positions, e.g., chief or assistant/deputy chief of a major police department.

The Sheriff’s Office (BSO) has 5,400 employees and a US$730 million budget. Compare that to the police department where Tony was a sergeant: 320 employees and an annual budget of US$67-plus million (http://tinyurl.com/y39mgneq). The sheriff nee’ sergeant was not part of the department’s command staff (http://tinyurl.com/yxj6p6m3) but he apparently was a friend of the new governor.

Since becoming sheriff, Tony’s department has had multiple complaints of excessive force brought against deputies.

In Tony’s defense, he “inherited” deputies from Scott Israel’s force or from Al Lamberti’s department. Israel was elected sheriff in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. Lamberti was appointed sheriff by then-Gov. Charlie Crist after Sheriff Ken Jenne was indicted on federal corruption charges in 2007. Lamberti was elected sheriff in 2008 (http://tinyurl.com/y6trf4dj).

In once instance, Tony was invited to explain his deputies’ actions before a municipal board. Captured for tv cameras, the new sheriff proved himself belligerent and disrespectful of elected authority. One of the elected officials told Tony that his (the sheriff’s) bellicose attitude is reflected in his deputies’ actions.

Despite improvements in psychological testing, too many sworn officers pin on a badge and think they are old west cowboy sheriffs — a law unto themselves that cannot, dare not, be questioned.

Such LEOs do nothing to enhance respect for the badge; indeed, they generate disrespect, not only from the people they abuse, but from the public who see the abuse captured on the ubiquitous cell phone cameras and now, even the officer’s body camera, a device allegedly to reduce, if not prevent, unwarranted officer attacks.

In once instance, a deputy took off his camera and placed it on a shelf. He then beat a man handcuffed to a hospital bed while the camera recorded it all. He also threatened his victim that he would “do it again.” His actions made the 5, 6, and 11 o’clock local news — and may have been picked up for the national reports; great promotion for south Florida.

The south Florida LEOs apparently are not racists; they seem to mistreat blacks and whites equally. They also are not sexists; they abuse females as often as males.

It’s all caught on camera.

It is time that the top cops — chiefs of police and sheriffs — start aggressively weeding out LEOs who abuse the badge and the people they swore to protect. If the top cops cannot or will not do the job, the state government needs to step in and do the job, but please, no more “sergeants with an attitude” to top cop positions.

We never will be rid of all bad badge bearers, but we should expect a reduction in their ranks.

As the local councilman put it, Broward deputies reflect the attitude of their boss.

If Tony can’t change his attitude, DeSantis needs to find a replacement for his friend. Broward County residents should not have to wait until the next election to get a sensible sheriff who demands proper procedure from his deputies.

Meanwhile, DeSantis does himself no political good while Tony wears the badge.

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Right hand, left hand Keeping secrets kills 300-plus in Sri Lanka

JUST LIKE 9-11-2001 when the FBI refused to share information among its own offices resulting in the deaths of more than 3,000 innocents to Muslim terrorists, Sri Lanka’s “intelligence” organization caused the deaths of more than 300 by failing to share information about yet another Muslim terror plot.

Sri Lanka’s state minister of defense, Ruwan Wijewardene, told his government (http://tinyurl.com/yxftz8ud) that “By now it has been established that the intelligence units were aware of this attack and a group of responsible people were informed about the impending attack,” he said. “However, this information has been circulated among only a few officials.”

DOES NO ONE EVER LEARN?

Sri Lanka is considered a basically democratic state. Wikipedia claims that “Politics of Sri Lanka takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Sri Lanka is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and Parliament. For decades, the party system has been dominated by the socialist Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the conservative United National Party. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Politics of Sri Lanka reflect the historical and political differences between the three main ethnic groups, the majority Sinhala and the minorities Tamils and Muslims, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island.” (http://tinyurl.com/y2mfsp7e)

Whether of not political one-upmanship and territorial protection had much to do with the Sri Lankan disaster — at it did in the U.S. leading up to 9-11-2001 — has yet to be determined.

The bottom line: More than 300 people were murdered and hundreds more injured as much at the hands of the government as by the Muslims suicide murderers.

The Muslims who claimed credit for the slaughter of innocents said they were seeking revenge for the attack on a two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand where 50 people were murdered by one lone shooter.

300 for 50.

One crazed person vs. how many Muslim fanatics?

According to sundry news reports, the attacks were too coordinated and too sophisticated to have been the work of local terrorists. A day after the attacks, ISIS/ISIL or whatever the group’s nom de guerre, claimed credit for the attacks.

In truth, Sri Lanka’s “intelligence” services — like the U.S. “intelligence” services in 2001 — must share the blame with the Islamist extremists.

It seems likely that the attack on a religious holiday was planned long before the attack on the New Zealand mosques on Friday evening, March 15.

While ISIS et al likes simultaneous bombings, if often prefers to pack vehicles with explosives for a bigger bang than manpacks, although in Sri Lanka it apparently sent several devoted backpack-carrying followers to meet their 70 virgins.

Interestingly, the media — never one to bother with history — has failed to mention the 2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka. (http://tinyurl.com/y2cqnbof )

According to Wikipedia, “The Sri Lankan anti-Muslim riots were a series of religious riots targeting Muslims that began in the Sri Lankan town of Ampara on 26 February 2018, spreading to Kandy District by 2 March until its end on 10 March 2018. Muslim citizens, mosques and other properties were attacked by mobs of Sinhalese Buddhists, and mobs of Muslims attacked Buddhists Temples and Sinhalese citizens. The Government of Sri Lanka undertook a forceful crackdown on the rioting by imposing a state of emergency and deploying the Sri Lankan Armed Forces to assist the Police in the affected areas. The situation was brought under control by 9 March. Two fatalities and ten injuries were reported among Sinhalese, Muslims and Police. According to the police, forty five incidents of damage to houses and businesses have been reported, while four places of worship have been attacked. The police arrested 81 persons in connection with rioting.”

Those attacks and counter-attacks were carried out by peace-loving Buddhists and peace-loving Muslims.

Although slightly more than 7% of the nation’s total population (vs. Buddhism’s roughly 70% and the state religion, Hindu’s more than 12%, and Islam’s nearly 10%) Christians make up about 10% of the capital’s population.

Whoever is behind the attacks — locals or ISIS et al — they knew when their intended victims would be gathering en masse and chose that day for the most effective attack. (The Christchurch attacks were on a Friday evening when Muslims gather for prayer.)

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Beards

THERE ARE BEARDS AND THERE ARE “BEARDS.”

There are beards that would make the Smith Bros. Happy.

 

Image of a Smith Brothers’ cough drops

THEN THERE ARE “Arafat beards” that really are little more than stubble. Hardly a “real” beard. In his old age, when the beard turned white, it hardly was noticeable.

ON THE OTHER HAND, some folks “go for broke.”

 

Above: Egyptian Yasser Arafat, World Champion beard, GEICO’s caveman
Center image by Greg Anderson

 

Many Eastern Orthodox priests have respectable beards, as do many rabbis, not all of who are “orthodox.” Some “orthodox” rabbis are clean shaven while others, including Reform leaders are hirsute. (There are number of Reform and Conservative rabbis that simply (hopefully for them) cannot grow beards; they are women.)

 

 

Beards of all religious points of view

 

The “bottom lines” is that while beard can “make the man,” they often cannot tell much about the person behind the beard.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Break out sextants; Russia said hacking Global nav systems

ACCORDING TO MULTIPLE ARTICLES^{1, 2, 3}, the Russians are hacking the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) that provides location information to ships and aircraft.

The GNSS is the primary source for military and commercial GPS navigation devices.

 

Sextants and Shooting the Sun to determine location

 

YEARS AGO I LIVED next door to a former WW 2 Navy navigator.

My neighbor sneered at the Air Force pilots who depended solely on electronics to find out where they were, especially when flying over water.

My neighbor said that in the Navy, sailors with navigation tasks had to know how to use a sextant to “shoot the stars” or the sun.

Unlike the war planes of yesteryear, commercial aircraft lack windows over the cockpit, making it difficult for crew members to get a sextant fix on a heavenly body — assuming, of course, that any of the crew knows HOW to use a sextant.

Blue water sailors may still learn to use a sextant; once land is out of sight, land marks cease to exist.

It was not mentioned in the articles, but Russia’s confusing the GNSS might send modern missiles astray; an Israeli rocket targeting an Iranians military installation in Syria might end up landing on the presidential palace.

Apparently most of the mucking about is to protect Russia’s president, but what are the limits on the hacking device? Fifty miles, 500 miles, 5,000 miles?

If an airplane is flying the great circle route from, say Toronto Canada to London England, could the aircraft’s navigation system be “spoofed” to send it farther south, increasing the distance between the two points and, by extension, increasing fuel consumption, perhaps sufficient to cause the aircraft to end up short of its destination and “somewhere” in the Atlantic? Granted that might be a “worst case” scenario, but given the technology on the ground and the over-dependence of technology in the air, the “worst case” is in the realm of reality.

Truth in blogging. I am a former enterprise risk management practitioner and I look at everything with its possible risks. I also am slated to fly to Europe in the summer.

According to one of the web sites cited below, The satellite navigation systems in the control rooms of more than 24 ships anchored nearby suddenly started displaying false information about their location. Their GPS systems told their captains they were anchored more than 65 kilometres (ed: about 40 miles) away — on land, at the Anapa Airport.

The potential for mischief is beyond comprehension.

Less so for ships at sea, although ships have time commitments and fuel limitations at least they are designed for the waters, unlike most commercial aircraft.

The way technology is advancing we may soon find ourselves writing letters on paper, using sextants and paper maps to navigate from A to C via B, and dusting off slide rules for calculations.

Given all the “smart” appliances, will we see the return of ice boxes and the ice man? Maybe the candle and lamp oil industries will find expanded markets?

Have we tripped on our “great technological leap forward”?

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Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/y62qzznk

2. http://tinyurl.com/y3t99pbr

3. http://tinyurl.com/yx9jvh7u

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Russian GPS spoofing

Opuscula Dear Ilhan and Other Jew haters, Read Arab’s critique

A Saudi Arabian PhD student wrote on his evaluation form: “Prior to the trip, I had an opinion that Arabs and non-Jewish people in Israel are treated unequally; however I was happy to see that most of them are living normal lives, going to university, owning businesses, having the right to express their religious and personal beliefs.”
Source: http://tinyurl.com/y587ehak)

The PhD candidate was one of 52 undergraduate and graduate students from Imperial College London who were in Israel getting acquainted with the local high-tech scene.

IT MAY COME AS A SURPRISE to Rep. Ilhan Omar & her like-minded friends, that EVEN Muslims acknowledge that Israel offers equal opportunities to ALL its citizens.

Had she done her homework and visited Israel — there are multiple congressional junkets each year … they beat working for the back home constituency and it’s all on the taxpayer’s tab — she could see for herself what the PhD candidate saw. She might also visit Gaza and the PLO-controlled areas.

Israel, given her on-going rants and lies about Jews and Israel, may not allow her to enter the country. That, I think, would be a mistake on Israel’s part. Let her in, give her an Arab escort — surely there must be a few Somalis in Israel — so she can see for herself. Israel, similar to the U.S. has been inundated by illegal aliens and, again as in the U.S., the Supreme Court consistently rules in favor of the illegals.

Let the Muslim representatives come as a group; let them bring their leftist congressional compatriots as well.

On their way to Israel, maybe the travelers can stretch their legs in Libya, a shining example of Obama’s “Arab Spring.”

The Muslims in the contingent might, after visiting Israel, visit Saudi Arabia and maybe even Yemen.

In Saudi Arab the ladies will need a change of clothes or risk being caned in public. Western dress and uncovered heads will bring the wrath of mutawa (“religious” police). ^{1, 2, 3} A whipping might be the result of being immodesty dressed.

 

Above: Woman being caned for violating an Islamic law

 

Fortunately for women in Israel, that does NOT occur in Israel; not even to Muslim women.

 

Above, Ilhan Omar & friends

 

The congressional junketeers could buy property in Israel. Only Muslims are allowed to buy property in Gaza and the PLO-controlled areas. Selling to a non-Muslim carries a possible death penalty.

If Omar et al can get into Gaza, maybe they will have an opportunity to shop in the strips first class mall. They probably will see homes of the poor, but it is less likely they will visit the homes of Hamas’ leadership.

It they have time in Israel, the congressional tourists might go shopping in a Rami Levy supermarket where, unless they close their eyes, they will see Arab and Jews working side by side. If they ask how much each makes for the same job, they will learn the answer is “equal pay for equal work.”

At the same time, if they could interview former SodaStream workers from the PLO-controlled areas they might find some unhappy Arabs. The “equal pay for equal work” they enjoyed while employed by SodaStream is gone, thanks to BDS. The Jews who worked for SodaStream could simply relocate with the company.

Omar and her ilk SHOULD be allowed to enter Israel, on the proviso that they also visit both Gaza and the PLO-occupied territories.

Will it happen?

Not likely.

When an ignoramus makes up his or her mind, even seeing facts in front of their faces will not bring about a change.

Hate is a wonderful thing: Haters don’t have to think about the truth; they don’t have to listen to the truth, and they certainly don’t have to see the truth.

All American Jews are loyal to Israel.

True or false?

Absolutely false, especially when you ask a self-hating Jew in the leftists’ camp.

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Sources

1. https://youtu.be/c2vbs9ZppP4

2. https://youtu.be/uPwPmaBh0Qo

3. https://youtu.be/lx-IaynKlWY

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Dear Ilhan

Opuscula It’s not WHAT But HOW Something’s done

THIS WHOLE FLAP about parents buying their kids’ way into a “good” school is, to my Edward Bear mentality, borderline stupid.

These (in)famous parents simply didn’t follow the established purchasing-a-seat rules.

THERE IS A LONG-IN-THE TOOTH STORY in legal circles about a guy who was arrested for passing a bum check.

The check passer asked why he was arrested when his neighbor also wrote checks. Same process.

His lawyer explained his neighbor played by the rules (his check was covered); the client didn’t play by the rules.

 

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

The Hollywood names who got into trouble for paying a middleman (broker, if you will) to get their kids into a “name” school simply failed to follow the rules.

Had they used the same money — some reportedly paid $500,000 or more — to establish an endowment or to (for a lesser amount) fund a “chair” (of say Liberal Ways to Ignore Facts), the Big Name school probably would have welcomed at least one child with open arms, regardless of past scholastic accomplishments — or lack thereof.

Buying a child’s acceptance at any school, from “prep” upward, with endowments or other large — a relative term depending on the school’s real or self-perceived reputation — donation is just another purchase. An applicant’s scholastic ability is determined by the donor’s checkbook.

 

THE GOVERNMENT DOES IT

Why should a private individual be charged with a crime when the U.S. government does the same thing. The government calls it “Affirmative Action” and the schools know it means “assure diversity” — regardless of scholastic qualifications. The less than generous call this "reverse discrimination."

The Feds have a quota system requiring schools that receive federal dollars — for anything — to accept some students with low scholastic abilities.

When the Feds do that the U.S. taxpayer is preventing a qualified person from being admitted to a school so an underachiever can be accommodated.

Federal money — taxpayer money — BUYS a place for a student who lacks the scholastic ability to fully benefit from the available education.

 

SPORTS SCHOLARSHIPS

Admittedly, sports — and the athletes who play them — can bring in “Big Bucks” to a school.

Schools are a business; there are bills to pay.

The student athletes are unpaid (by the school, in any event) laborers, risking life and limb for a possible lucrative pro career.

In order for a school to recruit the top jocks, they need to offer incentives such as a “full ride” for however many years the athlete is allowed to perform.

Donors foot the bill for these athletes, even the rare ones on an academic scholarship.

If a donor has a scholastically challenged child, a word to the right administrator and the school most likely will find a place for the donor’s offspring. The donor will, after all, also be paying tuition and incidentals for his or her child.

 

RIGHT WAY, WRONG WAY

As with the check writers, there is a “right” (acceptable) way to bribe a student’s way into school, and a “wrong” (not acceptable) way to make the same bribe — for, bottom line, in most cases that’s what it is: a bribe.

The (in)famous Hollywood “names” simply failed to play the game according to the establishment’s rules. The establishment was insulted and the Hollywood denizens will be chastised by the establishment’s legal system.

Using a middleman to arrange for a 100 pound weakling to “win” a scholarship as a lineman on the school’s football team is a tad suspicious.

Not cricket, ol’ chap.

 

ALWAYS REMEMBER AND NEVER FORGET

It is not what you say, but how you say it.

It is not what you do, but how you do it.

The Hollywood names apparently forgot Dwayne F. Schneider’s (Pat Harrington Jr.‘s) admonition on tv’s One Day at a Time to “always remember and never forget” that even Hollywood’s elite have to play by the establishment’s rules.

They could have achieved the same results, and the school’s might have received more money (no middleman’s commission), had the donors endowed the school or at least endowed a chair. A new wing or school would have guaranteed their children’s children admission.
Image at right: Pat Harrington Jr.
Credit: CBS/Photofest

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on School Scandal

Opuscula Every Muslim Has web feet

I READ IN A VARIETY of publications that Israel is an apartheid state, that it mistreats and maltreats Arab children and women, that Arabs are second class citizens with no civil rights.

That is akin to saying every Muslim has webbed feet.

I have two words for that nonsense:

BOVINE EXCREMENT !

HAVING LIVED IN ISRAEL and frequently visiting Israel, I know the leftists in the U.S. (and elsewhere) don’t know anything first hand about Israel or Israeli Arabs (Muslim and otherwise) and they know even less about life for Muslims in areas controlled by the PLO and Hamas.

It is patently obvious that these anti-Israel (or maybe just anti-Semitic) comments are from people who NEVER have been to Israel, and certainly not to areas controlled by the PLO or Hamas.

 

ROCKETS AND STROLLS ON THE BEACH

 

A few years ago I was visiting a sister-in-law who lives near Haifa.

Her husband decided we would have an outing to a popular local beach.

This DESPITE the fact Haifa was under missile attack from our neighbors to the north. (Missiles from Lebanon and Syria are a fact of life in northern Israel.)

As we ate sandwiches and people watched, we saw an elderly woman dressed in Muslim garb walking along the beach with her children and grandchildren.

Were they physically attacked by those horrible Jews?

No.

Were they confronted and verbally attacked by those Israelis?

Again, no.

The Muslims — again, while missiles fell on Haifa — were allowed to peacefully stroll along the beach, unmolested by anyone.

My late Father-In-Law came to Israel from Morocco. While the king protected the Jews — as he protected ALL his citizens — there were Muslims who “didn’t get the word” and made life difficult for Jews.

Yet, when Father-In-Law had a building project in Israel, he hired local Arabs.

There are no “Muslim-free” zones in Israel; unlike in the territories controlled by the PLO and Hamas, areas where a Jew travels on pain of death.

There are no “Arab only” buses or trains in Israel. There ARE Arab buses that Jews can ride — I did on occasion — and many intercity taxis are owned and driven by Arabs. Any Arabic I know I learned from riding in the taxis.

Yes, there IS a fence making it difficult for someone in a PLO area to enter Israel proper, but consider the reason for the fence: to keep Muslims bent on murdering Jews away.

(Only Gandhi was so stupid as to suggest to Jews that they should go quietly to be slaughtered. He also told the English to welcome the nazis to their little island. Neither the Jews nor the English took his misguided advice.)

By the way, I have witnessed obviously Arab families pass through airport inspections faster than some Jews. Once, when my Spouse was five months pregnant with our second son, she was taken aside and patted down to assure she was pregnant and not carrying explosives.

 

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

 

A Muslim — any Muslim — can earn more money in Israel than he or she can earn in either the PLO territory or in Gaza.

SodaStream had a factory near the PLO area and hired many Muslims from the area. The Muslims worked alongside Jews and were paid the same as Jews. Everyone was happy until BDSers forced SodaStream to relocate. The Muslims from the PLO areas lost their jobs; the Jews could relocate. (Now Bedo have jobs that once belonged to PLO area residents.)

Muslims from the PLO area make up a large, albeit shrinking, portion of the construction force in Israel. (More and more Israeli construction companies are hiring foreign laborers who don’t want to murder Israelis. By killing Israelis, the Muslims are killing their job opportunities. But that’s OK; the PLO will give murders a salary while in jail.)

One of Israel’s largest supermarket chains, Rami Levy, makes a point to hire Arabs in all its stores. They are paid the same as Jewish workers doing the same job. It’s good for business since his customers include both Israelis and residents from the PLO areas. (See http://tinyurl.com/yxd7q8qy )

 

SEGREGATION

 

There IS segregation in Israel.

Muslims have their own schools, just as the “religious” have their own schools. Arab schools teach Israeli curriculum, but the language of instruction is Arabic, not Hebrew. They do NOT teach hatred of anyone, unlike the schools in the PLO areas and Gaza, where K-through-12 students are indoctrinated to hate Jews. Muslim schools, the “religious” schools, and the “general” schools all are funded by the Israeli taxpayer.

Any other segregation is by choice.

There is NO segregation in Israeli hospitals.

Muslims ARE exempt from military service, but they are encouraged to do national service, often in their own communities.

 

A FEW WORDS ON POLITICS

 

What country would tolerate political parties that promote destruction of the state they are supposed to serve?

Would even Franklin D. Roosevelt have allowed a nazi party member to sit in Congress?

Would John F. Kennedy have allowed an avowed Communist to be a member of Congress?

Israel, on the other hand, has several Muslim political parties (and Communists, too). There are a handful of Muslims in the Knesset (equates to Congress) that, rather than work for their Muslim constituents, work to overthrow the Israeli government. (Muslims also can be members of non-Muslim political parties and they may vote for any party.)

Muslims also serve on the Israeli Supreme Court. Could a Jew serve on Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court, assuming it HAD a Supreme Court.

 

ONLY SECOND (OR THIRD) HAND INFORMATION

 

Rather than go to Israel to see for themselves, leftist, anti-Semite ignoramuses swallow whatever nonsense other leftist, anti-Semite ignoramuses feed them. Thinking for themselves would hurt their head. Listening to people who know, first hand, about life in Israel and in both the PLO-controlled areas and Gaza is a waste of time; they would hear things they don’t want to hear; they would hear the truth. Never, NEVER, NEVER go see first hand.

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Muslims have webbed feet

Opuscula Libyan turmoil After Obama’s “Arab Spring”

U.S. TROOPS AND INDIAN POLICE ARE being pulled out of Libya due to a conflict ignited by Obama’s “Arab Spring” that caused the death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

According to the Associated Press (AP), The United States has temporarily withdrawn some of its forces from Libya due to “security conditions on the ground,” a top military official said Sunday as a Libyan commander’s forces advanced toward the capital of Tripoli and clashed with rival militias.
(See http://tinyurl.com/yxlol456)

Gadhafi, Libya’s dictator accepted responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotland. The bomb was placed in a portable radio carried by a female passenger; the radio was a gift from her Muslim lover. (See http://tinyurl.com/njgh7w2 )

Also under Obama’s watch, with Hillary Clinton in charge of the State Department, the U.S. mission in Benghazi was attacked; US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other US nationals are killed in the attack.(See http://tinyurl.com/y5oz6rej )
Right: Obama and Hillary

In the end, what did Obama’s “Arab Spring” accomplish?

Gadhafi was deposed (murdered).

Bashar Hafez al-Assad still controls Syria.

Saudi Arabia still is controlled with an iron hand by the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud.

Iran still is controlled by the mullahs.

Iraq is controlled by Iran.

Lebanon is under the Syrian/Iranian thumb.

Jordan’s king is still on the throne, albeit shakily as the Palestinians want to replace him with what? Islamic Brotherhood? ISIS?

Egypt still is controlled by the Army, as is Algeria.

Yemen is engaged in an on-going civil war, as is Sudan, and Uganda.

Turkey is on a short fuse to a powder keg.

In “Palestine,” Abu Mazen continues to rule, although Hamas usurped his power in Gaza.

Only Morocco was and remains a stable government under the Alaouite dynasty.

Bottom line: A few Muslim dictators were removed and, in most cases, replaced not by democratic governments intent on peace and their countries’ welfare, but on corruption and violence.

Where Obama’s followers were prevented from overthrowing governments, the countries remain, for the most part, stable.

Israel’s government, in the middle of all this, remains stable and democratic (lower case “d”). Although American presidents have a (continuing) history of interfering in Israeli elections, the country still maintains its democracy.

Did Obama’s “Arab Spring” win any friends for the U.S.?

If it did, will someone please tell me who likes the U.S. in the Muslim world.

It did cost the lives of four Americans (in Benghazi).

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Arab Spring