Opuscula On being Politically Correct (or not)

IT SEEMS “THE WORLD” HAS TAKEN “political correctness” to the extreme.

I read that “the Muslim’s attack on 11 September 2002” and realized that it failed the “political correctness” test.

True, Muslims DID

Bring down the World Trade Center towers in New York murdering 2,958 innocent people ¹
Flew a plane into the Pentagon in Northern Virginia, murdering another 125 people, ² and finally
Causing the deaths of 40 innocents when they tried to overpower their plane’s Muslim hijackers. ³

Also true, not ALL Muslims were involved.

Likewise true, in many Muslim-dominated countries there were celebrations over the "heroic” shahids to murdered 5,916 innocent people.

 

TELL ME WHY it is politically wrong to call a spade (Muslim) a spade (Muslim)?

When we study history, will we say “There was a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor by some people who didn’t like the U.S.? ” Or will still be able to say “Japan attacked Pearl Harbor without warning on 7 December 1941”?

Not ALL Japanese attacked Pearl; indeed, some Japanese in the U.S. volunteered to serve in the U.S. military to defend their country. Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt sent 120,000 Japanese-Americans — seniors, women, children — to concentration camps guarded by U.S. military. ⁴

To be fair, Roosevelt also sent a handful of American nazis and fascists to camps as well. But the Japanese — they looked “different.”

Since FDR is a (the) Democrat god (with feet of clay), perhaps to be “politically correct” his actions against the Japanese-Americans — and his inactions on behalf of Europe’s Jews, Roma, and others — should be swept under the rug of political correctness.

Obviously Democrat supremacy.

Harry S Truman, in order to shorten the war, ordered atomic bombs dropped on two Japanese cities. Roosevelt had talked of this, albeit not to his vice president, but the “polls,” by which everything he did was done, still were less than he wanted.

FDR died.

Truman ended the war.

Harry S obviously was a white supremacist. From a Southern state, Truman integrated the armed forces, thereby allowing blacks to serve along side, and die with, white soldiers, sailors, and airmen.

Every “woke” person knows Truman’s true intent.

Other liberal demigods are the Kennedys. JFK, in FDR’s tradition, was a womanizer despite having a wife.

Abraham Lincoln’s only freed some slaves to act as a fifth column in Southern states and to serve as cannon fodder for his armies — always under white officers. (Lincoln did NOT emancipate slaves in states that remained in the union.)

Obviously Lincoln statues must be tumbled and turned into rubble now that the “woke generation” knows his true colors. (Obviously another white supremacist; he just did not don a KKK robe.)

Liberals are the “true” egalitarians

Were that the heading was true.

Liberals, leftists, are the true supremacists.

Most are white and live safely away from the neighborhoods targeted by the liberals’ proxies, such as Black Lives Matter (except for blacks who kill other blacks for no apparent reason).

Not all leftists are white. Some, such as several members of the U.S. congress, are “people of color”; one claimed to be an American Indian (but was outed).

Back in the days of “block busting,” in which a black family would buy into a “white” neighborhood, it was the liberals who sold to the blacks and promptly moved to another lily white neighborhood.

These were the same people when schools were integrated, quickly started private schools that effectively protected their children from the “scourge of integration.” (This was not “just” a southern thing; northern states acted equally to protect their delicate children and to avoid busing.)

The liberals scream to “defund the police.” Inside their gated communities, they can afford to defund the police. However, other people — the people the liberals claim to care about, remain victims of drive by shootings, burglaries, rape, and mayhem because there are not enough police to protect them.

---

How to avoid “police brutality   Simple. Do what the cop says. If the cop is wrong, the court will resolve the issue. Don’t fight with the cop. Don’t threaten the cop. Comply with the cop’s instructions. It may be hard to “keep cool,” but that is the only way to avoid a confrontation with consequences.

---

Anyone who denies there are bad cops is a fool. There are. The communities that hire them need to find ways to get them off the force.

By the same token, there are good cops who simply are pushed too far. Cops are, after all, only human.

There also are good reporters — reporters who endeavor to report ALL the facts — and bad reporters, who report only what they want their audience to know. A good reporter puts personal leanings — liberal, conservative — aside for the sake of honest, complete reporting.

 

Truth in blogging. This scrivener’s first born is a cop. He neither is a bully nor a patsy.

 

---

 

Sources

1. Twin Towers: https://tinyurl.com/uceavaz6

2. Pentagon: https://tinyurl.com/y2kmw57s

3. Pennsylvania: https://tinyurl.com/t3dr94jk

4. FDR: https://tinyurl.com/9whnv3mw

 

 

 

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.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on Communications failure

Opuscula Not anti-Semite’s Public posts belie Truth she would hide

‘I’m a victim of online hate, I’m not anti-Semitic’ complains Anuradha Mittal, the chair of Ben & Jerry’s board of directors.

Apparently her desire to have Ben & Jerry’s boycott Israel — watered down by Ben & Jerry’s corporate owner, England’s Unilever to “just” the Jewish settlements across the so-called “green line” has brought a plethora of uncomplimentary comments, ergo the whine: “‘I’m a victim of online hate.”

 

THE PROBLEM MS. MITTAL FACES is that there is an abundance of evidence that she is, indeed, either anti-Semitic or anti-Israel, if one is to split hairs. Or, to take a positive spin on her position, she is an ignorant booster of the PLO/PFLP and Hamas.

According to an article in Israel National News (https://tinyurl.com/7n9se3kp) — obviously a biased, untrustworthy source — citing Stop Anti-Semitism, Mittal has racked up no less than 100 tweets in recent years specifically criticizing Israel, including one which referred to the birth of the country as a “catastrophe.”

The Israeli source notes that During May 2021’s Operation Guardian of the Walls, Mittal responded to a statement by President Joe Biden which said Israel had the right to defend itself.

“Defend itself against what? Stop condoning war crimes and apartheid,” she wrote.

It is blatantly obvious that Ms. Mittal knows nothing about war crimes or apartheid.

Never mind that the war crimes were committed by Hamas firing missiles at Israeli civilians — and managing to indiscriminately kill both non-combatant Arabs and Jews without declaring war on Israel — both prohibited by international conventions. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_crime)

As far apartheid, it does not exist in Israel. There is zero government support or approval of discrimination due to religion, race, or sex, a requirement for apartheid by any definition. There is personal prejudice against this group or that group, but it is just that, “personal.” It is neither sanctioned nor condoned by the government.

There are jobs that Muslims (vs. Arabs in general) have limited opportunities. Such jobs typically involve national security. On the other hand, non-Muslim Arabs have found work everywhere in Israel since its founding.

Last week, Mittal told NBC News that Ben & Jerry’s had planned a full-blown boycott of Israel, but their parent company, Unilever, intervened and changed the statement at the last minute to read that their products would still be available in Israel “proper.”

She insinuated that Unilever’s business decision to continue operating in Israel, despite Ben & Jerry’s objections, was inherently racist and sexist.

“I can’t stop thinking that this is what happens when you have a board with all women and people of color who have been pushing to do the right thing,” she said.

DOES NOT COMPUTE

Ben & Jerry’s board is “all women and people of color.” The way she phrased her words, it appears that “this is what happens when you have a board with all women and people of color who have been pushing to do the right thing,” that the “right thing” to do is NOT boycott Israel.

I understand she is pillorying the English company’s management for preventing her from a total boycott of the Israeli Ben & Jerry’s franchise with her convoluted sentence.

Unilever might have been spared conflict with the governments of several U.S. states as well as the federal government; it could have had all Unilever products banned in certain states had Ms. Mittal succeeded in her ignorance.

AS IT HAPPENS, The Israeli Ben & Jerry’s franchise promises to continue selling to all markets (her action may have voided the franchise contract in any case), and Israel has an abundance of local ice cream manufacturers and also imports ice creams — there is no shortage of ice cream in Israel. (There are some Israelis who prefer another local brand, claiming it is better than Ben & Jerry’s.)

I understand the “democratic” PLO/PFLP — which has not had an election for the top job in 15 years! — and its leftist sycophants appealed to Ms. Mittal to initiate the boycott.

Question for Ms. Mittal

When was the last time you were in Israel? Were you ever in a PLO/PFLP or Hamas-controlled community?

Is there any reason Ben & Jerry’s, with help from its owner-du-jour, cannot help the “Palestinians” set up their own Ben & Jerry’s franchise.

The Israeli franchise employs about 160 people — how many are Arabs, how many are Jews — and it buys raw materials from local farmers.

Rather than illegally boycott a franchise that turns a profit for Unilever, set up a “Palestinian”-owned franchise in territory-controlled by the PLO/PFLP or Hamas; put “Palestinians” to work; support “Palestinian” dairy farmers.

But understand, that in the PLO/PFLP or Hamas territories, there IS apartheid. A Jew enters these area at the risk of his or her life. A Jew cannot buy land in either territory. A Jew cannot work at any job in the territory and most assuredly cannot hold a government or elected position.

NOW THAT’S APARTHEID

How do I know this.

I have eyes to see and ears to hear.

I am an U.S. citizen by birth. I also am an Israeli who returned after a 42-year stint in the States.

I live in Israel.

I have been hospitalized in Israel where I was attended by Jewish and Muslim doctors, nurses, technicians, and aides.

I shop at markets that employ Jews and Muslims — at equal pay for equal work.

In other words, unlike Ms. Mittal, I have first hand knowledge of life in Israel.

It is NOT the canard Ms. Mittal would have other ignorant people believe.

Who she is parroting is known only to her and her like-minded ignoramuses.

Three parrots – do they “parrot” each other?

 

---

 

 

 

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.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on Not anti-Semite

Opuscula Before accusing, Personally check Facts you espouse

IT IS BEYOND MY KEN how people parrot “facts” that are indeed lies.

Israel is an “apartheid state.”

Israel oppresses Arabs.

Israel is racist.

Those canards are, in two words, BOVINE EXCREMENT

Bovine Excrement meter from WWW

QUICK QUESTION

Have any of the people making these claims ever BEEN to Israel. Do any of these people have first hand knowledge of life in Israel?

HONESTY IN BLOGGING: I live in Yavne, Israel, within range of Hamas’ missiles targeting civilian sites.

I am being treated at a Tel Aviv hospital because my family doctor feared to send me to Ashdod, south of Yavne, because of Hamas’ missiles.

I have been confined to a roughly 10*12 “safe room” with three other adults, three children, and a large dog because of Hamas’ rockets.

Apartheid

First, define “apartheid.”

Wikipedia does this at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid

Britannica defines it at https://www.britannica.com/topic/apartheid

Merriam-Webster lists it at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apartheid

Collins Dictionary explains it at https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/apartheid

Dictionary.com offers a succinct definition at https://www.dictionary.com/browse/apartheid:

(in the Republic of South Africa) a rigid former policy of segregating and economically and politically oppressing the nonwhite population.
any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.

All definitions basically are the same; some offer more commentary, but the “bottom line” is segregation and economic restrictions.

APARTHEID DOES NOT EXIST IN ISRAEL

True, there are predominately Jewish neighborhoods.

Likewise, there are predominately Muslim neighborhoods.

There also are — fewer now following recent riots — mixed neighborhoods. (https://tinyurl.com/wvvt2kcp)

By law, any Israeli citizen — Arab (Druze, Muslim, etc.), Jew, and “other” — can live any place he or she can afford.

Most people tend to prefer living close to people of similar background; that’s human nature. Call it “natural” social apartheid.

Economic apartheid

There IS economic apartheid in Israel.

Muslims rarely are found in positions where national security is an issue.

Rarely, but not absolutely.

Arabs — whenever “Arab” appears on this blog, the word refers to Arabs regardless of their religion, or lack of it — are everywhere:

Courts


Knesset


Medicine,


Military


Municipal governments


Police


Universities and schools

There are NO Arab-free occupations (except perhaps the rabbinate).

There ARE some “Muslim-free” occupations when national security is concerned.

Communists once were banned from employment by the U.S. government. Communists once also were banned from Congress. Apartheid? Or common sense?

I recently spent far too many days in an Israeli hospital.

I was checked by Jewish and Muslim doctors.

I was “observed” by Jewish and Muslim medical students trailing their professor on rounds.

I had blood drawn (repeatedly) by Jewish and Muslim technicians.

Jewish and Muslim nurses attended to my care.

Jewish and Muslim aides were a constant.

I shared space with an Arab.

What was absent was animosity, at least as far as patient care was concerned.

In other words, no apartheid at the hospital (or the associated university).

 

Occupation

When your country is repeatedly attacked by your neighbors, you try to keep the neighbor at bay.

The so-called West Bank was captured by Jordan in 1948.

1947 Partition and 1948 Arab aggression map(https://tinyurl.com/mfr8umvy)

The so-called West Bank was reclaimed from Jordan after the 1967 (6-Day) war in which Israeli implored Jordan not to enter.

Before and after 1967 (6-Day) War (BBC @ https://tinyurl.com/u7ye8s)

Even after defeating the invading Arab armies (again) and gaining control of Israel’s historic capital (Jerusalem), Israel allowed the Muslim Waqf to maintain jurisdiction over Judaism’s holiest site — only Number 3 to Muslims — making the Temple Mount a place Jews cannot pray.

Talk about apartheid!

Check points

What is the purpose of border check points?

According to Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/34vr9m62), A border checkpoint is a place, generally between two countries, where travelers or goods are inspected. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. ... To prevent entrance of goods that are illegal or subject to restriction, or to collect tariffs.

Arabs from the PLO/PFLP and Hamas occupied territories are obliged to go through check points to enter Israel.

(Israelis enter these areas at the risk of their lives. Now THAT’s apartheid.)

Arabs from Hamas-controlled Gaza also must pass through an Egyptian check point — when the border portal is open.

U.S. citizens visiting Canada are required to pass Canadian border security inspection. On their return, U.S. citizens (now) need to provide a U.S. passport and a declaration statement.

Only illegal aliens crossing the U.S. southern border are exempt from these onerous inconveniences.

Residents of both PLO/PFLP and Hamas have been known to sneak weapons into Israel to murder Israelis — Arabs, Jews, and “others.” Most security-conscious people would consider a border check point a wise endeavor.

Despite the fact that too many people from the PLO/PFLP and Hamas-controlled areas have tried, and sometimes succeeded, to murder Israels, their masters complain about the inconvenience.

Racism

Is there racism in Israel?

Yes.

Although they have been in Israel since King David, the swarthy Israeli is looked down on by Euro-Jews, recent arrivals (c 1890).

These is the same culture that brought racism to the U.S.

The U.S. inherited racism from the English who not only are racists but classists (snobs) as well.

It might be considered “fair” since the first Jews in North America were Spanish-Portuguese (Sefardi). The Sefardim were less than welcoming when the German Jews arrived. (The Germans then snubbed Jews who came later.)

Israel is a nation of color.

White as snow to black as night.

There are no restrictions on where any Jew (or Arab citizen, for that matter) may reside, but as noted above, people tend to prefer to live with others of a like mind.

Likewise, there are no restrictions regarding employment.

There is a requirement for a university degree to get any good paying job in Israel; no paper, no prestigious job. It’s not what you know but what piece of paper you have. (Another left over from the English.)

The Ethiopians are the newest immigrants. As the “new kid on the block,” and lacking higher education, they currently are working mostly as unskilled labor.

BUT, they are gaining education and as others before them, they too will move up.

It’s not “racism,” it’s “paper-ism.”

 

---

 

 

 

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.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on Check facts

opuscula World power’s End caused By no win wars?

Donald Trump started it.

Joe Biden and Harris-Emhoff will finish it.

“It” is America’s exit from Afghanistan.

 

Right or wrong, American soldiers have been involved in Afghanistan since 2001 following the Muslim attack on 11 SEP 2001 that brought down two buildings in New York, punched a massive hole in the Pentagon in Virginia, and — thanks to brave passengers — plowed a furrow in a Pennsylvania field. (https://tinyurl.com/4chsxesb)

Over the more than two decades of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, more than 2,300 U.S. military personnel have been killed. (https://tinyurl.com/3t2nutmz)

Since World War 2, the U.S. has gone from war (Korea) to war (Vietnam) to war (Iraq 1 & 2) and numerous skirmishes.

All of the wars since WW2 were “no win” for the U.S. and its occasional allies.

True, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was eliminated, but Iranians and their proxies soon filled the vacuum, a vacuum left by the Geo. H.W. Bush presidency. (https://tinyurl.com/6khnm2cm)

More than 4.500 U.S. military personnel lost their lives in Iraq between 2003 and 2020. (https://tinyurl.com/fetx49hu)

Americans are tired of “no win” wars.

Americans are tired of being the “world’s policemen.”

It is not fear; most of the men and women in uniform are brave enough.

It is simply knowing that the politicians allegedly “running” the wars don’t finish the job.

Harry S Truman was the last president to “finish the job.” (https://tinyurl.com/nxbn28jy)

 

”Allies” worried

America’s “allies” and “friends,” especially the Muslims, are concerned that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will allow the Taliban to recover and, in turn, will help the so-called Islamic State, in its various incarnations, to reconstitute, therefore threatening the U.S.’ Muslim “fair weather friends.”

In addition, China (https://tinyurl.com/4dtnuyd6), England (https://tinyurl.com/4r7mekpy), and Pakistan (https://tinyurl.com/khh7a4e6) must be concerned about the resurgence of Islamic State.

Islamic State had operations in Muslim-dominated countries around the world.

In Iraq and Syria, it used many of those countries' existing governorate boundaries to subdivide territory it conquered and claimed; it called these divisions wilayah or provinces. By June 2015, IS had also established official "provinces" in Libya, Egypt (Sinai Peninsula), Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Algeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and the North Caucasus. It received pledges of allegiance and published media releases via groups in Somalia, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, but it has not announced any further official branches, instead identifying new affiliates as simply "soldiers of the caliphate". (https://tinyurl.com/59fdj4)

The question remains: As Islamic State reconstitutes on fertile ground (ibid.), will U.S. politicians volunteer Americans to contest Islamic State and its followers?

The alternative seems to be China.

That begs the question: Will the Biden/Harris-Emhoff regime allow China to spread its hegemony in an area the U.S. has for many years considered, rightly or wrongly, is own sphere of influence. Biden allegedly already has a financial stake in China.

In an opinion piece by the Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board, the publication contends that A May 2017 email thread that includes a discussion about “remuneration packages” for six people as part of a business deal with a now-defunct Chinese energy titan, CEFC China Energy. The Chinese company was international news a few years ago, after the U.S. government charged a CEFC-funded organization with money laundering, and its CEO was detained by Chinese authorities. CNN reported in 2018 that “at its height” CEFC was “hard to distinguish” from the Chinese government.

According to the emails, both Bidens were in line in 2017 to benefit from a deal with CEFC. One email appears to identify Hunter Biden as “Chair/Vice Chair depending on agreement with CEFC.” It also refers to financial payments in terms of “20” for “H” and “10 held by H for the big guy? (https://tinyurl.com/zjx2tcep)

China currently has a “One Belt, One Road" Initiative that extends, via land and sea, between China and Europe (see map, below). Toward that end, China is buying control of marine ports and offering to build railroads that would eventually expedite shipment of goods to and from China — as well as giving the Communists a financial and political foothold in all the nations on its routes.

What this might imply for U.S. military and naval operations is anyone’s guess.

Map of China's "One Belt, One Road" Initiative (https://tinyurl.com/53kzztry)

 

America passe’?

There is a notion that a nation can remain a “power” for a finite number of years.

British Empire (1707 – 1914)
Greek rule (776 BCE to 323 BCE)
Roman Empire ( 27 BCE – 476 BC )

While the U.S. was “just another country” until World War 1, it has been a “world power” only since 1917.

Will the withdrawal from Afghanistan and reneging on agreements, combined with the emergence of China as a contender, and the demise of the Soviet Union and Russia’s influence, signal the beginning of the end for U.S. influence around the globe.

Will the renminbi (RMB) with an image of Mao Zedong replace U.S. dollars bearing the features of Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln?

Chinese renminbi and U.S. $2 bill

Wars contributed to the demise of former powers.

No win wars may prove to lead to the demise of the United States as a world power.

 

---

 

 

 

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.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on No win wars

Enterprise Risk Management Wanted: Mascot To promoteRisk management

BEING VAIN AND HAVING A LITTLE time on my hands, I revisited some entries on this blog site.

Early on it was dedicated to Enterprise Risk Management, a/k/a business continuity, COOP, and even disaster recovery.

In the entry for Sunday, January 4, 2009, I wrote that

Smokey, the senior spokes-cartoon, has been around since 1944 - the Bear is almost old enough to file for full social security and probably older than most of this blog's readers. Many of you grew up with Smokey or Sparky, Smokey's urban counterpart. Today's kids, unfortunately, also have - and need - an anti-crime mascot, McGruff who "takes a bite out of crime."

 

Three mascots

 

Smokey, more than the others, pops up in places you would expect—at the entrances to federal and state parks and forests—and in places you might not expect - on a subway in a major metro area.

He is almost ubiquitous.

That's what we need - a message, or perhaps a messenger associated with a specific message - that "is almost ubiquitous" and one we collectively are introduced to at an early age.

Of three mascots mentioned above, only one comes from a cartoonist's mind. The others are based on actual animals, particularly Smokey. The suggestion is that whatever image carries our message, it has to be one able to span the generations with minimal change (think of Aunt Jemima who "slimmed down" and, I think, lost a great deal of her appeal). This is not a job for Joe Camel or the Marlboro Man.

The nice thing about animals - at least those that look like "the real thing" (e.g., Smokey and Sparky vs. Joe Camel or the Pink Panther) is that they are based on something we can see, albeit perhaps only in a zoo or picture book, and these animals, unlike people (e.g., Uncle Sam and Aunt Jemima) are free of any racial connection; they are almost "politically correct." (I have a little black bunny named Franklyn who would volunteer and I'm sure he could "beat the drum" for self-preservation at least as good as that obnoxious battery bunny.)

I've done a bit marketing in my day, but I think selection of a suitable mascot for self-preservation needs to be "discovered" by advertising pros and approved by the experts in kindergarten - these experts are, after all, the ones who will carry the message to their parents and, later as parents themselves, will share it with their children.

 

Spokes rabbit candidate Franklyn

 

The problem with Franklyn is that he may be too “laid back.”

On the other hand, knowing he has a valid, tested, maintained, and regularly exercised enterprise risk management plan at hand, he may be justified in his laid back attitude.

 

On the other hand

.4

On the other had, managers who refuse to take enterprise risk management seriously might be represented by a horse (that can be led to water but won’t drink), or an ostrich, with its head in the sand.

By the way, according to Science Focus (https://tinyurl.com/2k759pb7) As flightless birds, ostriches are unable to build nests in trees, so they lay their eggs in holes dug in the ground. To make sure that the eggs are evenly heated, they occasionally stick their heads into the nest to rotate the eggs, which makes it look like they’re trying to hide – hence the myth.

 

Ostrich checking eggs (https://tinyurl.com/2k759pb7)

 

Images of events — e.g., Rome burning, the attacks in Pearl Harbor (7 DEC 1941) and the Twin Towers (11 SEP 2011), floods and forest fires — are limited to one risk. Even a cartoon of the Chinese virus has limited application.

 

Frankie’s advantage

Since a mascot that is less likely to offend is racially and sexually neutral, the current mascots — Smokey the Bear, Sparky the Fire Dog, and McGraw the “Take a bite out of crime” Dog — all seem to be males, someone most assuredly will object to their use (if objections have not already been raised).

While Franklyn the rabbit is a male, it is not an easily visible attribute, at least not in the manner of the current mascots.

Someone might take umbrage because he is black or because he is a Polish dwarf rabbit. But he has relatives who are other colors — sometimes several colors in spots and patches — and relatives who have different ancestry — it’s easy to tell by their ears.

Franklyn appears to be a passive bunny, but he had his aggressive moments. Looks, in this rabbit’s case, can be deceiving.

On the other hand, Franklyn is not obnoxious, unlike the battery bunny, nor does he lay eggs as the Cadbury claims (no one wants to “lay an egg” if, when a plan is needed, it fails). Uncle Remus’ Br'r Rabbit might be suitable, but he is a conniver: “Don’t throw me into that brier patch.” Besides, Uncle Remus and his tales are unacceptable to the “woke” generation. The Trix cereal rabbit is too flighty while Jessica Rabbit (right) simply is “too much.” It’s hard to take Chuck Jones and Warner Brothers’ Bugs Bunny seriously, even though the Warners and Bugs "teamed up" to defeat Hitler. (https://tinyurl.com/ka5x2ym9).

 

My vote goes for Franklyn as the Enterprise Risk Management mascot. (Jessica Rabbit gets my vote as First Runner Up; but I know NOW and other ladies’ leagues will object.

In his 14 years as my roomie, I never saw him loose his cool.

He did kick up his heels on occasion, but he always showed up when needed.

 

---

 

 

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.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on ERM Mascot

Opuscula Latin America Se habla Español Aliens: Head south

JUST A THOUGHT.

People from Spanish-speaking countries (e.g., alphabetically, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua) come to the U.S. primarily for economics. No one faults the LEGAL immigrants, those people who follow the law and suffer the most when the illegals take their place in line.

But why the ILLEGALS head north is beyond my ken.

 

Infoplease Central America Map
(https://tinyurl.com/429nxzwv)

 

There are a number of disadvantages for illegal aliens from the south.

LANGUAGE English is not an easy language to learn. Even many “born-in-America” citizens have problems with the language. (Just listen to tv talking heads abuse the language.)

JOBS While illegals can get jobs from the U.S. criminals¹ that hire them, their wages are well below minimum wage for citizens and green card holders. Most of the jobs are “dead end” jobs from which the illegal aliens never can extricate themselves.

Let the government sweep down (as it should) and demand I-9s for all an organization’s employees — even domestics — and let the courts levy heavy fines for hiring illegals and watch how many jobs disappear.

(If there were no jobs, most non-criminal illegals — that is, the ones who are not smuggling weapons or drugs into the U.S. — would go elsewhere.)

ICE Despite the Biden/Harris-Emhoff administration’s best efforts to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ICE, at least for now, remains in business. It might only be an inconvenience for an illegal alien, but it could separate members of a family. “Cages” for children were introduced NOT by Donald Trump but by Barack Obama and continue under his former vice president.

 

Better alternatives

Latinos looking for a better life should look SOUTH rather than north.

First, there are many countries in South America that have Spanish as their national language. In addition to South America, there also is Spain and, in Africa, Equatorial Guinea.

Bottom line: There is no shortage of countries where Spanish, or a variation of it, is the national language.

 


S
Map of Spanish-Speaking Countries
(https://tinyurl.com/uvs3pzh9)

 

Having the language, if not the citizenship, is a start.

It means it will be easier to find a job if a person is willing to work.

It means that it is easier to hide from authorities if the country is an unwilling host.

It is possible to get from the north (Mexico) to, say Santiago Chile, by air, bus, or private vehicle.

The economy in South America measured in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) compares favorably with the U.S. According to the World Bank (https://tinyurl.com/ff7wabr4), the GDP for the U.S. in 2020 was 20,936,600. By comparison, the World Bank lists South American countries, some of which have HIGHER GDP than the U.S.!

 


World Bank GDP for South American
nations (https://tinyurl.com/52bp7jjf)

 

Does not compute

Realistically why would anyone from Latin America want to come to the U.S,

They will forever be looking over their shoulders for ICE and the IRS.

They have the disadvantage of language.

They are severely limited in the jobs they can hold and the people who will hire them.

Salaries for illegals are well below minimum wage — what choice does the illegal have?

They can’t go home unless they are prepared to start over again.

They may have to pay a steep price for a “guide” to get them across the border — and they take a chance that they will die of heat or thirst before arrival.

America IS the land of opportunity for legal immigrants.

The only “opportunity for illegals is the opportunity to be arrested and deported.

(The current administration in Washington is “subject to change,” and a new administration and congress might drastically revise today’s lackadaisical immigration enforcement.)

 

---

 

Sources

1. by definition, hiring an illegal alien is a crime; therefore, employers of illegal aliens are criminals and should be prosecuted accordingly.

 

 

 

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.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on Se habla Español

Opuscula Is Biden killing Abraham accords To spite Trump ?

WHILE “APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING,” it appears that the Biden – Harris Emhoff administration is doing its best to dismantle the Abraham Accords.

 

IN ORDER TO GET some of Israel’s political foes to the table, former president Trump offered the Arabs a carrot salad they couldn’t refuse.

Carrot & stick cartoon by Berger & Wyse (https://tinyurl.com/33fwu25z)

Along comes Biden & Friends and suddenly

(a) the Abraham Accords carrots “disappear”

(b) The sticks the PLO/PFLP and Hamas feared are replaced by America’s open wallet

(c) Iran is free to develop a nuclear arsenal to use against Israel, the U.S., and Iran’s Muslim neighbors

(d) China is given free access to American technology

 

QUICK What is the difference between the U.S. giving money to Israel and giving money to terrorists?

1. Israel is an ally, not a terrorist; just ask the U.S. State Department, no friend of Israel.

2. Israel is obliged to “Buy American” — to spend U.S. dollars to prop up the U.S. defense industry; a gift with not just a “string,” but a “hawser.”¹

3. The PLO/PFLP and Hamas use the NON-REFUNDABLE dollars to teach hate, to buy war materiel from Iran , China, and Russia — the U.S. enjoys zero ROI.

 

Basically, Biden & Friends are busy UNDOING everything positive that Trump accomplished.

Biden’s master had a problem with former Israeli prime minister Netanyahu. Netanyahu is gone (but Biden’s master remains coaching from the wings.)

Perhaps Biden’s plan is to encourage Iran’s bomb building and convince the PLO/PFLP, Hamas, and Hezbollah that Trump was just a bad dream; they can go back to doing what their charters demand: the destruction of Israel — with America’s blessing.

Since Israel primarily uses Made in America weapons, the U.S. military-industrial complex will have a live proving ground for its products. No Americans soldiers will be put in the line of fire. A win-win for Washington.

With the U.S. Congress controlled by “woke” Democrats, Biden’s folly goes unchecked.

Trump may have been a bull in a china shop and his tweets were often embarrassing to those who supported him, but he DID accomplish a great deal toward world peace; he did restore the U.S. to a position of strength.

Biden is destroying everything Trump accomplished; he is trying to make 2016-2020 “disappear” as if they never happened.

 

THE QUESTION Will the Abraham Accords survive Biden, Harris-Emhoff, and the sycophants surrounding them.

 

Maybe The Shadow knows (right).

Time (the magazine) won’t tell.

 

---

 

Sources 1. Hawser: https://pekasis.com/en/jetty-topside/mooring-hawser/

 

 

 

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.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on Biden erasing Abraham Accords