Sunday, May 13, 2012

Getting Bin Laden

The New Yorker Magazine

What happened that night in Abbottabad.

by Nicholas Schmidle  

August 8, 2011 

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/08/110808fa_fact_schmidle?currentPage=all



 



A Fiscal Policy Tutorial: Everything You Need to Know about the Economics of Government Spending

Great presentation.

Source: Four videos about the economics of government spending.

The Muslim Brotherhood in America: The Enemy Within

Have you ever asked yourself why, despite more than ten years of efforts –involving, among other things, the loss of thousands of lives in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, well-over a trillion dollars spent, countless man-years wasted waiting in airport security lines and endless efforts to ensure that no offense is given to seemingly permanently aggrieved Muslim activists – are we no closer to victory in the so-called “war on terror” than we were on 9/11?
Thankfully, we have been able to kill some dangerous bad guys. The sad truth of the matter is that, by almost any other measure, the prospect of victory is becoming more remote by the day. And no one seems able to explain the reason.
In an effort to provide the missing answer, on April 24, the Center for Security Policy is making available via the Internet a new, free ten-part video course called “The Muslim Brotherhood in America: The Enemy Within.” This course connects the proverbial dots, drawing on a wealth of publicly available data and first-hand accounts to present a picture that has, for over a decade, been obscured, denied and suppressed:
America faces in addition to the threat of violent jihad another, even more toxic danger – a stealthy and pre-violent form of warfare aimed at destroying our constitutional form of democratic government and free society. The Muslim Brotherhood is the prime-mover behind this seditious campaign, which it calls “civilization jihad.”


Take the course: Muslim Brotherhood in America: The Enemy Within 

2012 Federal Budget in Pictures

The Heritage Foundation

2012 Federal Budget in Pictures

Friday, May 4, 2012

Triumph Of The Will





Triumph of the Will is one of the most important films ever made. Not because it documents evil--more watchable examples are being made today. And not as a historical example of blind propaganda--those (much shorter) movies are merely laughable now. No, Riefenstahl's masterpiece--and it is a masterpiece, politics aside--combines the strengths of documentary and propaganda into a single, overwhelmingly powerful visual force.
Riefenstahl was hired by the Reich to create an eternal record of the 1934 rally at Nuremberg, and that's exactly what she does. You might not become a Nazi after watching her film, but you will understand too clearly how Germany fell under Hitler's spell. The early crowd scenes remind one of nothing so much as Beatles concert footage (if only their fans were so well behaved!).
Like the fascists it monumentalizes, Triumph of the Will overlooks its own weaknesses--at nearly two hours, the speeches tend to drone on, and the repeated visual motifs are a little over-hypnotic, especially for modern viewers. But the occasional iconic vista (banners lining the streets of Nuremberg, Hitler parting a sea of 200,000 party members standing at attention) will electrify anyone into wakefulness. --Grant Balfour

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Buff’s musings on International May Day.






As you disenfranchised protestors and  “Occupy” folks enjoy your lawful right to assembly, free speech and protest guaranteed by democracies the world over, let us put into historical perspective what is many/most of you are actually advocating for:
Documented Killings under Socialist/Communist Rule; 20th century:

Bulgaria: 50,000-100,000
DPR Korea: +/- 3,500,000
Romania: 60,000-300,000
East Germany: 80,000-100,000
North Vietnam: 200,000-900,000
Ethiopia: +/- 500,000
Cambodia: 1.4- 2.2 million
China: 750,000- 1.5 million
Soviet Russia: +/- 3 million ++++ 


“When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out”. ~ Martin Niemöller (German Protestant Pastor & Social Activist)