NunoftheAbove

Update:  11/20/08

The Iraqi thought to be responsible for Staff Sgt. Maupin’s abduction and murder of an Army reservist from Ohio and other deadly attacks over several years was killed in an American raid in Baghdad, the U.S. military said Thursday.

U.S. forces acting on a tip carried out the raid Nov. 11 in Baghdad’s Mansour neighborhood, killing Hajji Hammadi and another armed insurgent, the military statement.

His father, Keith Maupin, said he got a call from the Pentagon on Wednesday telling him that Hammadi had been killed.

“They told me they killed him on Veterans Day,” Maupin said. “Ain’t that appropriate.”

He said the Army knew that Hammadi was in the videotape.

“They told me he was the tall guy standing behind Matt,” Maupin said. “He was the only tall guy there.”

“The removal of Hajji Hammadi from the AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq) network is yet another significant blow to the terrorist organization,” Brig. Gen. David Perkins said.

Source

Matt Maupin was captured April 9, 2004 when the convoy he was in was attacked by Iraqi insurgents in Baghdad. Later video showed Matt being held by his captors and later another blurred video indicated that he had been executed. His body, however, was not recovered until recently.

He is only one of 4,000 but the tragedy was extended for three years as his family and friends waited for the final closure to come. That happened Sunday when an Army general came to the Maupin’s home to deliver the news that his body had been located and would be coming home.

The Glen Este High School graduate was the only U.S. military member still listed as missing-captured in Iraq. Military officials identified the remains through DNA, Keith Maupin said. He said he wasn’t told where the remains had been found.

Read Michelle Maulkins’ blog here

The Maupin family adopted a saying during their vigil waiting for the final news to come about their loved one.

Odo Nnyew Fie Kwan Frame (”Love Never Loses Its Way Home”), a West African proverb, is used in Iraq among the troops to describe the search for Staff Sergeant Maupin. The Maupin family also used the phrase as a cornerstone for their hope that Matt would one day return home.

Condolences can be left for the Maupin family at the Yellow Ribbon Website.

The tragedy of Matt’s death will only be multiplied if his sacrifice is lost to the politicians who would use the war in Iraq as a tool to advance their own agendas.

Originally published March 31, 2008

Tags: Iraq War, Matt Maupin, US Army, Yellow Ribbon Website

Al Qaeda No. 2 in Video Calls Obama Dishonorable

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

CAIRO, Egypt  —  Al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri insulted Barack Obama in the terror group’s first reaction to his election, calling him a demeaning racial term implying that the president-elect is a black American who does the bidding of whites.

The message appeared chiefly aimed at persuading Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent a change in U.S. policies. Al-Zawahiri said in the message, which appeared on militant Web sites Wednesday, that Obama is “the direct opposite of honorable black Americans” like Malcolm X, the 1960s African-American rights leader.

Al-Zawahiri also called Obama — along with secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice — “house negroes.”

Speaking in Arabic, al-Zawahiri uses the term “abeed al-beit,” which literally translates as “house slaves.” But Al Qaeda supplied English subtitles of his speech that included the translation as “house negroes.”

The message also includes old footage of speeches by Malcolm X in which he explains the term, saying black slaves who worked in their white masters’ house were more servile than those who worked in the fields. Malcolm X used the term to criticize black leaders he accused of not standing up to whites.

The 11-minute 23-second video features the audio message by al-Zawahiri, who appears only in a still image, along with other images, including one of Obama wearing a Jewish skullcap as he meets with Jewish leaders. In his speech, al-Zawahiri refers to a Nov. 5 U.S. airstrike attack in Afghanistan, meaning the video was made after that date.

Al-Zawahiri said Obama’s election has not changed American policies he said are aimed at oppressing Muslims and others.

“America has put on a new face, but its heart full of hate, mind drowning in greed, and spirit which spreads evil, murder, repression and despotism continue to be the same as always,” the deputy of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden said.

He said Obama’s plan to shift troops to Afghanistan is doomed to failure, because Afghans will resist.

“Be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them,” he said.

Al-Zawahiri did not threaten specific attacks, but warned Obama that he was “facing a Jihadi (holy war) awakening and renaissance which is shaking the pillars of the entire Islamic world; and this is the fact which you and your government and country refuse to recognize and pretend not to see.”

He said Obama’s victory showed Americans acknowledged that President George W. Bush’s policies were a failure and that the result was an “admission of defeat in Iraq.”

But Obama’s professions of support for Israel during the election campaign “confirmed to the Ummah (Islamic world) that you have chosen a stance of hostility to Islam and Muslims,”

Source

Obama’s response to this initial volley from terrorists will send a message to those whose mission is to destroy us.

In an op-ed piece for the New York Times, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney asserts that saying “no” to the Big Three is the only way to save them.

IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

Source

I agree that the only way to make the American automakers profitable is to be able to reduce the costs which keep their vehicles from competing with foreign manufacturers.  They major cost difference in tied to union contracts which could be renegotiated in a Chapter 11 reorgnization.

First, their huge disadvantage in costs relative to foreign brands must be eliminated. That means new labor agreements to align pay and benefits to match those of workers at competitors like BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Furthermore, retiree benefits must be reduced so that the total burden per auto for domestic makers is not higher than that of foreign producers.

That extra burden is estimated to be more than $2,000 per car. Think what that means: Ford, for example, needs to cut $2,000 worth of features and quality out of its Taurus to compete with Toyota’s Avalon. Of course the Avalon feels like a better product — it has $2,000 more put into it. Considering this disadvantage, Detroit has done a remarkable job of designing and engineering its cars. But if this cost penalty persists, any bailout will only delay the inevitable.

The second part of Romney’s plan involves a change in management.  On Capitol Hill yesterday, the heads of the companies offered to work for $1 a year IF they got Congressional cash.  That is tanamount to a junkie offering to go to rehab if his dealer will just give him one more hit of dope.  Promises are cheap!

But don’t ask Washington to give shareholders and bondholders a free pass — they bet on management and they lost.

Until the automakers are forced to make changes and have the environment that makes those changes possible, they will continue down the path of obsolescence.  They have already been given $25 billion to make more fuel efficient vehicles, something the public has been buying from other car makers for years.  Eliminating the ability to continue to pick taxpayers wallets is the only way to ensure that the changes that must be made, will be made.

In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check.

At some point this country must decide if it still stands for capitalism or socialism.  If not, every poorly run company will be run and controlled by the government and the American citizens will become financiers of failed business plans.

Maybe Moses missed one of the commandments; at least that is what Grapevine, Texas minister Ed Young seems to be preaching.  In a recent sermon at his non-denominational Friendship Church, Young suggested that married couples should engage in sex every day for a week.

“We’re going to give it a try,” said the Rev. Ed Young, who has four children with his wife of 26 years.

Young, 47, said he believes society promotes promiscuity and he wants to reclaim sex for married couples. Sex should be a nurturing, spiritual act that strengthens marriages, he said.

Source

Young is not promoting “free love” but the return of the ultimate act of intimacy within the confines of a union sanctioned by God.

“I think our culture, sadly, has taken sex out of context, and we want to put it back in context,” Young said.

Society tells people to have sex promiscuously, Young said. So the church should preach the message to enjoy sex as God intends: in a marriage between a man and a woman.

“I think it’s one of the greatest things you can do for your kids because so goes the marriage, so goes the family,” Young said.

Source

He also sees sex as vehicle to strengten a marriage and believes that sometimes religion has tried to portray it as sinful.

“Sexuality is related to spirituality, so I think it can be spiritual growth as well, and we shouldn’t be insecure about that,” Kindley said.

“I think that historically, because of some of the writings of St. Augustine, there have been taboos associated with what is really a good gift of sexuality — God’s gift.”

Although some of Young’s flock were somewhat surprised by such a frank discussion of a subject that is not often heard from the pulpit, many members walked left the service with a smile on their faces.

In order to reduce teenage pregnancy rates, many girls in high-risk areas in Britain will be encouraged to have birth control implants or injections.

In letters demanding “urgent action to accelerate progress to the 2010 [teenage pregnancy] target”, health and education ministers tell the heads of councils and primary care trusts to establish more “school-based contraception clinics” and bring about “an overall increase in the uptake of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC)”.

Ministers have ordered council and health chief executives to increase the uptake of “long-acting” contraception in teen pregnancy “hot spots”.

The government also wants more school-based clinics to administer the jabs, which can make girls infertile for up to three months.

Teenagers can receive the injections or implants without their parents’ knowledge.

Source

Not everyone, however, sees the government as the ultimate solution in birth control.

Sue Pheasant, a parent who has campaigned on sex education issues, said: “It seems the answer to everything is a pill or an injection. Young people are very confused. We really need to say to them that if you don’t want to get pregnant or catch a sexually transmitted disease, just say no, and give them the resources and support so they are able to do that.”

During an interview with ABC’s Chris Cuomo, Bill Ayers, founding member of the Weathermen, a radical group that was responsible for bombings and four deaths, had this to say about his activities.

AYERS: I think the content is relevant. But let’s go back, again, the content of the Vietnam protest is a content where there were despicable acts going on, but the despicable acts were being carried out by our government. I never hurt or killed anyone. I never — I was involved in the anti-war movement. I was a militant. I was part of the militant faction of opposing the war. And I’ve been quoted again and again as saying I don’t regret it.  (emphasis added)

Mr. Ayers, tell that to the families of Boston Police Officer Walter Schroeder, Brinks’ guard Peter Paige, and Nanuet Police Officers Edward O’Grady and Waverly Brown  All of these innocent men were killed by the Weathermen, a group which you and your wife organized, controlled, and supported.  You didn’t have to pull the trigger, anymore than Hitler didn’t have to throw the Zyklon B into the gas chambers filled with Jews.  The guilt is still there and on your hands.

Maybe Ayers will have better luck sanitizing his reputation and distancing himself from his past violence than did Lady MacBeth in getting “out, damned spot.”

Dallas County jailers will now be able to instantly identify prisoners who are in the country illegally.

The Dallas County Jail is one of seven pilot programs nationwide for a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement program. It’s based on fingerprints and adds 90 million federal immigration records to the background database available to jailers. Now, everyone booked into the Dallas County jail will have fingerprints cross checked against the immigration database with immediate response. Dallas ICE Assistant Field Officer Pablo Campos says this will increase deportations.

Campos:  We will forward a detainer to the Dallas County Jail basically within minutes of them receiving the initial information. The benefit is this is automated. It’s much quicker. We have enhanced transportation, detention space etc. in order to accommodate what we think might be a spike with Dallas County. People that have minor offenses, if resources permit, we would also place a detainer on them. So far, the Dallas ICE office has been identifying and picking up every person that comes to our attention.

Source

Of course, some see the new database as detrimental or even punitive.

State Representative Rafael Anchia says the focus should be on the “criminal” alien, not the misdemeanor offender.

Anchia: If we can focus on the people who are dealing drugs in our community, who are gang banging in our community, we need to get rid of them. We need to get them out of the United States. They need to be deported. But I would hate to see an grandmother driving without insurance be deported because of some administrative penalty and not a crime.

Anchia, of course, does not see the term illegal as a part of the problem of illegal aliens. Until our country secures its own borders from ALL illegal entries, the economic damage will continue and the potential for additional terrorist threats will continue to be on the horizon.

Michael Steele, Jr., former Lt. Governor of Maryland, and a potential candidate for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee examines how Republicans have strayed away from their time honored principles and what must be done to right the course.

Listen.Adapt.Be Positive

Republicans once said that the opportunities this nation has to offer rest not in government but rather in the hands of individuals. Over the past decade or so, however, we Republicans lost our way. The disparity between our rhetoric and our action grew until our credibility snapped. It wasn’t the fault of our ideals. It was the failure of our leadership.

Over time, our principles morphed into baser motives. Continued political dominance grew more important to those who led us than the noble vision most of us originally signed on for. And to maintain power we turned to the controls of government — we became the party of big government. We behaved like Democrats.

True, the country has changed and our party must adapt. However, it is wrong to believe we must change our principles or become conservative-lite. After all, the voters did not suddenly become liberal; but they have lost any sense of confidence that the Republican Party holds the answers to their problems.

Most Americans today see a Republican Party that defines itself by what it is against rather than what it is for. We can tell you why public schools aren’t working, but not articulate a compelling vision for how we’ll better educate children. We’re well equipped to rail against tax increases; but can’t begin to explain how we’ll help the poor. We exclude far better than we welcome.

Things were different as recently as 20 years ago. Back then, Ronald Reagan made it cool to be a Republican — it wasn’t just his specific policies, but the timeless truths he so eloquently gave voice to, and upon which his policies were based. That’s the Republican Party we must re-establish.

We must articulate a positive vision for America’s future that speaks to Americans’ hopes, concerns and needs. It’s time to stop defining ourselves by what we are not, and tell voters what we believe, how we’ll lead, and where we’ll go; how we Republicans will make America better; how we’ll make their families more prosperous, their children better educated, their parents more secure, and all of us healthier, safer and stronger.

Our challenge lies not in beating Democrats, but in uniting around a message that solidifies our ranks and attracts new people to our cause. We have to listen to what Americans are telling us about their hopes, desires and needs, and then translate that message into proposals for meaningful action squarely grounded on the values we Republicans have always stood for.

Our faith in the power and ingenuity of the individual to build a nation through hard work, personal responsibility and self-discipline is our uniting principle. That is the sacred ground upon which our Republican Party was built. For the sake of all Americans, it is the ground we must reclaim.

Mr. Steele is chairman of GOPAC, a Republican political-action committee.

Source

Thank you veterans for your sacrifice!

Tags: Veterans' Day

from The Guardian

Racism would block British Barack Obama, says Trevor Phillips

A British Barack Obama would be prevented from becoming prime minister by “institutional racism”, the head of the equality watchdog said.

Trevor Phillips said the British public “would rather like” a black leader, following the US election, but “institutional resistance” would block the path of an ethnic minority candidate.

“If Barack Obama had lived here I would be very surprised if even somebody as brilliant as him would have been able to break through the institutional stranglehold that there is on power within the Labour party,” he told the Times.

Although 13 of the 15 ethnic minority MPs are Labour, with the other two representing the Tories, Phillips said that the Conservatives had made “faster progress” with their selection procedures.

He later clarified his comments to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, saying Labour had “led the way” with respect to ethnic minority MPs but “the political system is to some extent closed to outsiders“. He emphasised that the problem, as he saw it, was the system and not discrimination by individual party members.

“Closed to outsiders” is quite a benign euphemism for racism when outsiders is meant for any who are WASP’s.

“It’s a point about the fact that systems can sometimes work in such a way that, in spite of everybody’s goodwill, in spite of the fact that everybody wants it to change, it doesn’t change,” he said.

Phillips said that he opposed all-black shortlists but that action was needed to give competent people “a bit of an edge”.

If there was equality among candidates, why would any “competent” candidate need an edge?

“The parties and unions and think-tanks are all very happy to sign up to the general idea of advancing the cause of minorities but in practice they would like somebody else to do the business. It’s institutional racism,” he told the Times.

In the US, slavery was also institutional racism and it was addressed legally and culturally.

A Labour spokesman said the party had a “proud record of promoting ethnic minority candidates”.

And Sadiq Khan, the Labour MP for Tooting, said he fundamentally disagreed with Phillips.

“I predict there will be a black or Asian prime minister in my lifetime and all the evidence suggests it will be a Labour prime minister,” he told the Times.

The hypocrisy of those across the pond who peer down their aquiline noses at America is shown to it full extent by the words of this article.  Evidently the “old chaps” club is still open only to those of the lighter complexion.

Tags: Institutional Racism, Trevor Phillips, United Kingdom