COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Monday, September 11, 2017

Steve Bannon - Taking names and kicking ass:

25 Key Quotes from Steve Bannon’s 60 Minutes Interview

On Sunday, September 10, Breitbart News executive chairman and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon appeared on CBS News’ 60 Minutes for his first television interview. The following are 25 key quotes, both from the main interview and “overtime.”

1. “The Republican establishment is trying to nullify the 2016 election. That’s a brutal fact we have to face.”

2. “Mitch McConnell when we first met him … he basically says, ‘ don’t want to hear any more of this “drain the swamp” talk.’”

3. “In the 48 hours after we won, there’s a fundamental decision that was made. You might call it the original sin of the administration. We embraced the establishment. … Because you had to staff a government.”

4. “The plan was to do Obamacare because, remember, Paul Ryan and these guys come in and said, ‘We’ve done this for seven years. We’ve voted on this 50 times.’ … There is wide discrepancy in the Republican Party, as we know today, now that we’re in it. But I will tell you, leadership didn’t know it at the time. They didn’t know it till the very end.”

5. “I’m worried about losing the House now because of this– of– because of DACA …  it will be a civil war inside the Republican party that will be every bit as vitriolic as 2013.”

6. “You couldn’t be more dead wrong [about immigration]. America was built on her citizens.”

7. “What built America’s called the American system, from Hamilton to Polk to Henry Clay to Lincoln to the Roosevelts. A system of protection of our manufacturing, financial system that lends to manufacturers, okay, and the control of our borders.”

8. “The bishops have been terrible about this. … They have an economic interest in unlimited immigration, unlimited illegal immigration.”

9. “I’m a street fighter. And by the way, I think that’s why Donald Trump and I get along so well. Donald Trump’s a fighter. Great counter puncher.”

10. “When he’s talking about the Neo-Nazis and Neo-Confederates and the Klan, who, by the way, are absolutely awful– there’s no room in American politics for that. There’s no room in American society for that.”

11. “When you side with a man, you side with him … If you’re going to break with him, resign.”

12. “I don’t need to be lectured–by a bunch of– by a bunch of limousine liberals, okay, from the Upper East Side of New York and from the Hamptons, okay, about any of this. My lived experience is that.”

13. “There’s nothing to the Russia investigation. It’s a waste of time. … I think it’s far from conclusive that the Russians had any impact on this election.”

14. “The elites in this country have got us in a situation, we’re at not economic war with China, China is at economic war with us.”

15. “The geniuses in the Bush administration … I hold these people in contempt, total and complete contempt. … By the way, the Obama crowd, almost the same. Clinton crowd, almost the same. It’s three administrations.”

16. “I was the last guy to speak [about the Access Hollywood video], and I said, ‘It’s 100%. You have 100% probability of winning. … They don’t care.’”

17. “‘When you side with a man, you side with him,’ okay? The good and the bad. You can criticize him behind, but when you side with him, you have to side with him.” And that’s what Billy Bush weekend showed me.”

18. “I don’t need the affirmation of the mainstream media. I don’t care what they say. They can call me an anti-Semite. They can call me racist. They call me nativist. You can call me anything you want. Okay? As long as we’re driving this agenda for the working men and women of this country, I’m happy.”

19. “I cannot take the fight to who we have to take the fight to when I’m an advisor to the president as a federal government employee.”

20. “I think there has been a divide in this administration from the beginning. It’s quite obvious. There’s one group of people that on the campaign, that said, ‘All you have to do is do what you said you were going to do in these major areas. Let’s punch out one thing after the other. You’re going to keep your coalition together, and we’re going to add to it over time as you’re successful.’ There’s another group that has said, ‘Let’s compromise, and let’s try to reach out to Democrats, and let’s try to work on things that we can do together.’”

21. “I think if there’s one criticism or one observation is that the President in coming here, right, has still thought– at least in the beginning of his administration– that it’s about personalities, and, ‘If I can change this personality,’ or, ‘If I can get this guy on my side, I can do that.’ And it’s not what the institutional logic is.”

22. “I think what he does on Twitter is extraordinary. He disintermediates the media. He goes above their head and talks directly to the American people.”

23. “Here’s the problem of the Democratic Party. Problem with Democratic Party? There’s no Breitbart. The problem in the Democratic Party? They haven’t had a civil war. … Bernie Sanders had every opportunity. He knew about the Clinton corruption. He knew about how the Wall Street crowd has a lock on the Democratic Party. And he did not have the guts to take on Hillary Clinton in that primary.”

24. “I think he’s [at] 36% or 38% because he hasn’t — we haven’t gotten the wall built. We haven’t done — if you just go through and just do the Trump program that he laid out and just punch those things out, you’re going to be fine. … we’re going to win in ’18 and we’ll pick [up] or six or seven Senate seats. I think we’ll pick up a couple of seats in the House. And he’ll win in a huge landslide in ’20.”

25. “My suggestion and my recommendation is to solve the problem in Korea you need to solve that problem with China. … I think we have– tremendous leverage in capital markets. I think we have tremendous leverage with Chinese banks. I think we have tremendous leverage with the Chinese financial institutions.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

115 comments:


  1. Mr Bannon's comment #5 ...

    “I’m worried about losing the House now because of this– of– because of DACA … it will be a civil war inside the Republican party that will be every bit as vitriolic as 2013.”


    Contradicts his comment #24

    “I think he’s [at] 36% or 38% because he hasn’t — we haven’t gotten the wall built. We haven’t done — if you just go through and just do the Trump program that he laid out and just punch those things out, you’re going to be fine. … we’re going to win in ’18 and we’ll pick [up] or six or seven Senate seats. ..."

    It'll be very hard to pick up Congressional seats when the GOP is losing the House because of the DACA 'thing'.

    ReplyDelete
  2. .

    2018 will hurt the Dems.

    They will pick up seats in the House but not enough.

    They will likely lose a couple in the Senate which should allow McConnell to push some stuff through.

    The Dems should be concentrating on 2020 starting right now.

    The biggest thing the Dems have going for them is Trump.

    If McConnell gains enough votes in 2018 to push through legislation on a strict partisan vote without any Dems, that will replace Trump as the biggest gift to the Dems in 2020.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're looking to run Michelle O'bozo.

      This seems problematic to me.

      If the Pubs can get some meaningful tax cuts through they will win in a landslide.

      If the economy is doing well that's all that counts.

      Delete
  3. .

    3. “In the 48 hours after we won, there’s a fundamental decision that was made. You might call it the original sin of the administration. We embraced the establishment. … Because you had to staff a government.”

    To paraphrase...

    Trump sold his base down the river.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  4. .

    24. “I think he’s [at] 36% or 38% because he hasn’t — we haven’t gotten the wall built.


    Delusional.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Donald was at 45% yesterday.

      You are reading the wrong polls again.

      Delete
    2. You should be out there working for Kid Rock.

      Delete
  5. Kid Rock couldn't get elected in Pakistan -

    Pakistan: Islamic authorities ban musical gatherings, seize and burn musical instruments

    SEPTEMBER 10, 2017 8:30 AM BY ROBERT SPENCER

    Hadith Qudsi 19:5: “The Prophet said that Allah commanded him to destroy all the musical instruments, idols, crosses and all the trappings of ignorance.” (The Hadith Qudsi, or holy Hadith, are those in which Muhammad transmits the words of Allah, although those words are not in the Qur’an.)

    Muhammad also said:

    (1) “Allah Mighty and Majestic sent me as a guidance and mercy to believers and commanded me to do away with musical instruments, flutes, strings, crucifixes, and the affair of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance.”

    (2) “On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress.”

    (3) “Song makes hypocrisy grow in the heart as water does herbage.”

    (4) “This community will experience the swallowing up of some people by the earth, metamorphosis of some into animals, and being rained upon with stones.” Someone asked, “When will this be, O Messenger of Allah?” and he said, “When songstresses and musical instruments appear and wine is held to be lawful.”

    (5) “There will be peoples of my Community who will hold fornication, silk, wine, and musical instruments to be lawful ….” — ‘Umdat al-Salik r40.0


    The Islamic State burning musical instruments in Libya

    “Elders ‘ban’ musical gatherings in Landi Kotal,” by Ali Akbar and Abdullah Malik, Dawn, September 8, 2017 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

    Seminary organisers in the town of Landi Kotal in the Federally Administered Tribal Area on Friday allegedly announced a ban on musical gatherings in the area, sources in the political administration told DawnNews.

    Syed Mohammad Ilyas Banuri alias Khan Lala and Syed Muhammad Ibrahim alias Bacha Jan, organisers of the Khanqah-e-Binoria seminary, allegedly announced the restriction on musical gatherings in the Shinwari Ashkhel area, the sources said.

    The organisers warned that the houses of those either holding musical gatherings or in possession of musical instruments would be burnt, the sources claimed.

    According to sources, a few days ago, the organisers of the seminary had allegedly ransacked weddings in the area and seized musical instruments being played there.

    Today, after Friday prayers and in the presence of hundreds of people, the men allegedly burnt the instruments, the sources said….

    https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/09/pakistan-islamic-authorities-ban-musical-gatherings-seize-and-burn-musical-instruments

    He'd have a chance in India, however.

    I've gotten my Niece interested in Country/Western

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Islam really sucks. There is no fun in it.

      Delete
    2. Bob Mon Jun 05, 02:37:00 PM EDT

      I think the Whahabbi is a Native American war dance.

      Delete
  6. U.S. Supreme Court Temporarily Restores Trump’s Refugee Travel Ban

    By Laurie Asseo
    September 11, 2017, 10:01 AM PDT

    Lower court overruled president’s restrictions on refugees
    High court to hear arguments Oct. 10 on president’s travel ban

    Pause
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    Fullscreen

    Here's How to Comply With the Travel Ban

    Follow @bpolitics for all the latest news, and sign up for our daily Balance of Power newsletter.

    A U.S. Supreme Court justice on Monday issued a short-term order restoring President Donald Trump’s ban on thousands of refugees seeking entry to the country.

    The order issued by Justice Anthony Kennedy puts a lower court ruling on hold until the high court decides whether to grant the administration’s request for a longer-term order. Kennedy ordered those opposing the administration to file court papers by noon Tuesday.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-11/trump-asks-u-s-supreme-court-to-restore-refugee-travel-ban-j7gf0p7u

    ReplyDelete
  7. Two more Donald supreme court picks and things will be looking up.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Not from The Onion: Portland Police purge gang database because not enough white people on it - 9/11/17
    The fantasy that without discrimination, every demographic slice of the nation would be proportionately represented in every aspect of human endeavor – good and bad – has become official dogma and is blinding police.


    More

    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/09/not_from_the_onion_portland_police_purge_gang_database_because_not_enough_white_people_on_it.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. The criminal psycho ass could help out here. Instead of lounging in his mom's basement living off her he should get to Portland and do his criminal activities there.

    We need those gang databases.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. The criminal amongst US i Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.

      He ripped off a bank, by identity theft and fraud.
      He's admitted as much, right here at the Elephant Bar.

      Bob Thu May 27, 12:52:00 AM EDT

      But I did rip off the bank for $7500 hundred dollars, when I was on my knees, and fighting for my economic life, on my aunt's credit card. But that wasn't really stealing, just payback.


      One would think he'd learn his lesson, and quit besmirching his betters, but Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson must be a masochist, among his other behavioral challenges.

      He is a glutton for punishment, no doubt of that.



      Delete
    2. Rat = Hinckley

      Bob = Foster

      Delete
    3. Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson = lying racist bigot

      Ash Sun Oct 19, 08:18:00 PM EDT
      bobal said...
      It's a matter of race, showing lack of character.

      Colon Powell, a step and fetch nigger all along

      bobal said...

      Colon Powell is a black piece of shit.

      bobal said...

      Colon Powell is a black piece of shit, selling out the enlightenment.

      bobal said...
      Colon Powell is a black piece of shit.

      I'm finished.

      bobal said...

      Colon Powell is a black piece of shit.

      bobal said...

      Powell is a black racist, like the others.

      bobal said...
      Colin Powell served as a kitchen nigger,

      bobal said...

      All the Aryans came from southern
      California, and elsewhere.

      You are a smart ass bitch.

      bobal said...
      We're not talking about McCain today, we are trying to understand a black piece of crap.

      bobal said...
      He lugged water for W.

      Now, he is sucking Obama's dick.

      Black piece of crap.


      Colin Powell is a black piece of crap.


      Colin Powell is a black piece of crap.


      Well, I'm taking a shower, and going for a walk, and don't take back anything I've said




      You want to know the truth bobal, I've been wondering, seriously, about you these last few weeks. You seem like such a nice guy but my respect for you collapased before today. And now, after seeing your recent posts, my opinion is cemented - you are fuckin' demented. You are a fucked in the head dude. No kidding! Canada is NOT the place for you.

      Delete
    4. Rat has a crush on Bob. He's furious because Bob doesn't feel the same way. A Woman's scorn!

      Delete

    5. Kim
      Sun Oct 19, 03:54:00 PM EDT
      Bobal: Powell is a black racist, like the others.


      No. Powell is a 35 year veteran, wounded in Vietnam, who single-handedly rescued several men from a burning helicopter. He was chairman of the JCS during the Gulf War and author of the "Powell Doctrine" which minimizes friendly casualties by applying overwhelming force, rather than the do-more-with-less approach of the neocons. He was troubled by the "false intimations that Obama was Muslim." He stated that Obama has always been a Christian, and continued, "...what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America." So Colin Powell is precisely the opposite of a racist, and he is troubled by the whisper campaign of his nominal party during the run up to this election.


      Delete
    6. Poor Warnock psycho ass, he's never going to get even the slightest nod of approval he so obviously longs lives each day for....Bob lavishes it all on Quirk instead.....

      Delete
    7. I want this matter of my affections here settled once and for all.

      I have given my heart totally and unreservedly to QUIRK and to none other.

      It shall always be so, as long as my heart beats and my lungs breath air.

      Delete
    8. Oops forgot Doug, who's obviously in First Place. But Quirk's only a nose behind.

      Delete
    9. Come on Ms Rat. Go live Bobby a little kiss.

      Delete
    10. Sorry, I'm already taken. Plus I love vagina.

      Delete
  10. Hillary has now named 'millions of white people' for her loss.

    One of whom is me, and I proudly take any credit she gives me for her defeat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson was right ... writing about himself and his voting pattern

      Bob Oreille
      Mon Dec 29, 09:07:00 AM EST
      Americans are mostly dumb fucks?

      That's got my vote.

      Delete
    2. He proves he is a dumb fuck ... with the following comment

      Bob Mon Jun 05, 02:37:00 PM EDT

      I think the Whahabbi is a Native American war dance.

      Delete
  11. Iraq is holding more than 1,000 family members of suspected Islamic State (IS) foreign fighters in a desert camp south of Mosul.

    The women and children were detained after the suspected IS foreign fighters surrendered around the Iraqi city of Tal Afar last month.

    ...

    The Norwegian Refugee Council, which is supplying aid to the families, says they are in a precarious situation.

    "It's a very difficult situation and to a large degree unprecedented", the NRC's Melany Markham said.

    ...

    While fighting for IS in Iraq can be punished with the death penalty, the women and children are not officially viewed the same way. But they are also not free to leave.

    The NRC says they are being held at a militarised site in de facto detention while Iraqi officials and diplomats attempt to identify them.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

  13. News from Breitbart ...

    9/11/2017: Trump, Pence, Mattis, Sessions Fail to Name ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’

    The Trump Administration maintains Obama Administration policies ...

    "Stay the Course"

    http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/09/11/9112017-trump-pence-mattis-sessions-fail-to-name-radical-islamic-terrorism/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. NEW YORK — On the sixteenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorist attacks, President Donald Trump did not once mention the terms “radical Islam” or “Islamic terrorism” during a commemoration ceremony at the Pentagon.

      Those phrases were also not mentioned in speeches today by other Trump administration senior officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Defense Secretary James Mattis, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

      Instead of naming the enemy, Trump seemingly went out of his way to use other descriptors in his speech, including “terrorists who attacked us,” “barbaric forces of evil and destruction,” “horrible, horrible enemies,” “enemies of all civilized people,” and “enemies like we’ve never seen before.”


      Mr Trump ...
      ... just gotta love how he has abandoned his base.
      And they do not seem to care ... yet

      Delete
  14. Rose is a putz, so is Bannon

    Rat is queer for Bob. Unless he is a woman. I'm beginning to think he is. Rat are you a woman? If you are not. You are queer for Bob.

    Life goes on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you think Bob is gonna squeal like a pig, or be quiet as a mouse when he takes it up the ass?

      Delete
  15. Ms Rat has it so bad for Bob, he makes John Hinckley look like a piker.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My money is on Bob squealing like a pig!

      Delete
    2. Funny stuff MOME. It is the chucklement that comes with running this money losing establishment.

      Delete
  16. Cardinal Timothy Dolan and his bishops were "terrible" for condemning Mr Trump's decision and suggested they had financial interest in supporting the intiative.

    "You know why? Because [they’re] unable to come to grips with the problems in the church, they need illegal aliens to fill the churches," Mr Bannon said.

    US Attorney-General Jeff Sessions announced last week the Trump administration would be getting rid of DACA - a decision that affects almost 800,000 people, known as 'Dreamers', who entered the country illegally when they were minors.

    ReplyDelete
  17. September 11, 2017
    China Makes It Easy
    By David Archibald

    Steve Bannon is right. China is the main event, North Korea is a sideshow. Nevertheless, one of the poorest nations on the planet has decided that its heart’s desire is to have a weapon system that can land one or more nuclear weapons on U.S. cities. Sometimes you are best served by ignoring the absurdity of the situation and concentrate on intent, because people crazy enough to put a lot of effort into something they don’t need might, on a whim or a mood swing, decide one day to use it.

    There is a cheap solution to this, but let’s first work through the expensive options.


    An air campaign against a very poor country that spent half a century building hardened shelters would just make the rubble bounce. It would also have the effect of reinforcing the regime’s legitimacy. John Boyd was the world’s best air warfare theorist and his studies came to the conclusion that a ground campaign is needed to change facts on the ground. An air campaign by itself is unlikely to effect regime change.


    So what would a ground campaign look like? It would be a bit like Iraq. At the time of those wars, the qualitative edge of Allied forces overwhelmed the large Iraqi armored forces. The danger of North Korean artillery to Seoul is also overstated. To hit Seoul’s northern suburbs, North Korean artillery would have to be within five miles of the border and thus easy to eliminate with artillery and rocket systems. The easiest way to make Seoul safe would be to push across the border and on to Pyongyang, and beyond. Central and eastern North Korea are hilly, which has great advantages to the home team. Western North Korea is open enough that progress may not be too costly. Even a successful ground campaign would be a strategic failure though, because all those lives and warstock would be spent on a secondary target.

    China is North Korea’s enabler, supplying it with most of its fuel requirements. In marketing terms, North Korea is China’s ‘fighting brand’. Companies will create a fighting brand, usually a cheap knock-off of a competitor’s product, in order to cut into the competitor’s cash flow. North Korea has created a lot of angst in South Korea and Japan from very little outlay by China itself. To end the North Korean problem, all China has to do is to completely seal its borders with that country. Sanctions would eventually work and the problem would be over.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. China is a far more malign influence than North Korea. To paraphrase Orwell on the future of humanity, the future for Asia that China wants is the Chinese boot grinding the faces of its neighbouring countries into the ground -- forever. There is unresolved tension with respect to China’s South China Sea position in that China wants to declare maritime and air defense identification zones, and starve other countries’ bases out. That tension can only be resolved by China backing down, which isn’t going to happen, or a war at a time of China’s choosing.

      In fighting that war, anything that weakens China is a blessing. To that end, North Korea is an opportunity, not a problem. What would weaken China would be lack of access to the U.S. market. President Trump has wanted tariffs on Chinese goods with an economic outcome in mind. North Korea presents the opportunity of making tariffs and sanctions on Chinese goods politically based, and therefore noble, not grubby. Europe is China’s other large market. France and the UK are aware of the freedom of navigation issue created by China’s land grab in the South China Sea. They may not join in on imposing tariffs and sanctions but they are likely to be uncritical of sanctions and tariffs on China due to China’s support of North Korea.

      China hates it when countries are better able to defend themselves against Chinese attack, and thus the Chinese bullying reaction to South Korea’s THAAD installation. Which leads to the problem of China having the option of nuclear weapons while South Korea and Japan don’t. In the event of losing a conventional war with Japan, China is likely to respond by threatening Japan with nuclear annihilation. In the event that Japan did not concede, and hand over the island chain south of Okinawa, China would start eliminating Japanese cities and dare the United States to go to mutually assured destruction. Early in the presidential election campaign, then-candidate Trump said that he would understand if Japan and South Korea acquired nuclear weapons. That process should be speeded up by leasing those countries perhaps 30 warheads each, with yields of at least 300 kilotons. Most people in Asia would sleep much better as a consequence.

      China has announced that it will back North Korea if the United States strikes first. That makes it easy. President Trump is advised to impose sanctions and tariffs on China until North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons, ramping them up as the months pass without compliance. That is the cheap option. There are no good options. Every path ends in war, but that is put off and the odds will be better this way.

      David Archibald is the author of American Gripen: The Solution to the F-35 Nightmare.

      http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/09/china_makes_it_easy.html

      Delete
  18. Here's what you need, and deserve, Deuce -

    0-249MPH and BACK to zero in 41.96 seconds! BUGATTI hypercar sets speed record....


    0-249MPH and then BACK to zero in 41.96 seconds! New 1,500bhp Bugatti Chiron hypercar sets incredible speed record
    The Bugatti Chiron set a new world record by accelerating from zero to 249mph to zero in just 41 seconds
    It boasts an 8-litre engine developing almost 1,500bhp - making it one of the most powerful cars ever built
    Bugatti is building 500 Chirons, with 300 of the £2 million cars already snapped up by wealthy collectors
    Bugatti now plans to set a new world speed record - currently 267mph set by the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport


    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4873532/Bugatti-Chiron-hypercar-sets-incredible-speed-record.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That will help you get around those Philly suburbs !

      Delete
    2. If asked to bet on a race through center city Philadelphia between a Bugatti from Molsheim or a Schwinn from Walmart, I'm going with the Schwinn.


      https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/9/14480724/bugatti-factory-photo-essay-chiron-behind-the-scenes

      Delete
  19. Israeli Company to Help Build U.S.-Mexico Border Wall Prototype

    By Geller Report Staff - on September 11, 2017

    TRUMP HEADLINES

    Elta North America, which is a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, was just named as one of four companies to win contracts to build prototypes of smart systems that will be ultimately used in America’s border wall with Mexico.

    Two hundred companies bid for this opportunity.



    Elta designs and builds electronic surveillance systems for government entities.
    Elta, as part of its bid, will receive between $300,000 and $500,000 in contracted dollars to build the model.

    Now, these four companies will face off in a competition to see which comes up with the best model.

    Ynet News has the story:

    An Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) subsidiary is on the shortlist to construct the new border wall between the United States and Mexico, an enormous project and long-touted campaign promise by President Donald Trump.

    Elta North America, the aforementioned IAI subsidiary, was announced Saturday as one of only four companies to construct a prototype for a “smart border” wall, after winning a US Customs tender. More than 200 companies from around the world presented bids for the tender.

    Each one of the quartet of companies will receive funding of $300,000-$500,000 to finance the production of said prototype in the coming fall.

    Trump wishes to create a wall running the entire 3,200 kilometers separating the two countries, in order to prevent passage of migrants from Mexico into the US, who he says take jobs out of American hands.

    After Trump cited Israel’s wall built along its southern border with Egypt as a success story in stopping illegal migrants from entering the country, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced his support for the US border wall project. Netanyahu’s reply got him into some hot water with both Mexico and members of his own coalition, who pleaded with him to stay out of the controversial issue.

    The project is estimated to become one of the world’s largest security infrastructure undertakings, with its cost to run anywhere from 15 to 25 billion dollars.

    The American government has so far earmarked 3 billion dollars for the project in its 2018 budget, of which a billion will go to the smart border systems included in the tender, which are supposed to include advanced radars for both person and vehicle identification. Radars of this type are already manufactured by Elta and sold to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, as well as to other international clients.

    Elta North America works out of Maryland and manufactures radar systems and components for branches of the American military, as well as radar components that the Israeli Ministry of Defense purchases using funding it receives from the US for Israel’s security. The security package does stipulate, however, that Israel must purchase equipment intended to fortify its security from that has been manufactured in the US—a fact that allows Israel to purchase Elta’s products, despite the company being a subsidiary of the Israel Aerospace Industries.

    Elta employs 50 people and is expected to double its manpower in the coming years. It also operates in cyber and has opened a training and instruction center for cyber professionals working for both governmental and private organizations.

    Elta’s Israeli headquarters are located in Ashdod, where it manufactures radar systems for Arrow missiles, the Iron Dome system, espionage and fighter jets.

    The company is also in the running to supply additional long-range radars to South Korea, which has already purchased the “Green Pine” radar used in the Arrow missiles from Elta. South Korea is interested in purchasing radar systems to beef up its deterrent array in light of rising tensions in the Korean peninsula.

    https://pamelageller.com/2017/09/israeli-company-help-build-u-s-mexico-border-wall-prototype.html/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good, they should know what they are doing.

      Delete

    2. The Israeli will not work for free.
      The funding source that Mr Trump was going to use ... flooded out by events on the ground.

      Aug 31, 2017 05:03 AM -0700
      Republicans want to use disaster funds to pay for Trump’s Mexico border wall
      While FEMA's budget will be slashed, funds will be allocated for the border wall — which Mexico isn't paying for



      The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief account is scheduled to be cut by $876 million, according to the Associated Press. This is part of a larger spending bill that will be considered by the House of Representatives next week, one that is in many ways designed to build Trump’s promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.

      The $876 million cut is expected to pay for roughly half of Trump’s down payment on that barrier.


      What a difference two weeks make.
      There will not be any cuts to the FEMA budget

      Delete
  20. Humans Have 27 Distinct Emotional States, Study Finds

    9Sep - by Daniel Steingold - 106 - In Happiness Studies Health Studies Psychological Studies

    BERKELEY, Calif. — Human emotions may not be as plentiful as the hundreds of emojis we use on social media, but they’re still more complex than previously believed. A new study examining the various ways that we express ourselves determined that humans display 27 distinct emotional states.....

    https://www.studyfinds.org/emotional-humans-emotions/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jack rat's got two emotional states - negative, and negative minus

      I know people.

      Not a hire.

      Delete

    2. No worries, Donald, I have a great reference from Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.

      bobal Mon Sep 01, 05:20:00 PM EDT

      Rat's a gentleman.
      With his own way of thinking about things.
      ….
      While with Rat, you are always eager to hear what he has to say.



      Delete

  21. Will New North Korea Sanctions Make a Difference?

    If fully implemented, the new sanctions would significantly reduce North Korean access to international currency and fuel needed for its banned ballistic missile and nuclear programs by:

    cutting a third of North Korea’s oil imports, which Haley called the “life blood” of its efforts to build and deliver a nuclear weapon;

    reducing by more than half, the country’s gas, diesel and heavy fuel oil imports, while completely banning the import of natural gas and other oil substitutes;
    banning North Korea’s textile exports – currently its second most lucrative industry -- which Haley said would cost Pyongyang almost $800 million a year;

    prohibiting any country from authorizing new work permits for North Korean workers, another key source of hard currency for the Pyongyang regime.


    https://www.voanews.com/a/will-new-north-korea-sanctions-make-a-difference/4025011.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Many advocates for the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” strategy to coerce the leadership in Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program say this latest round of sanctions is still not strong enough.

      “It’s really not comprehensive enough, or serious enough, really cutting enough to cause the North Koreans any huge problems, as I see it. But it does allow the Trump administration to say that at least it tried,” said regional security analyst Grant Newsham with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo.


      Delete

  22. Russian smugglers are reportedly undercutting sanctions against North Korea with secret aid


    As the UN Security Council voted to apply more economic pressure against North Korea on Monday, Russian smugglers have been shipping petroleum and other goods to the regime, US officials said in a Washington Post report.

    The report published Monday night cited official documents that showed increased tanker activity between North Korean shipping ports and the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.

    Smuggled supplies included diesel fuel and other goods that the isolated country could not produce themselves. According to US law-enforcement officials, Russian entrepreneurs were creating front companies to hide their activity and launder funds.

    In one case, a Singapore-registered real-estate management company with no known offices or webpage was "facilitating the laundering of funds for North Korea financial facilitators and sanctioned entities" by working with Russian partners to buy almost $7 million worth of diesel fuel. North Korean agents would then wire US dollars to the company, which in turn would pay a Russian supplier to make diesel shipments from Vladivostok.

    "As the Chinese cut off oil and gas, we're seeing them turn to Russia,"
    one senior official familiar with the smuggling operation told The Post.
    "Whenever they are cut off from their primary supplier, they just try to get it from somewhere else."


    http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-smuggling-supplies-to-north-korea-2017-9

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Bob Fri Jun 02, 07:03:00 AM EDT

      And Trump's a fool if he thinks the Chinese are going to solve the problem of North Korea for him.


      Delete
  23. Israel Has a Playbook for Dealing With North Korea

    Saddam and Assad both tried to build the ultimate threat. The Israelis made sure it didn't happen.
    By Zev Chafets

    September 7, 2017, 9:41 AM PDT

    Saddam's nuclear dream ended in ashes. Photographer: Ramzi Haidar/AFP/Getty Images
    Israel and North Korea are on opposite sides of the Asian landmass, separated by 5,000 miles as the ICBM flies. But Israelis feels close to the nuclear standoff between Washington and Pyongyang. They have faced this sort of crisis before, and may again.

    Some history: In the mid-1970s, it became clear to Israel that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was working on acquiring nuclear weapons and missiles to deliver them. Saddam had already demonstrated an uninhibited brutality in dealing with his internal enemies and his neighbors. He aspired to be the leader of the Arab world. Defeating Israel was at the top of his to-do list.

    After coming to office in 1977, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin tried to convince the U.S. and Europe that Saddam was a clear and present danger to the Jewish state, and that action had to be taken. Begin was not taken seriously.

    But Begin was serious, and in 1981 he decided that Israel would have to stop the Iraqi dictator all by itself. His political opponents, led by the estimable Shimon Peres, considered this to be dangerous folly. Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan, the legendary former military chief of staff, voted against unilateral action on the grounds that it would hurt Israel’s international standing. Defense Minister Ezer Weizmann, the former head of the air force (and Dayan’s brother-in-law) was also against a military option. He thought the mission would be unacceptably risky.

    Begin had no military expertise. But his family had been wiped out in the Holocaust. He looked at Saddam, who was openly threating Israel, and saw Hitler. To Begin, sitting around hoping for the best was not a strategy; it was an invitation to aggression. If there was going to be a cost -- political, diplomatic, military -- better to pay before, not after, the Iraqis had the bomb.

    In the summer of 1981, Begin gave the order. The Israeli air force destroyed the Osirak reactor. The United Nations Security Council condemned the attack. The Europeans went bonkers. The New York Times called it “inexcusable.” But the Israeli prime minister wasn’t looking to be excused by the Times or the Europeans or even the usually friendly Ronald Reagan administration. He enunciated a simple rationale that would come to be known as the Begin Doctrine: Israel will not allow its avowed enemies to obtain the means of its destruction.


    The wisdom of this doctrine became clear a decade later, during the Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein made good on his threat to fire Russian-made SCUD missiles at Israeli cities. The SCUDs landed, and caused some damage and a fair amount of panic, but they were not armed with unconventional warheads. Israel had taken that option off the table.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Similarly, in 2007, Israel confirmed what it had suspected for five years: Syria, with North Korean help, was trying to build a nuclear reactor. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a Begin disciple, sent Mossad chief Meir Dagan to Washington, to ask for American intervention. The CIA chief, Michael Hayden, agreed with Israel’s contention that Damascus (with Iranian financing) was constructing the reactor. But Hayden convinced President George W. Bush that bombing the site would result in all-out war, and who wants that?

      Acting on its own, Israel destroyed the Syrian site (reportedly killing a group of North Korean experts in the process). Hayden was wrong about how Syria would react, as he later admitted. If Israel had been reasonable and listened to the CIA, Bashar al-Assad would have nuclear weapons right now.

      A few years later, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak spent billions of dollars preparing and training to take out the Iranian nuclear program. Barak, not a member of Netanyahu's right-wing Likud Party, explained: “There are instances where it appears it is not necessary to attack now, but you know that you won’t be able to attack later.” In such cases, he said, the “consequences of inaction are grave, and you have to act.”

      Israel was prevented from kinetic action by the Barack Obama administration, which along with five other powers cut a deal with Iran in 2015 -- over Israel’s vociferous objections. Netanyahu warned that the deal was full of loopholes; it would allow Iran to hide its nuclear program and continue building new means of delivery. This was confirmed in 2016 when Iran tested a new missile. “The reason we designed our missiles with a range of 2000 kilometers,” said Iranian Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, “is to be able to hit our enemy the Zionist regime from a safe distance.”

      Since then, Iran has stepped up its aggressive enmity toward the Zionist Entity. It has not only continued its nuclear cooperation with North Korea, it has also copied Pyongyang’s tactic of creating a huge artillery threat against civilian populations (through its proxy force Hezbollah in Lebanon and now Syria). This conventional threat to Seoul is what has convinced a great many American commentators that any attack on North Korea would lead to an “unthinkable” number of casualties.

      Ruling out harsh thoughts is a luxury Israel doesn’t have. It has installed an efficient missile defense system (something not beyond the means of the South Koreans and the U.S.). It is also training to neutralize the threat of a bombardment. The IDF is currently conducting its biggest military exercise in 19 years. The announced goal is to prepare for war with Hezbollah. Israel does not intend to allow itself to be held hostage by an Iranian threat to its civilian population, or to have its hands tied by the theory of unthinkability.

      Delete
    2. This week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem published a condemnation of North Korea: “Only a determined international response will prevent other states from behaving in the same way." Clearly, “other states” was a reference to Iran. It was also a message to the U.S.

      Israel, by long experience, knows there is no such thing as an “international” community when it comes to security. What is happening now in East Asia is an American production. The Donald Trump administration has been very clear, not to say belligerent, in demanding that North Korea forgo its nuclear weapons and ambitions.

      This was also the policy of previous American administrations -- but Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama didn’t really mean it. They let things slide, drew imaginary lines, held talks that went no place and hoped for the best.

      The best didn’t happen. It almost never does. North Korea is now truly dangerous -- unlike Iraq and Syria, it already has nuclear weapons -- and it won’t get less so as time goes on. Trump has said this in no uncertain terms. But so far it is just words. The president may mean it. He also may not. Perhaps he will come to regret tangling with Kim. Maybe he will see it as a beginner’s mistake. He may be tempted to reverse course and try to save face with make-believe sanctions, empty United Nations resolutions or fruitless negotiations. I’m not judging him. I haven’t been in his shoes, and I wouldn’t want to be.

      But if the American president does back down, if Kim Jong Un stays in power, keeps his nuclear warheads and ballistic weapons, and gets away with threatening the U.S. and its allies with nuclear destruction, every friend and foe of Washington will be revisiting its strategic playbook. For Israel, so far away from Korea yet so close to Iranian aggression, that book begins with the Begin Doctrine.

      https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-09-07/israel-has-a-playbook-for-dealing-with-north-korea

      Delete
  24. Heh

    Clinton lawyers to be investigated over possible destruction of evidence

    JAZZ SHAW Sep 12, 2017 9:21 AM

    https://hotair.com/archives/2017/09/12/clinton-lawyers-investigated-possible-destruction-evidence/

    Ciao

    Cheers to all you others.

    ReplyDelete
  25. He wanted to keep a puppy, but his mom said no. Then he shot his mother with a rifle, police say

    http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article172808816.html

    ReplyDelete
  26. Told ya -

    Sept 12, 6:26 PM EDT

    JUSTICES ALLOW TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BAN ON MOST REFUGEES

    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to maintain its restrictive policy on refugees.

    The justices on Tuesday agreed to an administration request to block a lower court ruling that would have eased the refugee ban and allowed up to 24,000 refugees to enter the country before the end of October.

    The order was not the court's last word on the travel policy that Trump first rolled out in January. The justices are scheduled to hear arguments on Oct. 10 on the legality of the bans on travelers from six mostly Muslim countries and refugees anywhere in the world.

    It's unclear, though, what will be left for the court to decide. The 90-day travel ban lapses in late September and the 120-day refugee ban will expire a month later.

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_TRAVEL_BAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-09-12-18-26-49

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately, my bathroom tip was not published until 90 days after I wrote it.

      Delete

  27. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says bitcoin is a 'fraud' that will eventually blow up

    "It's worse than tulip bulbs. It won't end well. Someone is going to get killed," Dimon said.

    Bitcoin fell to trade around its session lows after Dimon's comments.

    Dimon's criticism comes at a time when some well-known figures on Wall Street are starting to embrace the cryptocurrency.
    Fred Imbert | @foimbert
    Published 5 Hours Ago | Updated 2 Hours Ago

    https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/12/jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-raises-flag-on-trading-revenue-sees-20-percent-fall-for-the-third-quarter.html


    Buy farmland. At least they ain't making any more of it.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Buy a lava tube in Hawaii if you can find one for sale.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Rush Hour in the rain in downtown Truckee.

    https://hdontap.com/index.php/video/stream/downtown-truckee-california

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Damn, what is it with the rain this year ?

      And why does everyone have their lights on in daylight ?

      I think Truckee needs a traffic signal.

      Delete
    2. A traffic cop.

      Truckee needs an intersection traffic cop.

      Some mostly unemployed fellow like Quirk, perhaps.

      Gloves, cap, whistle.....

      Delete
  30. Chinese banks stop taking NK money fearing US sanctions....DRUDGE

    China’s banks are reportedly beginning to take heed of US sanctions on North Korea. Several workers at branches of major Chinese banks close to the North Korean border told the BBC that they are no longer opening accounts for citizens of the country.

    One Bank of China staff member said, “all bank activities related to North Korea are suspended now because it is a sanctioned country”.

    Other workers at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China said they had stopped opening North Korean accounts months ago, with one reportedly saying the change followed an order from the People's Bank Of China, the country's central bank.


    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/china-banks-north-korea-money-stop-taking-us-sanctions-nuclear-weapons-missiles-a7943116.html

    ReplyDelete
  31. Insane -

    Maryland city to decide if noncitizens can vote....DRUDGE

    ReplyDelete
  32. JIHAD WATCH
    Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts


    Supreme Court votes for national security, upholds Trump travel ban

    SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 8:27 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER

    A win for common sense and national security. Watch, therefore, for the howls of rage from the Left and hysteria from the establishment media.



    “Supreme Court: Trump admin can keep travel ban on most refugees,” by Ariane de Vogue, CNN, September 12, 2017:

    Washington (CNN)The Supreme Court granted Tuesday a Trump administration request to continue to bar most refugees under its travel ban.

    Without comment, the court blocked a federal appeals court ruling from last week that would have exempted refugees who have a contractual commitment from resettlement organizations from the travel ban while the justices consider its legality. The ruling could impact roughly 24,000 people.

    The travel ban bars certain people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the US….

    https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/09/supreme-court-votes-national-security-upholds-trump-travel-ban

    ReplyDelete
  33. How long ago was Comey fired ?

    Hillary: The Lesson Of “1984” Is Trust Your Leaders
    ALLAHPUNDITPosted at 11:21 am on September 13, 2017


    I may need to buy this book. It’s proving to be an even richer vein of blog content than I imagined.


    There are establishmentarians, there are big-government establishmentarians, and then there are people who read Orwell and see a parable about insufficient trust in authority:

    Bizarre misreading: @HillaryClinton thinks the lesson of Orwell's 1984 is that you should trust experts, leaders and the press
    4:46 PM - Sep 12, 2017
    740 740 Replies 5,704 5,704 Retweets 10,817 10,817 likes

    A lefty friend distills that argument, such as it is, to its essence:

    View image on Twitter
    View image on Twitter
    Follow
    Sigh Hersh @Ugarles
    Literary analysis
    6:20 AM - Sep 13, 2017
    8 8 Replies 89 89 Retweets 216 216 likes

    That passage doesn’t even describe Trump’s M.O. correctly. He does prize dominance and he’s authoritarian by instinct but he’s retreated from authoritarian options so far as president. When the courts blocked his travel ban, he didn’t ignore the rulings and implement the policy anyway. He challenged the rulings in court. When James Mattis told him that waterboarding was counterproductive, he didn’t shrug him off and reinstate the practice to prove he’s a tough guy. He deferred to his SecDef and kept the ban in place. For all his rhetorical slobbering over Putin and Russia’s authoritarian regime, he reportedly rejected Putin’s offer of a reset. Relations between the U.S. and Moscow are poorer now than they were when he took office. He hasn’t even tried to muscle his own party on policy. One key reason why health-care reform failed and why tax reform looks dicey is because Trump has largely let the congressional GOP try to work those issues out on their own. His splashiest executive action so far may have been last week’s decision to cancel DACA and hand immigration back to Congress, undoing an authoritarian act by Obama of which the left approved.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trump’s not a torturer using electric shocks to get people to bend to his reality. He’s a gaslighter. This passage from Katy Tur’s new book, which also name-checks Orwell, is a much better description of how he operates:

      View image on Twitter
      View image on Twitter
      Follow
      Benjy Sarlin ✔ @BenjySarlin
      This @KatyTurNBC passage really hits home -- I often said Trump reporters needed troop rotations
      8:05 PM - Sep 12, 2017
      95 95 Replies 1,010 1,010 Retweets 2,409 2,409 likes

      Sometimes the timeframe is compressed and you’ll find yourself questioning your memory of what happened just a few days before. His Charlottesville comments about alt-righters, veering from hints of equivocation to forceful condemnation and back again, were one example. Another is his position on legalizing DREAMers: Is he for it, against it, resolved to end DACA if Congress doesn’t act, willing to extend DACA? It was the dominant policy issue last week, driven by a presidential decision, yet the president’s stance somehow still isn’t clear. The firehose of controversial soundbites, West Wing intrigue, surprise policy shifts, and missteps of various sorts is so powerful that it’s legitimately difficult to keep track of what’s going on even when you’re paying attention to the news all day and everything is preserved in real time on the Internet. Someone tweeted a few days ago that it had been exactly four months since Trump had fired James Comey and I thought that couldn’t possibly be. It felt like years. But presidential news happens so quickly and relentlessly, replete with disorienting shifts, that time itself seems to expand. A “normal” presidential administration would be expected to produce X amount of news in eight months; because Trump produces X2, and because actual and imagined fake news is mixed up in that, you end up feeling like eight months have passed long before they actually have.

      Anyway. People are laughing at Hillary’s mangling of Orwell this morning on social media but I haven’t seen anyone recall this viral-video sensation among Obama fans from before the 2008 primaries. Of course Big Sister would think the moral of “1984” is “trust authority.”

      https://hotair.com/archives/2017/09/13/hillary-lesson-1984-trust-leaders/

      Delete
  34. September 13, 2017
    Luther's Very Mixed Legacy
    By Mike Konrad

    Next month, October 31st, will be the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's posting his ninety-five theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. Whether one thinks Luther was right or wrong, this was one of the most important events in history. Western Civilization was rent in half.

    My views concerning Luther have gone all over the place during my lifetime, Was he a villain? Was he a hero? At times, I have held these diametrically opposed views. Now, I am of the opinion that he was a bit of both. Luther's chief attraction as a role model was that he was flawed. God was able to use a very flawed man to achieve a positive good. One did not have to be outwardly holy like a pope to do God's will -- and Luther proved it.


    As time goes by, however, I am gravitating more to the opinion that the deity should have picked a better man to clean up Western Christianity.

    One thing is clear: The Reformation was going to come, with or without Luther. The Czechs had already spawned the Hussite reformers, a century earlier. Wycliff, in the 14th century, had produced major changes in England. Meanwhile, Tyndale in England, Zwingli in Zurich, and Calvin in Geneva were contemporaries of Luther. Something was brewing. Luther may have been the catalyst to coalesce the movement, but he was not the indispensable man.

    Luther's great breakthrough was to re-emphasize that man is reconciled to God through faith in the accomplished work of Christ on the cross, not through human effort. Catholic indulgences were out. Luther had been brought to this crisis and understanding by his study through Paul’s epistle to the Romans.

    Luther's account of his own conversion cuts to the very heart of the gospel.

    Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that “the just shall live by faith.” Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the “justice [of] God” had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate of heaven. -- Therefore Now

    Man was set right before God, by faith, apart from works.

    Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of course, defenders of Catholicism would counter that the epistle of James is a defense of human effort being a necessary requirement for salvation. Luther despised James, and called it an epistle of straw.

      James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

      This was a powerful rebuttal by the Catholic side, but the Reformers had equally powerful counterrebuttals, chiefly that even James had conceded justification by faith in the preceding verse, and so James could not be arguing that salvation was by human effort.

      James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness:

      Hence, the Reformers said James was not referring to being justified by works unto salvation, but merely pointing out that a saving faith ideally should produce some works as evidence. Good works are not required for salvation, but are merely a consequence of it.

      Besides, as other reformers would note also, man was too imperfect, too flawed, to have any merit before a holy God. The whole work would have to be Christ’s, which was appropriated only by faith alone.

      Once the theological gauntlet had been tossed down, Europe would be split.

      What is clear is that Luther's version of the Reformation was barely a change at all. Classic Lutheranism kept the mass. Unlike other Protestant groups, the Lutherans kept the Eucharist. They substituted Catholicism's transubstantiation with consubstantiation. If Catholics believe the elements are turned into the body and blood of Christ, Lutherans believed that only a part of the elements -- a few molecules as it were -- were changed. I have asked Lutherans to explain the difference, and many cannot.

      Lutherans kept infant baptism, and placed far more emphasis on it than most other pedobaptizing denominations do. Luther, while not as slavish to Augustine of Hippo's theology as Calvin was, was still too saddled with Augustinian thought. One could argue that it was not enough to get rid of the Vatican, one had to get rid of Augustine as well. Luther did not. Luther also approved of persecuting Anabaptists. He was not a Renaissance man by any stretch of the imagination.

      Luther maintained a lot of Catholic views on Mary.

      If Luther allowed clerical marriage, it has to be admitted that clerical celibacy was and is not an article of Catholic doctrine, but merely an organizational preference. Luther merely bucked the organizational rules. Maybe the rules merited bucking, but it was not a doctrinal issue. In fact, Lutheranism is remarkably similar to Catholicism in so many ways, compared to later Protestant denominations.

      Luther was so desperate to get rid of the pope, and he identified himself with local German rulers as a countermeasure so strongly, that Germany acquired a culture accepting of state tyranny. Luther had merely switched despotisms. He was noticeably ruthless in asking the German princes to crush the Peasant's War. One can trace the origins of modern German authoritarian government to Luther.

      But it was Luther's attacks on the Jews where he did the most damage. Initially, Luther started off quite friendly to the Jewish community, going so far was to write a pamphlet: That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew. Luther assumed that that Jews would flock to his Reformation. When they didn't, he later turned on them.

      Delete
    2. Luther's most infamous work was On the Jews and Their Lies. Luther, who could read Hebrew, had translated some religious Jewish texts, and found their discourse on Jesus and his mother quite horrifying. Had it been left at that, Luther could have engaged in intellectual debate to much good effect; but Luther publicly recommended a series of societal actions so severe that they read like Nazi legislation. Contemporary German Reformers were horrified at Luther's tirades.

      - to burn down Jewish synagogues and schools and warn people against them;

      - to refuse to let Jews own houses among Christians;

      - for Jewish religious writings to be taken away;

      - for rabbis to be forbidden to preach;

      - to offer no protection to Jews on highways;

      - for usury to be prohibited and for all silver and gold to be removed, put aside for safekeeping, and given back to Jews who truly convert; and

      - to give young, strong Jews flail, axe, spade, and spindle, and let them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow. -- Wikipedia

      This was no mere rant. Luther's writings would embed themselves in German culture so strongly that even the Roman Catholic Adolf Hitler would list Luther as one of his favorite Germans in Mein Kampf.

      To this group belong not only the genuinely great statesmen but all the great reformersas well. Beside Frederick the Great we have such men as Martin Luther and Richard Wagner. -- Mein Kampf

      Indeed, Kristallnacht started on the evening of Luther's birthday.

      On the night of Martin Luther’s birthday, November 9-10, 1938, 191 synagogues throughout Germany were set on fire, and 76 were completely destroyed. 815 Jewish-owned shops were demolished, 29 warehouses and 171 homes were set on fire or likewise destroyed. -- Outreach Judaism

      Historians do not exaggerate when they draw a connection from Luther to the Nazis, and while many Lutherans dismiss the charges, it is hard to fully separate Luther from Hitler.

      The Nazis organized Luther Day celebrations, calling Luther “the first German spiritual Führer,” and enlisted his teachings to support the idea that German exceptionalism and anti-Semitism were inseparable. We have no reason to think Luther would have approved of the Holocaust. But -- and this is always the danger with rabble-rousers -- he set his followers on the path. -- Washington City Paper

      My own opinion is that Luther almost simultaneously started and killed the Reformation. When the dust settled, with the exception of Scotland and a few French-speaking areas adjacent to Germany, the Reformation was almost totally confined to the Germanic areas of Europe. It would remain so confined until three centuries after Luther. I do believe that God operates through history; and so, while Luther's good ideas were too good to let die, his anti-Semitic poison was so severe that the deity had to confine the Reformation until the 18th century Enlightenment temporarily toned down anti-Semitism. Unfortunately, Luther's influence would resurface in the 20th century.

      Some contemporary Baptist writers, such as Max Younce, have gone so far as to question if Luther was even saved. Even dissident Protestants and the Messianic Jacob Prasch have reconsidered Luther.

      This is not to condemn the Reformation. As noted, it would have come anyway, apart from Luther. Catholicism had become abysmally corrupt by the 16th century. There was a need to return to the gospel truth of grace alone through faith alone.

      Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

      Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

      Delete
    3. The Bible is full of stories of heroes who started off well, but ended in disaster -- for example, Solomon, or Samson. Solomon had built the temple, but then fell prey to the paganisms of his foreign wives. Samson defeated Israel's enemies only to fall to the wiles of one of their women: Delilah. They destroyed a lot of the good foundations they had laid down.

      …Luther was a man who began right, and ended badly -- Messianic Teacher Jacob Prasch

      Luther is such a man. He began a mighty work -- and for that, I give Luther credit -- but then he nearly capsized the work he had begun. If the 500th anniversary of the Reformation is remembered, let it be remembered with that cautionary note.

      Mike Konrad is the pen name of an American who wishes he had availed himself more fully of the opportunity to learn Spanish in high school, lo those many decades ago. He writes on the Arabs of South America at http://latinarabia.com.

      http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/09/luthers_very_mixed_legacy.html#ixzz4sZkYH3Mt

      Delete
  35. Ah, Saundra Smith is on, she of the sidelong pickerel smile....

    Ciao

    ReplyDelete
  36. Well, there is this lovely story about Romeo and Juliet jumping in the electric sack -

    HONOUR KILLINGTeens, 15 and 16, who tried to elope ELECTROCUTED by their family after tribal judge ruled they were a ‘symbol of ‘dishonour’

    Police in the city of Karachi have arrested both the fathers and two of the uncles responsible for carrying out the savage double murder

    “The innocent souls were tied to a charpai (rope bed) and given electric shocks,” said police officer Aman Marwat.
    By Mark Hodge
    13th September 2017, 9:45 amUpdated: 13th September 2017, 12:48 pm


    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4453974/pakistan-honour-killing-teenagers-electrocuted-relatives/

    It's a wonderful thing to live in a country without a lot of muzzies running around.

    STOP MOSLEM IMMIGRATION TO THE USA NOW !

    ReplyDelete
  37. Maryland town will allow non-citizens to vote in local elections - 9/13/17
    Citizenship has now been degraded to the point where it is almost meaningless. More


    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/09/maryland_town_will_allow_noncitizens_to_vote_in_local_elections.html

    ReplyDelete
  38. McDonald's worker arrested for allegedly trying to flush her newborn baby down toilet

    Lockner said she didn't know she was pregnant and was surprised when she went in the bathroom and gave birth. Her boyfriend also said he did not know she was expecting.

    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mom-allegedly-flush-baby-mcdonald-toilet-article-1.3493155

    ReplyDelete
  39. Raining again in Truckee:

    https://hdontap.com/index.php/video/stream/downtown-truckee-california

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. First time in years the streets of Truckee will be clean.

      Delete
  40. Watch Hillary snort, left, right, right, left - snort video -

    Hillary Clinton demonstrates 'alternate nostril breathing' during CNN interview
    by Naomi Lim | Sep 13, 2017, 9:31 PM

    Failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton demonstrated on Wednesday one of the ways she dealt with her shocking loss to President Trump in the aftermath of the 2016 election while promoting her new campaign memoir.

    "Seems like you've been doing a lot of yoga?" CNN's Anderson Cooper asked during an interview organized as part of Clinton's What Happened book tour.

    "Yes, I have," Clinton responded. "And alternate nostril breathing."





    Watch Full Screen
    Cooper then asked Clinton to show him what the coping mechanism entailed.

    "I would highly recommend it," Clinton started. "You are supposed to shut your eyes -- I don't want to shut my eyes on national television -- but you do hold [your nostril] and breathe through one, and you hold it and then you exhale to the other and you keep going."


    Clinton continued, saying that the technique "is very relaxing" if you try it while "sitting crossed-legged on the yoga mat" "and you're really trying to inhale, and hold it and then have a long exhale."

    "I found it quite helpful," she said of her personal experience.

    What Happened was released on Sept. 12.

    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/hillary-clinton-demonstrates-alternate-nostril-breathing-during-cnn-interview/article/2634354

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hillary will, hopefully, soon be going to the Himalayas seeking enlightenment.

      Delete
    2. Or, since place is unimportant in such seeking, anywhere at all, just away somewhere.

      Delete
    3. The truly adept can attain enlightenment while peddling a shitty personal political biography, too, in any crappy bookstore in the USA.

      Delete
    4. She could give all her ill gotten money away, get stark naked, go to the forest, put out the begging bowl, and watch the monkeys play until her fat old body 'drops away like leaves falling to the earth in autumn'.

      I doubt she will do it, though.

      Delete
  41. ONE student was killed and at least three other teens were wounded in a shooting in a school in the northwest of the United States.

    The shooting took place in Freeman High School in Spokane county, Washington state, 460 kilometres from Seattle.

    ...

    Michael Harper, 15, told the Spokesman-Review that he was a good friend of the shooter.

    “He was weird,” Harper was quoted as saying. “And he loved the show Breaking Bad.

    ...

    According to the Gun Violence website, 253 mass shootings -- defined as four or more people shot in a single incident -- have been reported in the United States so far this year, including Wednesday’s shooting in Washington state.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Too much drugs, drink, and riding around in cars -

    Male Infertility Crisis In U.S. Has Experts Baffled

    Startling new evidence suggests male infertility may be much worse than it appears. According to Levine and Swan’s work, sperm levels—the most important measurement of male fertility—are declining throughout much of the world, including the U.S. The report, published in late July, reviewed thousands of studies and concluded that sperm concentration had fallen by 52 percent among men in Western countries between 1973 and 2011. Four decades ago, the average Western man had a sperm concentration of 99 million per milliliter. By 2011, that had fallen to 47.1 million. The plummet is alarming because sperm concentrations below 40 million per milliliter are considered below normal and can impair fertility. (The researchers found no significant declines for non-Western men, in part because of a lack of quality data, though other studies have found major drops in countries like China and Japan.) And the decline has grown steeper in recent years, which means that the crisis is deepening. “This is pretty scary,” says Swan, who has long studied reproductive health. “I think we should be very concerned about this trend.”

    Although there have reports of declining sperm counts before, they were easy to ignore. Research on sperm levels has been spotty, using different methodologies and drawing from varying groups, making it difficult to know that the declines some scientists observed were real, and not a function of miscounting. Skeptics of the latest conclusions countered that the new report was a study of many studies—it could only be as good as the work from which it drew. And even if the conclusions of the meta-analysis are accurate, the average sperm count still leaves most men on the normal side of fertile. Just barely.


    https://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2017/09/male-infertility-crisis-u-s-experts-baffled/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quirk's sperm count was recently tested at 200 million per milliliter, down from 275 million when last tested five years ago.

      Delete
    2. Ash recently counted out at 200 thousand per milliliter, the result of continual smoking of Canadian hash.

      Delete
    3. Sam, young, full of vim and vigor, and living in pollution free Australia, and in great shape from kangaroo boxing, is holding steady at 400 million per milliliter.

      Delete
    4. Doug is at 300 million per milliliter, and my results are sealed.

      Deuce was 'off the charts'.

      Delete
    5. .

      Quirk's sperm count was recently tested at 200 million per milliliter, down from 275 million when last tested five years ago.


      That's because the market for it is so huge. I'm having a hard time keeping up with the demand. It's wearing me down and quality is suffering. The money's good but still...

      .



      Delete
    6. Deuce was 'off the charts on the upside'.

      Delete
    7. .

      ...and my results are sealed.

      By the board of health?

      Remember after a while, the only good thing about masturbation is that it is sex with someone you love.

      .

      Delete
    8. How much you charging for a milliliter these days, Quirk ?

      Any quality discounts ?

      Delete
    9. Any quality warranty included ?

      Delete
    10. Sealed by my wife.

      She doesn't want me attracting any amorous competition.

      Delete
    11. .

      It all depends on market conditions. Supply and demand. Supply is tight right now so pricing has remained firm; however, there is more and more competition entering the market as people see the potential. Currently, I'm using a maximization of profits strategy and will likely exit the market before it tanks.

      I am running down my supplies of condoms and dry ice.

      .

      Delete
    12. All I can say is that I'm 'above average' for the 'over 70 age bracket'.

      And that the competition is stiff.

      Delete
    13. .

      As for quality concerns, it's all addressed in the 30 or so pages of small print in the sales agreement.

      .

      Delete
    14. A steady supply of condoms and dry ice are essential to the business.

      Delete
    15. .

      And that the competition is stiff.

      Well, I'm sure it's tough trying to compete with that but hang in there.

      .

      Delete
    16. 30 or so pages of small print in the sales agreement should satisfy even the most demanding consumer.

      Delete
    17. I heard being hung can give one an erection.

      Delete
    18. .

      Only if they get the knot wrong.

      .

      Delete
    19. .

      Plus, I've heard you just don't enjoy it as much.

      .

      Delete
    20. .

      Unless, of course, when you say hung you really mean 'hung'.

      .

      Delete