Filed under:Our Money — posted by Q Ball on 10/8/2010 @ 12:41 pm
From Reason.com:
Health insurers Wellpoint, Cigna, Aetna, Humana, and CoventryOne will stop writing policies for all children. Why? Because Obamacare requires that they insure already sick children for the same price as well children.
That sounds compassionate, but—in case Obamacare fanatics haven’t noticed—sick children need more medical care. Insurance is about risk, and already sick children are 100 percent certain to be sick when their coverage begins. So if the government mandates that insurance companies cover sick children at the lower well-children price, insurers will quit the market rather than sandbag their shareholders. This is not callousness—it’s fiduciary responsibility. Insurance companies are not charities. So, thanks to the compassionate Congress and president, parents of sick children will be saved from expensive insurance—by being unable to obtain any insurance! That’s how government compassion works.
From: Slashdot
“Oliver Drage, 19, of Liverpool has been convicted of ‘failing to disclose an encryption key,’ which is an offense under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and as a result has been jailed for 16 weeks. Police seized his computer but could not get past the 50-character encrypted password that he refused to give up.
Filed under:General — posted by Jack on 10/5/2010 @ 2:24 am
“Nanny of the Month turns one-year-old this month, and it seems that public officials’ obsession with minding other people’s business has only intensified over the past 12 months.
We’ve exposed meddlers who want to squash other people’s right to do everything from sing karaoke, to drink raw milk, and bust a move at ladies night.
What could possibly top all that?
How about the “Greenest County in America” suing a man for growing too many vegetables in his garden?
Presenting Reason.tv’s Nanny of the Month for September 2010: DeKalb County, Georgia CEO Burrell Ellis!”
I have been using Moleskine notebooks and journals for years and just recently started taping and gluing stuff to the pages. ( like Shoot-N-C dots) This is a cool idea. I wonder if Hathcock kept his dope in a Moleskine.
Filed under:General — posted by Jack on 9/10/2010 @ 9:09 pm
ISLAMABAD – In a development that could be duly termed as one and only of its kind, an incumbent Government’s Minister has urged US President Barrack Obama to offer Eid prayers at Ground Zero Mosque and become “Ameer-ul-Momineen†of Muslim Ummah.
Minister of State for Industries and former member Pakistan Ideological Council Ayatullah Durrani called TheNation on Wednesday to register his demand made to President Obama.
“The coming Eid would expectedly be observed on 9/11, this a golden opportunity for President Obama to offer Eid prayers at Ground Zero and become Amir-ul-Momineen or Caliph of Muslims. In this way, all the problems of Muslim World would be solved,†he thought.
Durrani argued that Muslim World was in “dire need†of a Caliph and the distinguished slot of Caliphate would earn President Obama the exemplary titles of what he termed, “Mullah Barrack Hussain Obama†or “Allama Obama.â€
“The time is approaching fast. Barrack Hussain Obama must act now. This is a golden opportunity, Muslims badly need it,†he added, saying that the elevation of President Obama to Muslim’s Caliphate would be the “key to success.â€
Filed under:General — posted by Jack on 9/9/2010 @ 11:54 pm
Qur’an 8:12  â€Your Lord inspired the angels with the message: ‘I will terrorize the unbelievers.’ Therefore smite them on their necks and every joint and incapacitate them. Strike off their heads and cut off each of their fingers and toes.â€
If you burned my Holy Book, I would be offended – but it is still just a book, I would not punch you in the face, much less cut off your head.
If you insulted my God, I would be offended – but He is powerful enough to take care of his own honor, I would not kill you for it.
If you insulted my Religion, I would be offended – but I would probably understand that there is a lot that needs to be criticized about religion.
BUT: when you teach people to kill someone because they don’t believe the same stuff about your “god” that you do, that offends me more deeply than all the others combined. Burn a warehouse of Bibles, and that is nothing to me compared to cutting off the head of another human being because he doesn’t believe the same things.
How could you possibly come up with a more intolerant teaching than this? How can you possibly believe that Islam is tolerant?
Filed under:Culture War — posted by Q Ball on @ 6:20 pm
A pastor in Florida who said that he would burn the Koran on Saturday has relented. Today he told the media that he would not hold the book burning ceremony. Let me say that I don’t condone the burning of the book and I defintely think that had he gone through with it, it would have caused violence. What I will defend is the freedom of any American to exercise their rights, and if you don’t like it tough. There is no provision in the Constitution that says one has the right “to not be offended”. I will defend anyone who wants to burn the Koran, Bible, Torah, American Flag etc. I don’t think any of those should be burned, but if everyone who tries to do it is intimidated from doing so, then if becomes a de-facto ban, and that I cannot abide.
Everyone has spoken out about this story including the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, General Patreaus and the President. In an interview the President said:
“And as a very practical matter, I just want him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women who are in uniform,” the president added.
Said Obama: “Look, this is a recruitment bonanza for Al Qaida. You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan.” The president also said Jones’ plan, if carried out, could serve as an incentive for terrorist-minded individuals “to blow themselves up” to kill others.
The violence that would have occurred says nothing about the pastor and everything about the people who would have carried out the acts. The President, in this interview demonstrated the the desired outcome of terrorism. The terrorists want to change our behavior under threat of attack. The President is afraid of what will happen should an American express them self as protected by the first amendment to the Constitution. I would expect a sane person who’s holy book is burned by another religion to be offended and outraged, but not to blow them self up. People who decide to blow them self up after incidents insulting their faith are already in that mindset of insanity. These acts of insult simply bring those people into the open. I think that is a good thing, because once we know who they are we can identify them and eliminate them.
While users were celebrating the new jailbreaking and unlocking exemptions, Apple was quietly preparing to apply for a patent on technology that, among other things, would allow Apple to identify and punish users who take advantage of those exemptions or otherwise tinker with their devices. This patent application does nothing short of providing a roadmap for how Apple can — and presumably will — spy on its customers and control the way its customers use Apple products.
Filed under:General — posted by Jack on 8/30/2010 @ 8:07 pm
“Every accomodation non-Muslims make for Muslims moves our culture, our beliefs, and our legal systems one step closer to Sharia law.
The concession itself is the establishment of Sharia law.
Let’s look at an example. Around the world, Muslims react strongly when anyone criticizes Islam. Why? In Sharia law, it is forbidden to criticize either Islam or Mohammad. This is a precept of Sharia law.
Forbidding the criticism of any religion is certainly not a precept of a free society or of Western civilization. This means: To whatever degree Islamic supremacists succeed in silencing our criticisms of Islam, to that degree they have imposed Sharia law on non-Muslims.”
When SouthPark decided not to air episodes critical of Islam it was, at that very moment, an example of compliance to Sharia Law in the US. It is not a matter of Sharia Law maybe someday gaining ground in the US. It is already here. Every time someone chooses to not criticize Islam – they are submitting to Sharia Law. Penn Jillette is under Sharia Law – because he (understandably) did not want to put his family at risk by speaking out about Islam.
When you stay silent because the media has told you that objecting to Islam is “intolerant” or “against Freedom of Religion”, you are putting yourself under Sharia Law.
Filed under:General — posted by Jack on 8/29/2010 @ 10:23 pm
An X-ray shows nails hammered into the body of a Sri Lankan maid.
Colombo, Sri Lanka (CNN) — Doctors at a Sri Lankan hospital operated for three hours Friday to remove 18 nails and metal particles allegedly hammered into the arms, legs and forehead of a maid by her Saudi employer.
She was held down by her employer’s wife while the employer hammered the heated nails … She apparently had complained to the couple that she was being overworked.
Ariyawathie, 49, is a mother of two children who were opposed to their mother’s journey to Saudi Arabia for work.
Many of the [Saudi] domestic workers are poor Asian women from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Nepal. Widespread abuse has been documented by global human rights groups.
Common complaints include unpaid wages, long working hours with no time for rest, and heavy debt burdens from exorbitant recruitment fees, said the Human Rights Watch report.
Isolation and forced confinement contribute to psychological and physical abuse, sexual violence, forced labor, and trafficking, the report said. The abuse often goes unchecked because of a lack of government regulation and protective laws.
SARCASM ALERT: I just don’t understand why narrow-minded, xenophobic, Islamophobic Americans are so unwilling to embrace Islam… although I am sure this was partly the woman’s fault somehow: maybe she offended the Saudi in some way or insulted his honor.
“People keep framing this as a Freedom of Religion issue, but there is a difference between practicing your religion, which everyone has a right to do, and rubbing your religion in people’s faces as a triumphalist political statement – which is what is happening here.” – Pat Condell
Filed under:Culture War — posted by Jack on @ 2:32 pm
Campaigners were on the streets of Glasgow yesterday, encouraging shopkeepers to boycott Israeli goods
In a move that has worried Jewish groups, Muslim families who own stores in Glasgow’s south side are refusing to stock Israeli goods in protest at Israel’s West Bank settlements and policy towards Palestinians.
Around 30 stores in Muslim communities in Pollokshields, Pollokshaws and Govanhill are supporting the drive and yesterday campaigners took to the streets to applaud shopkeepers who are no longer stocking Israeli products.
The campaigners, who toured stores handing out flyers to shoppers, say shops which continue to stock Israeli goods will be “named and shamedâ€.
Led by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Friends of Al Aqsa Glasgow, many stores in the area are now displaying posters declaring “No Israeli Produce sold hereâ€.
Filed under:General — posted by Jack on 8/27/2010 @ 6:09 pm
When a nations becomes convinced that a group has become a security threat, is it within their right as a nation to say, “You are no longer welcome here, we require you to go back to your home country”?
How is that “xenophobia”? A phobia, by definition, is irrational, not grounded in reason. What if there are genuine reasons for concern? What if illegal immigrants are creating a very real negative impact on a country? Why should a country not be able to make a decision on behalf of its citizens to not allow illegal immigrants?
A nation expects its citizens to respect and abide by its laws. Why should an outside group be allowed to ignore, disregard and trample on those laws – and still expect the host nation to provide for them?
Why is it that some people seem to think that the moral obligation of a country to provide care for illegal immigrants who have broken the law somehow trumps or is more important than the moral obligation of a country to look out for and protect the interests of its citizens?
What business does the UN have inserting itself into that process?
This story, regarding France deporting the Roma, or Gypsies:
A UN Watchdog Group is urging France to stop the collective deportation of Roma, also known as Gypsies. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination calls collective expulsions a violation under international law. The Committee monitors States’ implementation of the 1969 International Convention on the elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
“We understand that a State has a right and a responsibility to deal with security issues and issues of immigration and illegal immigration,” said Prosper. “But, our view is when you are doing so, as we said, it should not be on a collective basis. It should not be targeting a group as a whole. Individual assessments need to be conducted and look at each particular circumstance of each individual and decide does he or she merit a return or should be allowed to stay.”
Prosper says the concerns of a state have to be balanced against human rights obligations, and protection and asylum needs.
France recently sent hundreds of Roma back to Romania and Bulgaria and dismantled more than 100 illegal camps. The French government justifies its expulsion of the Roma on grounds of security.”
First of all, why on earth is a person-by-person basis of deportation necessary if an entire group has flaunted a nation’s immigration laws and has become a drain on the nation’s resources?
Question: if the UN is so deeply concerned about “the elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination” why does it not speak out against the clear, blatant racial discrimination practiced – and taught – by Islam? Where are the calls for a dramatic change within Islam and it’s views of people who are not Muslim?
Where are the accusations of “xenophobia” for not only the practices of Islam, but what it teaches?
Selective tolerance is not tolerance. Unilateral tolerance is not tolerance. If Islam wishes to be shown more tolerance it must take the first step by showing tolerance itself – true tolerance and acceptance, not treating non-Muslims as second-class citizens or worse (dhimmis) and calling that tolerance.
We have been waiting over 600 years to see that. Still waiting.
But who am I? Let’s hear from someone who was born and raised in Islam: Salman Rushide.
He says, “One of the things that Liberal opinion in the West sometimes, I think, doesn’t understand is that there actually is an enemy. There actually is an enemy that means us harm, and is not just going to go away if you are nice to them. You don’t have to be a right-winger to believe this.”
I’m sure he’s just being xenophobic and racist and that the death threat that’s been hanging over him for years is mostly imagined.
Filed under:General — posted by Jack on @ 12:20 am
Partly because of overcrowding in Iranian prisons, and partly because he feels public lashings are more of a deterrent than prison, Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Shahroudi said that judges should issue lashings instead of prison sentences whenever possible.
“Human rights activists and domestic press reported cases of political prisoners confined in the same wing as violent felons. There were allegations that authorities deliberately incarcerated nonviolent offenders with violent offenders, anticipating they would be killed… [and] juvenile offenders being detained with adult offenders.”
The same report indicates common methods of abuse in Iranian prisons, such as: prolonged solitary confinement with sensory deprivation, beatings, hanging detainees by the arms and legs, sleep deprivation and beatings with cables on the back, soles of the feet and the ears.”
…a Hungarian company specializing in GPS tracking, has an app that functions as a makeshift version of Blue Force Tracker, the tech the U.S. military uses to map its friends and foes.
That basically turns your iPhone into Land Warrior, the digital mapping-and-communications ensemble that the Army has been trying to roll out to troops since the ’90s. Except Land Warrior weighs about 10 times as much and costs $48,000 per outfit.
Filed under:General — posted by Jack on 8/25/2010 @ 12:58 am
The economy of the U.S. is in a deflationary spiral. Nothing can stop it — except monetary reform.
1. No more national debt. Nations should not be allowed to borrow. If they want to spend, they have to take the political heat right away by taxing.
2. No more fractional reserve lending. Banks can only lend money they actually have.
3. Gold money is NOT the answer. Historically gold ALWAYS works against a thriving middle class and ALWAYS works to create a plutocracy.
4. The total quantity of money + credit in a national system must be fixed, varying only with the population.
