Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, April 18, 2012


Pour a little crown in a dixie cup...

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11 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-afghan-photos-20120418,0,5032601.story

U.S. troops posed with body parts of Afghan bombers.

* BIG FRIGG'N DEAL... (*SHRUG*)

The Army has started a criminal investigation.

* WHY...???

The paratroopers had their assignment: Check out reports that Afghan police had recovered the mangled remains of an insurgent suicide bomber. Try to get iris scans and fingerprints for identification.

* AND DID THEY FULFILL THEIR MISSION?

The 82nd Airborne Division soldiers arrived at the police station in Afghanistan's Zabol province in February 2010. They inspected the body parts.

* OK...

Then the mission turned macabre: The paratroopers posed for photos next to Afghan police, grinning while some held — and others squatted beside — the corpse's severed legs.

(*ROLLING MY EYES*)

A few months later, the same platoon was dispatched to investigate the remains of three insurgents who Afghan police said had accidentally blown themselves up.

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

After obtaining a few fingerprints, they posed next to the remains, again grinning and mugging for photographs.

* WHY IS THIS A NEWS STORY...?!?!

Two soldiers posed holding a dead man's hand with the middle finger raised. A soldier leaned over the bearded corpse while clutching the man's hand. Someone placed an unofficial platoon patch reading "Zombie Hunter" next to other remains and took a picture.

* AND...??? SO...???

The Army launched a criminal investigation after the Los Angeles Times showed officials copies of the photos, which recently were given to the paper by a soldier from the division.

* JEEZUS FRIGG'N CHRIST...

(*HEADACHE*)

"It is a violation of Army standards to pose with corpses for photographs outside of officially sanctioned purposes," said George Wright, an Army spokesman. "Such actions fall short of what we expect of our uniformed service members in deployed areas."

* GIVE IT A FRIGG'N REST! TELL 'EM NOT TO DO IT AGAIN AND BE DONE WITH IT.

Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said the conduct depicted "most certainly does not represent the character and the professionalism of the great majority of our troops in Afghanistan.... Nevertheless, this imagery — more than two years old...

* MORE THAN TWO YEARS OLD...?!?!

Virtually all of the men depicted in the photos had friends who were killed or wounded by homemade bombs or suicide attacks, according to the soldier who provided the images.

The soldiers felt a sense of triumph and satisfaction, especially after learning that the insurgents had been killed by their own explosives..."They were frustrated, just pissed off — their buddies had been blown up by IEDs" — improvised explosive devices — the soldier said. "So they sort of just celebrated."

* YA KNOW WHAT? NO HARM, NO FOUL, NO BIG DEAL. BUT NOW - BECAUSE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS RUN AMOK - THERE'S GONNA BE A WITCH-TRIAL. GREAT. JUST FRIGG'N GREAT. I'M SURE THIS IS GONNA DO "WONDERS" FOR MORALE.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

April 18, 2012 at 10:10 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/5-trillion-man-debt-has-increased-under-obama-502776147648456

In the 39 months since Barack Obama took the oath of office as president of the United States, the federal government’s debt has increased by $5,027,761,476,484.56.

* OVER FIVE TRILLION (TRILLION WITH A "T") DOLLARS.

Although he has served less than [one full] term, Obama is now the first American president to see the federal government's debt increase by more than $5 trillion during his time in office.

During the full eight years that George W. Bush served as president, the federal government's debt increased by $4,899,100,310,608.44.

* AND FOLKS... RECALL... DURING HIS LAST TWO YEARS IN OFFICE THE DEMOCRATS CONTROLLED BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS.

At the close of business on Jan. 20, 2009, the day Obama was inaugurated, the federal government’s debt was $10,626,877,048,913.08, according to the U.S. Treasury.

By the close of business on April 16, 2012 - as many Americans were working to finalize their 2011 tax returns to meet an April 17 filing deadline - the debt had reached $15,654,638,525,397.64.

April 18, 2012 at 10:18 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.mrctv.org/videos/robin-leach-obama-socialist-he-whipping-racial-war-and-economic-divide

* FOLKS... HE MAKES SOME DAMN GOOD POINTS.

(*SHRUG*)

April 18, 2012 at 10:29 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/04/17/congressman_alleges_china_helping_north_korea_with_icbms

China may be helping North Korea develop long range ballistic missiles that could reach the United States, and one Republican congressman wants the Obama administration to do something about it.

"As you have likely seen, the press is reporting that North Korea unveiled a new mobile missile at a military parade in Pyongyang in honor of the founder of that dictatorship, Kim Il Sung," Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), wrote in an April 17 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, obtained by The Cable. Turner is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee.

"Whether this missile is the new road mobile intercontinental missile (ICBM) the administration has been warning about is, as yet, unclear based on these public reports," Turner wrote. "Of deeper concern, however, are allegations that the missile, unveiled at the recent military parade in Pyongyang, is based on Chinese technology, in violation of international obligations and a threat to the national security interest of the United States."

Turner wrote that the photographs of the missile "suggest cooperation and support" by the Chinese government and he quotes missile-technology expert Richard Fisher as saying that the 16-wheel transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) was "very likely" a Chinese design and that there was a "possibility" it was actually manufactured in China for North Korea's use.

Turner asked Clinton and Clapper to report back to Congress if the U.S. government has any evidence that China or Chinese companies are helping North Korea acquires mobile launchers for ICBMs. He also wants to know whether the administration has done anything to confront China on the issue, whether the administration believes China is helping North Korea with ballistic missiles at all, and whether the administration will sanction Chinese entities for aiding the North Korean missile program.

"Indeed, the possibility of such cooperation undermines the administration's entire policy of investing China with the responsibility of getting tough on North Korea," Turner wrote.

April 18, 2012 at 10:38 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/new_low_blow_VCZSU5Mmdn2nzzkLPMIR4H

The Secret Service sure knows how to party.

Cocaine and several bottles of whiskey apparently fueled the elite agents’ boneheaded fling with about 20 hookers at a posh hotel in Cartagena, Colombia, a hotel staffer told The Post.

The employee responded to the trashed room with police and other Hotel El Caribe workers when one prostitute raised hell after a Secret Service member initially refused to pay her.

“When I went upstairs I walked into a messy room. The room was littered with two whiskey bottles — and a line of white powder, I believed to be cocaine, was on top of a round glass table in the room,” the staffer told The Post.

He painted a picture of morning-after mayhem in the lobby — just two days before President Obama landed in the country for an international summit.

“The prostitute was screaming in the lobby that he didn’t pay her,” the early-morning shift worker recalled. “She looked like she had a few drinks in her. She just wanted what was promised to her.

“She was very upset,” he said.

“The agent was supposed to pay her a [bar] fine on top of the pay rate for her sexual services, but he didn’t,” he said, referring to the local practice of paying a fee to the red-light district hot spot Pley Club to take one of its “dancers” out on a date, and then another fee directly to the woman.

The Secret Service didn’t return calls for comment.

At least 11 Secret Service members and 10 US military personnel partied with as many as 21 hookers at the hotel, according to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

“Who were these women? Could they have been members of groups hostile to the United States? Could they have planted bugs, disabled weapons, or in any other ways jeopardized security of the president or our country?” she fumed.

“Given the number of personnel involved, does this indicate a problem with the culture of the Secret Service?”

April 18, 2012 at 11:44 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/crime/15-day-jail-sentence-over-lockport-sign

* FOLKS...

(*SIGH*)

April 18, 2012 at 11:48 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://news.investors.com/article/608167/201204180806/obama-falklands-malvinas-gaffe.htm?p=full

OK, picture this: President George W. Bush, he of the cast-iron Texas tongue, at a news conference concluding an international summit.

He's asked about a dispute involving Argentina and Great Britain, our closest overseas ally, the one that's lost 408 soldiers by our side in Afghanistan, where we've fought a decade together to prevent a second 9/11.

In his answer, Bush refers to the disputed territory by the wrong name, misplacing the islands by some 8,000 miles.

Worse than his geographic ignorance, instead of backing Britain, whose prime minister he just buddy-buddied at an NCAA game and White House state dinner, Bush says, Well, that's not really something he thinks the United States would take sides on.

Seriously?

Do you think there might be some prolonged outraged news coverage back home about the latest Bush blunder, this time a two-fer?

Well, Bush never did that. But Barack Obama did last weekend.

We've seen ample coverage of the Colombian prostitute situation since. But have you been impressed by the media mockings of this latest international stupidity by the 44th United States president, who's previously talked about such things as the Austrian language, the president of Canada, E Pluribus Unum the national motto and traveling all 57 states?

Neither have we.

(*NOD*)

* YEP. THIS IS THE FIRST I'M HEARING OF IT.

“We’re going to remain neutral,” Obama said at a news conference with President Juan Manuel Santos at the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia. “This is not something that we typically intervene in.”

Oh really?

Except the United States did intervene in the very same dispute back in 1982, when Obama was almost 21, long after his Indonesian childhood. Back then, Argentina invaded the British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. Britain under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher mustered the fleet, which sailed down there and ousted the invaders at the cost of more than 200 troops' lives. The United States under President Ronald Reagan, Obama's oft-cited role model, provided some missiles and, shall we say, useful intelligence to the Brits, who sank Argentina's battleship. Such encouragement via torpedo prompted that nation to keep its navy in port for the duration.

Apparently in the Colombian news conference Obama was seeking to use the Spanish term Malvinas for the islands, as Argentina prefers. Instead, he said Maldives, which are islands off India.

(*SNORT*)

But the attempted use of Argentina's name over Britain's and Obama's support for bilateral negotiations about what London regards as a closed matter is prompting strong feelings across the pond. Nile Gardiner wrote this week in Britain's Telegraph:

"A stance of 'neutrality' is an act of cowardice by Barack Obama in the face of Latin American pressure, and another slap in the face for Britain."

Toby Harnden of the Mail Online puts it even more succinctly. "What a way to treat the foremost ally of the United States."

* OBAMA IS A COMPLETE DISASTER. BUT BEYOND THAT, GOING BACK TO THE POINT OF THIS COLUMN, IT'S CLEAR THAT THE MSM IS PROVIDING COVER FOR OBAMA. THIS IS A DISGRACE.

April 18, 2012 at 1:09 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/04/16/ed_luce_interview?page=full

http://www.amazon.com/Time-Start-Thinking-America-Descent/dp/0802120210

* IF I DIDN'T THINK YOU SHOULD CLICK THE ABOVE LINKS I WOULDN'T POST THEM HERE.

(*SHRUG*)

April 18, 2012 at 2:11 PM
William R. Barker said...

* TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://freebeacon.com/more-money-more-problems/

MSNBC’s Al Sharpton is reeling in debt and back taxes.

* AND YET... (*SHRUG*)... HE'S THE "PAL" OF EVERYONE FROM ERIC HOLDER TO BILL O'REILLY.

Sharpton owes nearly $1 million to creditors and the federal government as a result of his failed bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.

His campaign’s unpaid bills exceed $888,000, according to federal filings.

It is unclear why Sharpton has not paid his creditors. He does not lack for income. Sharpton has his own primetime talk show on...MSNBC... In August 2011, Sharpton took over the 6 p.m. slot from Keith Olbermann, who earned more than $4 million per year working in the same slot at the network.

Sharpton also drew a $240,000 salary from his "non-profit group," National Action Network, in 2011 - even as the group racked up nearly $1 million in unpaid federal payroll taxes, interest, and penalties.

(*SMIRK*)

NAN has dealt with major finance issues in the last few years. The non-profit raised $3 million in 2010, and paid off its state back taxes in 2011, but still owed $883,000 in unpaid federal payroll taxes in December.

The group also owed more than $200,000 in loans to one of Sharpton’s for-profit enterprises.

(*SNORT*)

* FOLKS... WHY ISN'T THIS SCAMMER IN JAIL...???

* TO BE CONTINUED...

April 18, 2012 at 5:30 PM
William R. Barker said...

* CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

Sharpton, who has endorsed President Barack Obama’s calls for taxing the rich, has his own tax issues. He owed the IRS $2.6 million in income taxes in December 2011, as well as almost $900,000 in New York state taxes.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

Sharpton financed his presidential run, in part, by borrowing large sums of money from his struggling non-profit.

* HOW THE HELL DOES THAT WORK...?!?! HOW DOES A "NON-PROFIT" GET AWAY WITH FINANCING A PARTISAN POLITICAL CAMPAIGN...?!?!

Sharpton borrowed more than $181,000 from NAN—money that is now supposed to be refunded. Sharpton also loaned $145,000 to the campaign to finance a fundraising push.

His largest creditor is the federal government; the campaign owes the Federal Elections Commission and the U.S. Treasury Department more than $225,000.

* HOW... WHY... (*SPEECHLESS*).. ARE THEY TELLING US THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT LOANS MONEY TO POLITICAL CANDIDATES...??? SINCE WHEN...??? AND WHY...?!?!

Sharpton could not capitalize on his national reputation...in the 2004 Democratic primary, losing out to Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.). But he did make waves in the race, slamming then-frontrunner Howard Dean for not having enough minorities on his campaign — a charge that has also dogged the Obama campaign — during an Iowa debate.

Sharpton skipped out on debts big and small. In addition to the six figure sums he borrowed from his non-profit and leveraged from campaign consultants...

* "LEVERAGED" FROM CAMPAIGN CONSULTANTS...??? WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN...?!?!

...he has not paid a $0.33 charge to a group called Xpedite, as well as a $2.50 ATM fee to Amalgamated Bank.

Sharpton’s presidential committee owed more than $900,000 to creditors late in 2011, according to Politico, after paying down the $208,000 in civil penalties the campaign owed the FEC for “failing to report accurately all receipts and expenditures, receiving excessive and prohibited in-kind contributions and accepting impermissible corporate contributions,” according to the FEC.

* AGAIN, FOLKS... WHY IS THE REV. SHARPTON NOT IN JAIL...???

The campaign has established a payment schedule to address the fines for campaign violations and other federal charges, according to the FEC.

“Now that the civil penalties have been satisfied, the campaign is contacting vendors to construct a debt resolution plan that must be submitted to the FEC for approval,” spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger told Politico in November. “While Rev. Sharpton, as candidate, helped to raise the money to resolve the civil penalties, the additional debt will be reviewed by the campaign and remedied in accordance to FEC’s rules and regulations.”

* WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN...?!?!

April 18, 2012 at 5:31 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.infowars.com/tsa-to-search-bags-question-passengers-on-houston-buses/

A new program in Houston, Texas will place undercover TSA agents and police officers on buses whose job it will be to perform bag searches, watch for “suspicious activity” and interrogate passengers in order to ‘curb crime and terrorism’.

* YOU STILL THINK YOU'RE LIVING IN THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE, FOLKS?

* PERFORM BAG SEARCHES...? REALLY...? TSA AGENTS...?

Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee unveiled the program, labeled Bus Safe, during a press conference on Friday.

* JEEZUS... NOW DOESN'T THAT JUST GIVE YOU CONFIDENCE THAT ALL IS WELL... (*MIGRAINE HEADACHE*) (*FEELING SICK TO MY STOMACH*)

According to a Metropolitan Transit Authority of Houston (METRO) press release, agencies involved in the scheme will, “ride buses, perform random bag checks, and conduct K-9 sweeps, as well as place uniformed and plainclothes officers at Transit Centers and rail platforms to detect, prevent and address latent criminal activity or behavior.”

* ALLOW ME TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING CRYSTAL CLEAR: I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH LOCAL UNDERCOVER COPS RIDING LOCAL BUSES AND EVEN STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVING IN SUCH A "PREVENTIVE" ROLE, BUT THIS TALK OF "RANDOM BAG CHECKS" AND HAVING THE FEDS DIRECTLY INVOLVED... THAT SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME.

* FOLKS... THEY'VE BASICALLY REPEALED THE FOURTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION. THIS IS NO JOKE.

“While local law enforcement agencies focus on overall safety measures noted above, representatives with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will also be on hand, lending their counter-terrorism expertise and support during the exercise,” states the press release.

* FOLKS... THIS IS AMERICA; AT LEAST IT USED TO BE. THE AVERAGE AMERICAN SHOULDN'T EXPECT TO HAVE FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT (TSA, HOMELAND SECURITY) UP HIS OR HER ASS LIKE THIS!

According to Phillip Levine of the Houston Free Thinkers blog, shortly after Lee gave her press conference the operation went straight into effect, with DHS and Metro Police officers questioning passengers who were exiting buses about their destinations and their reasons for riding the bus.

* I TRULY WONDER HOW MUCH LONGER I'LL BE "ALLOWED" TO MAINTAIN THIS BLOG.

April 18, 2012 at 5:47 PM

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