Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Barker's Newsbites: Tuesday, September 17, 2013
I have no idea what to write about Aaron Alexis.
It doesn't look like terrorism.
It does look like a great deal of government incompetence played a part in the "success" of the murder spree - namely, this man having access to the Navy Yard in the first place... namely this man apparently having been awarded "secret" clearance by our government.
Was Alexis a lone gunman? Yesterday we were told there were two, perhaps three gunmen. We were told the shooter was white... then black... that the other suspect was white... but he was cleared... but that there was another suspect who was black...
(*HEADACHE*)
Folks... I'm noting "race" simply because I'm going over how the media reported "the incident" as it was happening.
Here's the latest from the UK Telegraph. Make of it what you will.
Here's reporting from the Washington Times...
Suffice it to say... the "known" information may or may not turn out to be the story we'll be told later today... or tomorrow... or next week... or next month...
(*SHRUG*)
QUESTION: Let's say that it does turn out that this was terrorism... that there were co-conspirators. Only... let's say that the feds at the very top level of the pyramid are able to keep a lid on the information. How confident are you folks that if the feds had the ability and thus viable option of portraying this "incident" as "workplace violence" rather than a successful terrorist attack that they wouldn't do just that?
Just asking...
(*SHRUG*)
Anyway... on to today's newsbites! (As always, found within the comments section!)
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324665604579079501712799442.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTTopStories
Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen emerged as the front-runner to become the White House's nominee to lead the central bank, a day after Lawrence Summers pulled out of the contest amid congressional resistance, according to people familiar with the matter.
* AND THUS THE MARKET RISES... RISES ON THE NEWS THAT THE RATIONAL SUMMERS IS OUT AND "BERNANKE 2" (YELLEN) IS PROBABLY IN.
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
Ms. Yellen has wide support among Senate Democrats and many fellow economists...
* WHICH SHOULD TELL YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW. (AGAIN... SHE'D BE "BERNANKE 2.")
A two-month campaign by Democrats and liberal groups to block Mr. Summers from winning the nomination bloodied the Harvard economist...
* FOLKS... UNDERSTAND.. SUMMERS WAS THE BEST WE COULD HAVE HOPED FOR FROM OBAMA...
(*SIGH*)
The No. 2 official at the Fed since 2010, Ms. Yellen had a hand in crafting the Fed's bond-buying programs and its commitments to keep short-term interest rates near zero. If she is chosen for the job, it would likely be seen as a sign of continuity at the Fed.
(*GNASHING MY TEETH*)
On Monday, global stock and bond markets rallied as investors learned that Mr. Summers had withdrawn his name from contention for the Fed position. Some investors worried that Mr. Summers might be unsupportive of some of the easy-money policies advanced by Mr. Bernanke.
* AS I SAID ABOVE, FOLKS... SUMMERS WAS THE BEST WE WERE GONNA GET...
* WALL STREET WINS; MAIN STREET LOSES.
* TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324577304579055511904387286.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion
Even as the cost of higher education skyrockets, its benefits are increasingly being called into doubt.
We're familiar with laments from graduates who emerge from college burdened with student loans and wondering if their studies have prepared them for jobs and careers. A less familiar but even more troubling problem is that their education did not prepare them for responsible civic life.
The decline in education means a decline in the ability of individuals — and ultimately the nation as a whole—to address political, social and moral matters in effective, considered ways.
The trouble begins before college.
Large numbers of high-school students have faced so few challenges and demands that they are badly underprepared for college courses. Many who go on to four-year colleges seem to need two years of college even to begin to understand what it is to study, read carefully and take oneself seriously as a student. For many students, high-school-level preparation for college is a matter of having high self-esteem and high expectations but little else.
Even after three or four years of undergraduate education, many students still cannot recognize reasoning when they encounter it.
They have little grasp of the difference between merely "saying something" and constructing an explanation or formulating an argument.
This is often reinforced by college instructors who urge students to regard all theories, intellectual perspectives and views as "ideology" — without acknowledging the differences between theories, beliefs, hypotheses, interpretations and other categories of thought.
This impedes students from acquiring habits of intellectual responsibility.
Far too often, teachers and texts insist upon a "verdictive" approach, a politicized view of issues. Whatever your stance regarding the "culture wars" and the politics of higher education, it is undeniable that a great many graduating students have little idea of what genuine intellectual exploration involves. Too often, learning to think is replaced by ideological score-keeping, and the use of adjectives replaces the use of arguments.
(*NOD*)
* TO BE CONTINUED...
* CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)
Such blinkered thinking has serious implications for civic culture and political discourse. It discourages finding out what the facts are, revising one's beliefs on the basis of those facts and being willing to engage with people who don't already agree with you. What does that leave us with? A brittle, litmus-test version of politics. It is one thing if people move too quickly from argumentation to name-calling; it is another to be unable to tell the difference.
(*SIGH*)
There has been so much grade inflation in high school and college, so much pressure to move students along regardless of their academic accomplishment, that it is unsurprising to find large numbers of graduates lacking the skills required for available jobs. They may also lack the patience and discipline to learn those skills: If you haven't been required to meet demands in order to receive good grades, then patience and discipline are less likely to be among your habits.
For graduates who do find work, the reality of employers' expectations may come as a shock.
Many employers can attest, as college instructors will too if they're being frank, that many college graduates can barely construct a coherent paragraph and many have precious little knowledge of the world — the natural world, the social world, the historical world, or the cultural world. That is a tragedy for the graduates, but also for society: Civic life suffers when people have severely limited knowledge of the world to bring to political or moral discussions.
To see the effect of these trends, simply ask a few 15-year-olds, 19-year-olds or 22-year-olds some basic, non-tricky questions from non-esoteric knowledge categories (history, biology, current events, literature, geography, mathematics, grammar). See what the responses are. Ask these young people to describe the basic institutions of American government, or how a case makes its way to the Supreme Court or what "habeas corpus" means. The point isn't to embarrass them, but to wake up the rest of us to how little students have been expected to know even about the political and legal order in which they live.
The primary concern shouldn't be how American students rank in international science and math scores (though that is certainly relevant). It is whether the United States can be a prosperous, pluralistic democracy if higher education fails to require students to think, inquire and explain. A liberal democracy requires a certain kind of civic culture, one in which citizens understand its distinctive principles and strive to preserve them by addressing issues and one another in a responsible manner. That is essential to the mutual respect at the core of liberal democracy.
The U.S. faces serious challenges; education should be serious and challenging.
The cost to America of failing to reverse the trend toward trivializing education will be more than just economic. It will be reflected in social friction, coarsened politics, failed and foolish policies, and a steady decline in the concern to do anything to reverse the rot.
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/09/16/undocumented-la-county-parents-projected-to-receive-650m-in-welfare-benefits/
A projected $650 million in welfare benefits will be distributed to illegal alien parents in 2013, [Los Angeles] county [California] officials said Monday.
(*CLAP...CLAP...CLAP*)
“When you add the $550 million for public safety and nearly $500 million for healthcare, the total cost for illegal immigrants to county taxpayers exceeds $1.6 billion dollars a year,” County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said in a statement. “These costs do not even include the hundreds of millions of dollars spent annually for education.”
(*CLAP...CLAP...CLAP*)
http://freebeacon.com/cia-employee-who-refused-to-sign-non-disclosure-on-benghazi-suspended/
A CIA employee who refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement barring him from discussing the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, has been suspended as a result and forced to hire legal counsel, according to a top House lawmaker.
Rep. Frank Wolf (R., Va.) revealed at an event on Monday that his office was anonymously informed about the CIA employee... The revelation comes about a month after several media outlets reported that CIA employees with knowledge of the terror attack had been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDA) and submit to regular polygraph tests.
Wolf’s office first received the anonymous call earlier in the summer, soon after CNN and Fox News reported on the NDAs and polygraph tests.
“My office received a call from a man saying that he knew a CIA employee who has retained legal counsel because he has refused to sign an additional NDA regarding the Sept. 11, 2012, events in Benghazi,” Wolf said in Sept. 9 remarks at a panel discussion hosted by Judicial Watch. “I called the law firm and spoke with CIA employee’s attorney who confirmed that her client is having an issue with the agency and the firm is trying to address it,” Wolf said. “Based on my past experiences with the CIA, which is headquartered in my congressional district, I am not at all confident that these efforts will be successful.”
The NDA agreements are meant to instill fear in employees and stop them from speaking “to the media or Congress,” Wolf said on Monday.
* UNDERSTAND, FOLKS, THIS ISN'T "BUSINESS AS USUAL." CIA EMPLOYEES OPERATE UNDER STANDARD SECURITY CONSTRAINTS NORMALLY! THESE NDAs ARE SPECIFICALLY MEANT TO SHUT DOWN OTHERWISE LEGAL WHISTLEBLOWING... TO SHUT CONGRESS OUT OF ITS LEGITIMATE CONSTITUTIONAL OVERSIGHT ROLE.
The CIA declined to comment directly on Wolf’s charges, but forwarded the Washington Free Beacon a letter sent to Congress from CIA Director John Brennan in which he denies charges that the agency has forced employees to sign NDAs and submit to polygraph tests. “I want to assure you that I will not tolerate any effort to prevent our intelligence oversight committee from doing their jobs,” Brennan hand wrote at the bottom of the letter. The CIA reiterated its denial in a Tuesday call to a Free Beacon reporter, calling Wolf’s allegations “categorically false.”
* LET'S GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS. SEEMS IT WOULD BE EASY ENOUGH TO DO. PRODUCE THE CIA EMPLOYEE AND QUESTION HIM (OR HER) UNDER OATH.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NAVY_YARD_SHOOTING_DISCHARGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-17-10-51-51
The former Navy reservist who gunned down 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard had a string of misconduct problems during his nearly four years in the military...
* YES...
...but he received an honorable discharge, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
* AND THEN A SECURITY CLEARANCE.
(*PURSED LIPS*)
The officials said that Aaron Alexis, 34, had bouts of insubordination, disorderly conduct and was sometimes absent from work without authorization.
* "SOMETIMES..." OH... IS THAT ALL...?!?!
The offenses occurred mainly when he was serving in Fort Worth, Texas, from 2008-2011, and were enough to prompt Navy officials to grant him an early discharge through a special program for enlisted personnel.
* A "SPECIAL" PROGRAM INDEED!
Officials said the bad conduct was enough to make it clear Alexis would not be a good sailor, but not enough to warrant a general or less-than-honorable discharge.
(*SCRATCHING MY HEAD*)
They also did not involve criminal offenses, so did not trigger any court-martial proceedings. The officials also said that his brushes with civil law enforcement, including what has been described as an accidental discharge of a weapon in his home, were also not enough to block an honorable discharge.
* UH-HUH...
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss his record publicly.
* HE "RECORD" WHICH NOW INCLUDES THE MURDER OF 12 PEOPLE...
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101039695
The Automobile Association of America [AAA] has come up with a sobering statistic: the average price of gasoline will surpass $3 per gallon Tuesday for the 1,000th consecutive day. That's never happened before, the motoring organization says.
* CHANT IT WITH ME, FOLKS: O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!
In case you're wondering, the current streak began on Dec. 23, 2010. Today, the national average for a gallon of regular is $3.52, according to AAA's daily price tracking service. That's a nickel a gallon less than the average so far this year. And unless there's another recession, AAA forecasts that a price floor of $3 a gallon is basically here to stay.
[Gas prices] were above $3.75 a gallon for 189 days [out of the past 1,000 days].
* O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!
* GOOD THING THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T FACTOR FUEL PRICES INTO THEIR INFLATION CALCULATIONS OR ELSE INFLATION MIGHT HAVE GONE UP!
(*SMIRK*)
* THAT WAS BITING SARCASM, FOLKS... IN CASE ANYONE MISSED IT...
(*SNORT*)
http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/09/16/5167160/fort-worth-man-accused-in-washington.html?rh=1
...an anger-fueled “blackout” and shooting in Seattle in 2004..
...a firearms "incident" at a Fort Worth apartment...
* YOU KNOW WHO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, RIGHT, FOLKS?
On Tuesday, The Associated Press reported that Alexis had been suffering serious mental health issues, including paranoia and a sleep disorder. The AP, citing information from unnamed U.S. law enforcement officials, said Alexis had been treated since August by the Veterans Administration for mental problems, which including hearing voices.
* AND YET HE WAS GIVEN A SECURITY CLEARANCE...
Alexis was arrested by Seattle police in 2004 after shooting out two tires of a car parked next door to his home. He told authorities that construction workers had “disrespected him.” He also told police that he had blacked out and didn’t remember the shooting until hours later, according to a police report posted by the Seattle Times.
* AND YET HE WAS GIVEN A SECURITY CLEARANCE...
The Fort Worth incident happened in September 2010. Alexis was arrested after shooting a hole through the floor of a woman’s apartment.
The woman, who was not identified, told police that Alexis had confronted her in a parking lot a few days earlier about making too much noise and that she felt the shooting was intentional. He said the gun had discharged while he was cleaning it...
* NICE...
* FOLKS... MAYBE THIS GUY ALEXIS WAS JUST ANOTHER GUY WITH MENTAL PROBLEMS WHOM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN THEIR WISDOM DEEMED RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH TO WORK AT A U.S. MILITARY INSTALLATION AND HOLD A SECURITY CLEARANCE...
* MAYBE...
* AND IF THERE'S MORE TO IT THAT THAT...? WELL... AGAIN I ASK... DOES ANYONE DOUBT THAT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WOULD COVER UP ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL TERRORIST ATTACK ON U.S. SOIL IF THEY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO? (FOLKS... FT. HOOD IS STILL CLASSIFIED AS 'WORKPLACE VIOLENCE." FOLKS... HOW OFTEN TO YOU HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THE BOSTON BOMBING...?)
http://www.my9nj.com/story/23456696/super-bowl-premium-tickets-double-to-2600
Super Bowl fans can prepare to pay double for the best seats.
The NFL expects the most expensive tickets for its championship game will be about $2,600 each for 9,000 premium seats for the Feb. 2 game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. That's more than twice the $1,250 cost for similar tickets at last season's Super Bowl in New Orleans.
* NAH... NO INFLATION HERE!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/17/the-typical-american-family-makes-less-than-it-did-in-1989/
The Census Bureau is out with the annual report on incomes and poverty. And while you might think that after years of stagnant incomes and elevated poverty rates, we would be inured to the depressing facts contained therein, it still somehow has the power to shock.
For my money, the most depressing fact about the economy is not the fact that household incomes were basically flat in 2012 (the real median household income was down to $51,017 from $51,100 in 2011, a statistically insignificant change). It wasn't even the fact that 15% of the U.S. population was living in poverty, according to the official, flawed definition of the term.
Nah, the most depressing result comes when you look at the longer view of household incomes in the United States.
This chart...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2013/09/MedianHouseholdIncome.png
...shows real median household income over the past 25 years; that is, the money earned, in inflation-adjusted dollars, by the family at the exact middle of the income distribution.
Headlines about these numbers tend to focus on how we have now experienced a lost decade for the middle-class American family, with incomes back to their late 1990s level. But as the chart shows it's really worse than that.
In 1989, the median American household made $51,681 in current dollars (the 2012 number, again, was $51,017).
That means that 24 years ago, a middle class American family was making more than the a middle class family was making one year ago.
This isn't a lost decade for economic gains for Americans. It is a lost generation.
* THREE-PARTER... (Part 1 of 3)
http://www.humanevents.com/2013/09/17/lindseys-plan-for-war-on-iran/
This summer produced a triumph of American patriotism: A grassroots coalition arose to demand Congress veto any war on Syria.
Congress got the message and was ready to vote no to war, when President Obama seized upon Vladimir Putin’s offer to work together to disarm Syria of chemical weapons. The war America did not want — did not come.
Lindsey Graham is determined that this does not happen again.
* I... DESPISE... LINDSEY... GRAHAM...
The next war he and his collaborators are planning, the big one, the war on Iran, will not be blocked the same way.
* NOT IF OL' LINDSEY HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!
How does Graham propose to do this? Lindsay intends a preemptive surrender of Congress’ constitutional war-making power — to President Obama.
Graham plans to introduce a use-of-force resolution, a peacetime declaration of war on Iran, to ensure Obama can attack Iran at will and need not come back to Congress [for additional permission]. He wants to give Obama a blank check for war on Iran, then stampede Obama into starting the war.
* SON... OF... A... BITCH...!
* TO BE CONTINUED...
* CONTINUING... (Part 2 of 3)
On Fox’s “Huckabee” Sunday, Lindsey laid out his scheme: “I’m going to get a bipartisan coalition together. We’re going to put together a use-of-force resolution, allowing our country to use military force … to stop the Iranian nuclear program. … I’m going to need your help, Mike, and the help of Americans and friends of Israel.”
* "AND FRIENDS OF ISRAEL...?!?!" HOW'BOUT "FRIENDS OF AMERICAN...?!?!"
* LISTEN... FOLKS... LET ISRAEL AND IRAN SORT OUT THEIR OWN PROBLEMS.
In July, Graham told a cheering conference of Christians United for Israel: “If nothing changes in Iran, come September, October, I will present a resolution that will authorize the use of military force to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.”
* I SAY THAT WE DROP LINDSEY GRAHAM ON IRAN... NO PARACHUTE... JUST OPEN THE BOMB-BAY DOORS AND PUSH THE BASTARD OUT!
That Graham is braying that he intends to give Obama a blank check for war on Iran is not all bad news. For he thus concedes Obama does not now have the authority to attack Iran.
And by equating Iran’s “nuclear program” with a “nuclear bomb” program, Graham reveals that his bottom line is not Obama’s bottom line, but Benjamin Netanyahu’s.
Obama has said only that Iran must not be allowed to build a bomb. Bibi says Iran must not have a nuclear program.
* AGAIN... LET ISRAEL SETTLE ITS DIFFERENCES WITH IRAN ON THEIR OWN.
Yet, make no mistake. The goal of Graham, the neocons, Israel and Saudi Arabia is not a negotiated solution permitting a peaceful nuclear program in Iran. The goal is a U.S. war to smash Iran.
* YEP. U.S. BLOOD, TREASURE, AND REPUTATION SQUANDERED FOR THE SELF-INTERESTS OF ISRAEL AND SAUDI ARABIA. I SAY "F--K THAT!"
* FOLKS... DID YOU KNOW...
[T]here is no conclusive proof Iran has decided to build a bomb.
(*SHRUG*)
* TO BE CONTINUED...
* CONCLUDING... (Part 3 of 3)
Twice, the U.S. intelligence community, in 2007 and 2011, has asserted with high confidence that Iran has made no such decision.
(*SHRUG*)
Senators who do not seek a new war with Iran should call James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, to testify publicly as to whether Iran is “racing” toward a bomb. (Or... is this the usual War Party propaganda?)
As of today, Iran has not tested a bomb and, to our knowledge, does not possess any uranium enriched to the 90% necessary to build a bomb. Indeed, Iran has just announced that half its supply of 20%-enriched uranium has been converted to fuel rods.
Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, was elected on a pledge to get U.S. sanctions lifted and to end Iran’s isolation. As a first step to negotiations, Rouhani just appointed the most pro-American foreign minister in four decades.
Often, the interests of adversaries coincide. In World War II, with Hitler as the enemy, the monster Stalin becomes an ally.
Putin wants no U.S. war on Syria or Iran. This requires no chemical weapons use in Syria and no nukes in Iran. This coincides with U.S. interests, if not Lindsey Graham’s.
The Russians, with ties to Tehran and Damascus we do not have, can be helpful in keeping us out of wars we do not want.
* YES!
The true friends of America are those seeking to keep us out of wars, not those maneuvering us in.
(*STANDING OVATION*)
That Vladimir Putin is going to Tehran, and Obama to the U.N. to meet Rouhani is good news.
(*NOD*)
Better news would be that Congressional anti-interventionists were meeting Graham’s war resolution with one of their own, reaffirming that, as of today, Obama has no authority to launch any preemptive or presidential war on Iran.
(*DOUBLE THUMBS UP*)
* TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)
http://freebeacon.com/number-of-released-gitmo-detainees-returning-to-terrorism-increases/
* AND, YEAH... I CONFIRMED THE NUMBERS AGAINST THE OFFICIAL U.S. GOV. DOCUMENT! (IN ANY CASE, THIS IS BILL GERTZ REPORTING; HE CAN BE TRUSTED.)
Three additional terrorists once held at the Guantanamo Bay prison were confirmed as having returned to terrorism after their release, and two others joined the ranks of those suspected of rejoining jihad against the West, according to a U.S. intelligence report made public last week.
The report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) also reveals that three of the confirmed returning terrorists were killed since January, when the last report to Congress was made public.
Of the 603 terrorists released from the prison, 100 are now confirmed as having returned to terrorism. Of those, 17 are dead, 27 are in custody, and 56 are free.
* QUESTION: WHY NOT EXECUTE THE 27 RECIDIVISTS IN CUSTODY? (OR OR THEY PLANNING ON RE-RELEASING THEM...?!?!)
Released detainees suspected of having returned to terrorism number 74, including two that are dead, 25 that are in custody, and 47 no longer being held.
* QUESTION: WHY NOT PUT THOSE IN CUSTODY ON TRIAL? IF FOUND GUILTY... EXECUTE THEM.
By contrast, in January there were a total of 97 released prisoners who returned to terrorism and another 72 who were suspected of re-engaging in terrorism.
The ODNI report also warned against the unconditional release of additional prisoners from the detention facility because of the risk they will go back to terror attacks or insurgent activity. “Based on trends identified during the past ten years, we assess that if additional detainees are transferred without conditions from GTMO, some will reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities,” the report said. “Transfers to countries with ongoing conflicts and internal instability as well as active recruitment by insurgent and terrorist organizations pose a particular problem.”
* YA THINK...?!?!
* TO BE CONTINUED...
* CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)
President Barack Obama in May announced that he was lifting a ban on the transfer of Guantanamo inmates to Yemen, where the al Qaeda affiliate Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has emerged a major threat. The group has orchestrated several attempted terrorist attacks, including the attempted bombings of U.S. airliners and threats to attack U.S. facilities overseas.
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
Obama announced May 23 that he was lifting the ban on transfers of former prisoners to Yemen so that the inmates’ status can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. In a speech, he also announced a renewed push to close the prison located at the U.S. naval base located on a U.S.-controlled enclave of the communist-ruled island.
* ONE MORE TIME: ALL THE PRISONERS SHOULD BE TRIED!
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was formed by several former Guantanamo inmates in 2009, including Nasser Al Wuhayshi, a former secretary to Osama bin Laden, and Said Al Shihri, who was killed by a U.S. drone in January.
* SO... OBAMA "BUILT" AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING...
Last month, the U.S. government ordered the closure of 19 embassies over concerns that Yemen-based al Qaeda terrorists were plotting attacks.
Additionally, the al Qaeda affiliate in Libya known as Ansar al Sharia is led by a former Guantanamo inmate named Abu Sufian bin Qumu.
* FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP!
U.S. intelligence agencies in August discovered that Ansar al Sharia is operating two terrorist training camps in Libya, at Benghazi and Darna, where Qumu is based.
* AND IMMEDIATELY U.S. FORCES TOOK OUT THE CAMPS... RIGHT?
The camps are being used to train Libyan and foreign jihadists who are dispatched to al Qaeda-backed rebels in Syria.
* WHAT DOES GERTZ MEAN "ARE?" WHY HAVE THE CAMPS NOT BEEN TAKEN OUT...?!?!
The ODNI report said increase in returning terrorists took place between Jan. 14 and July 15. The names, nationalities and other details about the released prisoners were not included in the two page report to Congress required under a provision of the 2012 Intelligence Authorization Act.
(*PURSED LIPS*)
The Obama administration wants to transfer some 84 of the [Gitmo] detainees to their home countries. A total of 56 of the 84 approved detainees are Yemeni nationals.
(*BANGING MY HEAD AGAINST THE WALL*)
The Pentagon announced Aug. 29 that two detainees were transferred to Algeria. The men were identified as Nabil Hadjarab, 34, and Motai Sayab, 37. There are still 84 men at the facility in Cuba who have been cleared for release or transfer. Currently, there are 164 men being held at Guantanamo.
William R. Barker said...
* TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324577304579055511904387286.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion
Even as the cost of higher education skyrockets, its benefits are increasingly being called into doubt.
**************************
Regarding this, it reminds me when I had to take the Professional Engineering test back in the last millenium. When I had taken it, you had to choose 4 of 12 questions in the morning session (4 hours) where you had to work out a long problem and come up with "A" solution (not necessarily "THE" solution). You had to show your work, including all calculations and assumptions, and provide commentary on why you were doing things a certain way and your thought process. It was similar for the afternoon session, although it was multiple choice.
Nowadays, you get 40 multiple choice questions in the morning and also for the afternoon that you fill in the appropriate bubbles, which is fed into a machine that comes up with your score. Most of these questions can be answered by looking up a similar problem in the material you are allowed to bring in.
There is no critical thought necessary and it no longer tests your engineering knowledge. We are teaching kids to take tests, not apply knowledge.
I should note that the testing is now under the guidance of almost exclusively academia. Before it was a combination of real-world engineers and academia.
I can't count the number of times I give a young engineer some work to do where they go and plug the numbers and give me what it spits out without even analyzing what is spit out.
"You do realize that according to this, water now flows uphill?"
@ Moose
First of all... THANKS for posting, buddy. (And THANKS for reading; knowing that at least SOME people "get it" and give a damn helps keep me going...)
As to the meat of your commentary... DEAD ON!
Professional certification really is the answer, BUT, I fear that even if we were to go this route... (*SIGH*)... it wouldn't be too long before the professional certification process more closely resembled the K-12/College model of focus on the test and not the real world skills APPLIED.
That Professional Engineering test YOU took "back in the day" sounds EXACTLY like the sort of test that SHOULD be given today.
(Now... consider it's NOT the sort of test given today; what's THAT tell ya, folks...?!?!)
Yep... certification... MENTORING... apprentice programs... these are what America needs - not more beer, pizza, sex, drugs, study, more beer, more pizza, more sex, spring break, more drugs, more weekends home, room and board above what one would pay in the "real world"...
The above rant? I of course refer to modern college - especially as it works for most liberal arts majors.
THIS... IS... INSANE...!
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