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NOVEMBER 19,  2011

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:54 P.M. ET: 

SONY BLINKS – Sony Pictures has now put off release of its Obama gets bin Laden film until after the election.  The new release date is December 19, 2012.  Previously, it had been set for release in the weeks before the vote.  Clearly, SONY got the message that a pre-election release would be seen as a blatant attempt to get Obama reelected, and that a goodly number of Americans, and powerful Republicans, would be mightily displeased.  This should put the controversy to rest, although I wouldn't be surprised if he get a lot of Hollywood hype about the film right before election day, focusing on Obama's "gutsiness."

EGYPT ERUPTS – There was major violence in Cairo today as Egyptian police clashed with protesters.  At least one death was reported, and an estimated 600 were wounded.  The violence comes nine days before the anticipated parliamentary elections.  So much for the Arab spring.  The protesters were complaining that the military was still holding too much power.  That may be true, but the military is the most stable element in Egyptian society, and tends to be moderate, and more-or-less pro-Western.  We don't know about the others.  Egypt's transition to democracy is turning out to be rough, with the Muslim Brotherhood waiting in the wings for its chance.

MITT DOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD – Wisely, Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, isn't taking neighboring New Hampshire for granted.  Most polls show Romney well ahead, although a less reliable one shows him about even with Newt Gingrich.  But Romney's campaign is stepping up its efforts in New Hampshire, recognizing that the voters there have a very independent streak.  Romney hopes to leverage a big victory in New Hampshire on January 10th into a sense that he is the inevitable nominee.  It is true that the Iowa caucuses are a week earlier, but Iowa is seen as a bit "kooky," and the winner in the GOP caucuses there has often not gone on to win the nomination. 

November 19, 2011       Permalink   

U.S. MOVES ON IRAN – WE THINK – AT 9:36 A.M. ET:  We have no immediate confirmation on this, but it sounds logical.  On the other hand, the story can be a trial balloon:

(Reuters) - The United States plans to sanction Iran's petrochemical industry, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, seeking to raise pressure on Tehran after fresh allegations it may be pursuing nuclear weapons.

The sources said Washington wanted to send a strong signal after the U.N. nuclear watchdog issued a November 8 report saying Iran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be secretly carrying out related research.

The sources, who said the sanctions could be unveiled as early as Monday, said that Washington wanted to find a way to bar foreign companies from aiding Iran's petrochemical industry with the threat of depriving them access to the U.S. market.

While European nations typically resent "extra-territorial" U.S. sanctions on their companies, the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in this case the Europeans would likely follow suit, though not immediately.

U.S. firms are barred from most trade with Iran. The U.S. push is therefore aimed at foreign firms by in effect making them choose between working with Iran's petrochemical industry or doing business in the vast U.S. market.

COMMENT:  I hope it happens, but it won't be enough.  Thus far all the sanctions we've piled on Iran, as well as cyberattacks, have not stopped their nuclear program.  And every time some American official disparages the idea of a strike against nuclear targets, it encourages the Iranians to push on.  I'm afraid we'll see an Iranian bomb, with all the risk that brings with it, unless we toughen up considerably.

November 19, 2011       Permalink

CAIN GAME LAME?  – AT 9:05 A.M. ET:  Political obituaries for Herman Cain are being written all over the internet.  They may be justified.

Look, Cain is a charming guy, but his campaign is a mess, he's made repeated mistakes, and he's starting to fade in the polls just at the time when he should be surging.

Cain never did satisfactorily handle the charges of sexual harassment against him.  And now that Cain is in decline, you'll notice that Gloria Allred has disappeared.  Then Cain blundered in an answer on Libya.  Then he cancelled a one-hour interview with the Manchester (New Hampshire) Union-Leader, the key newspaper in a key primary state.  And now we hear he's getting Secret Service protection, and no one can figure out why.  Alana Goodman writes in Commentary:

Clearly, Cain’s mangled comments on Libya weren’t a one-time thing. He’s made plenty of embarrassing remarks on foreign policy since the beginning of his campaign. But the media lockdown is basically an acknowledgment from his campaign that he’s not ready for prime time – something that’s been obvious to most political watchers for quite awhile.

Standing up the Union Leader isn’t just bad optics, it’s also going to set him back with conservative voters in New Hampshire. But Cain’s decision to request a Secret Service detail – he’s the first GOP presidential candidate to do so this cycle – is even more puzzling:

COMMENT:  It's always dangerous to write someone's political obituary.  Richard Nixon was declared cemetery-ready after his disastrous run for governor of California in 1962, two years after losing the presidency to John F. Kennedy.  He came back.

But we're talking about Herman Cain, who has no real standing in politics, and who really isn't very impressive once you get beyond "9-9-9."   He is probably toast on this cycle, just weeks after he was at the top.  It shows that a week is a lifetime in politics.

Also looking toasty is Rick Perry, the Rodney Dangerfield of the presidential campaign, a man who gets no respect.  But Perry is a sitting governor and a fighter, and is well financed.  If Romney should really run off the road, you never know how Perry might maneuver. 

The anti-Romney darling this week is Newt Gingrich, rising in the polls, with one poll actually showing him almost even with Romney in New Hampshire.  As Gingrich ascends, the liberal hit pieces are being published, one by one, and the question is whether he can reply to them fast enough.

There's only one person helped by the weakness on the Republican side, and it's Barack Obama.  I truly fear he may be reelected, sentencing this country to four more years of what we have now. 

Do you think if someone came along who looked like Reagan, we could slip him by?  Just dreaming.

November 19, 2011        Permalink

WHAT'S THIS? – AT 8:54 A.M. ET:  We wonder how long the Brits are going to put up with this.  From London's Express:

EUROCRATS ignited outrage last night by ordering Britain to open its doors to a fresh wave of mass immigration from around the world.

In a highly provocative diktat from Brussels the European Commission urged the EU’s 27 member nations to admit millions more newcomers from beyond Europe’s borders and adopt welcoming “migrant-centred” policies.

“To ensure prosperity, Europe must become a more attractive destination in the global competition for talent,” said a document from the EU’s ruling body.

It also made clear that new measures to “facilitate and organise legal immigration” to EU nations from eastern Europe, Asia and a string of North African countries were already on the way.

The astonishing open-door border policy, outlined in a “renewed EU migration strategy” published by the Commission, triggered a furious backlash in Britain yesterday.

Euro-MP Gerard Batten, the UK Independence Party’s immigration spokesman, said: “This is the EU calling for yet more migration.

Many of those migrants will gravitate to the UK.

“These migrants will either take jobs, thus making our unemployment situation worse, or end up on benefits costing the state even more money.”

Tory MP Philip Hollobone said: “Most British people will be absolutely horrified by this latest proposal from the European Commission.

“It flies in the face of their fundamental concern that, as a country, we are already full up and there is no space for any more migrants.

“This is a threat to open the floodgates.”

COMMENT:  This is a classic example of what happens when a democracy surrenders its independence, in favor of pseudo world government schemes.  Britain used to be a proud nation, and some of it still is.  But there really are two Britains – the Britain of Winston Churchill and the Britain of the socialist, anti-American left.  Which Britain will prevail?  And will it be too late?

November 19, 2011     Permalink

NOVEMBER 18,  2011

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 6:35 P.M. ET:

THE NOTHING NEWS CONFERENCE – Following on our earlier post, "Sordid," about the reopening of the probe into the death, 30 years ago this month, of Natalie Wood, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department held an eight-minute news conference today and said nothing.  There were "witnesses" described, but never named.  They gave no indication of the kind of material that would force the reopening of an investigation.  Frankly, it was a farce, giving rise to skepticism by a number of TV commentators.  We have the feeling that most of this is based on new remarks by the captain of the boat from which Natalie Wood disappeared.  He has a book... and that's all you need to know.  Do you hear those cash registers?  This will do nothing for the already blackened image of Hollywood law enforcement.

STUNNING – A new poll out could spell serious trouble for Mitt Romney, who aims to be the last man standing in the GOP presidential race.  A reliable Rasmussen poll yesterday showed Newt Gingrich well ahead of Romney in Iowa, the first state to vote in January.  But Romney's fallback has always been New Hampshire, which votes on January 10th.  Romney has always held a commanding lead in New Hampshire, right next door to Massachusetts, which he served as governor, and in the same TV coverage zone.  But the new poll just out is a shock – showing Romney and Gingrich essentially tied in New Hampshire.  The Magellen Strategies survey shows Romney at 29%, with Gingrich at 27%, within the margin of error.  If true, that signals a Romney collapse.  However, we must point out that a Bloomberg poll earlier this week had Romney at 40%, with Gingrich at 11%.  So we'll wait for the next series of polls.  We're getting awfully close to voting time.

SPAIN VOTES – Spain, a critical NATO nation with a seriously troubled economy, holds a national election on Sunday.  Since 2004 Spain has been ruled by a socialist government somewhat hostile to the United States.  We are hoping the current leader, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who once refused to stand for the American flag during a parade, will be voted out.  The polls are going our way, but we won't rest until the last vote is counted, and conservative Mariano Rajoy is sworn in.  He will have a backbreaking job rebuilding the fragile Spanish economy.

CHILL FROM THE ARAB SPRING – For months astute observers of the Mideast have been warning that the Arab spring is turning into a joke, that the original democracy advocates are being pushed aside by the Islamists.  Today we saw dramatic proof of that in a mass rally in Cairo’s Tahrir square, where the original democracy demonstrations in Egypt were held in the spring.  This time, though, the rally was run by the Muslim Brotherhood, whose front men in the West are trying to portray it as a "moderate" organization, when in fact it's radical, dangerous, and fanatical.  It is the best organized force in the most important Arab country, and it's making its move.  Our goofball State Department recently said it was okay with the Brotherhood.  And that German guy with the little mustache?  Don't take anything he says seriously.

November 18, 2011       Permalink

SORDID – AT 10:28 A.M. ET:  We are about to be subjected to another bit of Hollywood hype.  The media is all abuzz this morning over the story that the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department is reopening its investigation into the death of beloved actress Natalie Wood, who drowned in 1981.  The 30th anniversary is November 29th.

Both CNN and Fox featured this as a major story this morning.  And there will be a sheriff's press conference later today to explain why the case is being reopened.   I don't know the details yet, of course, but so far this looks like an opportunity for some people to make some money.  Wood was on the yacht owned by her and husband Bob Wagner, and disappeared in the middle of the night, her body found floating the next day.  Her death was ruled an accident.

The captain of the boat appeared on TV this morning, and suggested that Wagner had something to do with his wife's death, but provided no evidence whatsoever.  His story also contradicts, according to news sources, what he said originally.

This whole thing strikes me as sordid.  There's Hollywood justice, then there's real justice, and the two often don't meet.  There's money to be made and reputations to be inflated.  Natalie Wood was loved by many, and her grave in Westwood Cemetery, Los Angeles, not far from Marilyn Monroe's crypt, is always covered with flowers.  She is remembered by an entire generation.  Bob Wagner issued a statement pledging full support to the sherriff's re-investigation, but wondering whether the source of the "new" information the sheriff may have can be trusted, or is simply out for gain.  That's a very relevant question.

Well, we'll see what the sheriff has.  I'll bet this amounts to nothing, but there may be a book deal.

November 18, 2011       Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 9:34 A.M. ET:

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi women with attractive eyes may be forced to cover them up, the news website Bikya Masr reported, in a move that could mark the latest repressive measure taken against women by the Islamic state.  A spokesperson for Saudi Arabia's Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), Sheikh Motlab al Nabet, said the committee had the right to stop women revealing "tempting" eyes in public.

I'm so glad that one country has the guts to take on the tempting eyes problem.  It was a really big issue for me in high school.  I couldn't concentrate on algebra.  If only I'd been born Saudi.  Ah, what could have been.

A QUICK TRIP TO THE SUPERMARKET – AT 9:03 A.M. ET:  I'm surprised this advance hasn't been killed by the Obama administration.  It is incredible. 

The U.S. Army has successfully tested a hypersonic aircraft that can travel five times the speed of sound and reach anywhere on Earth in under an hour.

Described by the Pentagon as a "glide vehicle, designed to fly within the earth's atmosphere at hypersonic speed and long range," the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW) was launched aboard a rocket from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii.

It hit a target at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, some 2,300 miles away, in less than 30 minutes, according to Department of Defense and AP reports.

Hypersonic vehicles are assumed to fly faster than five times the speed of sound, roughly 3,800 mph. Unlike a missile, the glide vehicle can be maneuvered.

"The objective of the test is to collect data on hypersonic boost-glide technologies and test range performance for long-range atmospheric flight," the DOD said in a release. "Mission emphasis is aerodynamics; navigation, guidance, and control; and thermal protection technologies."

The weapon is part of Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS), a program that would give the U.S. the power to strike anywhere in the world with conventional weapons in less than an hour.

COMMENT:  It is critical for our deterrent capability that research like this continue, although you can be sure the "America is the problem" crowd already has the red pencil out.  From this research, we can imagine, will come technology that will find its way into the private sector, something that occurred regularly during the great years of the space program.

November 18, 2011        Permalink 

RUDY LAYS IT ON THE LINE – Showing the clarity of thought that made him one of New York's great mayors, Rudy Giuliani makes plain what he would have done in the face of the "occupy" crowd.  From NewsMax:

The First Amendment does not give Occupy Wall Street protesters the right to take over private property and engage in illegal activities, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says.

“You have no right to pitch a tent in the middle of New York City, I’m sorry,” Giuliani said on Sean Hannity’s radio show this afternoon. “That is not the First Amendment.”

President Barack Obama’s empathy for the 2-month-old movement and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s lack of action to stop it are an embarrassment to the nation and the city, Giuliani said.

Giuliani’s comments came on a day when police and the protesters had squared off as they marched through the city in an effort to fulfill their promise to shut down the New York Stock Exchange.

“The minute you have any place where you have to put up a place [to] protect a woman against rape, then you’ve got to come in and get rid of those people,” Giuliani told Hannity. “You can’t tolerate that in a civilized city.”

Giuliani said he delivered a speech at a high-level economic conference last week in China, where the first question posed to him involved the protests.

“This thing has gone around the globe, and it’s beginning to characterize us,” he said. “This is what they think we’re about.”

He described the protesters as “disgruntled bums” and “leftover hippies from the ’60s and ’70s.”

“When I see them on television sometimes, particularly the older ones, it looks like I’m seeing the leftover effects of having taken too many drugs when they were 20 years old,” he said. “They make no sense. They babble.”

COMMENT:  Ah, Rudy, if only you knew how to run for president.  Rudy's campaign for the highest office was a mess in 2008, and he clearly has decided not to run this time.  But he is a true leader, whose sharp mind towers above the mush in American politics.  Compare please to the president of the United States and, for that matter, most of the Republican field. 

November 18, 2011       Permalink 

THE CONTINUING DISGRACE – AT 8:18 A.M. ET:  It's hard to fathom it, but President Obama continues to get high marks in the polls on foreign policy.  Presumably, this is because Americans are focusing on the killing of bin Laden and Gadaffi, and ignoring virtually everything else.

But the everything else is coming home to roost.  First, this country has now essentially capitulated to Iran's nuclear program.  A recent, devastating report by the UN on that program, linking it to clear signs of weapons development, has elicited a mighty ho-hum from the appeasement lobby in Washington.

First, despite a recent charge by Washington that Iran tried to murder the Saudi ambassador to Washington on our soil, using a huge bomb that could have killed hundreds of Americans – this in addition to the nuclear issue – the happy Obamans refuse to do anything meaningful to hurt the Iranian regime.  An August letter signed by 92 senators, calling for action against the Iranian Central Bank, has been dismissed, with unnamed Obamans telling the press that it might hurt the world economy.  Ah yes, it might.  But it might also paralyze the Iranian regime and help bring it down.  Oh, and there's also been no indication that we'll lift a finger to help Iranian dissidents.  Indeed, some clique in this administration, possibly including the president himself, seems to have a soft spot in its heart for the murderous mullahs of Tehran.

And now we have Leon Panetta publicly lecturing our Israeli allies about the unintended consequences of a military strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities.  This comes only a week after Obama, apparently with forked tongue, assured us that all options are on the table.  You know, maybe the administration should consider the unintended consequences of allowing Iran to get the atomic bomb, which is now clearly in prospect.

At the UN, the US has acquiesced in a watering down of a resolution criticizing the Iranian nuclear defiance.  The resolution contains no threat of additional action.

Take that, Tehran.

The Iranians must be laughing in their soup, or whatever it is they drink.

And this is occurring during an election campaign, when American presidents like to appear tough.  Imagine what our foreign policy will be once Obama is, Heaven forbid, re-elected. 

At the same time, it's reported that Russia will send warships on a visit to Syria, as a warning to the West, meaning us, not to interfere to stop the continuing massacre of Syrian citizens by their government.  Of course, we haven't objected to the warship visit.  Must not upset Moscow.  We must understand Russian needs.  The people who edit the Nation magazine must be jubilant.

It's pathetic, just pathetic.  And yet Americans approve of Obama's foreign policy.  And the Republican Party has no coherent reply. 

And on the horizon, if we don't wise up...massive defense cuts. 

People will say that Obama has done some good things in national security policy, and he has.  But I recall the old policy of Lenin – two steps forward, one step back.   The one step back for the political left is the national security stuff.  The two steps forward, from the left's point of view, is the rest of Obama's failed, weak, foreign policy.

November 18, 2011     Permalink