Tax $$$ Paying for Mosques? Where’s the Outrage?

~LTG

How Peaceful Is the United States?

There’s a neat website, the Institute of Economics and Peace’s Vision of Humanity, with a map of the world which gives the Global Peace Index (GPI) of countries. The lower the numerical GPI, the more peaceful the country. It’s an interactive map because you can put your cursor on any spot on the map and see the GPI of that country.

By “peace” is meant the “absence of violence.” The GPI is derived from a composite set of 5 indicators: violent crime, homicides, incarceration rates, policing, and availability of small arms.

Of the world’s 153 countries, the 10 most peaceful countries are:

1. Iceland: 1.148 GPI score
2. New Zealand: 1.279
3. Japan: 1.287
4. Denmark: 1.289
5. Czech Republic: 1.320
6. Austria: 1.337
7. Finland: 1.353
8. Canada: 1.355
9. Norway: 1.356
10. Slovenia: 1.358

The 10 least peaceful countries are:

1. Somalia: 3.379
2. Iraq: 3.296
3. Sudan: 3.223
4. Afghanistan: 3.212
5. North Korea: 3.092
6. Congo: 3.016
7. Russia: 2.966
8. Pakistan: 2.905
9. Israel: 2.901
10. Central African Republic: 2.869

Although peace in the United States has been on the increase, recording an 8% improvement since 1991, our country still ranks only in the middle of the world’s countries in peace and disorder, with a GPI rank of 82 (out of 153) and a GPI score of 2.063.

Even Greece and Egypt are judged more peaceful than the U.S.! Dspite Greece’s bankruptcy and anti-austerity riots, the country has a GPI rank of 65 and a GPI score of 1.947. And in spite of Egypt’s recent massive anti-government demonstrations, the country still scored a GPI rank of 73 and a score of 2.023.

The GPI study found that societies that are highly peaceful also perform exceptionally well in other ways. The most peaceful countries also have higher per capita income, higher levels of well-being, more freedom, perform better at sustainability, and appear to have a more equitable distribution of social spending. The study also found a positive correlation between peace and a collection of other factors — including access to basic services, education, health, and opportunity to succeed.

America’s GPI score will surely worsen, as our national debt piles up even more above the present $14+ trillion, government becomes increasingly insolvent, necessitating more cuts in spending and entitlement….

On the bright side, at least you’ll know which country to move to, if you have the means to bail out of the coming maelstrom.  [bitter laugh]

CLICK HERE for the GPI website.

~Eowyn

Sparkling Flower: Nile River At Night

Breathtaking NASA photo of the Nile River in North Africa lit up at night, looking like a bejeweled flower on a stem.

Photo by NASA

Nile River Delta at Night

One of the fascinating aspects of viewing Earth at night is how well the lights show the distribution of people. In this view of Egypt, the population is shown to be almost completely concentrated along the Nile Valley, just a small percentage of the country’s land area.

The Nile River and its delta look like a brilliant, long-stemmed flower in this photograph of the southeastern Mediterranean Sea, as seen from the International Space Station. The Cairo metropolitan area forms a particularly bright base of the flower. The smaller cities and towns within the Nile Delta tend to be hard to see amidst the dense agricultural vegetation during the day. However, these settled areas and the connecting roads between them become clearly visible at night. Likewise, urbanized regions and infrastructure along the Nile River becomes apparent.

Scattered blue-grey clouds cover the Mediterranean Sea and the Sinai, while much of northeastern Africa is cloud-free. The thin yellow-brown band tracing the Earth’s curvature at the top of the image is airglow, a faint band of light emission that results from the interaction of atmospheric atoms and molecules with solar radiation at an altitude of approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers).

This astronaut photograph was taken by the Expedition 25 crew on Oct. 28, 2010, with a Nikon D3S digital camera using a 16 mm lens.

H/t faithful fellow Igor

~Eowyn

Warning!!!! And Yikes!!!!

This morning the Muslim Brotherhood warned the United States that if United States meddling in Egypt continued, they intend to cut off America’s supply of 7-11, and Motel 6 managers.

If this action does not yield sufficient results, cab drivers will be next, followed by Dell, AT&T, and AOL customer service reps.

Finally, if all else fails, they have threatened not to send us any more presidents, either.

   It’s gonna get ugly, people.

~Steve~                  H/T      I_Man

Obama’s Foreign Policy: I Am Not Bush!

Good critique of Obama’s absent foreign policy by Harvard Prof. Niall Ferguson, particularly in view of the March 4 burning of a Christian church near Cairo and the 4,000-men Muslim attack on Egypt’s beleaguered Coptic Christians:

~Eowyn

Libyan Rebels Request Military Intervention, Gaddafi Calls It Al Qaeda Conspiracy

It’s easy to dismiss everything Muammar Gaddafi says. The man is delusional, arrogant, and controlling – Saddam Hussein with a Libyan accent. There is evidence he was behind the Lockerbie bombing. And now that his country descends into chaos, he is clearly willing to use deadly force to stay in power.

So when he warns the West that siding with the rebels would result in Al Qaeda controlling African oil, it’s hard to know what to make of it. Is this a delusional tyrant saying what he knows will frighten us, or is this a case of no honor among thieves?

Much of the Western media have been laughing at Gaddafi’s accusations of terrorist influence. Yet while speaking Wednesday, he repeated his theory in more specific terms, claiming “How did that all begin? Small, sleeper Al Qaeda cells.”

He went on to say the civil unrest was a pretext for “colonization” of northern Africa:

“There is a conspiracy to control the Libyan oil and to control the Libyan land, to colonize Libya once again…Do they want us to become slaves once again like we were slaves to the Italians … We will never accept it.”

Leaders in Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, and other places have sung the same tune.

Clever propaganda, or a legitimate worry? Don’t expect the American BLM to help you find answers. Observe, for example, this convoluted bit of journalism from the NY Times Sunday. First we are told that Al Qaeda is distinctly absent from the protests:

For many specialists on terrorism and the Middle East, though not all, the past few weeks have the makings of an epochal disaster for Al Qaeda, making the jihadists look like ineffectual bystanders to history while offering young Muslims an appealing alternative to terrorism.

And yet exactly seven paragraphs later, we are told this:

There is evidence that the uprisings have enthralled some jihadists. One Algerian man associated with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the network’s North African affiliate, welcomed the uprisings in a weekend interview and said militants were returning from exile to join the battle in Libya, arming themselves from government weapons caches.

“Since the land is in chaos and Qaddafi is helping through his reactions and actions to increase the hatred of the population against him, it will be easier for us to recruit new members,” said the Algerian man, who uses the nom de guerre Abu Salman. He said that Libyans and Tunisians who had fought in Iraq or Afghanistan were now considering a return home.

Something even more disturbing was tucked inside the report and quickly glossed over:

The breakdown of order could create havens for terrorist cells, at least for a time — a hazard both Colonel Qaddafi and Mr. Saleh have prevented, winning the gratitude of the American government.

Yet this report was published on the very same day President Obama debuted his decision to demand that Gaddafi step down. The Pentagon deployed transport ships to the Libyan coast within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, Secretary Clinton spoke to the House Foreign Affairs committee Tuesday and launched a new warning that Iran was working behind the scenes to co-opt political power in chaotic governments.

That’s weird. It almost looks like the Obama administration kept Gaddafi in power just long enough to position a military strategy.

And now the rebels seem to have a crazy idea that foreign interventionists will take their side:

“We are probably going to call for foreign help, probably air strikes at strategic locations that will put the nail in his (Gaddafi’s) coffin,” Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the rebel February 17th Coalition, told Reuters.

What’s making these people even float the idea that NATO/UN forces would launch air strikes on their behalf? Are they making stuff up to scare Gaddafi’s government, or do they really think someone would be open to that request?

Again, if you’re looking for someone in America to give you an answer, don’t hold your breath. Defense Secretary Robert Gates keeps saying the Obama administration is reluctant to use military force, yet he consistently stops short of promising it won’t happen.

So what are we to make of all this? Your humble blogger doesn’t present these things to presume any kind of answer – this is simply an effort to bring the pieces together and offer a glance at the big picture. We leave you to draw your own conclusions.

For now, all we can do is watch the news closely, use our God-given common sense, and hope that our governments and media outlets are giving it to us straight.

And while I don’t want to plant any undue doubt in readers’ minds, I do want to mention the Kosovo mistake of 1999. Sometimes even the intelligence on the ground gets it wrong.

God help us navigate this long windy road.

-Candance

 

Serious New Threat From Muslim Brudderhood

 

 

        

    

WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!

This morning the Muslim Brotherhood warned the United States that if  the United States meddling in the Middle East continued, they intend to cut off America’s supply of 7-11, and Motel 6 managers.

If this action does not yield sufficient results, cab drivers will be next, followed by Dell, AT&T, and AOL customer service reps.

Finally, if all else fails, they have threatened not to send us any more presidents, either.

It’s gonna get ugly, people.

~Steve~       A Big  H/T   The   I- Man  

Now That is some Hat

 

 

Fantastic: Libyan Parliament on Fire, Gaddafi Leaves Town, Oil Goes Up

It’s déjà vu all over again.

Photo Courtesy Daily Mail

Looks like Libyan activists are following the Egypt model to a tee. The UK’s Daily Mail claims protestors stormed the state television studio and set fire to the Parliament building [heed my words: disturbing photos at the link]. Getting there cost over 300 lives as the military opened fire several times.

Meanwhile, oil field workers have decided to go on strike, forcing oil companies to halt production and evacuate Western staff. USA Today reports oil has already gotten more expensive as those in the industry begin to fear the worst.

Gaddafi is said to have left Tripoli. His son assumed public leadership and released a statement, but no one is confident in his ability to stop this.

In each country that springs up next, the riots get more violent. If you thought Cairo was a war zone two weeks ago, that was child’s play compared to last night’s all-out urban warfare in Tripoli.

And what is the American government doing? Trying to decide on the “appropriate response.”

You’re welcome for the leadership, folks.

-Candance

14 African/Arab Countries Catch Protest Fever

Your photo of the day by way of CNN.

Those are all the countries in the Mediterranean region now either in the process of transition or seeing public protests.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been spared – for now – but even still many of America’s presumed allies are in danger.

In Bahrain, for example, the military has reportedly withdrawn from further confrontation with protestors and the royal family sent someone out to start discussion. While the American government is pleased to see free protest, it is worried about the outcome: Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5^th fleet as a central hub in the effort to monitor traffic going toward Iran.

If even only two or three of these countries fall to Muslim activist groups, it will force America to rewrite the entire strategy in the Middle East.

-Candance

Wisconsin Democrats Leave Capital on Day of Vote, Protests Rage

Update at bottom: location of missing confirmed

As part of our continuing coverage of the teacher strike in Wisconsin, today we report that State Senate Democrats, fearing punishment from their union ATM machines supporters , have completely skipped out on their jobs as well.

Today is supposed to be the day the state legislature votes to pass Governor Walker’s new budget. Last year’s election-day tidal wave gave Republicans enough seats in that body to essentially pass whatever they want. Rumors leaked last night that Walker had secured enough Republican votes to assure his budget would pass.

Even so, it is necessary for the entire body to be present for such a major vote. At 11:30 Thursday morning when it became obvious the Democrats weren’t coming, the majority leader called on police to round up the missing lawmakers and escort them to the chamber. Failure to show up for this kind of vote counts as refusing to do their job and allows for police to aggressively recommend they come in.

While these Democrats cannot stop the vote from going against them, they can apparently stall the process by forcing Republicans to wait for police to round them up. Your humble blogger suspects a more serious motive: stalling the vote for another day or two would give the union time to grow a more drastic protest.

When the teachers in Madison compared themselves to Cairo, it would be wise to assume they weren’t kidding.

The biggest joke to emerge from this so far came from one teacher who bemoaned the lack of a “democratic process” being respected by state of Wisconsin. Yes they know there was an election less than six months ago which gave Walker a clear mandate – but no one actually thinks election results matter.

See, this is what you have to understand about progressives. When their side loses through democratic means, the simply pretend the election never happened and work to sabotage reform. When their side gets a victory, it’s called a democratic mandate.

And to think, liberals mocked certain people for predicting massive waves of civil unrest would land on American soil.

At what point will independents realize this train has a predetermined destination?

-Candance

Update (6:30pm) – According to local media, the Democrats banded together and took a bus into Illinois. They are staying at a resort. Wisconsin police don’t have the jurisdiction to leave the state, Illinois police won’t deport them, and President Obama won’t do a darn thing.

If Republicans did a stunt like this you can guarantee the media would be hyperventilating.