blogger-a-history

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Administrative staff has increased in number by 88% since 2000 while students and teachers have increased by 8% over the same period.. administrative bloat needs to be dismantled at universities. Merit will allow for plenty of diversity on campus. There is no need for DEI. Asian students should not have to score 200 points higher than black students to have a chance to get into Harvard. Judging by skin color leads to discrimination. Also it is not Harvard or die. Getting into a University that is an appropriate University leads to better outcomes. More likely to graduate and not drop out for example. Race based decisions tend to mismatch students to Universities where they are more likely to fail and drop out.

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Jews are natives to the Middle East as well and have been ethnically cleansed from nearly every city from Beirut to Medina:

Cyrus the Great returned Jews to their homeland in Jerusalem before the Arab conquests or Islam even existed. Even the prophet Muhammad himself acknowledged Jerusalem as the Jewish homeland. After the prophet came into conflict with Jews in Yathrib (Medina) he switched from praying to Jerusalem to prayer towards Mecca. Zionism started off with visionary Jews in Europe realizing they should leave due to antisemitism before the holocaust. They pooled their money together and purchased low value land from Arab landlords in Israel. The reason the 48 and 67 borders get mentioned all the time is because it was after failed Arab invasions Israel gained the most land and took land for security. There have been deals on the table from the Peels commission to Ehud Barak’s deal and the Arabs or so called Palestinians said no to their own state every time. More recently they voted for Hamas. It is obvious the Arabs or so called Palestinians want war and still have antisemitism, Arab imperialist mindset. If the so called Palestinians wanted peace and a state they would have taken a deal by now. Arafat was a strongman from Egypt recruited by the KGB to lead the so called Palestinians. Arafat said no to the best deal he was ever going to get from Ehud Barak for a Palestinian state. The Arabs got the war they want and then complain endlessly about the hell that war is. Arabs also have a horrific history of imperialism. The Zanj revolt was the largest slave revolt ever in history against Arab oppression. The reason the land Zionists purchased was considered low value is because it was a backwater of the Ottoman Empire previously.

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Blind Dismantlers

We Americans are ignorant of our great institutions and devalue them or take them for granted especially in regards to our Bureaucracy or the institutions that make up the Executive Branch. This includes everything from the Department of Energy to the Navy Seals.   In 1961 a pair of 4 megaton hydrogen bombs fell off a plane in North Carolina.  One of them became armed and landed in Goldsboro, North Carolina.  The reason the bomb failed to explode and destroy a part of the United States is because of safety measures developed by the Department of Energy ensuring our nuclear weapons do not detonate or explode while they are inactive.  The Department has many other important tasks like evaluating risks to the electrical grid and managing nuclear waste sites.[i]  

President Trump and a Republican Senate put Rick Perry in Charge of the Department of Energy.   Rick Perry said he wanted to eliminate the Department of Energy when he was running for President in 2015.  A major gaffe at a debate in which Rick Perry could not name the third department he wanted to eliminate happened to be the Department of Energy.  He later apologized for this position explaining at that time he was not familiar with the Department of Energy and regrets saying, “that it didn’t do anything worth doing.”[ii]  The previous head of the Department of Energy was a nuclear physicist.  Rick Perry has no qualifications for this position.  Rick Perry is the essence of the Republican Party.  Blind dismantlers.  

[i] Michal Lewis, The Fifth Element [New York: W. W. Norton and Company Inc., 2018], 88-89.

[ii] Lewis, 67-68.

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The Strange Institutions of the Islamic State

Taha Al-J is being brought to justice in Germany for the torture and murder of a five year old Yizidi girl and is facing multiple charges including acts of Genocide.  Taha’s job in the Islamic State was running the bureau of Shariah exorcism.  There are many terrible things associated with Shariah law and the Islamic State, but this is new to me.   Exorcists in Islam command hidden demons to depart and abandon their mischief.   Nonexistent readers if someone has an article explaining further what role the bureau of Shariah exorcism played within the Islamic State or an article about similar institutions within the Islamic world please send me the link.  These practices need to be brought to light.  Especially if they are being institutionalized by Islamists and Jihadists.  

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/12/262042/ruqyah-rakis-islamic-exorcists-opportunists/    

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/08/indonesia-lgbt-landscape-islamic-exorcism-ruqyah-used-therapy/2507538001/

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

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Consumer Protection: A most important issue

Consumer protection is such an important issue.  Right now the bailout of companies through the small business loan program is being left up to the banks and they do not have to report which companies receive these loans.  These were supposed to go to small businesses with less than five hundred employees.    Instead they are going to companies like MiMedx Group a biopharmaceutical which recently received a $10 million dollar low interest loan through the small business loan program.  This will help MiMedx pay for $6.5 million they owe to the justice department for knowingly over charging the Department of Veterans affairs for medical supplies as well as $1.5 million for accounting fraud.

With a Republican Senate and President they will do everything to protect white collar criminals and nothing for small businesses and consumers.  Trump fired the inspector general who was supposed to provide oversight for all of these Corona Virus relief programs.  Of course Trump wants no one held accountable.  The Obama administration working with Elizabeth Warren created the Bureau of Consumer Protection which just in 2016 and 2017 returned $11.8 billion to consumers who were cheated by large businesses and also included other forms of relief for consumers via enforcement.   Joe Biden wants to protect this legacy.  Please vote for Biden and get Trump and other Republicans out of there.

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Reasons Trump is not fit to be Commander in Chief

Reasons not to vote for Trump (a growing list in no particular order): 

1)     Interfering with the Navy Chain of Command and betraying his own Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer.  

Mr. Trump made sure war criminal Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher was not disciplined for shooting civilians or even the lesser charge of posing with dead corpses.  Gallagher’s fellow Navy Seals testified against him saying he would kill as many people as possible and his fellow Seals would have to fire warning shots so civilians would know to get out of range.  One fellow Seal tried to sabotage Mr. Gallagher’s rifle to prevent him from firing on Civilians and called Mr. Gallagher the devil.

Mr. Trump Fired Richard V. Spencer for trying to discipline Gallagher and made sure Gallagher retired with full honors.  Trump made all of these decisions based on a plea Gallagher and his lawyer made on Fox News. The new Seals Motto disobey, commit wars crimes, and make pleas directly to the president via Fox News.

2)   Betraying U.S. allies at the request of Trump business partners.

Trump betrayed the Kurds in Syria at the request of  Mehmet Ali Yalcindag, a Turkish business man with close ties to Erdogan who assisted Trump to establish Trump Towers in Istanbul.  Mehmet made his request via Jared Kushner to withdraw American troops and allow Turkish troops to take Kurdish territory in Syria causing a new wave of Kurdish refugees. Syrian Kurdish forces took the brunt of causalities defeating ISIS in Syria and were the ground forces the United States depended upon to defeat ISIS from the Siege of Kobani to the Battle of Baghuz Fawqani in Syria.  Syrian Kurdish forces often participated in joint operations with the United States.  Kurdish Syrian forces were also guarding ISIS prison camps making sure ISIS could not reconstitute.

Trump ensured Syrian Kurdish forces were distracted by a Turkish invasion allowing ISIS members to escape to other parts of Syria.

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Fareed Zakaria has lost his credibility on Islam

Fareed Zakaria has lost his credibility on Islam. He invites this random white guy with corollary data to refute Sean Hannity on Muslims taking over Europe. Sean Hannity is not a credible source on any topic and does not believe in facts or checking sources.  Fareed does not invite ex-Muslims from the British council of Ex-Muslims, Ayaan Hirsi Ali who had to flee the Netherlands for making a movie, or many others who have a genuine concern about real issues like state funds in Europe going to Islamic schools, honor killings in Europe, and so on. So instead of having a serious conversation about how Muslim integration, education, and values are affecting Europe, Fareed Zakaria managed to refute Sean Hannity.    

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Really brave and important work.   

At age 16, Maajid Nawaz joined the Islamist group Hizb ut Tahrir. But after four years in prison, he decided to leave the group. He co-founded the think tank Quilliam, which is dedicated to countering extremist beliefs, and he’s now running for Parliament in England.

Hear his story:

How Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ Led A Radical Muslim To Moderation

Photo via The Times U.K.

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This provides clarity in the face of terror.

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Even Kurds Practice Genital Mutilation

Even the Kurds practice female genital mutilation and according to the survey from the article it’s tied to religious belief.  The evils of faith and belief in a holy book never seem to end.  Especially in the Muslim world.  Every time I think there is something positive going on, I am always disappointed by something much worse.     Check out this list of countries where women are the least educated for further reference on why Muslim countries are so miserable.   Notice that nine out of the bottom ten are Muslim majority countries.

The fact is Islamist or Wahhabi thought dominates the Muslim world.  Even in Indonesia there are principalities with Sharia police.  This shit just never ends.   

Read Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.   I am starting to think she is right.  Islam is submission and its not compatible with freedom.   

[blogger-a-history]

China Needs New National Anthem

China has recently banned puns and I think they need a new national anthem.

CLICK ON LINK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyupP2LxbZI

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Rose Water. Go see it.

Rose Water directed by Jon Stewart is an excellent film about a journalist  covering the Green revolution in Iran who was detained and tortured by the Revolutionary Guard.  Iranian-born journalist Maziar Bahari was jailed for filming footage of a man being shot at one of the protests.  His sister was jailed by Ayatollah Khomeini and his father had been jailed by the Shah for being a Communist.  The story is interesting and gives Iran a human face from protesters to the interrogator of the Revolutionary Guard.  I recommend it highly.

Iran is a fascinating country.  Iran has made two serious attempts for democracy in the 20th century.  Once in 1905 only to be crushed by the British and the Russians and again in the 1950s only to be crushed by the United States.  I encourage my readers to watch the movie and do some research about the Iranian Constitutional Revolution from 1905-1911.  And research Mosaddiq in 1951.  My own research has led me to believe if there is a country that should have a liberal democracy and yet does not, it is Iran.    

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This is from PBS news and I have no ownership of this audio.

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Brave Sunni Arabs being slaughtered by ISIS

The Sunni Tribes who fought along U.S. forces against al-Qaeda in Iraq are now being killed and slaughtered by ISIS in Anbar province.  The U.S. began its relationship with the Sunni Tribes by bypassing the Iraqi government and working with them directly.  U.S. troops are needed to begin operations in this capacity immediately.  ISIS cannot be allowed to kill their Sunni Arab opposition.  The United States left these Sunnis alone to be protected by a Shi’ite partisan government and look at the results.  These Sunni Arabs had an important strategic relationship with the United States and never had much of a relationship with Baghdad. Responsibility for these Sunni Arabs lies with the United States.  Once U.S. troops drive ISIS back the Sunnis should be able to set up their own government and should not depend on Shi’ites to protect them. 

I am advocating a partition of Iraq into three states; a Sunni State, a Shi’ite State, and Kurdistan.  The only way to accomplish this is with U.S. troops directly confronting ISIS in Iraq.

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Black Turn Out Depressing

Democrats ran away from Obama in the hope of winning more conservative states like Kansas, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Kentucky competing for the angry white vote.  Surprise, surprise this strategy failed.  They needed a large turnout from the black community to win any of these states.  Barack Obama and Michele Obama should have been campaigning non-stop all over the country for the sole purpose of getting out the black vote.  The black vote has always put Democrats over the top since Truman and was the most important voting bloc in this election.  Winning any state in the South without blacks turning out to the polls in record numbers is not possible for democrats.  Obama should have been the key to winning this election.  Democrats are frightened of their own shadow and run away from their most successful policies.   

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Misogyny in the Islamic World

Rula Jebreal went on Real Time with Bill Maher to confront him on statements he has made comparing Islam to the Mafia: “if you insult Islam they whack you.”  Rula Jebreal claimed Bill Maher is making generalizations about a large group of people without making any distinctions such as the difference between Sufis and Salafists.  This is a fine point to make, but Bill Maher is a comedian and it does not take a lot of courage or thought to stand up to him on this point.  It seems counterproductive to call him a bigot.  I would not call him a bigot any more than I would call Don Rickles a bigot.  Unfortunately, what Bill Maher is saying about Islam rings true and that is all a comedian needs to make something funny.  If someone depicts Muhammad or threatens to burn a Koran, even in the western world, they will receive death threats and be censored.  It takes a lot more courage to stand up to pervasive misogyny and bigotry in the Islamic world than it takes to stand up to Bill Maher.   

Rula Jebral is a moderate, secular Muslim from Palestine and should speak about her positive experience in the Muslim world.  Her experience is relevant.  Ayaan Hirsi Ali's experience is also relevant.   Ayaan had amazing courage crossing borders with refugees in Africa to criticizing Islam in the Netherlands.  Rula Jebral has to admit that Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s experience is also relevant and not outside the mainstream.  It is fair to say that the wide spread misogyny all over the Muslim world is common place and needs to be acknowledged by moderates.  Even in Indonesia there are principalities with Sharia police.  The Turkish Deputy Prime Minister said women should not laugh out loud in public.  The Muslims standing up against this pervasive bigotry have courage and credibility.    

Rula Jebral is brave for standing up against Israeli policy on Western T.V., but I think she really needs to acknowledge and fight against wide spread bigotry and misogyny in the Islamic world.  It is not a small or marginal problem.

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Putin

Putin claims there are no Russian soldiers in Ukraine.  They had no role in annexing Crimea or in surrounding Ukrainian troops in the East. 

Obama should supply arms to Ukraine through Lithuania and deny any U.S. support for the Ukrainian military.  Then Obama should supply Poland with long range missiles for testing and condemn Poland for their actions.  Two can play this game.

Russia has signed two treaties:

1)     Respecting the sovereignty of Ukraine

2)     Ban on testing long range missiles

Putin has made these treaties null and void.  It is time for the United Stated to stop pretending otherwise.   The U.S. can afford to stand up to Putin and it will provide China with something to think about as they assert their power in disputed seas.  Grow a backbone Obama.