Dreams Into Lightning 2

Morning Report: 2013-05-30

Syria says its shipment of Russian S-300 missiles (registration) has arrived.

Burmese changes: 'After 50 years of brutal military rule, Myanmar’s democratic opening has been swift and startling...'.

Over the past two years dramatic reforms introduced by a new president, Thein Sein, prompted by the country’s increasingly desperate economic straits, have started a rapid transition from secretive isolation to an open democracy of sorts. The mere fact of such a change taking place has surprised the world; its speed and breadth have caused widespread bewilderment.

China interested in the Azores?

"Hundreds of thousands" of AP phone records seized, says CEO Gary Pruitt.

Richard Fernandez examines the dangers of recruiting informants - if indeed that is the reason so many warnings about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the Boston Bomber; Michael Adebolajo, the Woolwich beheader and Alexandre D. the Parisian neck-stabber were ignored.

The biggest cost to using informants is that they can in the meantime continue their life of crime. In fact, they are often expected to proceed as before in order to rise ever higher in the hierarchy of the target. The crimes they may naturally commit along the way often go unpunished. The price of catching the big fish is feeding it bait.

Morning Report: 2013-05-26

Tea Party groups to sue IRS. Jay Devereaux and his Florida-based group Unite in Action are among those preparing to sue the IRS for allegedly targeting Tea Party groups.

Swedish citizens take to the streets to defend their property from rioting immigrants.

Britons protest the brutal killing of British soldier Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich. Tommy Robinson speaks on Woolwich (video at link).

Morning Report: 2013-04-07

South Korea expects North to test missile soon. 'A top South Korean national security official said Sunday that North Korea may be setting the stage for a missile test or another provocative act with its warning that it soon will be unable to guarantee diplomats' safety in Pyongyang. But he added that the North's clearest objective is to extract concessions from Washington and Seoul. ...'

Anonymous pwned.

Hackers purporting to be affiliated with the collective Anonymous have for days been threatening a massive cyber attack against Israel on Sunday. Their stated vow: to “erase Israel from cyberspace.”

While Israeli government websites appeared to be functioning as of Sunday morning Israel time, Israel supporters had a surprise for the would-be attackers. The OpIsrael website associated with some of the anti-Israel hackers was itself hacked and late Saturday was playing Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah. ...

Kerry lands in Israel. US Secretary of State John Kerry has landed in Israel for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

Morning Report: 2013-01-04

Pakistan: Malala Yousafzai released from hospital. CNN: 'Nearly three months after she was rushed to Britain for life-saving treatment for gunshot injuries, Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai has recovered enough strength to be discharged, a hospital said Friday.' The 15-year-old blogger was shot by the Taliban for advocating girls' education. Ottawa Citizen has more.

Israel: Invisible kippot. Menachem Rahat at the Jewish Press covers the rise of the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) party.

Morning Report: 2013-01-02

France: Charlie Hebdo publishes Mohammed comic. The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published on Wednesday a comic book biography of Islam's founder entitled "The Life of Mohammad," based on writings by a Franco-Tunisian sociologist.

Turkey: Erdogan talks to Kurds. Walter Russell Mead: 'It’s all very messy and complicated, but a settlement with the PKK would bring big advantages to Turkey—not least an end to the guerrilla war in the southeast, which has drained a lot of blood and treasure and hampers Turkey’s efforts to exert influence in the region.'

Space: Giant leaps for private space travel. Space.com: 'Of the many spacecraft being developed only one has already flown in space, the Dragon capsule built by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) in Hawthorne, Calif.The unmanned cargo ship has flown in space three times so far, and carried supplies to the International Space Station twice in 2012 — first in May during a test and then again October. ...' But there's lots more in the works. Full article at the link.

Commentary: Scary times - VDH.

There is no historical appreciation among the new progressive technocracy that central state planning, whether the toxic communist brand or supposedly benevolent socialism, has only left millions of corpses in its wake, or abject poverty and misery. Add up the Soviet Union and Mao’s China and the sum is 80 million murdered or starved to death. Add up North Korea, Cuba, and the former Eastern Europe, and the tally is egalitarian poverty and hopelessness. The EU sacrificed democratic institutions for coerced utopianism and still failed, leaving its Mediterranean shore bankrupt and despondent.

Nor is there much philosophical worry that giving people massive subsidies destroys individualism, the work ethic, and the personal sense of accomplishment. There is rarely worry expressed that a profligate nation that borrows from others abroad and those not born has no moral compass. ...

Morning Report: 2013-01-01

Pakistan: Gunmen kill seven charity workers. Fox: 'Gunmen killed five female teachers and two other people on Tuesday in an ambush on a van carrying workers home from their jobs at a community center in northwest Pakistan, officials said. The van was transporting teachers and aid workers from the center in conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Two health workers, one man and one woman, were also killed and the driver was wounded.' BBC has more, with a map. Workers at the center say they suspect its vaccination program is the target of the attacks; last month nine health workers were killed during a national polio vaccination drive.

India: Delhi gangrape protests continue. Hindustan Times: 'The capital on Tuesday continued to witness protests against the Delhi gangrape, with a modest gathering at Jantar Mantar demanding strong law against sexual offences. Some people continued their fast demanding stringent punishment for the culprits involved in the gangrape of the 23-year-old paramedic student, who died last Saturday.' Via Rantburg, The cops stated that after throwing the victim out of the moving bus, the accused had tried to crush her under the bus.

Syria: Fighting continues near Aleppo airport, throughout country. Fierce clashes have erupted near the international airport in Syria's second city of Aleppo, officials say. Syrians woke on New Year's Day toc ountrywide aerial bombardment, while President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebels fighting to topple him clashed on the outskirts of the capital.

Saudi Arabia: Women refuse to segregate. A group of conservative man who wanted to attend the “Saudi Elite and Alienation Issues” lecture this week at the Jeddah Literary Club protested against the presence of women in the same room as men and threatened to leave if they were not moved to another room. However, the women refused to move room and insisted on remaining in the main hall to listen to the lecture.

Azerbaijan: Rent hike prices Russian radar out. Strategy Page:

January 1, 2013: Russia has decided to shut down its Daryal type long range missile detection radar in Azerbaijan after the Azerbaijanis demanded that a new lease increase annual rent from $7 million to $300 million. Russia refused to pay and will shut down the Azerbaijan radar and dismantle it. The ten year lease ended on December 24, 2012. This radar went operational in 1983 and was supposed to be one of seven. But the end of the Cold War halted that project and only one other Daryal radar was built (on the north coast of Russia). That one detected missiles coming in over the North Pole from North America. The radar in Azerbaijan covered all of the Middle East and India. Its role will be assumed by a more recent radar design that recently went into service on the Black Sea coast. Russia had offered to upgrade the Azerbaijan radar and pay more rent, but not $293 million more a year more. In addition, Russia has always paid Azerbaijan $5 million a year for electricity and $10 million a year for other services. About 500 Azerbaijanis were employed at the radar station, in addition to 1,100 Russians.

Morning Report: 2012-11-27

Libya: Muslim group kidnaps, threatens to kill alleged gays. Libya Herald:

Extremists say they will execute a dozen men they allege are homosexuals, whom they abducted last Thursday at a private party in Tripoli’s Ain Zara district.

A body calling itself the ‘Private Deterrent Force’, which is believed to be part of the extremist Nawasi brigade, one of Tripoli’s largest militias, has posted images of the men on their Facebook page. One picture (above) shows them, heads covered, standing with their hands against a wall. ...

Tajikistan: Government blocks Facebook to stifle critics. Reuters: 'Tajikistan has blocked access to Facebook in response to a slew of comments spreading "mud and slander" about veteran President Imomali Rakhmon and officials in the Central Asian republic. The ban on the popular social networking site is the latest crackdown on dissent in Tajikistan a year before an election that could extend Rakhmon's two-decade rule. ...'
Hungary: Far-right leader demands lists of Jews. Also from Reuters: 'A Hungarian far-right politician urged the government to draw up lists of Jews who pose a "national security risk", stirring outrage among Jewish leaders who saw echoes of fascist policies that led to the Holocaust. Marton Gyongyosi, a leader of Hungary's third-strongest political party Jobbik, said the list was necessary because of heightened tensions following the brief conflict in Gaza and should include members of parliament. ...'
Mexico: Ex-mayor found dead. Breitbart: 'Former Mexican Mayor Maria Santos Gorrostieta was found dead on the side of the road. Gorrostieta previously survived two assassination attempts. ...' She was known for her fearless activity against drug cartels in Tiquicheo.
Brazil: São Paulo police chiefs replaced. Miami Herald: 'The chiefs of police in Sao Paulo were replaced on Monday as Brazil's largest city emerged from a bloody weekend and authorities struggled to contain a wave of violence that has doubled the murder rate in recent months. Sao Paulo state security chief Fernando Grella, who took over the job four days ago, replaced the chiefs of the civil and military branches of the police and vowed to work closely with police, put more officers in the streets of Sao Paulo and investigate every murder. ...'

Morning Report: 2012-11-26

USA: New Obamacare challenge. Breitbart:

The Supreme Court has now reinstated a major challenge to Obamacare. Liberty University is challenging both the Individual Mandate and the Employer Mandate of the Affordable Care Act. (Of those two, the latter is even more damaging to the economy and job creation.) A liberal panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit had thrown out the case last year, saying that the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) does not permit any federal court to rule on the merits of challenges to the Individual Mandate until that requirement goes into effect in 2014.

In its Jun. 28 opinion in NFIB v. Sebelius, the justices unanimously rejected this AIA argument. So Mat Staver, who is both dean of Liberty's law school and chairman of the law firm representing the university, filed a petition for rehearing.

The Supreme Court granted that petition today. ...

Israel / international: Jewish self-defense, widespread anti-Semitism. Tablet: 'Despite the ability of Israel to cobble together a pretty impressive base of international support for its recent operation in Gaza, there were places where, almost by routine, the Israeli efforts were met by a surge of anti-Semitic reactions. ...' Atlas Shrugs has more.

Nigeria: Muslims blow up church, killing 11. Also from Atlas:

Two suicide attacks on a church in an army barracks in the northern Nigerian town of Jaji on Sunday left eleven people dead and 30 injured, the army said.

"Eleven people, mostly worshippers, were killed while 30 are in the hospitals with various degrees of injuries," national army spokesman Brigadier General Bola Koleosho told AFP.

A military officer who did not want to be named said the Protestant church was hit by two explosions.

"The first blast caused no casualties and curious worshippers gathered around the scene looking at the debris... and that was when the second blast happened," he said. ...

Egypt: Morsi becomes new Pharaoh. Michael Totten:

It makes no difference that he was elected. Democracy isn’t just about getting elected. A democratic election is not a one-time plebiscite on who the next tyrant is going to be. Democracy requires individual and minority rights and the separation of powers. Winners cannot oppress losers, nor do losers get to wage war on the winners.

Some of us are more surprised than others by this development, but the Muslim Brotherhood was never a democratic political movement. It's not even a close call. You don't have to be a cheerleader for Hosni Mubarak to recognize its inherent authoritarianism. ...

Read the rest for the experiences of some genuine liberals, who are isolated and outnumbered in this revolution.

Morning Report: 2012-11-25

Mexico: The other United States. Mexico's lame-duck president Felipe Calderon announced he will attempt to formally change the country’s name by taking “United States” out of it.

Egypt: Morsi's decree triggers new protests. Egypt's first democratically elected president asserted nearly unlimited powers, as rival crowds of demonstrators poured into the streets of Cairo. Egyptian opposition activists have vowed to stage a sit-in in Cairo in a protest against the president's move to grant himself extensive new powers.

UK: Girl, 11, victim in brutal sex assault. An 11-year-old schoolgirl was subjected to a "brutal" sex attack in a north London park after getting off her bus.

Israel / Hamas: UK officer says terrorists on the run. Israel achieved the goals it set for itself in Gaza, causing Hamas leaders to “run for their lives”, Britain's Colonel Richard Kemp told Arutz Sheva this week.

USA: Distributed costs, concentrated benefits favor Democrats nationally - analysis. John Hinderaker at Power Line:

At the national level, however, you can’t bring about good governance anyway, so you might as well elect Democrats who will bring home the bacon. Such thinking explains why the solidly-red Dakotas, among other states, have contributed a depressing number of Democrats to the Senate and, to a lesser degree, the House.

This is not to deny that the liberal media have a huge influence on national elections; of course they do. And it is also true, as Glenn says, that state and local issues don’t tend to be demagogued as relentlessly as national ones. But I think that what is mainly going on is that many voters are more concerned about fiscal responsibility at the state and local level than the national level, for the simple reason that the states can’t print money, and rely on sales and property taxes, along with, in most cases, relatively flat income taxes. Therefore, voters know that if they vote for more state spending, they will have to pay for it.

At the national level, we have seen an increasing disconnect between spending and payment. This is partly because most people pay either no, or very modest, federal income taxes, and partly because 40% of all federal spending is borrowed, so that our children will have to pay for it. To the average voter, federal money must seem to appear almost magically. ...

Morning Report: 2012-11-19

Israel: Tel Aviv under fire. Via Adam Chandler at Tablet, a letter from Tel Aviv:

When the first siren went off, I was still at work, where there were visitors from abroad, including some higher-ups. After some initial confusion–I, for one, have only heard the air raid sirens on Yom Hashoah and Yom Hazikaron–we headed for the conference room that doubles as a shelter.

My wife was at home and ran to the bomb shelter downstairs, which after months of haggling over a key, the lady in charge in our building had opened in the morning. The rate of the long-range launches (one every day or so) leads me to believe that Hamas is sitting on a very small stockpile, which is good, because despite years on the edge of our seats anticipating a potential attack on Iran, Tel Aviv is not really prepared for a sustained short-range rocket attack. ...

Meanwhile, via Breitbart, the Obama administration is sending $147 million to Hamas-run Gaza.