This and That...

[Warph]

Top Pentagon Brass Hold Service To Sign New Document Enshrining Political Correctness In The Military

(Holy Sh!t... we're in the middle of a war and this is their top priority?  Hagel, Dempsey... you're A$$HOLES!)

Via PJ Media:

The nation's top military brass gathered in the Pentagon auditorium Monday to pull out their pens and sign a ceremonial document vowing to "create an inclusive environment that values diversity and fosters mutual respect and cooperation among all persons."

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey led the signing of the 2014 Human Goals Charter: "the cornerstone document governing the Defense Department's fair treatment of people, as well as its diversity and equity programs."

The document was updated this year to reflect the end of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy against gays serving openly in the military.

"This ceremony, as has been noted, marks an important milestone in our efforts to ensure that the Department of Defense remains a place of progress, progress in opportunity for all people, military and civilian. Today, we reaffirm that our most important resource is our people," Hagel said. "I know all the leaders in this room and all over the world share our belief that you take care of your people first, and to fulfill that commitment, we must ensure that every man and every woman in this department has the opportunity to succeed, excel and reach their full potential. That is the purpose of DOD's Human Goals Charter."

Printed on parchment-style paper, Hagel noted that "the values expressed in the charter are as old as America itself."

The charter states that "our nation was founded on the principle that each individual has infinite dignity and worth," and stresses that the Pentagon must recognize the "individual needs, aspirations, and capabilities" of its service members and civilian employees.

[Warph]

Mooch Obuma Quietly Spends Weekend At Luxury Resort

Via WaPo:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/wp/2014/04/28/michelle-obama-spotted-at-the-salamander-resort-in-middleburg/

Hey isn't that... First lady Michelle Obama spending a quiet weekend in Middleburg with daughters Malia and Sasha in tow at the tony Salamander Resort. While the president was being trailed by flashing cameras and notebook-wielding reporters on a four-country tour through Asia, Michelle Obama's itinerary was a tad bit more low-key. On Friday she was spotted in the lobby of the luxury resort owned by multimillionaire Sheila Johnson.

Leigh Edgerton, an alum of the all-girls high school Foxcroft, which celebrated its centennial that same weekend, locked eyes with the first lady on Friday evening.

"She was walking through the lobby and everyone stood up and started clapping,' explained Edgerton. "She looked right at me and said, 'Hi, everybody, I hope you're having fun,' and I raised my arms in the air and said with a big smile 'I am!'" Edgerton admitted, perhaps unnecessarily, to being a big fan of the first lady, who wasn't spotted again until Sunday when a tipster saw her having lunch on a private terrace with a group of around 20.

Another source tells us that on Saturday afternoon he and his wife were turned away from Boxwood Winery owned by John Kent Cooke (son of former Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke) because the estate was closed for a "private event." Boxwood posted a picture of the first lady dressed casually in khaki pants, her hair held back with a long scarf, on its Facebook page with the caption, "Thank you Michelle Obama for visiting us today! We enjoyed hosting you and your wonderful friends!"

(And it only costs a minimum of $814 per night... wonder if taxpayer money was involved.  Nah.)

Via Salamander Resort:

[Ross]

[Warph]

Blowout: Fox News 5th Most Watched Cable Channel In April, MSNBC 28th, CNN 31st

(Wait... I thought only racists watched Fox?)

Via TV Newswer:
Fox News was the top cable news network for the month of April, averaging 1,614,000 viewers in primetime and 960,000 viewers in total day. Fox News placed fifth in primetime and sixth in total day among all ad-supported cable networks for the month.

MSNBC placed 28th in primetime and 30th in total day, averaging 612,000 viewers and 356,000 viewers, respectively. CNN placed 31st in primetime and 30th in total day, delivering 533,000 primetime viewers and 420,000 total day viewers


RatingsCable Network Ranker: For Month April 2014http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cable-network-ranker-april-2014_b223232

Fox News was the top cable news network for the month of April, averaging 1,614,000 viewers in primetime and 960,000 viewers in total day. Fox News placed fifth in primetime and sixth in total day among all ad-supported cable networks for the month.

MSNBC placed 28th in primetime and 30th in total day, averaging 612,000 viewers and 356,000 viewers, respectively. CNN placed 31st in primetime and 30th in total day, delivering 533,000 primetime viewers and 420,000 total day viewers.

TNT, USA, TBS and the History Channel rounded out the top five primetime networks for the month.

[Warph]

Malaysian Muslim Group Says Medical Association Disrespecting
Islam By Forbidding Doctors To Amputate Hands Under Sharia Law

(Then again, it is in the Koran)

KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 —
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/medical-association-disrespected-muslims-over-amputations-under-hudud-says

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has disrespected Muslims and Muslim doctors by threatening to axe doctors who perform amputations under hudud, according to Muslim medical practitioners' group i-Medik.

Muslim doctors have sworn to an Islamic doctor's oath which also binds them to Islam as a way of life and the implementation of Islamic laws including hudud, it added.

"A Muslim doctor performs his task according to the Islamic medical doctor's oath, which fully supports Islam as a way of life, and this includes fully supporting Shariah laws," i-Medik chairman Prof Dr Azmi Md Nor said.

His message was carried on Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia's (Isma) website. i-Medik is allied to Isma.

Dr Azmi did not specify which Islamic oath he was referring to, and how it differs with the Hippocratic Oath taken by all doctors.

The Hippocratic Oath states, among others, that doctors must never do harm to anyone, and must do what is best for their patients.

According to the group, MMA had been hasty in its warning and does not understand the controversial Islamic penal code.

"If MMA does not agree with hudud suggestion for Kelantan, it cannot make hudud as a joke for the 63.1 per cent Muslims in Malaysia," warned Dr Azmi.

[Warph]

Museum Devoted To Islam Planned Near 9/11 Ground Zero

(Nauseating... NYCity is a lost cause)

Via The Crappy NY Times:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/30/nyregion/developer-scales-back-plans-for-muslim-center-near-ground-zero.html?_r=1&referrer=

The developer whose proposal to build a Muslim community center and mosque near the World Trade Center failed amid a national controversy three years ago said Tuesday that he now plans to construct a museum devoted to Islam in the same location.

Sharif El-Gamal, the developer, said through a spokesman that instead of a $100 million, 15-story community center and prayer space, he now planned a smaller, three-story museum "dedicated to exploring the faith of Islam and its arts and culture." The building would also include a sanctuary for prayer services and community programs.

To make the plan more attractive to neighbors, he said in a statement, he had commissioned a French architect, Jean Nouvel, winner of the 2008 Pritzker Prize, to design the building at 45-51 Park Place, about two blocks from the former World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, and had included plans for a public green space.

"This is a more tailored approach, both physically and programmatically," said Hank Sheinkopf, a spokesman for Mr. El-Gamal. "It will prove to be an important addition to the neighborhood and to New York City's arts and cultural community."

The museum will be a 5,000-square-foot, three-story structure, Mr. Sheinkopf said, adding that the dimensions and design are still in development. He said Mr. El-Gamal's signing of Mr. Nouvel "shows his serious commitment to realizing this project."

[Warph]

Internal Email Shows State Dept Concluded Within Hours Of
Benghazi Attack That Ansar Al Sharia Was Behind It

(How will the White House explain this one away?)

Via Sharyl Attkisson:

A newly-released government email indicates that within hours of the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on Americans in Benghazi, Libya; the State Department had already concluded with certainty that the Islamic militia terrorist group Ansar al Sharia was to blame.

The private, internal communication directly contradicts the message that President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice and White House press secretary Jay Carney repeated publicly over the course of the next several weeks. They often maintained that an anti-Islamic YouTube video inspired a spontaneous demonstration that escalated into violence.

The email is entitled "Libya update from Beth Jones." Jones was then-Assistant Secretary of State to Hillary Clinton. According to the email, Jones spoke to Libya's Ambassador at 9:45am on Sept. 12, 2012 following the attacks.

"When [the Libyan Ambassador] said his government suspected that former Qaddafi regime elements carried out the attacks, I told him the group that conducted the attacks—Ansar Al Sharia—is affiliated with Islamic extremists," Jones reports in the email.

(That's one of the reasons that when the President of Libya was interviewed that same Sunday as Susan Rice, he said it was definitely a terrorist attack, and any conclusion it was a protest was ridiculous.  Then he felt he had been sold down the river after Susan Rice came out with her comments)

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/16/libyan-president-megaryef-al-qaeda-behind-deadly-attack-on-us-consulate/

[Warph]

General Testifies U.S. Officials Knew Benghazi Was
A Terror Attack "Very, Very Soon"

(Confirmed by this week's email revelations)

Via The Hill:
http://thehill.com/homenews/204999-republicans-turn-up-heat-on-white-house-over-benghazi

U.S. military personnel realized early on during the Benghazi attack that it was a "hostile action," and not a protest that escalated, a retired U.S. general told lawmakers on Thursday.

"What we did know early on was that this was a hostile action," Retired Air Force Brigadier General Robert Lovell told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "This was no demonstration gone terribly awry."

Lovell served as deputy director for intelligence for U.S. Africa Command headquarters in Germany during the Benghazi attack.

Republicans have charged that the White House initially linked the September 11, 2012, attack to a protest because it wanted to play down the idea it was a terrorist attack amid the presidential election that year.

Administration officials in the days after the attack linked it to protests of an anti-Islamic video that had circulated online.

Since then, the administration has acknowledged the attack was an act of terrorism, but Republicans have revisited the issue this week since the release of new emails from White House adviser Ben Rhodes.

In those emails, sent in advance of television appearances by then-United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, Rhodes said officials should make it a goal to show that the protests were based on an Internet video.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) asked Lovell how soon he and other U.S. officials knew it was an attack involving an al Qaeda-affiliated group.

"Very, very soon. When we were still in the early hours of this activity," Lovell said.

[Warph]

Welcome To 'Operation Chokepoint'-The DOJ's Massive Overreach To Shut Down Lawful Businesses They Don't Like

Are you involved in any of the following businesses?

Ammunition Sales
Cable Box De-scramblers
Coin Dealers
Credit Card Schemes
Credit Repair Services
Dating Services
Debt Consolidation Scams
Drug Paraphernalia
Escort Services
Firearms Sales
Fireworks Sales
Get Rich Products
Government Grants
Home-Based Charities
Life-Time Guarantees
Life-Time Memberships
Lottery Sales
Mailing Lists/Personal Info
Money Transfer Networks
On-line Gambling
PayDay Loans
Pharmaceutical Sales
Ponzi Schemes
Pornography
Pyramid-Type Sales
Racist Materials
Surveillance Equipment
Telemarketing
Tobacco Sales
Travel Clubs

Had any trouble with your accounts of late? Well, if so, the DOJ may be trying to shut you down by making it uncomfortable for banks to handle your accounts, as Teagen Presley found out 


Teagan Presley, a former porn star, [found] out she was suddenly no longer a Chase customer. When Presley went to the bank in person to ask why, she was told it's because she's considered "high risk."

"And then they told me that they canceled my husband's account too, because our social security numbers are linked," Presley told VICE News. "They told him that it was because I'm a notorious adult star. Which is funny, because I'm kind of a goody-goody in the business, and I'm not even doing porn anymore."

US Department of Justice's "Operation Choke Point" asks banks to identify customers who may be breaking the law or simply doing something government officials don't like. Banks are then told they must "choke off" those customers' access to financial services, shutting down their accounts. The secretive operation began in 2013.

At Techdirt yesterday, Timothy Geigner, after noting that many porn stars have had their accounts arbitrarily closed because of "high risk," made a number of extremely salient points:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140430/12191027079/chase-bank-slutshaming-might-only-be-them-dancing-to-dojs-twisted-puppet-strings.shtml

Let's not mince words: a program that was built upon the goals of stopping financial fraud has devolved into a massive government overreach into private businesses that are operating within the law. ... The intention of the government, it would seem, is to make the banks unwilling to deal with the government harassment and simply cut anyone in those industries off from the financial institutions. Nobody is happy about this.

As Newsbusters notes:


First, DOJ doesn't have the constitutional authority to go after businesses whose illegality has not been established by threatening their bank and financial services providers with legal sanctions and regulatory harassment if they don't participate in the persecution. There are these things called laws which must be passed to declare certain financial practices and contracts illegal. That hasn't happened. Short of that, there at least need to be court rulings having the same effect. There is apparently no evidence that DOJ has involved the courts at all.

The second is that although the bankers' montage concentrated on payday lenders, many more business endeavors besides payday lending are involved. At least some of them, as odious as nanny-state officials and other might believe they are, operate legally.

You can read more from Newsbusters here.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2014/05/02/establishment-press-has-virtually-ignored-dojs-pernicious-operation-chok

While one might point to such things as payday lending or get rich quick schemes as perhaps being on the margins and maybe even illegally operating in some instances, most of the businesses on the list have no inherent illegality, particularly those I bolded. They are only 'questionable' because they are not liked by the Obama regime.

This should frighten any business owner and anyone who frequents a business. In other words, all of us.

What happens if the Obama regime declares you or your business 'high risk' tomorrow?

[Warph]

Breaking:  11 Terrorists With Links To Al Qaeda Arrested, Questioned In Regard To Missing Malaysian Plane MH370

Via NY Post:
http://nypost.com/2014/05/03/11-terrorists-arrested-in-connection-to-missing-jet/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow

Members of a violent cell of al Qaeda-linked terrorists are being questioned in connection with the disappearance of Flight MH370, according to several British press reports.

International law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Britain's MI6, asked Malaysian authorities to conduct intense interrogations of the 11 militants, who range in age from 22 to 55 and include students, business professionals and a young widow, the Mail newspaper said.

They were all arrested in Malaysia last week.

An officer with the Counter Terrorism Division of Malaysia's Special Branch said the arrests have increased concern that terrorists may have taken control of the plane.

"The possibility that the plane was diverted by militants is still high on the list,'' the officer said.

"International investigators have asked for a comprehensive report on this new terror group.''

The official revealed that the suspects admitted planning "sustained terror campaigns in Malaysia,'' but insisted their group had nothing to do with the plane.

The Beijing-bound plane vanished two months ago with 239 people aboard.

A massive hunt for the aircraft, which is believed to have gone down in the Indian Ocean, has turned up no wreckage.