Gerry Charlotte Phelps

That Notorious One Percent

         (Image from savecivilization.org)

Economist Thomas Sowell, Fellow of the Stanford Hoover Institute, has a great gift.  He makes economics simple.  He does it again, here to explain the notorious 1% wealthiest in the U.S.

A recent column by Anna Quindlen in Newsweek (or is that Newsweak?) laments that "the share of the nation's income going to the top 1 percent is at its highest level since 1928."

Who are those top one percent? For those who would like to join them, the question is: How can you do that?

Easy: you can join them by selling your house in San Francisco (if you have one.)

Virtually anyone who owns a home in San Francisco, no matter how modest that person's income may be, can join the top one percent instantly just by selling their house.

But that's only good for one year, you may say. What if they don't have another house to sell next year?  Well, they won't be in the top one percent again next year, will they? But that's not unusual.

Americans in the top one percent, like Americans in most income brackets, are not there permanently, despite being talked about and written about as if they are an enduring "class" -- especially by those who have overdosed on the magic formula of "race, class and gender," which has replaced thought in many intellectual circles.

Recent data from the Internal Revenue Service show that more than half the people who were in the top one percent in 1996 were no longer there in 2005.  Among the top one-hundredth of one percent, three-quarters of them were no longer there at the end of the decade.

This kind of movement between income groups happens all the time, to and from all income groups, here and here.  In the U.S. there are no permanent income classes, but constant movement between income groups.

Among corporate CEOs, those who cash in stock options that they have accumulated over the years get a big spike in income the year that they cash them in. This lets critics quote inflated incomes of the top-paid CEOs for that year. Some of these incomes are almost as large as those of big-time entertainers -- who are never accused of "greed," by the way.

Sowell points out:

Most Americans in the top fifth, the bottom fifth, or any of the fifths in between, do not stay there for a whole decade, much less for life. And most certainly do not remain permanently in the top one percent or the top one-hundredth of one percent.

So why does it seem like the richest 1% is mostly the same group?  It is the way statistics are gathered, he explains.

Most income statistics do not follow given individuals from year to year, the way Internal Revenue statistics do. But those other statistics can create the misleading illusion that they do by comparing income brackets from year to year, even though people are moving in and out of those brackets all the time.

That especially includes the top one percent, who have become the focus of so much angst and so much rhetoric.

War Movies That Miss The Story

Most war movies are not actually about war, but are soap operas where the war is merely a backdrop.  So says Wretchard the Cat today at the Belmont Club, here.  He adds that the movie that was actually the best WWII movie was Casablanca.  That although it did not show even one battle scene - most of the action took place in a saloon - it was more truly about the war, what it cost and why it was being fought, than any other movie.  He writes:

But because it explored the great issues of a civilization torn between barbarism and freedom and the dilemmas of people caught in its tides it became, by popular acclaim, the greatest war movie of the 20th century...Every line in the script was devoted to the War and its effect on the fugitives in Rick's Cafe.

As evidence, he offers this film clip from the ending of Casablanca.

Wretchard also writes that:

Since September 11, 2001 only one film has come remotely close to being the Casablanca of the war on terror: the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This is not as surprising as it might seem. JRR Tolkien was a combat veteran of the Great War...

It's the themes that speak to us.  And it should not have been surprising to hear, in Peter Jackson's film, echoes of so many of the lines that I learned by heart in the endless screenings of Casablanca at the Brattle Street theater in Harvard Square.

Here are Humphrey Bogart and Sean Astin delivering essentially the same lines.

But read the whole fascinating article!

You Gotta See 'Bella!'

                                  (Image from jpcatholic.com)

A rare jewel of a movie.  Powerful and passionate, yet intimate and profoundly moving.  Rings true. In fact, based on a true story.  Already winner of many prizes.  Brings tears to eyes, willing or not. 

You gotta see this one!  But hurry - its run is almost over.  Don't miss it! 

                                             (Preview of "Bella)

"Bella" is a moving portrait of a broken man who's brought back to life through helping an anguished woman.

The little-known cast is sensational.  Star Eduardo Verastegui, Mexican leading man (the 'Brad Pitt of Latin America') brings quiet intensity and great heart to his portrayal of Jose, a man hiding behind a beard, after a sudden fall from soccer star to chef in a Mexican restaurant.  Co-star Tammy Blanchard is pitch-perfect as Nina, a just-fired waitress, newly pregnant, tough, and alone in the world.  Both absolutely earned Oscars!  One only hopes they will get them. 

There are also other Oscar-candidates in this tremendous movie:  Jose's brother Manny (Manuel Perez), truly outstanding; and Jose's parents (Angelica Aragon and Jaime Terelli) who make us acutely homesick for the Hispanic families we have known. 

__

Then in a brilliant role almost too brief to register, Ali Landry as Celia, a just-bereaved young mother.  Her sudden grief is excruciatingly real as she attacks Jose, runs away from him to a cop, but back to Jose again, the one whose trauma mirrors her own.  If she does not get an Oscar nomination for this, it simply would not be fair.

__

"Bella" is based on a true story, about a soccer pro whose life is forever changed by a horrible accident.  It is also a tearjerker, true.  But one you will long remember and probably, want to see again some day.

(Some other links about "Bella."  http://backyardconservative.blogspot.com/2006/11/bella-movie.html, for who made the movie and why;  more information from http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=/Commentary/archive/200710/COM20071023c.html , interviews and trailers from http://www.bellamoviesite.com/resources/news/archives/category/news.)

They Are Expecting You

                                (Image from neatorama.cachefly.net)

Rubel Shelly, guest blogger today, writes:

It was a Sunday morning.  A bright and perky mom went in to wake her son and tell him it was time to get up, eat a bite of breakfast, and get dressed for church.  "I'm not going!" he announced.  There was a sullen tone in his voice.

"Hold on, young man!" she replied.  "You know the Sunday routine in this house.  Why don't you want to go to church today?"

"I'll give you two perfectly good reasons," he said.  "First, nobody likes me down at that church.  And second, I don't like them either."

Rather than get exasperated with her boy, the wise mother sat down on the side of his bed.  Rubbing his back very gently, she spoke in her most tender and comforting voice.  "Now, sweetheart, you know you shouldn't feel that way," she began.  "But let me give you two good reasons why you just must get out of bed and go with us.  First, you're 47 years old.  And second, you're the pastor."

Okay.  It's an old story you've heard before.  But it is marvelously adaptable.  It can be Monday mornnig, the people in that office, and their boss.  Or Wednesday morning, the nurses at the clinic, and the doctor.  It even works for Friday morning, traffic court, and the judge.  The reason it is such a flexibla story that fits practically every work situation is that we all have those days or seasons.

When things are going well and everybody's happy with you, there is no problem getting up, going to work, and doing your job.  But things don't always go well.  And people aren't always happy with you.  What then?

Have you noticed how many things are cyclical?  A few good months of sales may be followed by a lean time for the company.  Or maybe it's the mortgage business when interest rates are at historic lows, then the Federal Reserve starts inching rates up again.  It even happens in family life.  There are seasons of health and joy and laughter that seem to vanish overnight in the wake of a heart attack or auto accident or angry exchange.  Does that mean the good times are gone forever?  That it is right just to throw in the towell?

The Bible speaks of a virtue called perserverance.  This noble trait is also known as holding on, staying steady at the task, and persistence.  It deserves more credit than it gets.  And it needs to be cultivated in everyone's character.

Somebody occasionally needs to remind us that tasks need doing because they are ours.  We've made commitments with consequences.  Others are depending on us.  Once we carry through, the outcome can be trusted to the faithfulness and mercy of God.

So what's on your agenda for today?

______

For back issues and other resources please visit www.RubelShelly.com

"Christians, Come Back To Your Home, Iraq"

          Photo by independent embedded journalist Michael Yon, here. 

This is the same church pictured in my post 11/9/07, here, with Christians and Muslims putting the wooden cross back up on the church roof. 

Now Michael Yon reports this:

Today, Muslims mostly filled the front pews of St John’s. Muslims who want their Christian friends and neighbors to come home. The Christians who might see these photos likely will recognize their friends here.

The Muslims in this neighborhood worry that other people will take the homes of their Christian neighbors, and that the Christians will never come back. And so they came to St John’s today in force, and they showed their faces, and they said, “Come back to Iraq. Come home.”

They wanted the cameras to catch it. They wanted to spread the word: Come home. Muslims keep telling me to get it on the news. “Tell the Christians to come home to their country Iraq.”

                           LTC Stephen Michael at St John’s.   

Michael Yon writes:

LTC Michael told me today that when al Qaeda came to Dora, they began harassing Christians first, charging them “rent.”

It was the local Muslims, according to LTC Michael, who first came to him for help to protect the Christians in his area. That’s right. LTC Michael told me more than once that the Muslims reached out to him to protect the Christians from al Qaeda. Real Muslims here are quick to say that al Qaeda members are not true Muslims.

From charging “rent,” al Qaeda’s harassment escalated to killing Christians, and also Muslims. Untold thousands of Christians and Muslims fled Baghdad in the wake of the darkness of civil war.  Most of the Christians are gone now; having fled to Syria, Jordan or Northern Iraq.

                                                    The interpreter “Ice”

Yon writes:

Ice, pictured here with members of the congregation outside St John’s after mass, grew up in this neighborhood. His family is Christian and St. John’s is their church. I asked Ice if the Muslims treat the Christians poorly in Iraq, and he said what other Iraqi Christians and Muslims have also told me: an unequivocal “No.” Ice said they had no problems at all until al Qaeda instigated friction between people.

Elections Mean "Talking The Economy Down"

                  (Image from thumbs.dreamstime.com)

If it's election time, then it's time for one side to be "talking the economy down." That always would be the party that does not currently have the presidency, but who wants to get it this election.

So the economy is getting "talked down."  A recession is expected any moment, they say.  (And the sooner, the better, apparently.)  The discouraging points are ticked off.  The dollar is down.  Oil prices are up.  The housing "bubble" has burst. The stock market is down, and still queasy.  Oh, woe!

So - where is the economy, actually?  Are we better off?  Or worse off?  Is it time to panic yet?  To answer that, let me put on my economist hat for a minute:

No, it's not panic time.  In fact, the economy is still improving.  Hard to believe?  Well, listen to this:

-3.9% growth rate in the economy, best in 4 years [1]

-The Fed's core inflation rate is down to 1.9%, below its 2% target

-U.S. exports are soaring, canceling out the housing bust.  (Thanks, weak dollar!)

-Employment rates are holding steady - 125,000 new jobs, net, in October

-Individual income is 4.1% ahead of last year [2]

And thanks to the Bush tax cuts which brought in more tax revenue:

-Tha national deficit is down to $160 billion, just 1% of the GDP

Or, to quote Larry Kudlow, "If things are so bad, why are they so good?"

Remember that, the next time you hear all the doom and gloom: the housing bust, the price of oil, exporting jobs, Chinese competion, falling incomes, loss of jobs, income inequality - with true and false all mixed together.

Does that mean that parts of the economy are not doing well?  No.  Caution is still a good idea if you are in the stock market or thinking of buying or selling a home.  There is always bad news and good news.  But when you see the economy as a whole doing well, then the good news is outweighing the bad news.  You can relax.

Despite any bad news, the economy is still getting better - as it has been for some 5 years now.  It's just election time again.

____________

[1] 3rd quarter of 2007, in real gross domestic product, the best summary measurement of the economy.  See http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MWQwOGI0NDFlNjdkMTVjODg1YTY5NjBmNWZiMjg0MWE

[2] in after-tax, inflation-adjusted dollars, for a net gain of $344 billion

"Staying At the YMCA" - You Gotta See This

Credit and thanks to Signund, Carl and Alfred at http://sigmundcarlandalfred.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/how-bloggers-fudge/

(Never mind how long it is - you won't even care.)  (But it's short.)

"Sleep Beside Him One Last Time"

                       2nd Lt. James Cathey, coming home to Reno

                                   (scroll down for 2nd photo)                      

(Prize-winning photo from Todd Heissler, The Rocky Mountain News)

Note the passengers watching from the windows above.  Stuart Margel, Washington D.C., was a passenger on such a plane.  He wrote:

Last week, while traveling to Chicago on business, I noticed a Marine sergeant traveling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two together. After we boarded our flight, I turned to the sergeant, who'd been invited to sit in First Class (across from me), and inquired if he was heading home.

No, he responded.

Heading out I asked?

No. I'm escorting a soldier home.

Going to pick him up?

No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Iraq . I'm taking him home to his family.

The realization of what he had been asked to do hit me like a punch to the gut. It was an honor for him. He told me that, although he didn't know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldier's family and felt as if he knew them after many conversations in so few days. I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do so my family and I can do what we do.

Upon landing in Chicago the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announcement over the intercom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honor of having Sergeant Steeley of the United States Marine Corps join us on this flight. He is escorting a fallen comrade back home to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the forward door to allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign."

Without a sound, all went as requested. I noticed the sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realize that I am proud to be an American.

So here's a public Thank You to our military Men and Women for what you do so we can live the way we do.

During the arrival of another Marine's casket last year at Denver International Airport , Major Steve Beck described the scene as so powerful:

"See the people in the windows? They sat right there in the plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what's going through their minds, knowing that they're on the plane that brought him home," he said. "They will remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives.. They're going to remember bringing that Marine home. And they should."

                     "Sleep Beside Him One Last Time"

                 2nd Lt. James and Katherine Cathey

(Prize winning photo from Todd Heisler, The Rocky Mountain News)

The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept.

"I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it," she said. "I think that's what he would have wanted."

Hat Tip to Robert Martin.  And special thanks to tomtomforums .

John Wesley on YouTube

Here is a fascinating view of the young Wesley and the first Methodists.  Three brief videos, 3 minutes each.  Credit and thanks to Rev. Allan Bevere at www.arbevere.blogspot.com.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

New Invisible Tanks

Now you see it: How the tank might look with background images beamed onto the side  (Look closely at the back of the tank.  It's not all there, or so it would appear.  Just a faint haze)

                             (Image from dailymail.co.uk)

Reported by The Daily Mail, UK, on 10-30-07, here.

New technology that can make tanks invisible has been unveiled by the Ministry of Defence.

In secret trials last week, the Army said it had made a vehicle completely disappear and predicted that an invisible tank would be ready for service by 2012.

The new technology uses cameras and projectors to beam images of the surrounding landscape onto a tank.

The result is that anyone looking in the direction of the vehicle only sees what is beyond it and not the tank itself.

A soldier, who was at the trials, said: "This technology is incredible. If I hadn't been present I wouldn't have believed it. I looked across the fields and just saw grass and trees - but in reality I was staring down the barrel of a tank gun."

How the technology works in a combat situation is very sensitive, but the MoD is believed to be testing a military jacket that works on the same principles.

Breakthrough: The MoD's 'Q', Professor Sir John Pendry

It is the type of innovation normally associated with James Bond, and the brains behind the latest technology is the MoD's very own "Q" - Professor Sir John Pendry, of Imperial College London.

He said the only drawback was the reliability of the cameras and projectors.

But he added: "The next stage is to make the tank invisible without them - which is intricate and complicated, but possible."

Where Is Your Church - and When?

         (Image from collegeparkbaptist.org)

Not only where is your church, but when is it? And what is it?  Rubel Shelly, guest blogger,  tells this story:

Dr. Halverson was chaplain of the United STates Senate for several years.  He would occasionally visit the seminary where Cook was a student.  After one of those visits to speak to students, he joined a group of them for coffee and made himself available for informal conversation.

"Dr. Halverson," began one of the seminarians, "where is your church?"  The student was asking about the street location of the Presbyterian Church Halverson served, but he got a deeper and more insightful answer.

"Well, it's three o'clock in Washington, D.C.  The church I pastor is all over the city right now.  It's driving buses, serving meals in restaurants, sitting in board meetings, having discussions in the Pentabon, deliberating in Congress."  He proceeded with a long list of roles and responsibilities where his church was functioning that day.  "And periodically we get together at a building on Fourth Street," he added, "but we don't spend a lot of our time there."

Then Rubel comments,

The pastor-chaplain was not naive with his answer.  He was brilliant.  And he had the clear intent to challenge a young would-be pastor to raise his sights above the Sunday event of the church as an assembly.  Or even church as programs and budgets and organization.

The church was never intended to be isolated from the world but to penetrate it as salt does food.  Jesus wants his people to be "in the world" but not "of the world" - functioning as light to dark places.

Thanks Rubel.  I needed that.  Maybe some others could use it too.

(Rubel Shelly's weekly FAX of Life can be emailed to you free.  Just email him at GBCIII@aol.com )

Eerie Color Photos of WWI and Czarist Russia

Did you know there was color photography back during WWI?  These amazing photos give an unexpected peek into the world your grandparents, great and great-great grandparents saw, almost 100 years ago.

These photos are so incredible that I have taken the liberty of posting the entire post from the phenomenal blog of Frank Warner at http://frankwarner.typepad.com/free_frank_warner/2007/10/1910-in-color-a.html.  Here then is Frank Warner, guest blogger.  (Click on photos for enlargements)

_______________

1910 in color: A peek into Russia before Communism

Did you see the Seriously Cool web site’€™s remarkable photographs of France in the First World War? The big surprise is that the pictures are in color.

To me, the photos are as if the Internet suddenly gave us a time-travel portal to major historical events. Color pictures of 1917. Who knew?

The photos are real, and they are not colorized. They were taken using an early color film process.

Tsarist empire. That same web site has even older color pictures of Russia, also stunning. These are around 1910, and they also give you the sense you’€™re seeing something you couldn’€™t possibly be seeing.

They’€™re Russia before World War I, before the Red Revolution overthrew Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918). The pictures show us some of Russia’€™s most beautiful churches and cathedrals, usually in the sunshine, often in the most idyllic settings. You wonder if this is old Russia, or the land of Oz.

Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii took the pictures for the tsar.

There is graceful St. Nil Monastery, a study of blue on blue on Stolobnyi Island in Lake Seliger, northwest Russia. There is the ornate Cathedral of St. Nicholas, atop a green hill in rural Mozhaisk, Russia. There is a panoramic shot, with a depth of color, showing us the city of Tbilisi, Georgia, including the Metekhi Cliff on the Mtkvari River.

You can study these pictures and wonder what life was like that distant time in these remote locations. The scenes are so sunny and romantic it’€™s hard to imagine anyone could have been unhappy. Even color film can’€™t record unrest.

What were the Russians and Georgians of 1910 thinking on those green hills and under those blue skies? How many were stirring against the tsar? How many imagined a revolution or what would follow?

And just out of curiosity, what do these places look like today? Send postcards!

Frank Warner

Click here to see the rest of the color photos of 1910 Russia.

Click here to see the color pictures of the First World War.

____________

Thanks, Frank.  What a terrific post!

Did you see the Seriously Cool web site’€™s remarkable photographs of France in the First World War? The big surprise is that the pictures are in color.

To me, the photos are as if the Internet suddenly gave us a time-travel portal to major historical events. Color pictures of 1917. Who knew?

The photos are real, and they are not colorized. They were taken using an early color film process.

Tsarist empire. That same web site has even older color pictures of Russia, also stunning. These are around 1910, and they also give you the sense you’€™re seeing something you couldn’€™t possibly be seeing.

They’€™re Russia before World War I, before the Red Revolution overthrew Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918). The pictures show us some of Russia’€™s most beautiful churches and cathedrals, usually in the sunshine, often in the most idyllic settings. You wonder if this is old Russia, or the land of Oz.

Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii took the pictures for the tsar.

There is graceful St. Nil Monastery, a study of blue on blue on Stolobnyi Island in Lake Seliger, northwest Russia. There is the ornate Cathedral of St. Nicholas, atop a green hill in rural Mozhaisk, Russia. There is a panoramic shot, with a depth of color, showing us the city of Tbilisi, Georgia, including the Metekhi Cliff on the Mtkvari River.

You can study these pictures and wonder what life was like that distant time in these remote locations. The scenes are so sunny and romantic it’€™s hard to imagine anyone could have been unhappy. Even color film can’€™t record unrest.

What were the Russians and Georgians of 1910 thinking on those green hills and under those blue skies? How many were stirring against the tsar? How many imagined a revolution or what would follow?

And just out of curiosity, what do these places look like today? Send postcards!

Frank Warner

Click here to see the rest of the color photos of 1910 Russia.

Click here to see the color pictures of the First World War.

____________

Thanks, Frank.  What a terrific post!

1910 in color: A peek into Russia before Communism

Did you see the Seriously Cool web site’€™s remarkable photographs of France in the First World War? The big surprise is that the pictures are in color.

To me, the photos are as if the Internet suddenly gave us a time-travel portal to major historical events. Color pictures of 1917. Who knew?

The photos are real, and they are not colorized. They were taken using an early color film process.

Tsarist empire. That same web site has even older color pictures of Russia, also stunning. These are around 1910, and they also give you the sense you’€™re seeing something you couldn’€™t possibly be seeing.

They’€™re Russia before World War I, before the Red Revolution overthrew Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918). The pictures show us some of Russia’€™s most beautiful churches and cathedrals, usually in the sunshine, often in the most idyllic settings. You wonder if this is old Russia, or the land of Oz.

Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii took the pictures for the tsar.

There is graceful St. Nil Monastery, a study of blue on blue on Stolobnyi Island in Lake Seliger, northwest Russia. There is the ornate Cathedral of St. Nicholas, atop a green hill in rural Mozhaisk, Russia. There is a panoramic shot, with a depth of color, showing us the city of Tbilisi, Georgia, including the Metekhi Cliff on the Mtkvari River.

You can study these pictures and wonder what life was like that distant time in these remote locations. The scenes are so sunny and romantic it’€™s hard to imagine anyone could have been unhappy. Even color film can’€™t record unrest.

What were the Russians and Georgians of 1910 thinking on those green hills and under those blue skies? How many were stirring against the tsar? How many imagined a revolution or what would follow?

And just out of curiosity, what do these places look like today? Send postcards!

Frank Warner

Click here to see the rest of the color photos of 1910 Russia.

Click here to see the color pictures of the First World War.

____________

Thanks, Frank.  What a terrific post!

Beginnings of Christian-Muslim Friendship in Iraq

Michael Yon, brave independent reporter in Iraq, took this icon of a photo.*  He wrote here

A Muslim man had invited the American soldiers from “Chosen” Company 2-12 Infantry to the church, where I videotaped as Muslims and Christians worked and rejoiced at the reopening of St John’s, an occasion all viewed as a sign of hope.

The Iraqis asked me to convey a message of thanks to the American people. ” Thank you, thank you,” the people were saying. One man said, “Thank you for peace.” Another man, a Muslim, said “All the people, all the people in Iraq, Muslim and Christian, is brother.” The men and women were holding bells, and for the first time in memory freedom rang over the ravaged land between two rivers. (Videotape to follow.)

Wretchard at The Belmont Club, here, says:

Joe Rosenthal didn't know what was in his camera the day he snapped the flag-raising at Iwo Jima. There are times when a single picture captures the essence of an entire campaign. Maybe Michael Yon's picture from Baghdad has done it for the Surge.

This is the iconic photo on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima during WWII.  Wretchard adds:

All just wars are about the restoration of peace. But it's important to remember that the flag raising on Suribachi occurred on the fourth day of a campaign that would last a month longer. In the War against extremism, as in Iwo Jima, the worst may be yet to come. But it's good to take a deep breath and remember what the journey is all about..

Finally, another famous photo, of the last U.S. helicopter out of Saigon, Viet Nam.  The scene is the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.  The helicopter was about to leave for the last time, unable to take the hundreds of waiting Vietnamese allies whose frantic hope was to leave with them.  It is in stark contrast to the other two photos above.

_________

*  Michael Yon does not receive funding or financial support from Fox News, or from any network, movie, book or television deals at this time. He is entirely reader supported. He relies on his readers to help him replace his equipment and cover his expenses so that he may remain in Iraq and bring you the stories of our soldiers. If you value his work, please consider supporting his mission.

No Serious Global Warming

                            (Image from newsbusters.org)

News on the Environment:  This from "Weather Channel Founder: Global Warming 'Greatest Scam in History.' by Noel Sheppard, 11-7-07, below.*  

"If the founder of The Weather Channel spoke out strongly against the manmade global warming myth, might media members notice?

"We're going to find out the answer to that question soon, for John Coleman wrote an article published at ICECAP Wednesday that should certainly garner attention from press members -- assuming journalism hasn't been completely replaced by propagandist activism, that is.

"Coleman marvelously began (emphasis added, h/t NB reader coffee250):

It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create in [sic] allusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the "research" to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus.

Environmental extremists, notable politicians among them, then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild "scientific" scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda. Now their ridiculous manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a cornerstone issue for CNN, CBS, NBC, the Democratic Political Party, the Governor of California, school teachers and, in many cases, well informed but very gullible environmental conscientious citizens. Only one reporter at ABC has been allowed to counter the Global Warming frenzy with one 15 minutes documentary segment.

I have read dozens of scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct. There is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril. I am incensed by the incredible media glamour, the politically correct silliness and rude dismissal of counter arguments by the high priest of Global Warming.

In time, a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious.

"Let's hope so, John; let's hope so.

"Related articles:

Harvard Paper Calls Al Gore a Hypocrite

Renowned Environmentalist Calls Biofuels‘Crime Against Humanity’

John Stossel: ‘Don’t Look to Government to Cool Down the Planet’

UN Climate Panel to Discuss Global Warming at Tropical Resort

Global Warming Tutorial Media Should be Required to Watch

Vote for Stephen McIntyre's Climate Audit as Best Science Blog

"—Noel Sheppard is an economist, business owner, and Associate Editor of NewsBusters."

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*at http://media.newsbusters.org/stories/weather-channel-founder-global-warming-greatest-scam-history.html?q=blogs/noel-sheppard/2007/11/07/weather-channel-founder-global-warming-greatest-scam-history

Buried - Great News On Iraq

                                  (Image from naturalhorsetraining.com)

It is still happening, even though the surge is working and violence is down drastically in Iraq.  Major media still can't stomach such good news out of Iraq.  They still headline any bad news about Iraq and bury the good news. 

This time, the "paper of record" the New York Times carried the amazing story that Al Queda can no longer be found in Baghdad, but buried it in its back pages, here.

But they still can't bring themselves to call Al Queda "terrorists" but persist in calling them "militants."  And they still can't bear to write the words "Al Queda in Iraq" but continue the awkward "Al Queda in Mesopotamia" instead.  (Mesopotamia??  Are they hoping no one will connect that with Iraq?  What confidence in the underperformance of U.S. education!)

Then the prestigious Washington Post buried the spectacular news that Sunni and Shiite clerics issued a major Fatwa together, banning violence in Iraq.   It can't even be found in their online version.  So here it is, from CNN news.  (Scroll down to the second story.)

So - Al Queda can no longer be found anywhere in Baghdad.  Good work and kudos to the U.S. Military and to all citizens of Baghdad!

And Shiites and Sunni clerics have forbidden fighting between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq!  Wow!  This from a top-level conference in Mecca, Saudia Arabia by the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) and signed by the sheik heading the Sunni Endowment in Iraq and the leading Shiite cleric, Al Sistani.  Applause, please!

What great news!  A good news day on the Iraqi front, after a long drought.

Stratfor on Losing Pakistan

                     Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf

                              (Image from hindu.com)

Saturday Pakistan President Musharraf declared a state of emergency.  Since then there have been arrests and protests in the major Pakistan cities.  The U.S., which considers Musharraf an ally, has been bringing pressure on him to stop.

As the only Muslim nuclear state, Pakistan poses special problems.  If it becomes a failed state, or if an Islamist faction wins power, nukes could make their way into the hands of terrorists who would target Western countries.  So what happens in Pakistan is extremely important to the U.S. and the West.

Stratfor points out that what is important is that Pakistan must not fall into the hands of those who would pose a nuclear danger to other countries.*

Pakistan was cobbled together first by the Brits, as part of the British Empire in India.  Then when India split and Pakistan became the Muslim part of India with the migration of millions of Muslims into Pakistan from India, it changed again.  In addition, the mountainous parts of Pakistan have always been ungovernable by anyone, from the Brits to Pakistani governments.  The warlike mountain tribes have always used their steep mountain terrain to repel any outside would-be rulers.

Pakistan eventually become somewhat unified by the Muslim religion.  But there are many sects, and several major population groups.  Left to its own devices, Pakistan has always splintered into several warring territories with shifting borders.

Efforts at democracy in Pakistan have always led to risks of splintering and permanent civil war.  Only the army has been successful in holding it together.

As has been the case in Turkey, the army in Pakistan has been the single force reliably defending the constitution.  One of the strongest inheritances the British left, besides English as a common, uniting language, has been its strong military tradition.  When the English trained native armies, it also implanted the traditions and strength of the British army.

As a result, the army is the most stable, most responsible and most respected institution in Pakistan.

Stratfor's view is that as long as the army holds together, it will not matter what happens to Musharraf.  So long as the army is unified and maintains its present position of power, Pakistan will hold together and its constitution will continue to be defended.  And Stratfor notes that there are no signs so far that the army is losing its unity. 

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*See article at http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/gir.php?utm_source=071106-GIR&utm_medium=email-strat-html&utm_content=071106-GIR-header-read&utm_campaign=GIR.

Twin Survives Several Abortion Attempts, Doing Fine

(By request of the owners of the photos, I took them down.  But here is a video of the twins, at http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1114191272) 

                                     Mother Rebecca Jones: 'It's a miracle'

This story is in The Daily Mail, here, and was also broadcast on Fox News on 11/05/07.

Rebecca and Mark Jones had to make a heart breaking decision about the unborn twin boys in her womb.  One, Gabriel, was weaker than his brother, only half his brother's size, with an enlarged heart 3 times normal size.  Doctors told her that if Gabriel died in the womb, his brother Ieuan could die too.  So with much grief, the Jones let them operate to take Gabriel's life.

But things took an unexpected turn.  First, when they tried to sever Gabriel's umbillical cord to cut off his nutrition, it was so tough they couldn't sever it!  Then they divided the placenta in half instead, to preserve Ieuan's life in case Gabriel died. 

  Gabriel, right, with his twin brother Ieuan, is now a healthy 12lb 6oz at seven months

But tiny Gabriel, weighing less than a pound, put up a fight.  His mom felt him kicking strongly in her womb, the day after the surgery.  His enlarged heart began to shrink, and he gained weight.  He managed to live 5 more weeks until delivery by caesarean section.  The doctors thought what had happened was that when they divided the placenta, that unexpectedly evened out the nutrition between the twins, allowing Gabriel to survive.  At birth, Gabriel weighed nearly 2 pounds and Ieuan weighed 3 1/2 pounds.

At seven months, Ieuan weighs 15 pounds and Gabriel weighs 12 pounds and 6 ounces.  Now they are back at home in Stoke, England - and are so close they are always holding each other's hand.  If one cries, the other reaches out to comfort him.

It seems that nothing was able to break the bond between them.

Your Work Can Be Fulfilling

                                   (Image business-in-asia.com)

Why would I pick this photo of Vietnamese garment factory as an example?  It would be called a sweatshop by most people, because of wages running under $50 a month.  Most of you do not work in such conditions.  But many do feel trapped in jobs that are not fulfilling, even when they pay well and have good working conditions.. 

Still, almost anyone can find fulfillment in their work.  How would I know?  Let me tell you.  It won't take long.

This factory is more attractive and modern than the industrial garment factory that I worked in for 5 1/2 years.  We wore uniforms.  The noise was deafening, literally.  Once we arrived and turned on our industrial machines, we had to yell to be heard. 

In fact, our factory was worse than this one.  We could not quit, or go on strike.  Our pay was not sweatshop-low, but zero.  We could be forced to work overtime.  We were among the category of the only legal slaves in U.S., that of convicted felons. (The 13th Amendment, U.S. Constitution.)  That would be us.  We were all convicted felons, working in the huge garment factory of Goree Womens Prison, Huntsville Texas.  So we were literally slave labor.

It was easy to resent forced work.  In fact, slaves historically have slacked off, pretended to work, and sabotaged products.  So we also had strict production quotas designed to counter any  loafing.  The quotas were set so high that the only way we could possibly meet them was to work at top speed all day.  That also meant doing standardized-quality work, enforced by inspectors.  But the speed was so high, and the standards so minimal, that it was impossible to do good-quality work and still meet the quota.

How could anyone find fulfillment in such work?

I was a new Christian, reading my Bible.  It said: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." (Colossians 3:23)  It was actually addressed to slaves, too. What did I have to lose?  So I tried it. 

What did that mean for my work?  It meant I would seldom meet my quota again!  That involved risking some consequences.  But that was the only way I could do it.  Why?  We sewed garments for women in Texas institutions - blind, deaf, adult retarded.  But our garments would literally fall apart at the seams after 2 or 3 washings.  And that was unacceptable, if I were working for the Lord.  He would not want us to send those women garments that would quickly fall apart.

They fell apart because we could not take time to "backstitch" each seam at the end.  That would "lock" the seam and keep it from pulling apart at the ends.  Home sewing machines can backstitch quickly, just by pushing a button or flipping a switch.  But our industrial machines wouldn't do that.  To backstitch on them, we had to swing the entire garment around backwards on the needle, and "backstitch" by stitching forward a few stitches in the opposite direction on the same seam.  Then turn the entire garment around again for the next seam.  And do that several times for each garment. 

No one could do that and meet our quota.

From then on, I actually enjoyed my work.  I had a purpose - making decent garments for those women.  My work became very fulfilling, and stayed that way.  (See here.)

But I still worked hard to make that quota.  Sometimes I made it, but usually I fell a little short.  I awaited whatever consequences might come.  Actually, the punishment I expected never happened.  But if it had, it wouldn't have mattered.  I would have "worked as if to the Lord" in whatever new job they gave me.

What mattered was that I was being obedient to Christ, and that I knew I was doing good work for a good purpose.  All those years, locked up in prison, working as a legal slave, I enjoyed repetitive, dull work under demanding conditions, and was truly fulfilled by it.   I would do it all over again, in a minute.

Whatever your work is - providing it is not against the law or immoral - it is producing some positive good for society too.  Focus on that.

Then, no matter what your work is or how much you may hate it, do it "with all your heart, as if to the Lord."  You will have many rewards.  One will be true fulfillment in your work.  Try it for yourself.  It works.

3 Year Old Girl Sings National Anthem

Her Mom says "Our three year old loves patriotic songs.  She really wants to be in the children's choir but has to wait until she turns 5, so she's enjoying sharing music here in the meantime." 

See if you think she's ready for the Big Time yet.

                     

(Hat Tip to Joan Archibald.)

Five Year Old Golf Prodigy

                 Kyle Lograsso, Age 5

    (Image from media.phillyburgs.com)

Kyle Lograsso is 5 years old.  He also has a pitch-perfect golf swing, almost identical to Tiger Woods in video analysis.  He learned it watching TV at 18 months of age!  But there is more, much much more, to the story of this kid and his family.  This is one of most amazing stories you may ever see, for two reasons.  One is the golf part.  The other is the surprise part.  Click here to watch this video. 

(Hat Tip to Bob Bailey)

For All The Saints

For those who have forgotten, All Saints' Day is always the day after Halloween.  And to refresh our collective memory, Halloween was never meant to celebrate hobgoblins and monsters, but to fondly remember and commemorate our dead, those we love who have passed on.  So it was originally Hallowed Evening, contracted to Hallow e'en, then to Halloween.

Here then is Allan Bevere's short list of saints we should know about and learn from, here:

.Aimee Semple Mcpherson

Ambrose of Milan

Athanasius

Bernard of Clairvaux

Blaise Pascal

Brother Lawrence

Catherine of Siena

Charles Finney

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Wesley

Clement of Alexandria

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dorothy Sayers

Elizabeth Fry

Fanny Crosby

Francis Asbury

G. K. Chesterton

George Whitefield

Harriet Tubman

Hildegard of Bingen

Joan of Arc

John Calvin

John of Damascus

John Donne

John Huss

John Newton

John Wesley

Jonathan Edwards

Karl Barth

Martin Luther

Perpetua

Phoebe Palmer

Polycarp

Richard Allen

Sojourner Truth

Teresa of Avila

The Venerable Bede

Ulrich Zwingli

Walter Rauschenbusch

William Tyndale

Many, many thanks to Rev.  Allan Bevere for his labor in compiling and linking this list! See his excellent blog at www.arbevere.blogspot.com

Stratfor on Iran's Hezbollah Card

                                   (Image from hirhome.com)

Stratfor says that Iran has been threatening retaliation if it is attacked.  Hezbollah is a major part of that threat.  In fact,

Hezbollah terrorism mastermind Imad Fayez Mugniyah has been training Shiite militants from Arab Persian Gulf states in Lebanon's Bakaa Valley for possible retaliatory attacks...

Unlike Al Qaeda, which has been badly damaged as an organization since 9/11, Hezbollah has never been stronger--and does pose a strategic threat to the United States.

Iran also has its own internal forces such as the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IROC) which includes the Quds Force and Special Unit of Martyr Seekers.

Hezbollah grew out efforts to export the Iranian Revolution to other Shiite groups in the region.  Their brightest and best go to Iran for advanced military and intelligence training and indoctrination.  Iranian weapone and training have helped Hezbollah become a powerful military force in Lebanon, a government to itself as well as a threat to Israel.   Iran has given hundreds of millions of dollars over the years from Iran, plus income from Syran and from its widespread illegal activities.

In addition to its formidable conventional military threat, Hezbollah has continued to refine its already considerable core competency in militant specialities such as kidnapping, assassination and the construction and employment of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).  It was a Hezbollah operation that resulted in the kidnapping of two Isreali soldiers, an act that precipitated the 2006 conflict...

Because of Iran, Hezbollah has far more operational cadre, and better trained ones, than Al Queda ever had, or before Al Queda ever existed.  In fact, Al Queda borrowed much from the Hezbollah playbook, and had some training from Hezbollah leaders.  Hezbollah also has the advantage of secure bases in countries like Lebanon and Syria, as well as Iran - unlike Al Queda.

In Hezbollah, size, professionalism, experience and state-sponsorship are combined to create a dangerous organization.  In fact, because of these factors, Hezbollah poses a larger potential threat to the United States than does Al Queda - aspecially an Al Queda crippled by U.S. actions since 9/11.

After seeing what the U.S. did to Al Queda after 9/11, Hezbollah might prefer to attack Americans abroad rather than in the U.S.  But if it should attack here, we may have 4-5 weeks after a U.S. attack on Iran before Hezbollah attacks began here.  That is because, although Hezbollah would already have "off the shelf" plans ready for various U.S. attacks, it would surveil the targets again before the attacks.  Counter-surveillance during those times could help catch the plotters before they have time to carry out their attacks.

Hezbollah also has clearer vulnerabilities than Al Queda, with many available targets in Lebanon.  While many of them are placed in civilian concentrations, many can be attacked without major concern for civilians, especially the training facilities in the Bekaa Valley.  Syria is also a problem for Hezbollah, as its Syrian handlers do not want to end up as targets for the U.S. 

But read the whole article at http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/tir.php?utm_source=071031-TIR&utm_medium=email-strat-html&utm_content=071031-TIR-header-read&utm_campaign=TIR:

Jack Webb and Johnny Carson's Copper Clappers

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                      (Image from shortarmguy.com)

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This is the famous Jack Webb - Johnny Carson "Copper Clappers" episode.  2 1/2 minutes.  Click here to see video.

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Have a good time!

Stratfor on Going After Iran

 

                                  (Image from chinadaily.com)

George Friedman of Stratfor wrote on 10-30-07, in "War Plans: The U.S. and Iran":

If the goal is to eliminate Iran's nuclear program, we expect the United States would be able to carry out the mission.

If, however, the goal is to compel a change in the Iranian regime or Iranian policy, we do not think the United States can succeed with air forces alone.

For any goals beyond taking out Iran's nuclear capacity, we would need to be prepared for a follow-on invasion by U.S. forces, coming out of both Afghanistan and Iraq. Those forces are not available at this point and would require several years to develop.

That the United States could defeat and occupy Iran is certain. Whether the United States has a national interest in devoting the time and the resources to Iran's occupation is unclear.

He also points out that we can bring some sanctions to bear.  But we cannot enforce a trade embargo by naval blockade alone, because of Iran's long land borders and their long and wide-spread custom of smuggling.. 

We could take out their oil capacities.  But that would pull some 4 million barrels of oil a day out of the world oil supply, at a time when oil prices are nearing $100 a barrel. 

He describes some of the ways Iran could fight back, such as making Iraq unmanageable and activating Hezbollah and Hamas against Israel and Lebanon, among others.

(He also offers to let you

Tell George what you think

and

Get your own copy)