Month: February 2016

Leave ISIS alone in Libya, says Obama

Soft on ISIS:

“Exclusive: Obama Refuses to Hit ISIS’s Libyan Capital,” by Nancy A. Youssef, The Daily Beast, February 18, 2016 (thanks to John):

The terror group is gaining ground in Libya. But the Obama administration has said no to a Pentagon plan to go after ISIS there.

Despite the growing threat from the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Libya, the Obama administration has turned down a U.S. military plan for an assault on ISIS’s regional hub there, three defense officials told The Daily Beast.

Source: Obama refuses to hit the Islamic State’s Libyan capital

Pros and cons of man-made climate change. Read all about it.

Climate Debate Daily

Whoa, am I glad to find this site! Long lists side by side of tree-huggers and deniers. Whole page full.

T-H’ers:

Calls to action

 

Essays and research supporting the idea that global warming poses a clear threat to humanity, that it is largely caused by human activity, and that solutions to the problems of climate change lie within human reach.

Deniers:

Dissenting voices

 

Essays and research challenging the view that the world warming that began around 1880 is caused by human activity, that it poses a serious threat, or that the vagaries of earth’s climate are within human control.

Go for it, gentle reader. (Found it at the marvelous Arts & Letters Daily site, by the way)

Source: Climate Debate Daily

Toilets are fair game in Minnesota town

Town inspectors’ overreaching, say landlords. Town fathers and mothers blocked but continue pressing their suit.

Landlords in Golden Valley, Minnesota, are challenging mandatory inspections of rental properties that go down to the toilet.

Even though a judge agreed, the town is still fighting. Eric Boehm reports:Even after one Minnesota judge ruled that Golden Valley can’t conduct inspections without a good reason, the city is spending more taxpayer money on an appeal.

“We’ve done nothing wrong and we have nothing to hide,” said Jason Wiebesick, one of the plaintiffs in the case. “The city of Golden Valley sho

Nothing to hide, eh? Well you would say that, wouldn’t you?

Source: Town Inspectors Check Toilets: New at Reason – Hit & Run : Reason.com

Trump warns: Migrants will bring ‘end of Europe’

No other candidate makes such a statement:

Republican presidential primary front-runner Donald Trump is predicting the influx of Muslim migrants will lead to the “end of Europe” in an explosive interview with the conservative French magazine Valeurs Actuelles.

“France is not what it used to be, and neither is Paris,” Trump is quoted as saying.Trump also bemoaned the existence of “no-go zones” avoided by police that have been created by mass Islamic immigration.

WND reported in January 2015 the French government listed 751 “Sensitive Urban Zones” the government does not fully control

Source: Trump warns: Migrants will bring ‘end of Europe’

Sun-Times man Mark Brown has an attack of honesty

Mark Brown’s once-in-30-years experience, aldermanic vote not a sure thing, but at the end “bad guys” won again.

Brown:

That’s admittedly an oversimplification, but also an honest assessment.

What? He’s not always honest? What an odd thing to say after 30 years. He apologizes for oversimplifying but says that’s how he feels. Honest. As if (a) sincerity covers simplifying and (b) he’s being sincere this time.

We readers are grateful. Honest.

Source: Brown: Rare drama in City Council, but final act is a letdown

Later: My note on language aside, the column itself has very good reporting of on-spot eyewitness nature, including Ald. Ed Burke never speaking from the floor but receiving visits at his desk of aldermen during the course of argument and deliberation. Clear picture there of Chicago at work.

So good work, I say, except for that needless apology for detailed reportage.

Cam Newton, a character lacking character

Can’t do better on the subject:

 

After his Carolina Panthers lost the Super Bowl on Sunday, NFL MVP Cam Newton pouted through the postgame news conference, giving petulant answers and walking out of the interview early.

Two days later, he doubled down, channeling his inner Donald Trump by saying, “Who likes to lose? You show me a good loser and I’m going to show you a loser.”

But losing this way makes you a loser.

Source: Cam Newton and the perils of being a sore loser – Chicago Tribune