Don't confuse these poor people with actual real science. They might wind up learning actual math and then realize their slave masters in the Demonrat party are just peddling warm brown stinky stuff.
#3
This is the result of a long process of making kids learn less actual science in schools and more touchy feely stuff, then scaring the crap out of them when they become adults so they buy it without the tools to logically analyze it followed with large amounts of dirty money.
Boom! The elite political class has their serfs and the serfs chose to let them do it out of ignorant fear.
According to an analysis of recent solar trends by William Livingston and Matthew Penn of the National Solar Observatory in Tucson:
"We have observed spectroscopic changes in temperature sensitive molecular lines, in the magnetic splitting of an Fe I line, and in the continuum brightness of over 1000 sunspot umbrae from 1990-2005. All three measurements show consistent trends in which the darkest parts of the sunspot umbra have become warmer and their magnetic field strengths have decreased, independently of the normal 11-year sunspot cycle. A linear extrapolation of these trends suggests that few sunspots will be visible after 2015."
The data (right) since 2006 has supported Livingston & Penn's prediction.
Hold on to your hats boys and girls, we might be heading for another Little Ice Age.
#9
I didn't tie invisible sunspots to the little ice age. Historical records show that two periods of unusually low sunspot activity occurred during the Little Ice Age period: the Spörer Minimum (14501540) and the Maunder Minimum (16451715). Both solar minimums coincided with the coldest years of the Little Ice Age in parts of Europe.
Coincidence is not causation. But it is likely that we will have the chance to see if the third time is the charm.
[DAWN] Adding Arabic as the fourth language, on top of English, Urdu and a regional language fits into the process of purification currently underway.
It would, however, be wrong to pin this latest development simply to the yearning for Arabness that preoccupies so many Pakistanis. Its practical usage, unrelated to religion, is the fact that Pakistan is one of the most prominent suppliers of manual labour to the Arab speaking GCC countries.
According to the International Organisation of Labour, Pakistan is the second among South Asian nations sending migrant workers abroad. Nearly 7 million Pakistanis have left the country in recent years for the purpose of finding a job and 96 per cent of them make their way to the GCC countries, closely followed by Saudi Arabia.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[12 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[DAWN] WITH Western countries at the top of those considered most ethical, it is tempting to generalise and claim that the best political and economic practices prevail in places that are affluent, secure and free from conflict. A state in constant war, suffering from extreme poverty, military dictatorship and lack of social and economic development will obviously curtail ethical values in the public domain, and may begin to erode them even in the home.
The principles of ethics are often discussed with respect to gains and benefits to society on the lam. What is good or bad is supposedly determined by the rule of the majority, with little attention given to the principles of morality. Islamic ethics differ from the Western concept as these are derived from God, directly from the Koran, and from the practices of the Holy Prophet (PTUI!). It is therefore a set of beliefs and actions that is divine and transcends the limitations of time, place and tradition.
Unlike the commonly held belief that man is evil by nature, Islam holds that man is born with a morally good nature that responds to faith and ethical values. Over time, it may get corrupted due to temptations and man's inability to exercise control over his desires. According to Islam, there is universal equality among mankind, with the single exception of moral goodness and strength of character or taqwa.
For man's conduct to be ethical as per Islam, there are two conditions which must be fulfilled: his intention must be good and his action must be according to what God has instructed. If either is corrupt, his behaviour is unlikely to meet ethical standards. For example, if a wrong deed was done with good intentions that ultimately produced a good outcome, it cannot be termed ethical. If the intentions were wrong to begin with, and the outcome was accidentally good, there is no question of ethical behaviour. Good intentions and good deeds must go hand in hand.
There are three very important and interrelated ways in which ethical principles in Islam differ from those that are understood and practised in the West. The first is the concept of individual freedom and independence. In Islam, one's freedom ends where another's physical and moral space begins. Indeed, alongside freedom of expression and liberty for individuals, society also has moral rights. Thus, how one individual behaves morally must be guided by how that behaviour impinges upon and influences the behaviour of those around him.
The Koran is replete with clear messages about ethics.
Secondly, Islamic teachings expand outwards with the family as the unit of society, not the individual. Islam believes in collectivism, not individualism. There is, therefore, no concept of being responsible for the self alone.
And thirdly, ethical principles, by virtue of their divine source, are not determined by the vote of the majority. If the majority in a society votes that speculation on the stock market is ethical, Islamic ethics will not accept this decision.
Corruption and bribery may very well be the order of the day, and so could the consumption of drugs, and they may be declared legal. But they could never be morally right in Islam. Obviously, this also points to the fact that what may be the law in a country may not be necessarily ethical.
The Koran is replete with clear messages pertaining to ethics (akhlaq), the standards of behaviour that God expects mankind to adopt because He has sent him to this world as His vicegerent. These cover all aspects of truthfulness, honesty, kindness, integrity (that includes being consistent in word and deed), meeting commitments and sincerity. The best example of ethics is in the life of the Prophet himself. When Hazrat Aisha was once asked about the personality of her husband, she had replied: "he was a reflection of the Koran itself".
Islamic ethics is a code of conduct that calls for mankind to undertake a continuous process of self-purification, in thought, feelings and emotions (tazkya nafs); in social interactions through intentions and deeds that benefit other human beings as well as other creations of God; in using the resources that God has given him in a wise manner; and in bringing him closer to the ideal as described by the Prophet: "the best amongst you are those who are the owners of the best morality."
Why is the Moslem world, then, among the most corrupt and depraved, demonstrating all the sins that the Koran has warned against? The answer lies perhaps in its collective failure to use intellect and reasoning, learn from mistakes, ponder over the message of the Koran and abstain from living in the fantasies of past glory.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
And here I was expecting the world's shortest article.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/24/2014 7:32 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Islamic ethics is an oxymoron code of conduct that calls for mankind to undertake a continuous process of self-purification
[DAWN] IT would be regrettable under any circumstances but in the case of Pakistain, a deeply religious society, it is especially so: behind many of the most serious fissures and conflicts threatening the country lies either religion or contested versions of it. From the violence visited on members of minority beliefs to the scourge of sectarianism that relentlessly draws more and more lives into its gaping maw, to the outlawed TTP whose fight with the state is bound up inextricably with the bully boy group's own version of Sharia, matters of faith have led Pakistain into dangerous waters. Areas as basic and as essential to a society's health as the vaccination of children against polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... and the need for girls' education have become contested issues. The mere allegation of blasphemy has become enough to provoke a lynch mob; even providing legal assistance in such a case has proved a death sentence. No target has been considered too sacred: mosques, churches, shrines and other places of worship, funeral and mourning processions, emergency wards and school assemblies. Never has it been clearer that if the country is ever to lead itself into the light, urgent efforts need to be made to counter the hate spread in the name of religion.
The Council of Islamic Ideology is meant to advise on matters of religion. The natural expectation would be that these would be the issues -- of life and death -- that would be exercising the minds of the forum's members. Yet, sweeping aside all these and more, the CII in its wisdom gave on Wednesday its opinion on an issue it clearly considers much more pressing: that underage marriage is permissible for maidens of tender years, and that most of the clauses of the Moslem Marriage Law, 1961, are un-Islamic.
Leave aside for the moment the awful repercussions this has for children's rights, women's rights and indeed for the basic norms of civilisation in a country where child marriages and forced unions have proved to be an indelible stain. Leave aside the signals such a pronouncement gives of being determined to drag the country towards obscurantism. Consider, instead, how it reflects on the relevance of the CII itself, which exposes itself -- yet again -- as a hopelessly out-of-touch forum, either unaware or uncaring of the horrifying realities that the people of this country face. Given that this is apparently the best it can do, is it not better to save the government's resources and divert them to other, more fruitful avenues? Why is there even the need for such a council when an elected parliament is in place, which is in itself perfectly capable of deciding what the law should be? In March, the Sindh Assembly passed a resolution demanding the dissolution of the CII. It was not off the mark.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[DAWN] HIDEOUTS attacked, turbans killed, damage inflicted -- at least that is the official military version of events in North Wazoo Agency. As with any conflict zone, independent reporting is difficult and immediately ascertaining the facts nearly impossible. But a disturbing pattern is emerging in the latest phase of the struggle to try and tamp down militancy in Fata. When retaliation for attacks against the security forces occurs, the claims of success are not just unverifiable in the immediate aftermath, they are not verified even later. As with earlier retaliations, the military seems to be focusing on the overlap between foreign turbans and hardline local murderous Moslems. But while the number of dead turbans is always announced with a degree of satisfaction, there is never any visual or factual evidence of the claims made. If this time it was the East Turkestan Independence Movement that reportedly bore the brunt of the attacks, previously it was alleged to be Uzbek murderous Moslems. But neither then, nor this time is there any evidence to back up the claims. Often, there are not even names. Meanwhile, ...back at the wrecked scow, Agent 49 felt gingerly for his head. It was still there. He had been hoping differently... the human 'collateral damage' does come into view quickly enough with civilian casualties appearing in local clinics or before the cameras.
More problematically, what do these retaliations achieve? As has happened over the past couple of days in North Waziristan, even when the military conducts search-and-clear operations, an opportunity is given beforehand for the local population to leave. Surely, most of the turbans melt away in the crowd or through other routes. Thereafter, the army tends to blow up homes and buildings associated with turbans -- leaving physical scars when the population does return. And what of the turbans themselves, the bulk of whom leave for other areas? That simply means another retaliation somewhere else is effectively already on the table. If the military's latest ad hocism in Fata is partly because of the government's insistence on dialogue being the preferred path, what is happening on the talks front? Surely, this dual policy of allowing the military to retaliate when directly attacked while the civilians try to pursue dialogue with the outlawed TTP is good for neither the military option nor the dialogue one. But can the army and civilians arrive at a more coherent policy?
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
If the military's latest ad hocism in Fata is partly because of the government's insistence on dialogue being the preferred path, what is happening on the talks front?
Replace "turbans" with "mafia" and I think you have your answer. The mistake is treating these thugs like they are soldiers.
[Ynet] Analysis: For the first time since the 80s, Russian consultants arrive in Syria to advise Assad's generals, while Tehran sends Iranian Guard soldiers to aide the Syrian president.
Ahead of the presidential elections in Syria next month, Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... is making a considerable effort to regain control of areas of his country.
And, indeed, the Syrian regime has been recently successful, after years of battle, in seizing control of the key city Homs and the Qalamoun mountains area near the border with Leb, which provides Assad with a territorial link to Hezbollah-controlled areas in the Beqaa Valley.
On the other hand, Assad recently lost control of the Syrian Golan area that is bordering Israel, after the Syrian army's Brigade 60 crumbled under the pressure and abandoned its posts, including the brigade commander.
Assad's regime currently controls a narrow corridor leading to the deserted city of Quneitra and the city itself. Another corridor under Assad's control is from the Damascus area to the Druze villages in the Hadar area, where he has many supporters and where Hezbollah is also operating.
There are several reasons behind these achievements, among them the loyalty of the Syrian army to its president, and the fact the country's minorities are afraid of the radical Sunni Moslems. But Western intelligence believes that the main reason is an increasing involvement of Iran, Russia and Hezbollah in the civil war raging in Syria.
Arab media has recently quoted credible sources as saying that for the first time in over a decade, Russian consultants have been seen among Syrian army units in the midst of actual fighting. The Russian consultants aide the different units' commanders, all the way up to the battalion commanders level.
The Russian consultants are advising the Syrian commanders on fighting against guerrilla fighters; experience the Russians gained fighting in Afghanistan and more recently in Chechnya, where Moslem Jihadist fighters were involved, similar to those in Syria.
The Russian consultants are also aiding the Syrian army receive advanced weaponry arriving from Russia, as well as in collecting and processing intelligence.
Russian mercenaries are guarding the oil fields in eastern Syria, which are under Assad control.
Russian involvement in such a scale and in such intensity hasn't been seen in Syria since the 1980s.
The Russians are not alone. The Iranians, who have been continuously aiding the Assad regime, have become more directly involved in the fighting in Syria.
Tehran, according to Arab press reports and comments recently made by the Iranian Guard Corps commander, is now sending Iranian Guard fighters to Syria. Some 300 Iranian Guard soldiers are currently fighting in Syria, likely in Aleppo, where the Assad regime has encountered many difficulties.
While the Iranian Guard's involvement is new, Shi'ite militias recruited in Iraq and Iran by the Islamic Theocratic Republic have been fighting in Syria long before the Iranian Guard Corps arrived.
The third player increasing its involvement in Syria is Hezbollah, whose men are operating both covertly and openly in the fighting in Syria.
The Syrian army's current assault on Daraa and Nawa in southern Syria, on the border with Jordan, is aided by hundreds of Hezbollah fighters.
The objective is to block the route for supplies and Jordanian reinforcement for the rebels controlling the area, who are mostly from the al-Nusra Front and other al-Qaeda-linked groups.
In this context it is important to note that the rebels controlling the Syrian Golan Heights are from secular or moderate Islamist groups, and that Israel has passed on a message to these groups that it would not tolerate the presence of the International Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... , al-Nusra Front and other radical groups close to the border.
On the whole, it appears Assad's control of Syrian territories has slightly improved. He now controls the main cities, but has difficulties in the Damascus and Aleppo areas, as well as on the border area with Turkey.
The rebels' situation may not be good - they are fighting amongst themselves and are not getting the anti-aircraft weapons they've been begging Washington to give them - but Assad's chlorine gas attacks aren't deterring them and they continue to fight.
It appears the war in Syria will continue for a while longer.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/24/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[SOFREP] After countless stories of inefficiency, incompetence and corruption coming out of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the VA announced today that they will be conducting a series of investigations into the matter. A spokesman for the VA stated, with a very stern tone, "Any problems within the VA will be dealt with harshly by the VA, because the VA has a responsibility to make sure that the VA operates efficiently and to the high standards that only the VA could create for itself."
#1
In a further press release, the VA said they'd use the same team that was sent to Benghazi to get to the facts.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/24/2014 7:34 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Repeal the Civil Service Act. A least with patronage, you can directly hold your representative and senator responsible for the bureaucracy. At least hold someone responsible.
#3
Holding someone responsible is fine, unless their conspiring with the DoJ or crooked politicians up on the Hill, which appears to be the case with Lois Lerner. Taking down Lerner or gov't employees like Lerner, simply makes them scapegoats for the greater ill.
#5
...After the fact that veterans have lost their lives while bureaucrats played games to keep their paychecks and bonuses, I think I'm almost as angry over the fact that it appears NO ONE can be fired over this - that Congress is looking into a law that will make it EASIER to fire people the NEXT TIME.
Jeebus.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/24/2014 11:52 Comments ||
Top||
#6
"The House voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to make it easier to fire senior Veterans Affairs officials involved in the healthcare scandal, just hours after President Barack Obama delivered a speech that failed to satisfy those looking to take quick action against the VA.
Members passed the VA Management Accountability Act in an easy 390-33 vote the only no votes came from Democrats."
According to Juran, 96 out of 100 people are good at something. Poor performance can be because:
1. The person is in the 96% group but is in a job that they are not capable of performing (see Peter principle). Remedy: find a job that they are capable of performing and move them there. Then find a person good at the job you need done and hire them.
2. Managers own process. The best performer will fail if pushing on a rope. Remedy: Replace manager with somebody good at it.
3. Person is in the 4% not good at anything group. Remedy: Fire them and put them on welfare.
None of these remedies are available to the VA. Any questions why the VA is failing at its mission?
--
#7
As a matter of perspective and a mechanism to fight frequent frustration, we used to euphemistically refer to Army DA Civilians as members of "B Company."
'B Company.'
Be there when you get there,
Be there when you leave. ~ anon
#8
Well, yes. There's nothing so uplifting as a Lieutenant Commander fresh out of Naval Postgrad, filled with ideas, who enacts major sweeping changes, and who departs eighteen months later, leaving his civilian underlings waiting breathlessly for the next vigorous stirring of the wreckage.
#9
Breathlessly? Whahaha. Little of that would have ever happened in the Army. The civilian unions, personnel offices, and "underlings" are far too entrenched. Indeed refreshing to learn that the Navy and BUPERS sill provide some measure of flexibility and accountability to their officers and senior leaders.
#10
Hey, Pappy, we used to deal with the 12 month churn and burn on command rotations. Someone finally extended it to 18 months. Woot, woot. Hey, just accept the fact not everyone is going to get a command billet and screwing the rest of the organization because the HR people can't/won't do work outside of getting boxes filled and assignments checked.
#11
I'll certainly agree with the futility of ticket punching, but nothing provides command turmoil and disruptions like the rigors of combat. If change cannot be effectively dealt with in peacetime, what is to happen when the shi* hits the fan ?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
According to an analysis of recent solar trends by William Livingston and Matthew Penn of the National Solar Observatory in Tucson:
[DAWN] Adding Arabic as the fourth language, on top of English, Urdu and a regional language fits into the process of purification currently underway.
Wazoo
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
