Hyscience

May 11, 2008

Todays Change Of Pace Redux - Ofra Haza: If Only Her Message Of Peace In the ME Were Heeded

With her striking, Middle Eastern beauty, she was the sister every Israeli would like to have had: talented, warm, spontaneous, unspoiled. She was a cliché -- the ninth child of poor Yemenite immigrants, a star who made it from the back streets of South Tel Aviv to Hollywood, then came home. But she transcended the cliché.
Ofra was Israel's pop star laureate. Her fans spanned generations and ethnic divides. She was chosen to sing in Oslo when Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize. She sang again at the memorial concert after Rabin's assassination. Ehud Barak and Bibi Netanyahu paid public tribute after her death. Peres eulogized her at the graveside.

In the way of a change of pace, here's a repost of what was originally posted on Hyscience on April 29, 2007: The incredible Ofra Haza - The Greatest Israeli Singer That Ever Lived (You might want to turn up your speakers - especially in listening to the 1st video below - "Middle East"). Ofra is said to have bridged the divide between Israel and Arab countries - and has been described as having the most upper harmonic overtones of any singer in history!

Ofra Haza (Hebrew: עפרה חזה; November 19, 1957 - February 23, 2000) was a popular Israeli singer, actress and international recording artist.

Of Yemenite Jewish ancestry, Haza was born the youngest of nine children in the poor Tel Aviv neighborhood of Hatikvah. She became an instant local and then national success story, the subject of great pride for many Israelis of Yemenite origin.

Her voice has been described as mezzo-soprano, of near-flawless tonal quality, capable of lending itself to a variety of musical styles with apparent ease. It is thought likely that Haza's voice had the most upper harmonic overtones of any singer in history, reaching as many as 32 on some songs (edit - the great Yma Sumac could sing just 5) , such as "Love Song" from the album Shaday (1988) - see video clip below.

Inspired by a love of her Yemenite-Jewish culture, the appeal of her musical art quickly spread to a wider Middle Eastern audience, somehow bridging the divide between Israel and the Arab countries.

Here Ofra Haza sings "Middle East" - Rome Olympic Stadium - 1993 (note that this song about terrorism in the ME was sung 14 years ago - long before the U.S. went into Iraq)

[...] In my Promised Land In the Middle East What will we do about terrorism? In my Promised Land In the Middle East What can we do about fanaticism? You and I on parallel lines You and I, we are the key Dreams are not enough To lead and guide us To peace In the Middle East
.. Flare lights, flowers, mothers, fathers,
Homeland, green fields and tears
Borders, rivers, desert, Dead Sea
We are the key
Flare lights, flowers, mothers, fathers,
Homeland, green fields and tears
Borders, rivers, desert, Dead Sea
When can we meet? (more).

Here is Ofra Haza singing Kaddish - the Jewish mourner's prayer. In this video, her incredibly beautiful voice is remarkably obvious.

For salvation, Kaddish,
For redemption, Kaddish,
For forgiveness, Kaddish,
For health, Kaddish,
For all the wars victims, Kaddish,
For all the holocaust victims, Kaddish

Yerushalaim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold)

Ofra Haza at Montreux Jazz Festival in 1990. - Love Song

[Lyrics in extended post]
If only somehow, as Ofra Haza did with her singing - Arab and Jew could again learn to share something together besides hate!

Ofra Haza's greatest international recognition came with the single "Im Nin Alu", taken from the album Shaday. Here she sings it at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1990.

Continue reading "Todays Change Of Pace Redux - Ofra Haza: If Only Her Message Of Peace In the ME Were Heeded"

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Saudi Arabia Held 'Fantastic Forum' To Discuss Women's Role In The Workplace

"Saudi scholar Hatoon al-Fassi did a study about 'Women In Pre-Islamic Arabia' and found that women enjoyed more rights 1300 years ago than they are today in the Kingdom." - Middle East Online.

Clerics, ministers and businessmen gathered at a forum in Riyadh in April to discuss women in the workplace. Unfortunately, no women were allowed to attend!

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History Books In U.S. Public Schools Promoting Islam

When you send your child to public schools, the last thing you expect them to be taught is Islam. However, that's exactly what's happening in schools across the America.

According to a new report by the American Textbook Council, an independent organization that researches and reviews textbooks, history textbooks being used by hundreds of thousands of public school students across the U.S. are blatantly promoting Islam...

The new report is from the American Textbook Council, which was established in 1989 as an independent national research organization to review social studies textbooks and advance the quality of instructional materials in history.

In the two-year project, whose report was authored by Gilbert T. Sewall, the ATC reviewed five junior and five high school world and American history texts, concluding:

"Many political and religious groups try to use the textbook process to their advantage, but the deficiencies in Islam-related lessons are uniquely disturbing. History textbooks present an incomplete and confected view of Islam that misrepresents its foundations and challenges to international security."

The report finds that the texts present "disputed definitions and claims [regarding Islam] ... as established facts."

"Islamic activists use multiculturalism and ready-made American-made political movements, especially those on campus, to advance and justify the makeover of Islam-related textbook content," the report continued.

"Particular fault rests with the publishing corporations, boards of directors, and executives who decide what editorial policies their companies will pursue," the report said.

Much more here ...

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What Did Obama Know And When Did He Know It ?

Would you believe Obama knew everything, and he's known it for ages ?

So says Stanley Kurtz at the Weekly Standard:

[...] To the question of the moment--What did Barack Obama know and when did he know it?--I answer, Obama knew everything, and he's known it for ages. Far from succumbing to surprise and shock after Jeremiah Wright's disastrous performance at the National Press Club, Barack Obama must have long been aware of his pastor's political radicalism. A careful reading of nearly a year's worth of Trumpet Newsmagazine, Wright's glossy national "lifestyle magazine for the socially conscious," makes it next to impossible to conclude otherwise.

Wright founded Trumpet Newsmagazine in 1982 as a "church newspaper"--primarily for his own congregation, one gathers--to "preach a message of social justice to those who might not hear it in worship service." So Obama's presence at sermons is not the only measure of his knowledge of Wright's views. Glance through even a single issue of Trumpet, and Wright's radical politics are everywhere--in the pictures, the headlines, the highlighted quotations, and above all in the articles themselves. It seems inconceivable that, in 20 years, Obama would never have picked up a copy of Trumpet. In fact, Obama himself graced the cover at least once (although efforts to obtain that issue from the publisher or Obama's interview with the magazine from his campaign were unsuccessful).

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May 10, 2008

Obama Campaign Introduces Customized American Lapel Pins In Honor Of Extra States

What extra states?

I picked this up from Suitably Flip, and it's just too good not to pass around:

In celebration of his having traveled to an impressive 57 states (and he says he's got 1 more to go) in his bid for the Presidency (and to finally put to rest the notion that he abhors patriotic accessories), Barack Obama's campaign has introduced a custom line of American flag lapel pins.

Get yours today and show your support for the least senile candidate in the race!

I thought this guy graduated from Harvard and has a law degree. Hmmm..., I guess Harvard doesn't teach real American history or geography. Else, he's "loosing his bearings."

Be sure to take the time to read Andrew Malcolm's humorous quips at the LAT on Obama's misspeaks.

Other coverage: Pink Flamingo, Jawa Report, Hot Air.

While we're on Obama gaffes, remember these?

When it comes to naive - Obama seems absolutely clueless on defense. It's either that or he is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Jim Quinn argues point by point Obama's childlike assertions on national defense including abandoning the anti-missile defense system.

Obama's strategies would leave the U.S. very vulnerable to any foe.

Quinn says that Barack Obama is "either the Manchurian candidate who has been picked to destroy the country or he's just an absolute naive fool."

Audio from the Quinn & Rose radio show broadcast 2-28-2008 on XM satellite radio originating from WPGB in Pittsburgh, PA.
.
What a package - inexperience, audacity, hope, change and stupidity!

Simply, Obama is weak on defense but talks recklessly about going into Pakistan. He says what he thinks any particular audience wants to hear.

"Yes We Can"........"O-bam-a"

And this guy is running for president of the United States of America? Even more dumbfounding is the fact that there are people naive enough and/or uninformed enough to actually vote for this character (wrong word - his has none).

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May 9, 2008

Our Choices For President And The Choices They've Made

Barack Obama has presented as his core argument that he possesses the superior judgment to be President. So, Dan Proft -Don Wade & Roma Morning Show - WLS 890-AM suggest that his argument demands a thorough examination of both his personal history and professional record and that we consider these two snapshots at a watershed moment in each one's life:

At the same respective points in their lives as grown men in their early 30s, Obama decided to sidle up to Chicago political machine bosses and their financiers and the chichi Hyde Park set of pseudo-intellectual socialists to advance his political career. That earned Obama an appointment to a State Senate seat in 1996.

At a similar age, John McCain made an important decision as well. He decided to forgo his early release from a North Vietnamese POW camp, an offer extended to him because of his father's position in the military. McCain would not walk unless the other POWs who had been captured before him were also released. That earned McCain an additional five years of torture in a Viet Cong prison camp and, for all he knew at the time, was a decision that would cost him his life.

Consider what you would have done if presented with the same offer with which McCain was presented, and more importantly, think about what Obama's choices to date tell us about what his choice would be. Especially given what we know about his choices as "we've watched him over the last couple of months provide ever-evolving answers and, ultimately, denunciation of his 20-year pastor (only because Rev. Wright wasn't properly concerned about Obama's campaign)?" Hell, he even through his grandmother under the bus to save his own ass.

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Prayer Day For Muslims: 'Oh Allah Kill Them (Jews and Americans) Down to the Very Last One'

Howie reminds us that today is Friday, The Muslim Holy Day, so it is worth noting that today prayers and sermons like these will be repeated in many mosques throughout America:

Excerpts from a sermon delivered by Ahmad Bahr, acting speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, which aired on Sudan TV on April 13, 2007:
"You will be victorious" on the face of this planet. You are the masters of the world on the face of this planet. Yes, [the Koran says that] "you will be victorious."..." They are cowards, who are eager for life, while we are eager for death for the sake of Allah. That is why America's nose was rubbed in the mud in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Somalia, and everywhere."

Brigitte Gabriel, founder of ACT for America and American Congress for Truth has warned about hate teaching literature being used in Muslim mosques in America:

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More On Obama's Improbable Arguments

"If Obama is elected president, we can count on at least two things: bad economic policy and bad foreign policy. And we won't be able to say we weren't warned."

Scott at Powerline has more - with links.

Clearly, America has much to be concerned about a possible Obama presidency. As Gerard Baker offered in his piece titled, "Obama: is America ready for this dangerous left winger?," we should listen to the rhetoric of Barack Obama ...

if you listen to Mr Obama's speeches, it is not the lack of substance but the quality of it that ought to worry Americans. His victory speech after his latest primary win in Wisconsin this week was a case in point.

There was no shortage of proposals. He plans large increases in government spending on health and education. He wants to tax the rich more to pay for it. He is against companies using the opportunities of free markets to restructure their operations in the US. He is vehemently protectionist. He continues to insist, despite the growing evidence that this left-wing nostrum would be lunacy, that the US must pull its troops out of Iraq with the utmost dispatch.

While he speaks of the need for Americans to move beyond partisanship ("We are not blue states or red states, but the United States" is a campaign meme), when you cut through the verbiage there is nothing to suggest he believes anything that is seriously at odds with the far Left of his party. If you think about it for a second, it's not really an accident that he has been endorsed by the likes of Ted Kennedy and Jesse Jackson.

Though he talks with great eloquence about the future, he sounds for all the world like one of the long line of Democrats from George McGovern to Walter Mondale to Michael Dukakis, who became history by espousing policies and striking a rhetorical pose that was well out of the mainstream of American politics.

America is certainly moving left in the post-George Bush era. The long period of conservative ascendancy is clearly over, buried by a Republican Party of recent years that has preached intolerance and practiced incompetence. That a new era in American politics is beginning is not in doubt. But are Americans really ready to leap all the way across in one go to embrace a European-style Left?

So, how dangerous is Barack Obama for America? Doug Patton has called Obama "the most dangerous man in America" and says why by laying out just where Obama stands on a few of the key issues:

Abortion: Barack Obama is a radical, pro-abortion liberal. He believes that American women should have an unfettered right to destroy the babies in their wombs at any stage and for any reason.

Gun control: Again, Obama is among the more extreme members of the U.S. Senate. In the last year, he has voted against shielding firearms manufacturers from lawsuits due to gun violence and in favor of legislation that would ban the sale or transfer of any and all semi-automatic firearms.

Health care: Obama has said he believes that health care is a basic human right. (Funny, I must have missed that one in the Bill of Rights.)

Immigration: As an Illinois state senator in 1998, Obama voted to give welfare and Medicaid to (illegal) immigrants.

Judges: Obama voted against the nominations of both John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, and participated in the filibuster of Alito.

National security: The junior senator from Illinois voted against reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act.

Continue reading "More On Obama's Improbable Arguments"

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Andrew Sullivan: Vote For Obama Because Brown-skinned People, Hamas And Iran Love Him

If you're thinking, "You've got to be kidding!" - well, not really.

Tom Maguire comments on Andrew Sullivans view that you should vote for Obama:

So let me project Sully's view onto the current dust-up - we should vote for the black guy because of his cosmetic appeal to brown-skinned third worlders, but we should be appalled at the suggestion that third-world jihadists will consider him likely to be more sympathetic. Is everybody clear?
I am not.
PILING ON: Jimmy Carter, famous Democrat, former President and lifetime clown, met with Hamas; if Hamas were asked to guess which party is more likely to be sympathetic to them, can we think of a reason they would answer "the Democrats"?

Beirut Falling into Hizbullah Hands

Jeha has been mapping the fight:

(Click map to enlarge. More maps here ...)

The situation in Beirut is dire, with Hizbullah ~~gunmen~~ "shia thugs" having taken control of large parts of Beirut and forced the closure of MP Saad Hariri's media outlets in a major confrontation with Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government.

Only yesterday, the Army Warned that "Tension Threatens Unity of the Troops":

The Lebanese Army Command on Thursday warned that persisting violence "poses a threat to unity of the military establishment" and offered to help the feuding factions work out a settlement. The command, in a communiqué, said the army is committed to carrying out its duty in protecting citizens and property. The command, in a communiqué, said the army is committed to carrying out its duty in protecting citizens and property "despite major difficulties that are known to all.""

Of course we all know what the "despite major difficulties that are known to all" comment means in non-PC-speak. In other words, "certain" lebanese troops are inclined to put their religion before service to their country!

And just in case you're among the incredibly naive nutjobs that somehow still believe that this all this has nothing to do with Syria and Iran: "At Ransacked Future TV Office, Hariri Photos Down, Assad Photos Up ... " (Images via BeirutSpring.com)

More news updates, images, video, and analysis are available over at Blacksmiths of Lebanon.

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May 8, 2008

Lebanon Explodes

(Map of the fighting - HT Jehas' Nail)

Hezbollah and the Sunni Militias are fighting in Lebanon right now. Live reports from Lebanon here, images of the fighting can be found here.

No surprise, the Hezbollah has essentially declared war on the Lebanese government. Syria is most definitely involved. Naharnet reports that Hizbullah has linked its private telephone networks to the Syrian Army's communications system as well as to Syria's mobile telephone network allowing Syrian intelligence to operate freely in Lebanon and avoid Lebanese controls.

Here's Some observations into Sayyed Hassan Nassrallah's speech. It provides some insight into how this Islamofascist thinks.

Running updates are available at Lebanese Forces.com.

Eye Witness Video of Street Fighting:

Location Given: Mazraa Street ( HT - Blacksmiths of Lebanon )

Naharnet live coverage here ...

Other coverage:
Strike, Demonstrations, Mayhem across Lebanon (on Wednesday)

Hot Air
BBC coverage here ...

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OPEC: 'There is Clearly No Shortage of Oil in the Market'

This is coming from what is essentially a mouthpiece for the oil and gas industry, but regardless of the source, this report - if true, begs the question of why are gas prices continuing to rise so drastically, with what has been almost daily increases (Note: an AP report says the same thing):

In recent months, oil prices have become increasingly volatile, mainly driven by financial market developments and the increased flow of speculative funds into oil futures. The turmoil in some global equity markets and the considerable depreciation in the US dollar have encouraged investors to seek better returns in commodities, particularly in the crude oil futures market. This has driven prices higher.

There is clearly no shortage of oil in the market. OECD commercial oil stocks remain above the five-year average, with days of forward cover at a comfortable level of more than 53 days. US crude inventories, meanwhile, rose by almost six million barrels last week, which is a further indication that oil supplies are plentiful. OPEC Member Countries continue to produce at more than 32 million barrels a day (mb/d). In addition, a number of new OPEC crude oil projects have started to come on-stream and OPEC spare capacity continues to increase, with the figure currently standing above 3 mb/d. At the same time, crude oil movements indicate that some Member Countries are unable to find buyers for their additional supply.

OPEC will continue to be proactive and monitor these developments closely. The Organization stands ready to act if the market shows a need for any further measures.

The Organization will continue to strive for a stable and balanced market, with prices that reflect fundamentals, and are favorable to both producers and consumers.

Crude oil reached a record $123.55 per barrel Wednesday and were $123.04 Thursday morning. As Fadel Gheit, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York, points out, there is no reason why oil prices should be above $60," given that domestic crude supplies are at average levels and refineries are cutting gasoline production as high prices cut consumers demand for fuel. The physical supplies do not justify the price, it just doesn't make sense. Gheit believes that if oil prices go the way that pundits are expecting, there's no way we'll stay under $4 a gallon,

And as John Wilen notes in his AP piece today, many analysts feel speculative investment driven by the dollar's protracted decline is the real reason behind higher prices. However, there are other factors:

The dollar fell against the euro Thursday, attracting investors who view commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation. Also, a weaker dollar makes oil cheaper to investors overseas.

Still, the market sometimes ignores the dollar, as it did Wednesday when oil surged to new records although the dollar advanced. Some analysts say that's a sign that many investors are buying on pure momentum -- believing prices will head higher regardless of negative data, news or dollar movements.

"There's a lot of momentum driving the oil price up," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

Is there a short-range solution to our problem? One columnist says you bet there is, and our elected officials are not successfully driving it into existence.

The western United States has the largest untapped high quality oil shale reserves in the world. It is called the Green River formation. The formation is located in parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Many processes exist for getting a synthetic form of crude oil out of oil shale. If we were to produce about 12 million barrels of shale-derived crude oil per day, we would not need to import a single drop of crude petroleum. It is known that the process is currently cost effective at $70 per barrel. The formation is also known to be so large that the region has a capacity that can last several centuries.

Yet, if supply isn't really the problem, what is? There may be some merit to the idea that a weak dollar is contributing to the problem. Oil dipped to near $123/bbl today following the previous day's new high as the dollar firmed (of course the change could just as easily been due to the phase of the moon). Likely, the difference is, indeed, speculation. While I'm certainly not an oil price guru, it seems that dropping the ridiculous environmentalist-driven policies requiring multiple blends of gas and prohibiting drilling and new refineries will be a good beginning in driving the prices back down. Should oil prices continue to rise, the voice of the American voter just may get loud enough to wake up the clueless politicians in Washington and force them to listen to common sense solutions.

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On Juan And John, And Money

...... not exactly a harbinger of good things to come from John McCain on solving our open-borders problem.

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The 'Unthinkable Motive' Of Liberals (Video)

In this clip, Sam Harris "touches on a blind spot shared by many commentators, especially on the left (HT - David Thompson).

David Thompson on Sam Harris, "root causes" and the left's disbelief in Islam as a motive for terrorism...

"I think liberals, almost by definition, don't know what it's like to really believe in God. They don't know what it's like to be sure that the book they keep by their bedside is the literal word of the creator of the universe and that death is merely a passage to an eternity of happiness. And so they find it very difficult to believe that anyone actually believes this stuff and is motivated by the content of their religious beliefs. And so liberals, when they see the jihadist look into the video camera and say things like 'we love death more than the infidels love life' - and then he blows himself up - it's the liberal in our society, the religious moderate or the secularist, who is left thinking that's just propaganda."

Continue reading ...

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WaPo On Obama: ''he has done his share and then some of telling people what they want to hear''

As Jennifer Rubin quips - "Now they tell us."

The Washington Post, a bit late for Democratic primary voters to consider, notes that despite Barack Obama's high-minded talk about rising above the Red state-Blue state divide, "his political program and his legislative record are almost entirely blue." Wait: he's really liberal? Who knew! Then the Post confesses that
... he has done his share and then some of telling people what they want to hear: on middle-class tax cuts, on trade, on how easy it will be "to end a war that isn't making us safer." There's been a lot less in the way of straight talk about tough choices.
Well, come to think of it ,we haven't heard him explain the economic impact of large tax increases during a recession or how exactly visiting with dictators and withdrawing from Iraq won't embolden our enemies. (He might even wade through to page 18 of the same newspaper, look over the story of the latest Guantanamo releasee who engaged in a suicide bombing and explain how one of his party's favorite ideas-shutting down the reviled Guantanamo-won't endanger more lives.)

More ...

Although most of us Center-right folks already know the answer (personally, I claim to be an Independent - leaning right although my wife calls me a Democrat when she's mad at me...), I've struggled a bit on expressing why it is that news travels so slow at Fox and other MSM, and most particularly why the truth about Obama is so slow to surface. It's as though there's a conspiracy of sorts underway in the media to protect Obama. This morning I spotted Andy Martin's piece over at PR-Insider, in which he offers an explanation:

Media other than Fox, many of which are unashamedly pro-Obama, are really not interested in unpleasant truths about Obama. More critically, Democrats themselves discourage and suppress truth-telling by asking their presidential candidates to avoid "personal attacks." Constant demands over the past year to "keep it positive" were directives to protect Obama from serious inquiry and exposure.

Tuesday night the cover-up was continuing. The airwaves were saturated with pundits saying it was "all right for Hillary to stay in the race," so long as she kept her comments "positive" and did not attack or expose Obama in any fashion. In other words, the mainstream media and leading Democrats have been in an active but informal conspiracy to suppress the truth about Obama.

Aha! Bingo! Albeit not a revelation, but it's great to see someone else write the word - conspiracy. Although I know very little about Andy Martin or his credibility, I do know that what he says now has been completely obvious to everyone with more than two brain cells to rub together. As for why so many people are so quick to fall for Obama's smooth-talking, empty, rhetoric? My quick answer is naiveté, the inexperience and lack of wisdom naturally inherent in youth, the lack of education and the distorted world view of Black culture, and the liberal mindset of educated Whites. My long answer is shorter than my first and far too politically incorrect to write here.

Now comes my follow-up: Who is behind it and why? The obvious answers are far left liberal bias of journalists, editor bias, and management bias; and money. The next follow-up is of course - who's money and why?

Oh, I do have one more question: Who is George Soros! (Just a random thought)

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