Life in the USSR

The officials were still rounding up people on Saturday and Sunday to perform “friendly labor” in order to help out our “new government,” which by now was beginning to take over all the businesses and factories—it was to become the “power” to all the poor. It was also a time when new rules were being issued against all religions and all believers. Most of the young people were being watched, and the children in school were being taught that there is no God. Most of the churches were closed, except for two or three of the big Orthodox churches, which remained open. But only a few of the older people attended the services. The schoolchildren were instructed to tell on their parents if they practiced religion at home. The people were watched closely, especially at Christmas and at Easter time. I remember Mama and Papa hiding our small Christmas tree in the pantry, and on Easter the colored eggs were not displayed but were kept hidden from the neighbors. It was also a time when many people of intellect and affluence were being picked up and would never be seen again by their families.

It was a time when we children were taught to be silent and not to tell—outside of our home—about our family background or anything that we knew about our families. We were instructed to never talk about anything that happened or was said in our own home. I remember so well that Mama and Papa would tell us that the “walls have ears” and that we should whisper and never talk loudly. I didn’t understand what they meant. I would imagine that our walls could hear us and that there was something very strange about our home and its walls. When I would want to talk, I would look at the walls and ask Mama if I should whisper or if I could speak out.

Source: The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister (2011) by Nonna Bannister.

It should be mentioned Nonna (the author) was describing her experience when Joseph Stalin was the leader. According to Henry Kissinger in his World Order book  Stalin “eliminated all of the other original revolutionary leaders in a decade of purges, and deployed a largely conscripted labor force to build up Russia’s industrial capacity.” A real nice guy. He did this to consolidate “socialism in one country.”

Also, according to Kissinger, Stalin also thought that the capitalist system inevitably produced wars; hence the end of World War II would at best be an armistice.

Franklin Roosevelt felt the USSR was ‘good guy’ who will respond properly and decently if you treat him right. Does that sound familiar? Apply that thinking to radical Islam. Then again most people back then thought this way about the USSR. After all they were America’s allies during WWII. Only a few like General George Patton didn’t trust the Soviet Union. He was proved right in the end.

Islam and Treaties

In the early Islamic system, nonaggression treaties with non-Muslim societies were permissible. According to traditional jurisprudence, these were pragmatic arrangements of limited duration, allowing the Islamic party to secure itself from threats while gathering strength and cohesion. Based on a precedent set by the early Islamic state in entering truces with foes it eventually vanquished, they were limited to terms of specific duration, up to ten years, that could be renewed as needed: in this spirit, in the early centuries of Muslim history, “Islamic legal rulings stipulate that a treaty cannot be forever, since it must be immediately void should the Muslims become capable of fighting them.”

What these treaties did not imply was a permanent system in which the Islamic state would interact on equal terms with sovereign non-Muslim states: “The communities of the dar al-harb were regarded as being in a ‘state of nature,’ for they lacked legal competence to enter into intercourse with Islam on the basis of equality and reciprocity because they failed to conform to its ethical and legal standards.” Because in this view the domestic principles of an Islamic state were divinely ordained, non-Muslim political entities were illegitimate; they could never be accepted by Muslim states as truly equal counterparts.

Source: World Order (2014) by Henry Kissinger.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, America, Israel and the western world are the dar al-harb. I wonder if the current leaders of Iran hold these views.

Well, this is what the Supreme Leader said about America in May 2014:

"The reason for the emphasis placed on the continuation of combat, is not because of the war-mongering of the Islamic establishment. It is only rational that for crossing a region filled with pirates, one should fully equip themselves and be motivated and capable of defending themselves.

"Under such circumstances, we have no option but to continue combat and allow the idea of combat to rule all domestic and foreign affairs of the country.

"Those who seek to promote concession-making and surrendering to bullies and accuse the Islamic establishment of warmongering are indeed committing treason.

"All the officials in the country in the field of economy, science, culture, policy-making, lawmaking and foreign negotiations should be aware that they are fighting and are continuing the combat for the establishment and survival of the Islamic system….jihad is never-ending because the Satan and the satanic front will exist eternally."

Hmm. Looks like the answer is yes.  ISIS surely does still hold these views. As well as the other Islamists.

By the way, Dar al-harb in Arabic means “house of war.”

Our Poop Could Be a Literal Goldmine Worth Millions

From The Blaze.com (Mar. 23):

It might not smell like roses, but sewage could be a goldmine, according to scientists who say that solid waste has a wealth of metals that could be worth millions if they were harvested.

Dr. Kathleen Smith with the U.S. Geological Survey revealed gold, silver and rare elements like palladium can be extracted from treated waste.

“There are metals everywhere — in your hair care products, detergents, even nanoparticles that are put in socks to prevent bad odors,” Smith said in a statement.

Smith, a presenter at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, explained that wastewater treatment yields treated water and biosolids. With more than 7 million tons of biosolids produced in the U.S. each year, the purpose of Smith’s research is twofold.  [read more]

Well, at least we can get some rare earth elements out of poop since China now, according to a 60 minutes story, basically cornered the market on rare earth elements. America was the leading source of rare earth elements in the beginning but a main plant shut down for a while because of environmental reasons and China took advantage of the situation. Rare earth elements are used a lot in electronics like cell phones.

What is Social Justice? video

Source: What is Social Justice? from Prager University.com.

Just like global warming no-one really knows what social justice means. The same with economic justice and any other term with the word “justice” at the end.  Justice is about righting an individual wrong. The key word here is “individual.” I don’t know how a person can right a wrong done to a group of people. It doesn’t make sense. Your are dealing with abstract concepts. Each person in that group may feel he was done wrong in different ways and different degrees and wants different justice done. The only way to make the concept work is if you ignore individual difference in the group. In other words, you stereotype the members. And that’s not fair to the group.

Informative and interesting video.

Israel only nation condemned in UN for women's right violations

From Ynetnews.com (Mar. 21):

Out of nine official documents produced from the UN's annual Commission on the Status of Women report, only one of the UN's 193 members were mentioned in regards to ongoing infringement of women's rights – Israel – in what Jerusalem says in another case of UN bias.

The document, titled the "Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women", slams Israel for the ongoing occupation of the West Bank, a situation which it says has led to "(h)igh levels of unemployment and poverty" among Palestinians, especially women.

"Palestinian women and girls still face significant obstacles in accessing basic services, health care, psychosocial support, water and sanitation, justice institutions and economic opportunities," the report noted.

It is worth noting that according to a 2014 World Economic Forum report, Israel ranked 57th out 137 for female political empowerment; the US ranked 54th and Saudi Arabia ranked 117th. Some 27 of Israel's 120 Knesset members are women.  [read more]

This report is pure B. S. The UN is a joke. Zell Miller is right UN is a useless nuisance.

Just so you know, Yemen, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), is ranked last with the score of 0.515 (1 is the highest) for gender equality. So, if the UN is going to condemn a country maybe Yemen would be a better choice. I don’t what Palestine's ranking is. The WEF didn’t rank it.

EPA wants to monitor how long hotel guests spend in the shower

From Freebeacon.com (Mar. 17):

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants hotels to monitor how much time its guests spend in the shower.

The agency is spending $15,000 to create a wireless system that will track how much water a hotel guest uses to get them to “modify their behavior.”

“Hotels consume a significant amount of water in the U.S. and around the world,” an EPA grant to the University of Tulsa reads. “Most hotels do not monitor individual guest water usage and as a result, millions of gallons of potable water are wasted every year by hotel guests.”

“The proposed work aims to develop a novel low cost wireless device for monitoring water use from hotel guest room showers,” it said. “This device will be designed to fit most new and existing hotel shower fixtures and will wirelessly transmit hotel guest water usage data to a central hotel accounting system.” [read more]

Why stop there? Why not monitor showers in apartments and homes? Why not monitor all water usage like watering the grass and flushing toilets? Or washing clothes and dishes in homes?

This is a waste of tax payers money. This is pure fascism. If this was mandatory in homes, the elites’ homes would of course be exempted. After all they are special and they wouldn’t waste water (because they are enlightened and so intelligent). Then again since the masses are not so wise they would be wasteful. 

The ATF’s Ammo Ban Is Back…in the Form of a New Bill From Democrats

From The Blaze.com (Mar. 16):

Four House Democrats have taken the Obama administration’s idea of a regulation to ban a widely used kind of ammunition — one it had to pull back because it was so unpopular — and turned it into legislation.

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) introduced the Armor Piercing Bullets Act, which he said would ban the sale of “.223-dervied, 5.56x45mm NATO ‘green tip’ rounds” that are commonly used on the AR-15 rifle. That’s the same ban that the ATF proposed in February, through the adoption of a “framework” that would justify a ban on all bullets that can pierce police body armor.

The ATF’s framework prompted the submission of almost 90,000 comments, most of which opposed the plan as one that would ban a popular round used in a popular rifle. For years, these green tip rounds have enjoyed an exception from a ban on armor-piercing bullets, because they are generally used for sporting purposes.

But even when announcing that this framework would be indefinitely delayed, the ATF indicated it would continue to work on the issue and see if there’s a way to implement its framework. At a hearing last week, ATF Director B. Todd Jones said his agency was “figuring out how we do this rationally.”

Engel was more direct, and said the ATF had it right, and that it’s framework should now be implemented via legislation.

“As the ATF rightly pointed out, these rounds can easily be loaded into concealed pistols and other short guns, making them particularly dangerous to police officers,” Engel noted. “The well-being of the men and women who protect us should not, and need not, be a partisan issue. I encourage all of my colleagues in Congress to support this obvious measure that will, if enacted, save lives.”  [read more]

I doubt it would save lives. How can you prove that anyway? The criminals would still find a way to get the bullets anyway and they are the ones who would use them especially the gangs. The Fraternal Order of Police isn’t worried about this type of bullet so why should these Dems be worried?

You got to give it to the Dems though. They don’t give up. Their war on the 2nd amendment continues.

Myths, Lies and Capitalism video

Source: Myths, Lies and Capitalism from Prager University.com.

Interesting video that dispels the myths (actually lies) that the Left spreads about the free-market system. Most of these myths are based on emotion specifically envy.

Pakistan: Can Sharia and Freedom Coexist? video

Watch and find out.

Source: “Pakistan: Can Sharia and Freedom Coexist?” from Prager University.com. 

The Nazis wanted to pure the races, the Communists wanted to pure the classes, and the Islamists want to pure the belief systems. If Islam wants to join in the civilized world it has to reform like Christianity did. But if the moderates, modern, or even the traditionalists in the religion don’t speak out it will never be able to.

Freedom House.org currently rates Pakistan partly free. The country does not have freedom of the press or internet freedom.

Economically speaking its freedom score is 55.6. It’s property rights score is 30. It’s fiscal freedom is 77.0. According to the Heritage.org’s line graph its economic freedom slightly improves. Let’s hope that improvement continues. Now, only if its civil liberties would get better.

Christianity versus Islam

Novelist Brad Thor on his Facebook page had an interesting observation about the spread Christianity and the spread of Islam. He said: “In Christianity's first four centuries, it spreads peacefully and converts the Roman Empire. In Islam's first four centuries, it spreads violently and triggers the Crusades.”

Make sense to me. If you force, bully, or coerce someone to belief your way, then that person will resent you and even be angry at you.  He might not even keep your belief system. There is even a better chance he will rebel against your belief system. The Crusades is a good example of this rebellion.

On the other hand, if you honestly persuade someone to your belief system then that person will make it part of his belief system. He will more than likely keep it and be at peace with it. Yes, persuasion takes longer and requires patient than forcing someone, but if your goal is to convert someone and have that conversion take hold for a long time then persuasion is your best bet. Keep in mind before the Roman Empire was converted they were pagans. The Empire persecuted Christians until Constantine was converted.

10 Principles for Replacing ObamaCare

From FreedomWorks.org (Feb. 24):

1. Health care decisions should be made  between patients and doctors—the  government should never have a say.
2. Increasing access to health care is about  letting markets provide lower costs for  higher quality of care—not just having an insurance policy.
3. Tax policy should not favor individuals or companies with regard to purchasing health insurance.
4. Regulation of private health insurance should be done by the states.
5. Medicare should allow all seniors a choice of plans in a competitive market and the option to opt out altogether if they choose.
6. Medicaid should move towards a state-controlled model—one in which states have flexibility to innovate and find ways to deliver better quality care with their Medicaid dollars.
7. Patients should be incentivized to save and spend their own money (tax free) on health care through health savings accounts.
8. The abuses of the medical malpractice system must be addressed by the states.
9. Individuals with pre-existing conditions should be accommodated at the state level.
10. ObamaCare must be dismantled entirely.

[read more]

A great plan. Basically let the states handle the healthcare. For those Leftists who say republicans and conservatives don’t have a plan—here is one.

The problem with the healthcare system is prices. No-one knows what the prices of services and equipment are. If consumers know they are purchasing, prices would come down naturally.  Also, we should be able to buy health insurance across state lines like we do with other insurances. It’s stupid we can’t do that.

Father’s Devastating Testimony on Illegal Immigration: ‘Do Black Lives Really Matter?’

From The Blaze.com (Feb. 25):

Jamiel Shaw, whose son was murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2008, blasted the Obama administration’s immigration policies during a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing on Wednesday.

“My son, Jamiel Andre Shaw II, was murdered by a DREAMer, a DACA recipient, a child brought to this country by no fault of his own,” Shaw began. “My family’s peace and freedom was stolen by an illegal alien from Mexico. He was brought here by his illegal alien parents and allowed to grow up as a wild animal.”

He continued: “Some people believe that if you are brought over by no fault of your own that it makes you a good person. They want you to believe that DREAM Act kids don’t murder. I am here to debunk that myth.”

Though Shaw’s son was murdered in 2008, before Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was implemented, he said his son’s killer would likely be qualified under DACA.

Shaw then delivered a gut-wrenching account of how his son was murdered by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record.

“My son, Jamiel Shaw II, was murdered while walking on his own street, three houses down from his home. An illegal alien on his first gun charge was visiting a neighbor when my son was coming home,” he said. “He shot my son in the stomach and then in the head, killing him.”

“Do black lives really matter? Or does it matter only if you are shot by a white person or a white policeman?” Shaw asked.  [read more]

Evidently the illegal alien didn’t know “black lives matter.”

Not every illegal (sorry, I meant to say “American-in-waiting”. Geez, another stupid useless term from the regime) is law abiding. They break America’s laws by coming over hear illegally in the first place. I believe it is called trespassing.  Anyway, if they had any respect for America they wouldn’t be doing that in the first place. Then again who knows what Mexican schools teach about America.

FCC Approves Net Neutrality in Straight Party-Line Vote

From The Blaze.com (Feb. 26):

In what one Republican called a “monumental shift toward government control of the Internet,” the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved a proposal granting the federal government the authority to regulate Internet broadband providers under the same law as public utilities.

The five commissioners voted 3-2 along party lines in favor of the proposal known as net neutrality. The 317-page plan, which has not yet been publicly released, bans broadband providers from blocking, throttling or prioritizing certain Internet pages over others. The FCC has said the proposal will not seek to impose any new taxes or fees.

The three Democrats voiced their support of the measure while the two Republicans dissented. Democrats say they have the authority to impose the new regulations under under Title II of the Federal Communications Act of 1934.

In his remarks, Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai called the plan a “monumental shift toward government control of the Internet” and a “rapid departure” from market-oriented approaches.

Wheeler said the new regulations will make America “more competitive,” not hinder its ability to compete when asked by a reporter after the meeting to respond to such claims. [read more]

File this plan under “if you like your internet you can keep it.” And like Obamacare no-one knows what’s in the plan—I guess you have to pass it to know what is in it. Internet it was good to know you. Goodbye conservative blogs, goodbye Rush Limbaugh.com, Fox News.com, Hannity.com, The Drudge Report.com, etc. Basically, any website that doesn’t tow the line for the regime or doesn’t contribute money to the Dems. Am I being over-reactive?  We’ll see, but if the plan is great then why was it kept secret before it was enacted? Also, expect to see slower download speeds and buffering.

You can read Freedomworks.org article on what Net Neutrality does.

The internet bothers the Left just like cars bother the left. They both represent liberty.

One other thing. Net Neutrality hurts poor minorities.

Obama to ban bullets by executive action, threatens top-selling AR-15 rifle

From Washington Examiner.com (Feb. 27):

It's starting.

As promised, President Obama is using executive actions to impose gun control on the nation, targeting the top-selling rifle in the country, the AR-15 style semi-automatic, with a ban on one of the most-used AR bullets by sportsmen and target shooters.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives this month revealed that it is proposing to put the ban on 5.56 mm ammo on a fast track, immediately driving up the price of the bullets and prompting retailers, including the huge outdoors company Cabela's, to urge sportsmen to urge Congress to stop the president. [read more]

This is a roundabout way of banning guns. Definitely a war on the 2nd Amendment. The Left think if people don’t have guns then crime will go away or be diminished. I don’t think so. Tell that to Britain and France. Especially that cop that got mowed down by an militant Muslim. The police officer didn’t have a gun to protect himself.