Quick Hits - January 2, 2012

The number of arson attacks in the Los Angeles area have increased to 55 - and the area that the attacks are taking place is also expanding.  The LAPD have detained a 'person of interest' in the arson attacks - finding him around 5am local time this morning.  The investigation and questioning is continuing.  The person detained was driving a minivan with Canadian plates that allegedly contained materials consistent for use in arson, but is believed to be originally from Germany.

On New Year's Eve, over 800 OccupyWallStreet protesters arrived at Zuccotti Park in an attempt to retake the park.  After tearing down police barricades, they clashed with police on the scene to protect the park.  One NYPD officer was stabbed - and the crowd attempted to block the ambulance taking the officer to the hospital.  Over 68 OWS protesters were arrested in the violence - and they were successfully prevented from retaking the park. 

Hollywood pinhead Ellen Barkin blasted the NYPD and NYC Mayor Bloomberg for the arrests made at Zuccotti Park in a profanity laced tweet -

“F--k all of u, Bloomberg & every1 goosestepping behind u,” she tweeted at one point, insisting that she herself had been “threatened” and “shoved” by an officer — a claim that a video shot by her own boyfriend appears to belie.

And it's a wonder to many that Hollywood's box office continues to decline?

Speaking of rants, and delusions, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, whose program was the 14th most watched cable news progam (trailing 13 Fox News broadcasts), accused Fox News Channel as 'operating with a political objective to elect Republican candidates'.  This was while she was denying any bias or focus towards the re-election of President Obama by herself or her compatriots on MSNBC - like Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz, and Laurence O'Donnell - who with Maddow, comprise the MSNBC prime time lineup.


MSNBC doesn't fall far from the bias of its parent company, NBC News.  Andrea Mitchell, who is becoming even more tedious and whinging as time passes, does her bit to help out the Obama campaign by tossing the race card against the people of Iowa - saying Iowans are 'too white, too evangelical, and too rural' to get the President and what he is trying to do.

Last night's broadcast of CBS News' 60 Minutes demonstrated that its resident harpy, Leslie Stahl, also is not beyond using the power of the press to campaign for President Obama.  Just three weeks after a major softball interview of the President, one where a very arrogant statement made by the President where he ranked himself as the 4th best President in the history of the country was edited out of the broadcast, last night's featured interview bash was the House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. During the interview with Cantor, Stahl blamed the Majority Leader for the 'gridlock' that paralyzed Congress and accused him of being an 'inflexible' ideologue putting the interests of the GOP ahead of the best interests of the country.

Welcome to the 'principles' of the press for the 2012 campaign.  I suspect that as polls continue to run against the President, their angst and anger will only become more apparent.  I only wish they were as active in protecting the interests of the people as they are in protecting a failing President.

Then again, every once in a while, the press does happen to hit on a real issue - although in this case they acknowledge the President's position and then proceed to make excuses for it.  The LA Times has an editorial today that looks at the Middle East and admits the obvious - 'Unlike his two predecessors, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Obama isn't in love with the idea of Israel.'  The commentary goes on to make the usual excuses - but fundamentally, the President's dislike of the state of Israel is very reflective of the radical left wing ideology that thrives in today's academia and from the radical pulpits similar to the one that he listened to for over 20 years which are the foundation of Obama's belief system.

The anti-Israeli positions aren't limited to those of the President either.  One of the leading elements of the Democrat 'brain trust' - the think tank 'Center for American Progress' and their offshoot, 'Media Mattres for America' are being hit by charges of anti-semitism as their accusations and attacks on Israel cross the line from legitimate criticism to embrace anti-semitism.

This is taking place as the Israelis and Palestinian representatives resume their non-negotiations negotiations in Amman, Jordan.  In the spirit of negotiations and a desire to achieve peace, the Palestinians have also announced their plan for 2012 to put Israel under 'international siege' in it's efforts to ultimately destroy the country.

Syria has finally freed a number of political prisoners seized during the protests against the Assad regime, releasing 3,500 - and has been pulling their tanks from many of Syria's cities.  However, despite these actions, the Syrian military and security forces continue to murder civilian protesters despite the Arab League monitors inside the country.  The Arab League is demanding that Syrian Government accept a full cease fire against the demonstrators - but continues to be ineffectual in forcing the Syrian Government to change it's approach.

With nearly 6,000 dead - the Arab League and Western powers are showing far more hesitation in intervening in Syria for humanitarian reasons than they did in Libya.  The rationale for the hesitation to more actively confront the Assad regime is one of the questions that perplex many when we look at the Libyan intervention and use of force to assist the Libyan groups opposing Qaddafi.  Do the Western powers have an obligation to intervene in Syria to stop the carnage?  This commentary makes the case that we do.

The Euro, as noted, turned 10 this weekend.  There was no birthday party or celebration for the currency passing this milestone.  One of Europe's leading economic think tanks, the Centre for Economics and Business Research has announced that there is a 99% chance that the Euro will not survive another 10 years.  In another prediction, they match one that I made in my prediction thread yesterday by saying that they believe it is likely that Greece and Italy will abandon the Euro during 2012.

The Eurozone is not the only major location of economic crisis envisioned for 2012.  The Chinese economy, the one that former SEIU President Andy Stern praised so highly several months ago, is teetering as it faces it's own housing crisis as well as the effects of massive stimulative spending (over $1T in one year) combined with declining foreign currency reserves, point to a negative trend in 2012.  Gordon Chang, writing in Foreign Policy, believes that 2012 is going to be the year that China's communist government collapses - brought down by economics and other challenges.

This Day in History -

1492 - The Muslim kingdom of Granada falls to Christian forces of King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I of Spain - and the Moors lose their last foothold in Spain.

1974 - President Richard Nixon signs the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act into law - setting the national maximum speed limit at 55 mph.  The double nickel remained US law until repealed on November 28, 1995.

1980 - President Carter strongly reacts to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by recalling the US Ambassador to the USSR, requested that the US Senate postpone action on the SALT II treaty, and effectively ending the practice of detente with the USSR.