Random links of interest, concern or curiosity from the past week or so, that deserve at least a SHORT mention:

 
Wine Country Wildfires incinerate California’s lofty air pollution goals ~ Man loses to nature again ~

It appears that the air pollution from the state’s many infernos have produced as much pollution in 2 days than the entire output of its cars during an entire year! […]
 
Sensible regulations are wonderful, but the wildfires demonstrate how impractical it is to eliminate the emission of carbon dioxide and other carbon-based molecules to infinitesimal levels.

 
FBI Reviewing Allegations of Puerto Rican Officials Withholding Hurricane Aid ~ Sad, but not surprising ~

The FBI in Puerto Rico has received numerous allegations of official malfeasance with regard to the distribution of hurricane relief.
 
Residents across the island are reporting that local politicians are distributing supplies not to those who need them but to their cronies and supporters […]
 
The problem has never been that Puerto Rico didn’t have enough relief aid. The problem has always been Puerto Rico’s third-world transportation infrastructure, which was nearly destroyed by the storm, and incompetent local officials who now turn out to be — some of them — corrupt.

 
And speaking of hurricanes ~ AP Omitted Expert Quotes That Didn’t Fit the Narrative About Global Warming ~ If you don’t support the climatists’ narrative, they don’t want your input. An Associated Press reporter didn’t like Dr. Roger Pielke Jr’s responses to their questions ~

Pielke’s answers largely reflected the work he’s been doing for years — that there’s no evidence global warming is making weather more extreme. Any increase in natural disaster costs is caused by an increase in wealth and population, according to Pielke’s research.

 
San Franciscans Pissed To Learn Their Liberal Policies Caused A Wave Of Restaurant Failures ~ Well, what part of the equation don’t they understand? Unrealistic minimum wage imposition + Obamacare costs = business fail ~

In a note that we’ll file away under the definition of ‘irony’, Bloomberg wrote today that the fun-loving, free-spirited socialists of San Francisco are suddenly really pissed off that their liberal economic policies have resulted in a wave of restaurant failures, making it nearly impossible to find good food at an ‘affordable’ price.

 
NYT’s Nick Kristof Regurgitates North Korean Propaganda, Blames Trump’s Tweets For Potential ‘Cataclysm’ ~ When you’re so anti-Trump you’ll side with a murderous dictator (But then NYT’S Walter Duranty was a Stalin apologist) ~

On Tuesday’s Morning Joe, prominent New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof came on the show to promote his latest piece based on his recent trip to North Korea. The resultant segment’s melding of Kristof’s sentiments reflecting NYT’s pro-communist “Red Century” series combined with Joe Scarborough and his fellow panelists’ tendency to paint Trump as a dictator added up to produce the perfect recipe for some truly baffling pro-North Korean propaganda.

 
Project Veritas undercover exposé: NYT editor admits he is anti-Trump and a violent Antifa ~ The New York Times is fairly open about their leftist bias, but this latest exposé from James O’Keefe is truly stunning ~

(I)n another brilliant undercover sting, James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas has captured on video New York Times editor Nicholas Dudich‘s admission that, contrary to journalism’s professional obligation to be objective, not only is he not objective about President Trump in his NYT job, he deliberately targets Trump’s businesses in order to “bring him down”.

 
Planned Parenthood sues Missouri for requiring women be informed about abortion ~ Imagine if the headline were “Big Tobacco sues feds for requiring smokers to be informed about hazards of tobacco use” ~

Planned Parenthood and the ACLU are pushing back against a law that tightens abortion regulations in Missouri, filing suit against the state this week to block a requirement that abortionists themselves inform mothers of the medical risks.

And, less you doubt who’s really behind the abortion racket ~

In another legal challenge to Missouri’s 72-hour waiting period for an abortion, a case brought by a female member of the Satanic Temple identified as “Mary Doe” has advanced to the Missouri Supreme Court. A hearing date is not yet set.

 
The witches will definitely not be happy over this one ~ Trump pulls U.S. out of pro-abortion, pro-LGBT UN agency ~ UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) pushes abortion and the LGBT agenda and thinks all children should too (That wasn’t the primary reason for withdrawal, but certainly an added bonus) ~

The U.S. is concerned about “mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organization, and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO,” State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement this morning. “This decision was not taken lightly.” […]
 
In April 2017, Trump withdrew U.S. support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) over its participation in China’s forced abortion regime.

 
‘Monstrous’: Orthodox leaders slam LGBT law that lets teens ‘change gender’ ~ Greece is now formally a biology-free zone ~

Greece has passed a controversial sex-change law that Orthodox leaders say will destroy mankind.
 
The “Change of Sex” bill passed overwhelmingly, by 171 votes, in Parliament with strong support from Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. It grants legal recognition to sex changes without any requirement other than the desire of the applicant, allowing anyone age 15 or older to legally change gender.
 
“Do you see how far these Greek Orthodox deputies have sunk?” (Metropolitan Nicholas of Phthiotis) preached. “They have brought blasphemy upon the human body … It is madness for any reasonable person, and a satanic deed from the point of view of God’s law. But some people are trying to make our state a state of sin.”

 
EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Proposes to Save $33 Billion with Repeal of Obama-Era Energy Plan ~ Rolling back the last administration’s government-expanding, job-killing regulations ~

“The Obama administration pushed the bounds of their authority so far with the CPP that the Supreme Court issued a historic stay of the rule, preventing its devastating effects to be imposed on the American people while the rule is being challenged in court.
 
We are committed to righting the wrongs of the Obama administration by cleaning the regulatory slate. Any replacement rule will be done carefully, properly, and with humility, by listening to all those affected by the rule.” Scott Pruitt

 
Pedro Cortes, Pa. secretary of state, steps down ~ Election fraud? What election fraud? ~

Pennsylvania’s secretary of state, abruptly resigned from office Wednesday, three weeks after his agency came under criticism for a glitch that may have allowed thousands of ineligible immigrants statewide to vote.

 
Obesity among all US adults reaches all-time high ~ Yikes! ~

Nearly 40% of adults and 19% of youth are obese, the highest rate the country has ever seen in all adults, according to research released Friday by the National Center for Health Statistics.
 
Since 1999, there has been a staggering rise in the prevalence of obesity, particularly in adults, without any “signs of it slowing down,” according to the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Craig Hales, medical epidemiologist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s some helpful advice ~ 5 Ways You Can Keep Your Kids From Getting Fat

 
And… my favorite tweet of the week ~

Since 2000, NFL players have been arrested 855 times, 215 DUI charges, 99 Drug charges 96 DA's, 2 Murders. No wonder they don't like police.

— Chuck Woolery (@chuckwoolery) October 12, 2017

Thank-you Mr. President! De-certification was the only responsible choice at this point. Once the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) announced last month that they were unable to formally confirm that the Iranians are in compliance, the Trump administration simply had no option BUT to de-certify – in other words, to officially declare the Islamic Republic to be in violation of Obama’s infamous Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

 
As I wrote last July when he re-certified, the president definitely seemed to back-peddling on his strong opposition to this disastrous deal. This latest IAEA declaration has really left him no other option. As Sen. Ted Cruz pointed out earlier this month ~

“The IAEA’s admission that they are unable to verify a fundamental provision under the nuclear deal—that the Iranians are not engaging in activities or using equipment to develop a nuclear explosive device—is highly alarming. In these circumstances, issuing a compliance certification would be serious mistake,” Cruz said.
 
“If the Iranians are serious about a peaceful program, they need to prove it. Iran’s continued refusal to allow IAEA access to military sites—a clear requirement of the terms of the deal—renders the JCPOA utterly ineffective, and, even worse, a sham that only facilitates Iran’s acquiring nuclear weapons,” Cruz said. “This absence of any meaningful verification is yet another reason to vitiate this foolhardy agreement.”

 
Who knows where Trump was getting his advice from the first two times the JCPOA came up for re-certification (a quarterly process). But good to hear him finally sounding like the guy who was campaigning for his office two years ago, once again unafraid to speak the truth: Iran Remains “Foremost” State Sponsor of Global Terrorism
 

Although senior Trump strategist, Sebastian Gorka resigned two months ago, perhaps the president is finally listening to the veteran national security expert on Iran ~

The nuclear deal served as a particular boon to Iran’s vision for a Shia-dominated Middle East, in which the Islamic Republic can rule the region.
 
“The American government’s strategy to defeat Sunni jihadism must not play into the hands of Shia jihadism,” according to Gorka. “All the more so after the billions of dollars released by the last White House back into the coffers of Tehran.”
 
“A nuclear Caliphate informed by an apocalyptic vision of Islamic salvation will not succumb to the logic of nuclear deterrence and the prior stability of Mutually Assured Destruction,” Gorka states. “Action must be taken now to obviate the establishment a nuclear-capable Shia Caliphate. Recertification of the Potemkin Accord that is the JCPOA (Iran) Deal will not stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.”

Mr. Trump is now essentially handing the JCPOA mess off to Congress. Will they formally kill the deal? We’ll see. Unfortunately, it seems many of the swamp creatures may have had a finger in the pie on this one… The corruption is strong with these folks.

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related:
More evidence of Obama’s Iranian treachery
O’Ministration’s treacherous allegiance to Iran (enabled by the GOP?)

NETANYAHU CONGRATULATES TRUMP ON ‘COURAGEOUS’ IRAN DECISION ~

Netanyahu, a strong adversary of the Iran nuclear accord, welcomed the news of Trump’s decision not to recertify the deal with satisfaction and praise for the US president.

Iran deal: a giant step closer to WWIII ~

What’s most critical to understand about this deal with the Iranian devils is that anyone who supports it is either misinformed or deliberately lying. The facts are being ignored or inverted.

Repeal and Replace In Farsi ~ Will Republicans have President Trump’s back on Iran?

As the push to legalize pot continues across the country, we’d be prudent to pay attention to a recent study which links violent behavior to marijuana use. As reported in the Daily Mail ~

The latest study by five researchers from institutes based in Montreal, Canada, examined the lives of 1,136 men and women who were patients at psychiatric hospitals in Missouri, Pittsburgh and Massachusetts.
 
Records were gathered from interviews carried out every ten weeks for a year after their discharge.
 
It said patients who were using cannabis at each of these five checks were nearly two-and-a-half times more likely to have turned to violence than those who had not used the drug.

 
The Mail backs up the report by detailing various attacks linked to cannabis users. They list several different gruesome murders/attacks committed by individuals while on the substance ~

Contrary to claims that violent people were drawn to use cannabis, researchers found ‘it was cannabis use that predicted future violent behaviour’.

 
This new research corroborates a 2015 report; ‘Skunk-like cannabis’ increases risk of psychosis, study suggests. (“Skunk” refers to a highly-potent, THC-laced variety of pot which, unfortunately, is becoming more and more common.) ~

Smoking potent cannabis was linked to 24% of new psychosis cases analysed in a study by King’s College London.
 
The research suggests the risk of psychosis is three times higher for users of potent “skunk-like” cannabis than for non-users.
 
The study of 780 people was carried out by KCL’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.

So no, pot isn’t the benign substance its promoters would have you believe it is ~

And legalization for recreational purposes is a bad idea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related:
The Dope Debate

Random links of interest, concern or curiosity from the past week or so, that deserve at least a SHORT mention:

 
End the NFL ~ This excellent article from Daniel Greenfield isn’t calling for an end to football – just the National Felon League ~

(T)he NFL is no longer just a corrupt monopoly. Instead it’s becoming a radical anti-American organization that uses its taxpayer-subsidized stadiums and monopoly broadcasting rights to spread hatred toward this country and disrespect to the soldiers who fought and died for it.

 
Gold Star Family Shares Heartache Over Disrespect for Flag at Protests ~ Not that the self-centered kneelers would understand selflessness ~

(I)t is a shame that those partaking in the protest of our anthem and flag refuse to consider how this is affecting our Gold Star families. Some men play a game for a living. Some men give their lives in service to their country and their families are left behind to bear the cost. The cost is so high that it cannot be put into words. It cannot be described. A son who does not remember his Daddy who loved him beyond anything. A daughter who cries because she is forgetting her toddler memories of him. The cost is too high to kneel down when you should stand.

Unlike the NFL team, this patriot refused to kneel ~ The Rusher Who Wouldn’t Take the Knee ~

His name was William Harvey Carney, and he was born a slave in Norfolk, Virginia, on a leap year day in February 1840. His father had escaped from slavery to Massachusetts, where he earned enough money to buy the freedom of his wife and child. When the Civil War broke out, young Carney enlisted in one of the first all-black Union Army regiments, the famous 54th Massachusetts, and rose quickly to the rank of sergeant. (Carney would become the model on which Morgan Freeman’s character, Sergeant Rollins, was based in the 1989 movie “Glory,” which tells the story of the 54th Massachusetts)

 
Research: Today’s American Teens Delay Responsibility Longer Than Ever ~ Arrested development. What happens when no one want to grow up?

Jimmy Kimmel Lies about Trump, Guns, and the Mentally Ill ~ Either leftists are ignorant and incapable of critical thinking or – more insidiously – they know that their intended audience is ~

Rep. Steve Scalise owes his life to the Second Amendment, which was written not to shoot deer, but to shoot tyrants. The Second Amendment was written to protect the other nine in the Bill of Rights, including the First Amendment, which gives Jimmy Kimmel the right to sound like the blooming idiot he is.

 
A couple more astute rebuttals to the reactionary gun-grabbers ~
Against the Misguided Moral Superiority of Gun Controllers
Arguing with idiots: Gun control edition ~

Furthermore, Second Amendment supporters don’t just want guns because it is a slightly louder version of a stamp collection. Rather, they understand they must have them so that aspiring dictators — foreign and domestic — don’t end up abusing the very same tool and turn us all into another version of North Korea.

 
ISIS claim responsibility for frenzied Marseille railway station attack as terrorist shouting ‘Allahu Akbar stabs two female passengers, 17 and 20, to death before being gunned down cool-headed anti-terror police ~

ISIS have claimed responsibility for a terror attack which saw a man shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ stab two women to death with a butcher’s knife in Marseille.
 
The victims, aged 17 and 20, suffered horrific injuries during the ‘frenzied’ attack, with one slashed in the throat and the other stabbed in the chest and stomach.

 
No word on whether or not there’s been a call to ban knives in France – or Canada ~ Stab a Cop for Allah ~ The latest jihadi attack in Trudeau Land where “our strength comes from our diversity” ~

When the Edmonton Eskimos played the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last Saturday, it was military appreciation night and CF-18 fighter jets soared above. Police officer Mike Chernyk was directing traffic in the Alberta city when a white Chevrolet Malibu crashed into the officer, knocking him high in the air, as the Edmonton Journal put it, “like a puppy’s chew toy,” but this was not an accident.
 
As the video shows, the driver emerged from the car and began stabbing the fallen officer in the head and face. Chernyk fought him off but the attack did not end there. The assailant fled and incredibly enough, the wounded policeman duly chased the assailant. He got in a white U-Haul van and started running down people on the streets of Edmonton, injuring four innocent bystanders.

 
California Can Now Jail People for Misusing Gender Pronouns ~ Seriously. Although why does this apply only to seniors in nursing homes and care facilities at this point? How many gender-confused oldsters are there? It’s yet another nefarious progressive tactic; start with a demographic people are likely to feel very sympathetic toward, and then move on from there ~

“Our LGBT seniors built the modern LGBT community and led the fight for so many of the rights our community takes for granted today. It is our duty to make sure they can age with the dignity and respect they deserve,” Wiener wrote. “I want to thank Governor Brown for joining our coalition in supporting this bill, which will make a real difference in people’s lives. The LGBT Senior Bill of Rights is an important step in our fight to ensure all people are treated equally regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
 
The law’s effect is limited to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, but mandates that those who “willfully and repeatedly” refuse “to use a transgender resident’s preferred name or pronouns” can be slapped with a $1,000 fine and up to one year in prison, according to the California Health and Safety Code.

 
Donors of Anti-Trump ‘Resistance’ Group Revealed ~ These corporations are actively supporting a organization that openly opposes the president of the United States. Are you still buying their products? ~

The hidden donors to a prominent anti-Trump “resistance” organization are revealed in unredacted tax forms obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The Center for Community Change Action, a Washington, D.C.-based progressive community organizing group that does not reveal its donors, has been involved in direct action against President Donald Trump and Republicans before and after the November elections. The organization’s members sit on the boards of other prominent liberal activist groups. […]
 
The Center for Community Change’s largest contribution was $3,000,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which was initially created by Will Kellogg, the food manufacturer and founder of Kellogg Company. The Ford Foundation, which was first created by the founders of the Ford Motor Company, added a $2,350,000 donation. The Open Society Foundation, a foundation run by liberal billionaire mega-donor George Soros (no surprise here), gave $1,750,000 to the Center for Community Change.

 
Weather Dependent Wind Power: Leaves Hurricane Victims Powerless ~ Imagine for a minute that the various Caribbean islands devastated by hurricanes last month had been powered solely by alternative energy. In the aftermath of the storms, with no fossil fuels, their solar arrays and wind turbines totally decimated, how long to you suppose it would it take them to recover?
Instead, as Calvin Beisner suggests, why don’t we just ~ Get Real about the Benefits of Fossil Fuel?
 
Christian Girls Are Being Abducted in Egypt—Never to Return ~ And you thought there is no compulsion in Islam? ~

Kidnapping strategies can be subtle. “A Muslim boy tells a Christian girl he loves her and wants to convert to Christianity for her. They start a romantic relationship until one day they decide to ‘escape’ together. What the girls don’t know is that they are actually being kidnapped. Most of the time they will not marry their kidnapper but someone else.”
 
The reason Gahiji, a former Egyptian trafficker, knows these details is because he was once part of such a network that actively targeted Coptic girls to bring them into Islam […]
 
An anonymous researcher confirms Gahiji’s stories as well. “This is something that happens in Egypt almost on a daily basis. But in 80% of cases, families prefer not to speak publicly to avoid shame which will make their other daughters less eligible to find a good marriage partner.”

 
Insane: IRS awards $7.25M fraud-prevention contract to Equifax ~ Hey why not? They only allowed a security breach of their own data, when the names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, addresses and driver’s license numbers of 143 million consumers in the United States were stolen in July. And as further evidence of their lack of integrity ~

Equifax kept this discovery quiet for 39 days before finally informing the public about it on September 7, 2017, admitting that 209,000 U.S. credit card numbers are also breached, as well as “certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 U.S. consumers.”