Damn those evil capitalists and their weather-control machines.

(BBC) — North Korea’s coach blamed his side’s 2-0 loss to the United States on his players getting struck by lightning in the build up to the Women’s World Cup.

Kwang Min Kim claimed that some of them were hospitalised with electrocution after a training match on 8 June.

Tournament favourites United States recovered from a slow start to to take maximum points in their Group C opener.

North Korea — the youngest team in the tournament by average age — started well in Dresden, but were eventually overwhelmed when Lauren Cheney completed a swift move with a well-timed header before Rachel Buehler converted with 14 minutes remaining.

“When we stayed in Pyongyang during training our players were hit by lightning, and more than five of them were hospitalised,” said coach Kim, without naming the affected players specifically.

“Some stayed in hospital and then came to Germany later than the rest of us. The goalkeeper and the four defenders were most affected, and some midfielders as well. The physicians said the players were not capable of participating in the tournament.

And here’s Baldwin at his “articulate” finest:

HT: Fox Nation

The insanity never ends.

(Daily Mail) — An Islamic extremist who is supposedly banned from Britain delivered a speech to a packed hall in the Midlands last night.

Raed Salah, who is accused of ‘virulent anti-semitism’, strolled through immigration checks at Heathrow Airport on Saturday, despite being excluded from the UK by the Home Secretary.

Last night, Raed Salah was giving a lecture organised by Islamist radicals to a large crowd in Leicester, and today he was due to speak at Westminster at the invitation of Left-wing Labour MPs.

Theresa May — determined to be tough on extremists — is furious with blundering UK Border Agency staff who allowed Salah into the country, and wants him removed as quickly as possible.

Yet, to the fury of Jewish groups, Salah was last night able to address a packed hall of 500 British Muslims in Leicester.

The cleric, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, also addressed an audience at Conway Hall, in London, on Monday evening.

Police were said to be trying to hunt him down, but he was not arrested at the event though the power is available to officers if his presence in Britain is considered not to be ‘conducive to the public good’.

Officials are now waiting to see if a hugely embarrassing appearance at Westminster, originally scheduled to take place alongside three Labour MPs, will go ahead today.

The MPs have been told by party managers they must not share a platform with a man who is banned from the UK. The event has been moved from the Commons to an undisclosed venue.

Can’t or won’t?

(The Hill) — The Obama administration on Tuesday made its most forceful push yet this Congress to reform the country’s immigration laws.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Defense Under Secretary Clifford Stanley laid out a laundry list of national security-related financial and educational reasons why Congress needs to push forward with the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.

Napolitano said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not have the resources necessary to remove the estimated 11 million people who are in the country illegally. The DREAM Act, she said, would grant conditional citizenship to people who pose little or no threat to society and allow DHS to pursue the most harmful illegal immigrants.

Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the subcommittee’s ranking Republican, raised concerns about “loopholes” in the DREAM Act that would allow the Obama administration a broad discretionary reach to decide who should be granted conditional citizenship.

Cornyn questioned Napolitano about provisions that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants, even though they might have multiple criminal convictions or been convicted of voter fraud, or not have met education or military requirements.

Because the Hatch Act doesn’t apply to Obama.

(CNSNews.com) — According to White House visitor logs, President Barack Obama hosted a “DNC event” in the White House on Feb. 25, a Democratic National Committee event that was not on the schedule for that day.

The logs list 16 people, all of whom arrived between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on the afternoon of Feb. 25 for a “DNC Event” held on the State Floor of the White House, a room where foreign dignitaries are entertained.

The logs did not list in which room on that floor the event was held. However, the State Floor includes the East Room, State Dining Room, and the Blue Room, site of another DNC event.

The logs also confirm that each of the 16 guests were to meet with President Obama, using the acronym “POTUS,” or President of the United States.

The event was not on the official schedule for that day and appears to have been impromptu, with the logs indicating that the guests scheduled the meetings with the president individually, often minutes before they arrived at the White House.

The Feb. 25 meeting is not the only time the DNC has hosted a political event at the White House. In March, the DNC scheduled an event in the White House’s Blue Room — also on the State Floor — with Wall Street “bundlers” and other major fundraisers, sparking controversy over the use of the White House for political fundraisers.

Keep reading…

Fore!

WASHINGTON — For the first family, their Vineyard haven is taking on the flavor of a summer White House. President Obama, for the third straight year, is planning to return to Martha’s Vineyard for vacation this summer, according to a White House official.

The Obamas are scheduled to spend seven to 10 days on the island in mid- to late August, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

Arrangements for White House staff members and Secret Service personnel who travel with the Obamas have been made.

The family is expected to stay at Blue Heron Farm in Chilmark, the same 28-acre estate the family rented in 2009 and 2010. The farm overlooks Tisbury Great Pond and includes a basketball court, pool, and boat house.

Last year, White House officials told the Globe that the Obamas like Martha’s Vineyard in part because of its natural beauty, beaches, and food.

“And it’s someplace that the president went before he was president and likes to go back because it’s a comfortable place where he can rest and recharge the batteries a little bit,’’ said Bill Burton, Obama’s deputy press secretary at the time.

During past vacations on the Vineyard, the president spent much of his time on the farm but ventured out sporadically for golf and for family jaunts for ice cream and shopping.

Love it.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Maybe Tom Petty’s cease-and-desist letter hasn’t arrived yet.

The singer was reportedly nonplussed that Michele Bachmann played his “American Girl” classic when she officially kicked off her presidential campaign in Iowa Monday.

Yet the song blasted over the loudspeakers again immediately following Bachmann’s Tuesday night speech in South Carolina.

After playing for exactly 29 seconds, it abruptly stopped.

There was just enough time for the lyrics: “Yeah, she was an American girl — raised on promises.”

Never let a crisis go to waste.

6/27/11: Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) tells reporters that the Missouri River flood was caused by climate change, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs to take into account.

(BBC) — The professor who helped Google’s founders get the company off the ground has warned that President Obama is leading the United States on a “crash course” towards economic disaster.

David Cheriton, who taught Sergey Brin and Larry Page at Stanford University in California and became a billionaire as Google grew, said that America’s innovators and investors were being driven overseas in search of opportunity.

The BBC’s Matt Frei spoke with Prof Cheriton on the Stanford campus.

Video here…

HT: a former dem

We’re more than willing to help him leave permanently.

Via Jim Geraghty:

President Obama travels to Iowa today. It’s a safe bet that as some point, early in his remarks, he’ll say that he’s really glad to be out of Washington. Looking at recent history. . .

Barack Obama at an event in Youngstown, Ohio, May 16, 2010: “I appreciate the time that I’ve had to spend with all of you, partly because it’s just nice to get out of Washington.”

Barack Obama at an event in Fremont, California, May 26, 2010: “But it’s wonderful to be here in Northern California. It is always nice to get out of Washington a little bit.”

Barack Obama at an event in Racine, Wisconsin, June 30, 2010: “It’s wonderful to be here, and it’s just nice to get out of Washington.”

Barack Obama at an event in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 9, 2010: “Thanks for giving me a chance to get out of Washington.”

Barack Obama at a fundraiser for Tom Barett in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 16, 2010: “Good to be back in the Midwest. Good to be out of Washington once in a while.”

Barack Obama at a DNC fundraiser in San Francisco, California, April 21: “It’s especially nice to be out of Washington, D.C.”

Barack Obama at a DNC fundraiser in Los Angeles, California, April 21: “Now, it is nice to be out of D.C.”

Barack Obama at a DNC fundraiser in Austin, Texas, May 10: “It is also great to be out of Washington, D.C.”

Barack Obama at a DNC fundraiser in Boston, May 18: “It’s good to get out of Washington, D.C.”

Keep reading…

Friggen genius!

(The Hill) — Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) gave a press conference in Syria this week and appeared to heap praise upon Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is being widely criticized for the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in that country. Kucinich said his words were mistranslated.

Kucinich embarked on a trip, which he called a “fact-finding mission,” to Syria and Lebanon this week, even as prominent Republicans are calling upon the Obama administration to recall the U.S. ambassador to Syria because of the repressive actions of the Assad regime.

Kucinich’s plans included meetings with the presidents of both Syria and Lebanon. He met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday. According to the State Department, Kucinich was not accompanied at the meeting by Robert Ford, the U.S. Ambassador to Syria.

“Nor has he given us a debrief, nor was he carrying any administration messages,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday.

A story by the Syrian Arab News Agency on Tuesday has Kucinich at a press conference in Syria taking a highly controversial position toward al-Assad. In May, the U.S. imposed sanctions against al-Assad as a means of pressuring him to end the violent repression there.

“President al-Assad is highly loved and appreciated by the Syrians,” Kucinich said, according to the Syrian news site. “President Bashar al-Assad cares so much about what is taking place in Syria, which is evident in his effort towards a new Syria and everybody who meets him can be certain of this.”

A 60-million-barrel dump (30 million from the SPR, 30 million from the IEA) and in only four days we’re back to the same levels.

(Zero Hedge) — Remember how 4 very long days ago, the 60 million barrel SPR release was vaunted as being the reason for the second consumer renaissance after it was largely expected it would lead to sub $90 crude, and low $3/gallon gas, and result in every Joe Sixpack going out and buying 3 houses at least? Well, so much for that: the IEA’s action has now been fully priced in and WTI is back to precisely where it was before the IEA announcement on Thursday. Which means that what some said was a shadow QE (and don’t get us started on all the mainstream media “journalists”, among which Bloomberg and CNN, who continue to confuse QE Lite with something they call QE 2.5) had a half life of just over 3 days. Expect future intervention half lives to continue declining, as the criminal banking cartel’s ammunition is now down to just one thing, the only thing, printing.

This is a great time to be part of the pro-life movement.

(Life News) — The Ohio state House today passed three pro-life bills including a measure that would ban most all abortions, one that bans late-term abortions and a third that stops taxpayer funding of abortions in Ohio under Obamacare.

The chamber approved the “Heartbeat Bill” that would ban virtually all abortions in the state starting at the 22-day mark when an unborn child’s heart begins beating. The legislation has the support of some pro-life advocates but Ohio Right to Life and other pro-life groups oppose the bill because of various concerns about its ability to survive a court challenge. The group worries it will be struck down under Roe v. Wade and add to pro-abortion case law upholding the 1973 Supreme Court decision allowing 53 million abortions.

The House, led by Republicans, voted 54-43 for the abortion ban, which now faces less certain prospects in the state Senate.

“This is a historic vote,” said Porter, the president of Ohio-based Faith2Action,one of the main pro-life groups pushing the legislation. “When passed, the heartbeat bill will be the most protective legislation in the nation.”

Ohio Right to Life promoted the other two bills, including H.B. 78, the Late-Term Abortion Ban, which passed with bipartisan support out of committee.

What, she afraid Barack might leave her?

(Politico) — First lady Michelle Obama’s office on Tuesday quickly shot down the suggestion that she has ever publicly voiced support for same-sex marriage, a policy her husband opposes even as the left pressures him to take a stand.

“Mrs. Obama has never made any public statements about same-sex marriage,” her communications director, Kristina Schake, said in an email to POLITICO.

The response comes after former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, a Democrat, suggested Monday night on CNN that Barack and Michelle Obama may not have the same opinion about gay marriage. McGreevey said of the president: “If he could only listen to Michelle more often” when it comes to his stance on same-sex marriage.

Where they will now be considered “pro-democracy protesters” by the Obama administration.

(IPT) — Extremists from Somalia’s Al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab have evacuated more than 70 troops to Yemen, according to All Headline News. The effort is also a reinforcement of al-Qaida gains in Yemen, where discontent has paralyzed the central government and given the group the opportunity to form a small Islamic Emirate in the country’s south.

A small boat carrying 76 foreign fighters, including top commanders of al-Shabaab, sailed from the Somali port town of Kismayo on Sunday evening, according to an al-Shabaab fighter calling himself Abu-Hureryah. Western helicopters had struck an al-Shabaab training camp on the outskirts of the port just days before, killing more than 39 militants.

“For the past several months we have been losing more lands and many fighters of us were killed, so this time it seems that our brothers in Yemen have more chance than we have here in Somalia. . . that is why the Mujahideen have left for Yemen,” Abu Hureryah told AHN during a telephone conversation. “I will not go to Yemen myself, I would like to go to Kenya where my family had fled already — I will go back to Somalia when Islam is more strong,” the 19 year-old said during the interview.

Abu Hureryah said that more Somali and foreign fighters would be evacuated from the port, while AHN reported that more fighters would be evacuated from fighting in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.

The news reports back up claims about al-Shabaab’s growing relationship with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), made by incoming U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

Keep reading…

(Fox News) — Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen, nominated to replace Gen. David Petraeus as head of coalition forces in Afghanistan, acknowledged Tuesday that President Obama’s decision to draw down 10,000 troops by the end of this year and the rest of the surge forces by September 2012 was not one of the options proposed to the president by Gen. Petraeus.

The admission came during questioning from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., during Allen’s nomination hearing in front of the Senate Armed Services committee.

GRAHAM: The option that the country has chosen through President Obama is to withdraw 10,000 this year, all surge forces gone by September. Is it fair to say, General Allen, that was not one of the options presented to the president by General Petraeus?

ALLEN: It is a more aggressive option than that which was presented.

GRAHAM: My question is, was that a option?

ALLEN: It was not.

GRAHAM: So I just want the country to understand that this is not the Petraeus strategy any longer. The commander in chief has the perfect right to do what he did. I just hope that it hasn’t undercut what I think could be a very successful outcome.

America to Obama: “Up yours.”

Try and contain your shock and amazement.

(Newsbusters) — New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny was with Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann in Waterloo, Iowa, at the official launching of her presidential campaign for Tuesday’s “Bachmann Opens Campaign as Expectations Grow.” But Zeleny concluded his mostly balanced story with a reference to Bachmann’s latest in a “string of gaffes” — her mistaken claim that Western movie star John Wayne had been born in Waterloo, Iowa (though his parents met there).

Yet the Times has totally ignored a far more by President Obama, who wrongly claimed in a speech he gave June 23 to the Army’s 10th Mountain Division that he had awarded a Medal of Honor to a living soldier. Jared Monti had actually had been killed in Afghanistan in 2006 and had been bestowed the honor posthumously. Obama apologized to the family.

Reporter Jackie Calmes even filed an online report from Fort Drum, in upstate New York, but failed to note the flub.

Keep reading…

Outrageous.

(Chron) — Local veterans and volunteer groups are accusing Department of Veterans Affairs officials of censoring religious speech — including banning the word “God” — at Houston National Cemetery.

In one example cited in documents filed this week in federal court, cemetery director Arleen Ocasio reportedly told volunteers with the National Memorial Ladies that they had to stop telling the families, “God bless you,” at funerals and that they had to remove the words “God bless” from condolence cards.

The new allegations of “religious hostility” by VA and cemetery officials follow on the heels of a controversy over a prayer in Jesus’ name by Pastor Scott Rainey at a Memorial Day service in the cemetery.

The complaint accuses VA of “a widespread and consistent practice of discriminating against private religious speech” at the cemetery.

Ocasio is on vacation and could not be reached for comment. Her assistant, Amanda Rhodes, said the cemetery had no comment.

According to court documents, Ocasio banned members of the groups from using certain religious words such as “God” or “Jesus,” censored the content of prayer, and forbade the use of religious messages in burial rituals unless the deceased’s family submitted the text to her for prior approval.

Court documents also describe the closure of the cemetery’s chapel after Ocasio’s appointment as director two years ago.