J's Cafe Nette

Archive for August 15th, 2007

On Tuesday I posted this, giving you my thoughts about whether or not we are going the way of the Roman Empire.

The comments got sidetracked into a political discussion that seems to prove one of the points made by the Comptroller General of the United States.

I am a person who has had a keen interest in Bible prophecy for over thirty years now, when I first read Hal Lindsey’s The Late, Great Planet Earth.

Things that hadn’t come to pass at that time I see coming to pass now, and I do believe we are living in the End Times, although I cannot and will not speculate on how long it will take for the End Times to play out.

The same article that disturbed me has also caught the attention of Jack Kinsella, editor of The Omega Letter, a subscription-only publication.

He tells you better than I can why the Comptroller General’s assessment is so disturbing to me. Read the rest of this entry »

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Stories like this sometimes provide a laugh and often leave one scratching their head and wondering, did we really need a study to confirm what many of us know from experience. Not experience climbing Mount Everest mind you, just climbing the steps like we did twenty years ago.

New research reveals 60-year-olds lag behind 40-year-olds in reaching Mount Everest’s summit. And for those who make it, the 60-and-overs are more likely to die on the descent.

“On Everest, youth and vigor trump age and experience,” the study authors say.

It is reassuring to know that men and women are created equal in their quest to defeat this mountain, and to those who have, you have my admiration.

While the analysis revealed no gender differences, age differences were stark. Overall, the climbers had a 31 percent chance of reaching Everest’s summit. The success rate dropped to 13 percent for climbers in their 60s. The 60-and-overs also had a 5 percent chance of dying on the mountain—more than three times the overall death rate for the climbers.

The scientists suggest climbers older than 40 have reduced physical capabilities compared with their younger counterparts and might also have a higher degree of caution that causes them to stop short of Everest’s pinnacle.

Think I’ll stick to those power walks around the block..

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When crimes are committed in this country we hear various opinions on the trial, conviction or acquittal, or the sentence imposed on those found guilty.

When Mary Winkler confessed and was convicted of killing her husband many thoughts were offered as to her punishment. While I might have personal feelings on the topic of murder, I will not sit in judgment of Mrs. Winkler as that task lies with a far higher authority.

Mary Winkler has been released from custody and is meeting with her probation officer this morning in McMinnville, Tenn., her Memphis attorney said.
The 33-year-old Winkler, who was convicted in April of voluntary manslaughter for killing her preacher husband, was released from an undisclosed mental health facility where she was moved on June 20 from the jail in Selmer, Tenn., to serve the final days of her 210 days of incarceration.

She will be on probation for the remainder of her three-year sentence.
“I talked to her at 8:30 this morning and she sounded upbeat,” said Leslie Ballin, one of her defense attorneys. “She plans on living a law-abiding life and to resume the battle for custody” of her three daughters.

The jury must have seen or felt something during the trial which allowed them to reduce the charge of first degree murder to voluntary manslaughter and the judge must have recognized a troubled woman to commit her to a mental facility rather than prison. Perhaps their verdict and the sentence were based on the following:

She was charged with first-degree murder in the case that captured national attention, but a McNairy County Circuit Court jury returned the lesser verdict after she testified that her husband was physically, mentally and sexually abusive to her during their 10-year marriage.

This story was a tragedy for an entire family, most importantly for the surviving children who have now lived without a mother and will never have a father in their lives again. I hope for them they have the strength to overcome the emotional scars that this affair most certainly has inflicted.

Story

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The United States has decided to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country’s 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a “specially designated global terrorist,” according to U.S. officials, a move that allows Washington to target the group’s business operations and finances.

The Bush administration has chosen to move against the Revolutionary Guard Corps because of what U.S. officials have described as its growing involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as its support for extremists throughout the Middle East, the sources said. The decision follows congressional pressure on the administration to toughen its stance against Tehran, as well as U.S. frustration with the ineffectiveness of U.N. resolutions against Iran’s nuclear program, officials said.

The designation of the Revolutionary Guard will be made under Executive Order 13224, which President Bush signed two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to obstruct terrorist funding. It authorizes the United States to identify individuals, businesses, charities and extremist groups engaged in terrorist activities. The Revolutionary Guard would be the first national military branch included on the list, U.S. officials said — a highly unusual move because it is part of a government, rather than a typical non-state terrorist organization.

The order allows the United States to block the assets of terrorists and to disrupt operations by foreign businesses that “provide support, services or assistance to, or otherwise associate with, terrorists.”

The situation between the United States and Iran can’t get much worse and we know the Revolutionary Guard is supplying, training and acting as terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The main goal of the new designation is to clamp down on the Revolutionary Guard’s vast business network, as well as on foreign companies conducting business linked to the military unit and its personnel. The administration plans to list many of the Revolutionary Guard’s financial operations.

“Anyone doing business with these people will have to reevaluate their actions immediately,” said a U.S. official familiar with the plan who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced. “It increases the risks of people who have until now ignored the growing list of sanctions against the Iranians. It makes clear to everyone who the IRGC and their related businesses really are. It removes the excuses for doing business with these people.”

Read the rest of the story here.

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Rep. J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois, Speaker of the House of Representatives longer than any other Republican is rumored to announce his resignation from Congress after this term.

I was never a big Hastert fan, although I can say it seems nice looking back now realizing I didn’t see his face in the news every day.

When he sided with those members of Congress who thought the F.B.I. could not search William Jefferson’s congressional office for evidence in a bribery scandal, he lost me for good. He showed that he and other Republicans as well as Democrats think they as Congresscritters are above the law.

He presided over a lot of corruption in the House; corruption that is still going on and some that is still being investigated after having been carried over to this term.

He was not the first choice to be Speaker of the House when Newt Gingrich resigned, but because Larry Flynt was all excited about revealing sexual peccadillos of Republican Congressmen, the chosen leader, Bob Livingstone was forced to resign. Enter Denny Hastert.

The rest, as they say, is history.

We’ll see if his seat, which he has held for many years, will flip or remain Republican.

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This is a post I wish for Daniel, K. Daniel, Jacob, Jakob or whatever alias you wish to use today to read and make one of your foolish comments on.

You will not be allowed to have your posts show as it is all spam. You use various IP addresses, names and URLs in your posts, but they all say something to the effect of :”I can’t say I agree 100% on your post (Insert title of post) but I’m not sure so I will have to research it more.”

The intent is clearly to get people who read your one-note comments to follow your link to whichever site you happen to be pushing in that post.

Please stop wasting your time and mine as you will not be published.

To all other readers: This character has also used the name “Anonymous” so I have banned that name from being posted. If you care to post a comment please use your real name or a blog name you wish to use as “Anonymous” will go for moderation.

I apologize for having everyone have to read this post, but trying to send an email to the person is impossible as he provides a fake email address.

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I honestly don’t know why we continue to have anything imported from China. All we’ve heard this year is poisoning in our pet foods, toothpastes and now our children’s toys.

For a list of the Mattel recalled toys please go here. Do this for your child or grandchild.

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The blogging team at J’s are all getting tired of partisan politics and hearing about the election, when not one primary vote has yet been cast.

Who to blame? I suppose we could blame John Edwards for being the first out of the gate last fall. At least I think it was John Edwards, but so much coverage has happened I can’t remember.

Today we’re going to take a break from partisan politics and talk generally about the state of our nation or just topics that interest us.

Guss has decided to take a well-earned week off. We’ll see if the blog bug stays away from him that long, but I know I’m sick of this race already.

I wonder if the early start is going to make any difference in whether or not people vote. Will they be so battered they just won’t bother or will they still have any excitement over the eventual nominee they support to get out the vote?

Only political fools like us are probably paying any attention to all of this right now anyway.

We’ll be posting throughout the morning and probably throughout the day if there is any news we can find that we think interests you.

In the meantime, kick up your feet, relax and try to enjoy.

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Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won his race to be the Likud party’s leader, thereby giving him another chance to run for Prime Minister of Israel.

While Netanyahu’s victory had been all but assured, a strong showing by challenger Moshe Feiglin could have shored up Israel’s extreme right and hurt Netanyahu’s efforts to rehabilitate Likud after it was trounced in national elections last year. Recent polls have crowned Netanyahu, Likud’s leader since late 2005, as the front-runner for Israel’s top job.

With more than 80 percent of the primary votes tallied, Netanyahu was out way ahead with 73 percent to Feiglin’s 22 percent, party executive director Gad Arieli said. World Likud Party Chairman Danny Danon trailed with 4 percent. Final results were expected early Wednesday.

In his victory speech, Netanyahu made it clear that the race was a dress rehearsal for a much bigger contest.

“Tonight the internal contest ended, and as of tomorrow, we will focus our efforts on bringing a new leadership to Israel,” Netanyahu told dozens of cheering supporters in Tel Aviv.

If memory serves me, Netanyahu had been involved in some sort of political scandal right before or right after he left office.

I have been disappointed in the government of Ohlmert because he seems to be giving away everything the enemies of Israel want and getting nothing in return.

I had high hopes for him when he was elected and I saw a photo of him standing at the old Temple, praying.

He allowed his military to take a big hit last year from Hezbollah and the Palestinians at the same time. Cities in Israel were ravaged and frightened by missiles hitting them. Some of the citizens were forced to live underground in shelters for weeks at a time.

There was even an effort to collect money to send these families to the southern part of Israel for a week to get away from the stress. I know, because we contributed and got a very nice thank you note from the organization.

Young people in Israel are now trying to dodge their version of the draft, and that has been unheard of since Israel’s modern incarnation.

It’s time for a tougher Prime Minister, in my opinion, but I’m not Jewish or Israeli so I have no say in the matter.

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