The Big Picture

The Best iPhone 4 Case

My wife and I just got our new iPhone 4s, and the next thing we needed was a case. (Especially because the Apple free iPhone 4 case program currently says it takes weeks to get the free case.) We were surprised that the case we finally settled on seems to be unknown to many reviewers. It isn't in the MacWorld case reviews done so far, and we didn't yet find a video about it on YouTube.

We wanted a case that would provide protection in case the phone was dropped, would make it easy to grip (since the iPhone is very slick and slippery), would take care of the famous signal drop-off when the iPhone is held a certain way, and would look good. Also, I wanted mine to have a belt clip.

Even though it wasn't in any of the lists of iPhone 4 case reviews we saw, we found via Google, the zCover Classic Ruggedized Healthcare Grade Silicone Case for Apple iPhone 4.

zCover states on their site that "The phone edges are protected with a reinforced layer of silicone that acts like a crash pad. Your phone will not be damaged even when dropped from up to 25 feet onto a hard surface."

Our zCovers arrived yesterday and we like them a lot.

Looks good and comes in a variety of colors.

Easy access to controls.

Wide cutout for the camera minimizes flash bounce-back from the flash bouncing off the edges of the camera cutout.

Thick silicon case wraps around phone.

A Brief Introduction to Islam, Using the Words of the Islamic Holy Texts

If you want to find out about Islam, you need to look at the actual words of the Islamic holy texts. The following is a brief introduction to Islam, using words quoted from the Islamic holy books.

There are three holy writings of Islam: The Koran, the Hadith, and the Sira. The Koran is text that Mohammed stated was dictated to him by the angel Gabriel, direct from Allah, who in Islam is considered to be the author of the Koran.

The Hadith are anecdotes from the life of Mohammed, as recounted by people who knew Mohammed personally. There are several books of Hadith, each from a different editor. Two of the books of Hadith are considered authoritative. The editor of one these two books of Hadith is a man named Bukhari, and this book is called the Bukhari Hadith. The other is edited by a man named Muslim, and this book is called the Muslim Hadith. The other books of Hadith are considered to possibly have invented or inaccurate anecdotes in at least some places.

The Sira is the official biography of Mohammed.

So let's start with the Koran.

The Koran

The Koran is divided up into chapters. Each chapter is called a Sura. Korans do not print the Suras in chronological order. Instead, they are printed in order of length, from the longest to the shortest.

Here are some Suras to start with as an introduction. All quotes are from the USC Muslim Student Association web site. This web site has three translations of each verse for comparison.

Sura 3:

[3.151 - i.e. Sura 3, verse 151] We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they set up with Allah that for which He has sent down no authority, and their abode is the fire, and evil is the abode of the unjust.

Sura 4:

[4:56] (As for] those who disbelieve in Our communications, We shall make them enter fire; so oft as their skins are thoroughly burned, We will change them for other skins, that they may taste the chastisement; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

[4.89] They desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah's way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper.

[4.90] Except those who reach a people between whom and you there is an alliance, or who come to you, their hearts shrinking from fighting you or fighting their own people; and if Allah had pleased, He would have given them power over you, so that they should have certainly fought you; therefore if they withdraw from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then Allah has not given you a way against them.

Sura …

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In Honor of “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day”

In honor of "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day", here are the famous Mohammed cartoons:

Next time you hear an Islamist preach that people should be unable to speak out against Islam, or call to get someone barred from speaking, keep this in mind: There are two principals that underly almost everything Islamic fundamentalists say. Islamic fundamentalists believe that: 1) Nobody has any human rights whatsover except for Muslims. 2) Saying anything that puts Islam in a bad light should be illegal.

One you are on the lookout for these two principals, all the weird things Islamic fundamentalists say start to make sense. For example, they claim that Israel is racist, even though the population of Israel is currently 20% Arabic, and 16% Muslim, while Muslim lands are about 0% Jewish, after those nations drove about 800,000 to 1,000,000 Jewish people from their homes by force; to Islamic fundamentalists that makes sense because in their view, non-Muslims have no human rights and aren't to be regarded as human at all.

And when Muslim groups try to stop people from being able to publicly speak about Islam, it is because fundamentalist Muslims believe that saying anything that puts Islam in a bad light should be illegal.

Now that you're aware of this, watch how many times Islamic leaders follow these two principles in their public statements.

The Media IS the Conspiracy

Why did the media turn a blind eye for decades to the fiscal policies of so many states, that have all but destroyed the fiscal viability of those states?

Why does the media give Obama a pass on the BP oil spill but blamed GWB for Katrina?

Why does the media ignore the injunctions in Islam for Muslims to use every method of fighting, including violence, to install Islamic Sharia Law as the governing law of any land in which they live?

Why doesn't the media track down Obama's birth certificate?

THE MEDIA *IS* THE CONSPIRACY.

The new media, the people's media - bloggers, talk radio, and Fox - are what is spreading the truth today.

DON'T TRUST ANY MEDIA OVER 30.

From Redstate: An Amendment to Declare the Unconstitutionality of Deem and Pass

Reposting, in its entirety, from Dan Perrin at Redstate:

“Mr. President, I send an unprinted Amendment to the desk, and ask for its immediate consideration,” are the exact words that any U.S. Senator can say when offering this amendment on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

This amendment, below, should be walked down to the floor of the U.S. Senate and voted on prior to any vote on the floor of the U.S. House, in order to prepare the legal battlefield for the court challenge against the Alice-in-Wonderland-like-Red-Queen, Speaker Pelosi, and her dictatorial and unconstitutional scheme to pass the Senate Health Care bill without voting on it. While we are uncertain that we will be fighting on this ground, it is essential to prepare the battlefield, if we do.

This amendment, I am reliably advised, was written by a former judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals who was on President Bush’s short list for the Supreme Court (Roberts beat him out) and is recently retired and is teaching Constitutional law at one of the most prestigious national law schools at University on the west coast.

So, in other words, don’t mess with the language of this amendment. Just launch it, now on whatever bill is now pending on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

START OF TEXT OF THE AMENDMENT:

Unprinted Amendment No.___ .

Intended to Proposed by Mr. _________.

Viz:

Add at the end of the bill the following new Section:

“Sec.___ . a) Inasmuch as Sections Five and Seven of Article I of the United States Constitution mandate a certain process for the enactment of a federal law and do not allow a measure to become a law by “deeming” it passed by either House of Congress, it is the Sense of the Senate and its judgment that the House of Representatives is required by the Supreme Law of the United States, to vote directly and up or down on H.R. 3590 in order to send that measure lawfully to the President, if, and only if, it shall have been approved by a majority vote of each such House taken on an identical measure; and, more particularly, it is the Sense of the Senate that, in conformity with Article I of the Constitution, the House of Representatives, unless the measure is returned to the Senate with an Amendment by the House, must vote directly on the language sent to it by the Senate precisely as it was duly enrolled at the direction of the Senate by its Enrolling Clerk, certified as an Act of the Senate by the Secretary of the Senate, and thereupon transmitted by the Senate’s Messenger to the House Chamber while the House of Representatives was in actual Session.

b) It is the further Sense of the Senate that the exact words that the Senate caused to be enrolled on parchment and taken by messenger to the House of Representatives, constitute the sole document and the only document upon which Members of …

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From a Reader: A Warning Against Permitting Unchecked Immigration of Haitians to the U.S.

From commenter A.M. Whittaker:

I've been following the horrific effects of the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake.

Hundreds of thousands are homeless, the infrastructure of Haiti (the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere) is completely ruined, and there is going to be an imminent health problem due to all the cadavers piled the streets and trapped in rubble. The lack of water is also an a major issue.

These people do need to be, and deserved, to be helped by nations worldwide.

However, it is obvious that President Obama, in the spirit of 'compassion' will offer the US as a safe refuge and permanent home to tens of thousands of Haitians. The Clintons will probably be quite involved with this.

Deja Voodoo: It reminds me of the plight of Haitian political refugees in 1992. In that year, President Clinton, lifted the ban on the HIV-infected refugees who had been held in camps at Guantanemo Bay. By this act, he allowed nearly 300 known HIV/AIDS-infected refugees into the United States.

I fear that by doing this, many of the Haitians, we will be taking accepting, will be either infected with HIV or other diseases. Here is a site concerning HIV statistics in Haiti. We have also set up a partnership to fight HIV/AIDS in Haiti.

Additionally, the national prison collapsed and hardened criminals are roaming the country and could seek refuge here. This is a frightening thought.

Although I believe that many Haitians refugees should be allowed to immigrate here, Indiscriminate immigration would be disasterous to this nation. It will overburden our country, especially, the health sector. We need to make sure that the refugees we allow to enter are healthy and respectable as well as urge other nations to take their fair share of refugees.

We should then contribute, with other nations, to the rebuilding of Haiti.

Update 1-19-10 - from WFTV in Orlando, Florida:

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The American Red Cross says a plan to bring 45,000 evacuees from Haiti to Florida, and 4,000 of those to Orange County, is not set in stone. The Red Cross clarified Friday who could be involved in a plan to move people out of Haiti.

The Red Cross is preparing for two things: the repatriation of Americans living in Haiti and the possibility of a mass migration of Haitian nationals.

Update 1-21-10 - from the Miami Herald:

200,000 Haitian migrants could file for Temporary Protected Status

Federal immigration officials predict that up to 200,000 Haitians could apply for Temporary Protected Status, which would keep them from being deported. Applications will be accepted starting Thursday.

Update 1-22-10 - from Reuters:

TOLEDO, Spain, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Haitian citizens who arrive in the United States illegally after the Jan. 12 earthquake will be sent home, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on Friday.

Although the United States has said it will allow eligible Haitians living in the …

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Obama: Government Will Discriminate Against Non-Union Workers

The unions had been opposing Obama's health-care bill due to the high tax it is to impose on so-called "Cadillac" insurance plans. Yesterday came news that Obama had gotten the union leaders on board. This post will show that Obama achieved this in a particularly vicious manner.

From Fox:

The breakthrough announced Thursday was a biproduct of the previous days talks: a deal on so-called "Cadillac" insurance plans. The White House and top union leaders heralded the agreement, which shields all union workers for five years from significant taxes on health benefit packages that non-union workers will face starting in 2013.

Obama lured in union leaders, not by offering them a way to improve the plan itself, but by telling them that the government will discriminate against non-unionized workers. For five years non-union workers will pay a tax that union workers will not.

This government-backed discrimination is vicious. It appealed to the worst instincts in the union leaders, who will use it as a hammer against non-unionized businesses.

Reid/Pelosi/Obama are Trying to Put Government’s Boots on Our Necks

Why are Reid, Pelosi, and Obama trying to push through the health care bill when the majority of the public opposes it?

Background: From Rasmussen polls, December 7th, 2009:

The Senate worked through the weekend on its version of the national health care bill, with President Obama stopping by for a rare Sunday visit, but for the second week in a row, only 41% of U.S. voters favor the health care plan proposed by the president and congressional Democrats.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% oppose the plan. And as has been the case for months, the emotion’s on the sign of the naysayers: 40% Strongly Oppose the plan, while just 23% Strongly favor it.

As Megan McAardle puts it:

It's pretty clear at this point that any health care reform which passes is going to have more voters against it than for it.

There's exactly one explanation. Led by Obama, Reid and Pelosi don't care about the will of the people. They want to destroy democracy and put their boots on our necks. They're tired of being servants of the people. They don't like always being worried about losing their jobs in the next election, and they don't like having to answer to huge number of pesky "voters." What they want to do is give the government the power to control our health so that nobody will dare to oppose them again.

They must be stopped. Their agenda must be destroyed. And the American people owe a huge debt of gratitude and support to every Republican Congressman and Senator who is holding the line against them, because these Republicans are the only thing standing between us and the destruction of democracy by Obama, Reid, Pelosi, and every Democrat who supports this health care bill.

A Warning to All Young Women Wishing to Meet a Dark Handsome Middle Eastern Man

The following remarkable document was sent to me by a reader, Huda N. (not her real name). It is a warning from someone who appears to be personally knowledgeable about the subject. I emailed back, asking, "Can you provide some background on yourself and your experience with the subject you are writing about, that I could pass along to readers?" She replied:"I am very sorry I can't provide you with more information about myself because you know that fundmantalist if they knew anything about me, about my family, and even my name i might be killed or one of my family members might be hurt or at least they might send threatning letters with abusive language. So if you want to post the article refer to me as Huda only."

I responded, "May I tell readers what country you are in?" She responded, "All I’ve talked about is in Islam as a religion. I have used verses from the Quran and stories from books of Hadith (Islamic interpretation books). Every thing is practiced in all Arab countries except for slavery. It is not practiced any more as it is not haram but it is condemned by the international society only. In Saudi Arabia they still consider Pilipino and Asian servants as (their right hand belongings, if you understand me). The more educated, far from Islam (liberal) citizens the more they tend not to follow the Islamic teachings. The more they are involved in Islamic believes the more they tend to practice these teachings and follow the path of their prophet."

Here now, is the testimony of Huda.

To all you young women wishing to meet a dark handsome Middle Eastern man

Be careful what you wish for you might get it.

by Huda N.

I have always wondered how can a woman walk into hell with her own legs, then I understood why? European women have this fantasy about Middle Eastern men as machos and strong dark handsome men who will protect his harem.

It is said that Islam has improved the position of women in Arabia. He has put an end to the Arab practice of infanticide. He forbade concubinage. He placed women on the same footing with man in legal process. And that he abolished the Arab custom of transmitting women as property from father to son. They keep repeating the hadith (prophet’s sayings) that “Paradise is at the foot of the mother.” So I thought I might give you a real look on how women in the Middle East are treated by Islam.

Women are deficient in mind and religion

Mohamed speaks of women as man’s supreme calamity, and suspects that most of them will go to hell. He says about women: "those deficient in mind and religion"

…

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Obama Wants to Destroy America’s Finances the Way Harvard University Destroyed Its Own Finances

Want to force out the people who know how to do the job? That's what destroyed the financial strength of Harvard University. From Vanity Fair:

The fall of Harvard Management Company
• The longtime head of Harvard Management Company, Jack Meyer, quit to start his own hedge fund in 2005 after growing fed up with criticism over the eight-figure salaries some of his managers were pulling down and with persistent meddling from top Harvard officials. Two particular annoyances were Summers, who had been questioning Meyer’s investment strategies, and Robert Rubin, a member of the Harvard Corporation, who frowned on Meyer’s aggressive strategies and wound up on the “warpath” with Meyer, as one person put it.

• When Meyer left, he took much of Harvard Management Company with him — including 30 portfolio managers and traders, as well as the chief risk officer, chief operating officer, and chief technology officer. The place became “like a Ferrari without the engine,” according to a portfolio manager who arrived after Meyer left. This angered Rubin, according to someone who knows him well: “In Rubin’s opinion, Meyer crippled the institution.”

Now Obama wants to inflict precisely this kind of destruction on the very companies he pretended he wanted to save with the bailouts.

The Obama administration is set to dictate incomes to Americans at companies who foolishly believed that accepting government bailouts didn't give the government the right to dictate to them what they could and could not do with their lives. From the NY Times:

Responding to the growing furor over the paychecks of executives at companies that received billions of dollars in the government’s financial rescue, the Obama administration will order the companies that received the most aid to deeply slash the compensation to their highest paid executives, an official involved in the decision said on Wednesday.

Under the plan, which will be announced in the next few days by the Treasury Department, the seven companies that received the most assistance will have to cut the annual salaries of their 25 best-paid executives by an average of about 90 percent from last year. Their total compensation — including bonuses and retirement contributions — will drop, on average, by about 50 percent. The companies are Citigroup [C 4.42 -0.01 (-0.23%) ], Bank of America [BAC 16.51 -0.50 (-2.94%) ], American International Group [AIG 38.96 -1.47 (-3.64%) ], General Motors, Chrysler and the financing arms of the two automakers.

In March I posted:

Obama Wants to Turn the U.S. Into a Government-Managed “Planned Economy”

Obama is proving that some of the change he wants is to replace our market-driven economy, with one in which business decisions are made by the government and forced by law on we, the people. He wants greatly increased government control over health care, education, and energy......

Obama wants the government to control executive pay at all these financial firms. This kind of central planning of business decisions, controlled by the state, …

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