Saturday, December 08, 2007

DECLINE OF OUR COUNTRY CONTINUES

PREMEDITATED MERGER
Canada openly proclaims NAFTA Superhighway
Readers bombard Newsweek with evidence after adverse story on Ron Paul


Posted: December 8, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

A Newsweek story critical of Rep. Ron Paul and labeling the NAFTA Superhighway a baseless conspiracy theory has generated approximately 250 adverse reader responses on the "comments" section of Newsweek's website, many citing hard evidence that the proposed transcontinental trade corridor is quite real.


Rep. Ron Paul

"There is a broad coalition of Americans developing across the United States who are opposed to a North American Union and know that Ron Paul is right and we need to take action now before it is too late," Jesse Benton, national press secretary for the Ron Paul Presidential Campaign 08 told WND.

Particularly interesting among Newsweek's reader comments were citations of Canadian government websites that openly discuss and declare plans to create a NAFTA Superhighway.

Several readers pointed to a Canadian government video clip gaining wide circulation on the Internet. It involves a Nov. 20 "Speech from the Throne," in which John Harvard, lieutenant-governor of the Province of Manitoba, Canada, opened the second session of the 39th assembly of the provincial legislature with comments proclaiming support for the development of a "Mid-Continent Trade Corridor."

"Manitoba is also taking a major role in the development of a Mid-Continent Trade Corridor, connecting our northern Port of Churchill with trade markets throughout the central United States and Mexico," Harvard told the legislature.

"To advance the concept," Harvard continued, "an alliance has been built with business leaders and state and city governments spanning the entire length of the Corridor. When fully developed, the trade route will incorporate an 'inland port' in Winnipeg with pre-clearance for international shipping."

A video posted on YouTube shows excerpts from Harvard's speech juxtaposed with clips of President Bush and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the press conference of the third summit of the Security and Prosperity Partnership in Montebello, Quebec, on Aug. 21, ridiculing the North American Union and the NAFTA Superhighway as baseless conspiracy theories.

A video posted on YouTube shows excerpts from Harvard's speech juxtaposed with clips of President Bush and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the press conference of the third summit of the Security and Prosperity Partnership in Montebello, Quebec, on Aug. 21, ridiculing the North American Union and the NAFTA Superhighway as baseless A Destination-Winnipeg trade group website identifies the Mid-Continent Trade Corridor as "the northern gateway of this vast Corridor, a network of highways and railways linking the business community with cities to the south, through the U.S. and into Mexico."

The Canadian government's Canada Transport website describes the Mid-Continent International Trade Corridor as a rail and highway network which stretches from Manitoba to Mexico.

Other Newsweek readers provided links to an Alberta government website.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation in Alberta, Canada, has posted on its website a trade corridor map that shows a NAFTA Superhighway clearly designated in the same route, including Interstate Highways 35, 29 and 94, that the North America's SuperCorridor Coalition, or NASCO, designates as the I-35 NAFTA Superhighway.

Craig Offman of the National Post writes that this Alberta map of the NAFTA Superhighway on the Alberta Government website is currently Number Two on the popular U.S. web site Digg.com.

"Well, now, Mr. Paul might think he has some real fodder," Offman writees. "The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation website uses the exact phrase, showing a thoroughfare that begins in Manitoba and drops all the way down to West Texas."

"Why would the Canadian government web page in Alberta show a NAFTA Superhighway if the highway doesn't exist?" asks a Newsweek reader linking to the Alberta site. "Keep on lying to the people, Newsweek, it is what you do best."

"We have had that map with the NAFTA Superhighway on our website for 5 years or more," Jerry Bellikka, director of communications for the Alberta Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation told WND in a telephone interview.

"The website is a site for truckers," Bellikka explained. "We try to harmonize our trucking regulations with Canada and the United States so truckers can log on and see where they fit on our requirements when they are traveling along these North American corridors."

WND asked Bellikka if the Alberta Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation had any intention of changing the NAFTA Superhighway map on its website.

"No," Bellinkka answered directly. "We have no plan to change the designation of NAFTA Superhighway on our website."

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DEBKAfile


DEBKAfile Exclusive: Olmert administration prepares additional southern Israeli towns to face Gaza bombardment while still deferring military operation

December 8, 2007, 12:58 PM (GMT+02:00)


Hamas has extended the range of its missiles from Gaza to as far afield as the towns of Ashkelon, Netivot and Ofakim and blocs of smaller locations such as Magen, Miftahim, Kerem Shalom, Habsor, Gevulot, Tzeelim and Urim. This brings another 175,000 inhabitants who have so far escaped Palestinian missiles within Palestinian sights.

On Dec. 6, deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai made the rounds of this region and warned local authorities to prepare their towns and villages for bombardment. He had no answers on any military response or how their citizens were to be protected from this new peril. DEBKAfile’s sources reveal that prime minister Ehud Olmert, defense minister Ehud Barak and chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi have again decided to defer a major military operation for wiping out the Hamas war machine in Gaza. Its long postponement has left the Islamist terrorists free to greatly enhance their capabilities.

The range of their new missile acquisitions has been extend up to 25 km. Even fired from Gaza City, they can still reach a broad swathe of southern Israeli civilian locations, and not just those close to the border. Liquidating this new capability would necessitate Israel’s conquest of Gaza’s largest town.

Defense officials disclosed on Dec. 7, that Hamas now has long-term storage facilities for up to 100 Qassam missiles, which enables them to fire multiple bursts at Israeli targets. Officers in the IDF southern command report they repeatedly warned the government that this multiple-fire capability, comparable to that used in the Hizballah’s blitz of northern Israel last year, was under development. They are unable to explain why no orders came down to root it out.

The officers report Hamas has further set up special units of fighters clad in the same uniforms and camouflage gear as Israeli troops. They are even armed with the same M-16 rifles and their vehicles painted in the same camouflage colors.

These units are disguised as Israeli troops for cross-border terrorist attacks. They are trained to execute incursions overland or through tunnels and use the confusion to storm Israeli locations, before they can be identified as the enemy and challenged by Israeli ground or air forces.

The only directive received, say the IDF officers, is to limit their sorties in Gaza against Palestinian mortar crews, bomb-layers and RPG firing squads to a depth of up to 2 km. Many of the missile launchers are out of bounds because they can shelter in the heart of the Gaza Strip out of IDF reach from this narrow strip of land.

The Palestinians terror groups are also reported to have streamlined their operations by unifying the Hamas and Jihad Islami commands. This enables them to deploy joint teams of terrorists against Israeli civilian targets.

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LEVITICUS CHAPTER 26

יח וְאִם-עַד-אֵלֶּה--לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּ, לִי: וְיָסַפְתִּי לְיַסְּרָה אֶתְכֶם, שֶׁבַע עַל-חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם. 18 And if ye will not yet for these things hearken unto Me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins.
יט וְשָׁבַרְתִּי, אֶת-גְּאוֹן עֻזְּכֶם; וְנָתַתִּי אֶת-שְׁמֵיכֶם כַּבַּרְזֶל, וְאֶת-אַרְצְכֶם כַּנְּחֻשָׁה. 19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass.
כ וְתַם לָרִיק, כֹּחֲכֶם; וְלֹא-תִתֵּן אַרְצְכֶם, אֶת-יְבוּלָהּ, וְעֵץ הָאָרֶץ, לֹא יִתֵּן פִּרְיוֹ. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield her produce, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
כא וְאִם-תֵּלְכוּ עִמִּי קֶרִי, וְלֹא תֹאבוּ לִשְׁמֹעַ לִי--וְיָסַפְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם מַכָּה, שֶׁבַע כְּחַטֹּאתֵיכֶם. 21 And if ye walk contrary unto Me, and will not hearken unto Me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

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rense.com

Wooldridge - Where Is
America Headed?

By Frosty Wooldridge
12-6-7


Former Colorado Governor Lamm, a man I know personally and respect highly, wrote "Megatraumas: America at the Year 2000". He projected ramifications of our growing consequences to this country from immigration. Whether he was off by a few years, he hit the bull's eye as to what we face in 2007 and beyond.

"The U.S. economy will be debt-ridden, with structural unemployment nearing 20 percent," Lamm said. "The U.S. will have the lowest percentage of capital investment and lowest growth in productivity and savings of any major industrialized country. The middle class will be wiped out by these inter-related economic predicaments."

In 2007, we suffer $8.7 trillion national debt, $789 billion devastating war debt, $700 billion annual trade deficit, 18 million unemployed Americans, 3 million jobs outsourced, millions insourced via illegal aliens and millions more offshored. We borrow $2 billion daily from foreign investors to float our economy. Consumers suffer a gargantuan $2 trillion debt. Average credit card debt stands at $9,149.00 balance (debt). Our manufacturing base no longer exists and illegal workers from Mexico create the second largest underground economy in the world. According to Bear-Stearns Report of 2005, $400 billion in IRS income taxes go uncollected while American job wage losses exceed $200 billion annually.

"The U.S. has the most expensive and inefficient health-care system in the world," Lamm said.

Because of massive immigration numbers, 86 hospitals and ER wards in California bankrupted out of existence in the past five years. Over 47 million Americans cannot afford to carry health insurance in 2007.

"Immigration will be out of control," Lamm said. "At a time when the U.S. economy was not creating enough new jobs for our own citizens, the federal government allowed millions of legal and illegal immigrants to enter. The Southwest will become a "Hispanic Quebec." Taking a cue from Castro's success in 1980 when he released thousands of criminals into the hands of Florida, other countries sent terrorists and criminals across the U.S. borders."

As you know, we suffered 9/11. Our prisons hold over 400,000 illegal alien convicts costing $2 billion annually. American citizens suffer death daily at the hands of illegal alien drunks, killers, rapists, MS-13 gangs and children molesters.

"America's educational system will move into a new Dark Age," Lamm said.

In his own state of Colorado, Denver Public Schools suffer a 67 percent drop out/flunk out rate every June. One of five teachers quits or transfers out every nine month cycle from futility in chaotic classrooms. In California, education turned into a fight for survival with 100 competing languages, gangs, drugs and racial conflicts. Educators 'warehouse' immigrant children until they dispatch them into our society at age 18-functionally illiterate.

This year, Washington Post journalists reported that one third of the Washington, DC's local population suffered functional illiteracy while one fifth of mainstream America can't read, write or work simple math.

"America will become a dangerous, crime-infested country," Lamm said.

One look at two million prisoners in our federal, state and local jails tells you something is wrong in America. Over 15,000 MS-13 gang members distribute $128 billion in drugs to our schools and cities nationwide.

"Our groundwater will become badly contaminated," Lamm said.

As reported, over 40 percent of lakes and rivers in America currently remain unsafe for swimming or drinking. The Mississippi River spews toxic water into a 3,000 mile dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The U.S. carries an international welfare load to match its domestic one," Lamm said. "An effort to increase exports to 'never-to-be-developed' countries has led to a dangerous overexploitation of American farmland."

The U.S. gives over $6 billion annually to countries like Israel and Egypt in outright money that goes into the pockets of the rich. It pays horrendous welfare to millions in the USA unable, unwilling or uneducated enough not work.

As a nation, we no longer enjoy unlimited food production as our farmland diminishes with population onslaught. We import 35 percent of our food.

Lamm in the 1980s saw America as a "nation in liquidation."

Lamm felt we might hold out hope with a brilliant new president who leads the country back to a sustainable future. In his book, fictional President Morgenstern ("Morning Star") managed to balance the budget, paid of the debt and created means-testing for welfare applicants. Health showed improvement by prevention methods; pension systems overhauled; government regains borders; infrastructure rebuilt; economic aid limited to countries that helped themselves.

In light of what's happening today, I am curious as to Governor Lamm's projections in 2007. I see presidential candidates like Tom Tancredo, Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter that could change our disastrous course, however, I wonder if the American public can cut through the media's "chosen" candidates touted for the presidency.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn warned, "Seen from the outside, the massive upheaval in American society approaches a limit beyond which it will become 'meta-stable' and must collapse."

Patrick Buchanan in his book, "Day of Reckoning", said that America is 'deconstructing' itself with massive, unending immigration.

"America is coming apart, decomposing, and...the likelihood of her survival as one nation...is improbable -- and impossible if America continues on her current course," declares Pat Buchanan. "For we are on a path to national suicide."

He further stated, "The Third World invasion through Mexico is a graver threat to our survival as one nation than anything happening in Afghanistan or Iraq."

If you look at what our president and Congress continue in 2007, I add "national suicide" via apathy as our ultimate destination. Most Americans resemble sheep following the one before them down a chute into the killing zone. No one takes action or tries to escape until they see the sledge hammer dropping toward their head. By then, it's too late.

Every sign today shows environmental breakdown, population pileup and degraded standard of living. Where is America headed? I don't think enough Americans know or care. If they did, this invasion of our country would have been stopped 15 years ago!

www.frostywooldridge.com

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CompUSA, Falling to Competition, to Shut Down After Holidays

By Joseph Galante

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- CompUSA, the computer retailer that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim owned since 2000, will shut its doors after 23 years, succumbing to competition from Best Buy Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Restructuring firm Gordon Brothers Group LLC bought the chain for an undisclosed sum and will sell or close its 103 stores after the U.S. holidays, CompUSA said yesterday. The 67- year-old Slim, Latin America's richest man, failed to turn around CompUSA after investing more than $1.5 billion in the chain over eight years.

``An orderly and expedited wind-down and asset sale process is the best option for CompUSA and its creditors at this juncture,'' Bill Weinstein, a principal at Gordon Brothers, said in a statement. Weinstein will serve as interim president of CompUSA.

Founded in 1984, CompUSA focuses on computer-related products for small companies and individuals. The chain, acquired by Slim in 2000, shut more than half of its stores earlier this year.

CompUSA was a unit of Slim's U.S. Commercial Corp. SA, which had sales last year of 37.8 billion pesos ($3.5 billion).

Richfield, Minnesota-based Best Buy, the biggest U.S. consumer electronics retailer, had revenue of $35.9 billion last year. No. 2 Circuit City Stores Inc. had sales of $12.4 billion.

Boston-based Gordon Brothers' DJM unit helped Discovery Channel Stores, Bombay Co. and Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. sell properties. It plans to sell CompUSA's TechPro technical services division and CompUSA.com as well.

CompUSA will discount items this month to get rid of inventory, Alex Stanton, spokesman for Gordon Brothers, said in an interview. He declined to comment further.

Arturo Elias, a spokesman for Slim, didn't return a call seeking comment.

23-Year History

CompUSA was founded as Soft Warehouse in Dallas in 1984 by Mike Henochowicz and Errol Jacobson. The chain opened its first retail store in 1985 and the company changed its name to CompUSA in 1991.

In 2000, Slim's Grupo Sanborns SA agreed to purchase the company for $797.7 million after holding a 14 percent stake since 1999. Slim invested at least $700 million more in recent years to shore up the retailer's finances.

Slim is honorary chairman of Telefonos de Mexico SAB, which runs 90 percent of Mexico's 20 million telephone land lines. In 2003, he tried and failed to buy Richmond, Virginia-based Circuit City for $1.5 billion.

Slim hired Credit Suisse Group last year to put CompUSA up for sale. Earlier this year, he said he would sell the chain ``if anyone will buy it.''

``We made a mistake with management,'' Slim said at a news conference in Mexico City in March.

Law firms Cooley Godward Kronish LLP and Kelley Drye & Warren LLP were hired to represent creditors and landlords, CompUSA said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joseph Galante in New York at jgalante3@bloomberg.net .

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Friday, December 07, 2007

THE CLOCK IS STILL TICKING


Abandoning Israel

December 7, 2007 | From theTrumpet.com

How recent U.S. diplomatic strategies are forcing Israel into a perilously lonely position.
Stephen Flurry
Stephen Flurry

On the morning of the Annapolis summit, theTrumpet.com posted a story about how the growing divide between the United States and Israel was of greater geopolitical significance than any of the topics discussed at the conference that day. “Whatever the outcome of Annapolis,” we wrote, “the months prior to the conference have already revealed a dangerous erosion of U.S. support for Israel.” In the week and a half since the conference, the U.S.-Israeli relationship has been further pounded by a combination of two deadly blows.

First, there is the sell-out of Lebanon. Contrary to what Israel might have thought going into Annapolis, Syria did not show up in hopes of laying the groundwork for retrieving the Golan Heights. We now know that its participation was contingent upon the U.S. allowing Damascus to handpick Lebanon’s president.

Over the last three years, there has been a violent power struggle in Lebanon between pro-Western and pro-Syrian forces. In early 2005, a pro-Syrian suicide bomber assassinated Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who had been calling for Syrian troops to withdraw from Lebanon. The murder triggered an onslaught of anger, both in Lebanon and around the world—virtually all the wrath pointed directly at Syria. Facing enormous pressure from the West, Syria agreed to withdraw its 40,000 troops from Lebanon, allowing the Lebanese to form a new government.

Since that time, Damascus has been feverishly working to undermine the ruling March 14 movement (named after the date of Lebanon’s 2005 “Cedar Revolution”). The coalition has seen its majority rule in parliament dwindle to a slim 68 out of the 128 seats. Six parliamentarians in the coalition have been assassinated in the last two and a half years. Syrian operatives have simply been murdering the opposition in order to obtain a majority rule.

In an October visit to Washington, Saad Hariri, head of the March 14 alliance and son of the slain former prime minister, pleaded for President Bush and Congressional leaders to support anti-Syrian forces in Lebanon. Hariri’s coalition wanted an anti-Syrian to be installed as president and for Damascus to face the consequences for sabotaging the Lebanese political process with state-sponsored assassinations.

According to the Weekly Standard’s Lee Smith, after his White House visit, Hariri told reporters, “There is a killing machine in Syria. We came to Washington to say, ‘If you are going to do something about it, let us know. If you are not going to do anything about it, let us know. But no matter what, we’re not going to give in’” (emphasis mine throughout).

Soon after Hariri left Washington, U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) introduced a House resolution condemning Iran and Syria for their murderous campaign to overthrow the Lebanese government. Syria and Iran “have clearly violated numerous UN Security Council resolutions protective of Lebanon. They are the puppet masters pulling on the strings of Hezbollah, Amal and Aoun,” Ackerman said. They “are attacking Lebanon’s sovereignty no less than if they sent a fleet of bombers, or a wave of tanks, or a swarm of infantry,” he added.

The resolution passed by a vote of 375 to 5.

In early November, six March 14 members, including Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt, followed up Hariri’s visit with another appeal to Washington for help. In a letter addressed to Representative Ackerman, the parliamentarians wrote, “What is left of the majority (March 14) pledge to elect a president who puts Lebanon on top.”

Less than three weeks later, Jumblatt’s pledge and Hariri’s vow to not give in to Syria both vanished like Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

On Wednesday, November 28, the day after Annapolis, the March 14 bloc reluctantly dropped its opposition to support Lebanon’s army chief, Gen. Michel Suleiman, a pro-Syrian military man with close ties to Hezbollah. In order to lure Syria to Annapolis, Washington forced the March 14 coalition to go along with Syria’s choice for president. Without regard to Lebanon’s fledgling democracy or the security of Israel’s northern border, Washington handed Lebanon to Hezbollah in hopes of driving a wedge between two terrorist-sponsoring nations—Syria and Iran.

The National Intelligence Estimate

Within days of Hezbollah’s political victory in Beirut, the United States dumped another diplomatic bombshell on Israel. In a move intended to spark another line of dialogue with a state sponsor of terror, the United States extended an olive branch to the one nation it had worked so hard to alienate just one week earlier—the Islamic Republic of Iran.

This stunning reversal came in the form of a politically driven policy report masquerading as an intelligence analysis.

In the story posted on the day of the summit, theTrumpet.com wrote, “Besides an Iranian bomb, the greatest threat to Israel’s existence is diminished support from its long-time ally, the United States.” What astonishes me about the National Intelligence Estimate the United States declassified on Monday is that while shamefully denying the existence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, Washington simultaneously managed to nuke what remained of its strategic alliance with Israel.

Could it possibly get any worse for the Jewish state?

As recently as October 17, President Bush warned, “We’ve got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. … [I]f you’re interested in avoiding World War iii, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.”

But with the release of Monday’s report, everyone from the Bush administration to the New York Times editorial board to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad all breathed a collective sigh of relief—even if for different reasons.

Israel, though, is not relieved. It is deeply concerned—and now, very alone. Israel’s top officials were quick to reject the nie assessment, albeit as tactfully as possible to avoid adding further strain on an already dead relationship. On Tuesday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israel’s Army Radio that while Iran may have momentarily stopped its nuclear weapons program, it has since been revived. When asked if America’s new assessment, which directly contradicted its own 2005 estimate, now diminishes the chances of a U.S. pre-emptive strike against Iran’s weapons facilities, Barak admitted that that was possible. But “we cannot allow ourselves to rest just because of an intelligence report from the other side of the Earth, even if it is from our greatest friend,” Barak said with false optimism.

Other Israeli sources, according to Haaretz, assessed the situation more bluntly, saying “the Bush administration appears to have lost its sense of urgency regarding Iran’s nuclear program, making a military strike in 2008 increasingly unlikely.”

Ron Prosor, Israel’s new ambassador to Britain and one of Prime Minister Olmert’s leading experts on Iran’s nuclear weapons program, said this in an interview with London’s Daily Telegraph yesterday:

At the current rate of progress Iran will reach the technical threshold for producing fissile material by 2009.

This is a global threat and it requires a global response. It should be made clear that if Iran does not cooperate then military confrontation is inevitable. It is either cooperation or confrontation.

While that may still be true, the transformative event from this past week now means Israel stands alone in using force to confront the Iranian threat. And if the United States is no longer justified in preemptively striking Iran, what do you suppose world opinion would be after an Israeli strike? If American intelligence thinks Iran froze its nuclear program, a former Israeli military intelligence official told the New York Times, “that makes it harder for Israel to go against it.”

Describing Israel’s lonely position in a Haaretz column on Wednesday, Amos Harel wrote, Over the last year, a certain hope has developed in Israel that the U.S. would do our dirty work for us …. Yesterday, from talking to a number of senior officials in the defense establishment, you could sense this hope had been buried in the wake of the report.”

The sad truth is that while purporting to prove that Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program in 2003, in actual fact, Monday’s National Intelligence Estimate proves America has abandoned Israel. As Clare Lopez noted in a column for Middle East Times,

The U.S. administration, in effect, has just thrown in the towel over Iran’s geostrategic ambitions in the Middle East. Coming hard on the heels of the Annapolis charades, the nie makes clear that the lame duck George W. Bush team has lost the will to defend either the existence of its ally Israel or even its own national security interests.

To understand more about the broken U.S.-Israeli alliance and how it will factor into future events within the geopolitical arena, read The United States and Britain in Prophecy.
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WHY IS ISRAEL IN THE HEADLINES EVERYDAY WHEN THEY ARE A COUNTRY ABOUT THE SIZE OF DELAWARE AND THE NARROWEST POINT IN ISRAEL IS 9 MILES WIDE. IN A WORLD OF ABOUT 6 "BILLION" PEOPLE - THERE ARE ONLY 12 "MILLION" JEWS.
GET READY FOR THE WRATH OF G-D...

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80,000,000 Retirees

America is aging, and politicians have squandered the nation’s retirement money. Who will provide the cash to pay for all the promises? By Robert Morley

As another American presidential election approaches, voters are being bombarded by candidates offering a smorgasbord of wondrous benefits, tax cuts, income tax credits and other tasty treats. And as usual, the issue of whether or not the country can afford it is forgotten in all the hoopla.

One of the most blatant recent examples is the many new hundred-billion-dollar-per-year government-subsidized health care plans currently being offered by political candidates.

Haven’t they heard? America is broke!

If they haven’t, they shouldn’t be running for office. And they definitely should talk to David Walker, the nonpartisan comptroller general of the United States—the nation’s top auditor. Walker is responsible for certifying the government’s books, so he should know exactly what kind of financial shape America is in. According to him, America is in deep trouble.

Politicians simply refuse to acknowledge America’s financial reality. David Walker says he has practically given up trying to get elected officials to take up the issue. For two years now, according to cbs News, Walker has been touring the nation like an Old Testament prophet trying to get America and its leaders to wake up to the financial reality facing them—the reality that America is facing bankruptcy (July 8, 2007).

That financial reality has been called the “dirty little secret everyone in Washington knows.” It is a set of facts so inconvenient that most politicians don’t even want to acknowledge the problem, let alone fix it.

$50 Trillion We Don’t Have

There is nothing difficult to comprehend about Washington’s “dirty little secret.” Even though the numbers involved are fantastically huge, the concept is elementary. Simply put, America has made promises to its citizens, in the form of Medicare, Social Security and government pensions, far beyond the nation’s ability to pay. And each year the problem is ignored, the funding shortfall gets worse by the billions.

Just how big is the shortfall? Walker says it now totals approximately $50 trillion. He calls it the most serious threat facing the nation.

To put $50 trillion in context, the total 2007 federal budget was only $2.4 trillion. But that $2.4 trillion wasn’t even enough to cover current expenditures. The government had to borrow hundreds of billions extra just to pay for all the programs.

Where is this additional $50 trillion going to come from? Even the U.S. gross domestic product, which is the total value of all the goods and services produced in the country for a full year, is only around $13.5 trillion.

If you think higher taxes will be able to cover the massive shortfall, think again. Besides being a political no-no that few politicians would have the nerve to tackle, America’s tax base when compared to the number of retirees is about to start shrinking rapidly.

80 Million Retirees in the Wings

America’s population is aging. Walker calls it a “demographic tsunami” that “will never recede.” The 80 million baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 are getting set to start retiring—the first ones could retire early in 2008. As they age, it will have a dramatic impact on consumer spending, federal expenditures and tax revenue.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the section of the population most responsible for consumer spending is the 45-to-54-year-olds. These are consumers whose earned incomes are peaking and whose expenditures are greatest. They own the biggest homes, have several family vehicles, send their kids to music lessons, and generally contribute the most to the overall economy. Once beyond this age, children move out on their own, the family holiday cottage is sold, and overall spending drops. Once people reach age 65, spending really plummets as couples retire and shift to living on fixed incomes.

The number of people ages 45 to 54 is about to peak in America, after which it is expected to then drop until after 2020. Simultaneously, the number of people retiring and beginning to collect Social Security, Medicare and other government-funded benefits is about to mushroom.

In other words, the economy is about to get double whacked.

The population demographic ramifications are very significant. Seventy percent of all economic activity in the U.S. is consumer spending. The 45-to-54-year-olds drive that spending, but their numbers are about to drop dramatically.

At the same time, there will be more retirees collecting benefits. With Social Security, for example, there were originally 42 people paying into the system for each person collecting. By 2030 there will be barely more than two workers paying for each retired individual. The Social Security caseload is expected to jump from 50 million people to 84 million by 2030, which will be especially painful for government coffers since the SS trust fund is already empty, cleaned out and holding only government ious. Medicare’s caseload is predicted to leap from 44 million to 79 million enrollees. Already Medicare’s hospital insurance fund pays out more than it takes in.

The demographic tsunami is heading our way.

Kathleen Casey-Kirschling was born in Philadelphia on Jan. 1, 1946, at 12:00:01 a.m. Kathleen, who is generally accepted as America’s first baby boomer, will take early retirement when she turns 62 on January 1. America’s first baby boomer isn’t waiting until she is 66 to collect her benefits; she is applying for Social Security right away. Maybe she realizes that the system is approaching insolvency.

The system will go broke. Everyone knows it. No one has the courage to face it.

Instead of preparing for the approaching demographic tsunami, government leaders will probably continue to ignore it. After all, it’s not a pretty picture—increased taxes, reduced benefits, reduced consumer spending, and a rapidly slowing economy—who would vote for that kind of a message, no matter how realistic it is?

America is facing massive economic trouble. Yet at the time strong leadership is most needed, it is lacking. As Walker has stated many times, “The American people are starved for two things: truth and leadership.” Unlike in earlier times, God says that this time leadership would catastrophically fail the modern nations of Israel (Isaiah 3:1-6).

Though the tsunami isn’t here just yet, it is quickly approaching. With elections coming up and big promises hitting the airwaves, conditions may appear better. But you can be sure that America’s fiscal hole will just get deeper and deeper.

Then, one day soon, the fraud and deceit of today will end in sudden destruction in the form of financial collapse. As Isaiah 30:12-13 say, the collapse will be fast, like a swollen wall “whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant”—kind of like a tsunami.

For proof Isaiah is referring directly to America, and for the underlying causes of this coming collapse, request a free copy of The United States and Britain in Prophecy.

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Food prices

The end of cheap food

Dec 6th 2007
From The Economist print edition

Rising food prices are a threat to many; they also present the world with an enormous opportunity


FOR as long as most people can remember, food has been getting cheaper and farming has been in decline. In 1974-2005 food prices on world markets fell by three-quarters in real terms. Food today is so cheap that the West is battling gluttony even as it scrapes piles of half-eaten leftovers into the bin.

That is why this year's price rise has been so extraordinary. Since the spring, wheat prices have doubled and almost every crop under the sun—maize, milk, oilseeds, you name it—is at or near a peak in nominal terms. The Economist's food-price index is higher today than at any time since it was created in 1845 (see chart). Even in real terms, prices have jumped by 75% since 2005. No doubt farmers will meet higher prices with investment and more production, but dearer food is likely to persist for years (see article). That is because “agflation” is underpinned by long-running changes in diet that accompany the growing wealth of emerging economies—the Chinese consumer who ate 20kg (44lb) of meat in 1985 will scoff over 50kg of the stuff this year. That in turn pushes up demand for grain: it takes 8kg of grain to produce one of beef.

But the rise in prices is also the self-inflicted result of America's reckless ethanol subsidies. This year biofuels will take a third of America's (record) maize harvest. That affects food markets directly: fill up an SUV's fuel tank with ethanol and you have used enough maize to feed a person for a year. And it affects them indirectly, as farmers switch to maize from other crops. The 30m tonnes of extra maize going to ethanol this year amounts to half the fall in the world's overall grain stocks.

Dearer food has the capacity to do enormous good and enormous harm. It will hurt urban consumers, especially in poor countries, by increasing the price of what is already the most expensive item in their household budgets. It will benefit farmers and agricultural communities by increasing the rewards of their labour; in many poor rural places it will boost the most important source of jobs and economic growth.

Although the cost of food is determined by fundamental patterns of demand and supply, the balance between good and ill also depends in part on governments. If politicians do nothing, or the wrong things, the world faces more misery, especially among the urban poor. If they get policy right, they can help increase the wealth of the poorest nations, aid the rural poor, rescue farming from subsidies and neglect—and minimise the harm to the slum-dwellers and landless labourers. So far, the auguries look gloomy.

In the trough

That, at least, is the lesson of half a century of food policy. Whatever the supposed threat—the lack of food security, rural poverty, environmental stewardship—the world seems to have only one solution: government intervention. Most of the subsidies and trade barriers have come at a huge cost. The trillions of dollars spent supporting farmers in rich countries have led to higher taxes, worse food, intensively farmed monocultures, overproduction and world prices that wreck the lives of poor farmers in the emerging markets. And for what? Despite the help, plenty of Western farmers have been beset by poverty. Increasing productivity means you need fewer farmers, which steadily drives the least efficient off the land. Even a vast subsidy cannot reverse that.

With agflation, policy has reached a new level of self-parody. Take America's supposedly verdant ethanol subsidies. It is not just that they are supporting a relatively dirty version of ethanol (far better to import Brazil's sugar-based liquor); they are also offsetting older grain subsidies that lowered prices by encouraging overproduction. Intervention multiplies like lies. Now countries such as Russia and Venezuela have imposed price controls—an aid to consumers—to offset America's aid to ethanol producers. Meanwhile, high grain prices are persuading people to clear forests to plant more maize.

Dearer food is a chance to break this dizzying cycle. Higher market prices make it possible to reduce subsidies without hurting incomes. A farm bill is now going through America's Congress. The European Union has promised a root-and-branch review (not yet reform) of its farm-support scheme. The reforms of the past few decades have, in fact, grappled with the rich world's farm programmes—but only timidly. Now comes the chance for politicians to show that they are serious when they say they want to put agriculture right.

Cutting rich-world subsidies and trade barriers would help taxpayers; it could revive the stalled Doha round of world trade talks, boosting the world economy; and, most important, it would directly help many of the world's poor. In terms of economic policy, it is hard to think of a greater good.

Where government help is really needed

Three-quarters of the world's poor live in rural areas. The depressed world prices created by farm policies over the past few decades have had a devastating effect. There has been a long-term fall in investment in farming and the things that sustain it, such as irrigation. The share of public spending going to agriculture in developing countries has fallen by half since 1980. Poor countries that used to export food now import it.

Reducing subsidies in the West would help reverse this. The World Bank reckons that if you free up agricultural trade, the prices of things poor countries specialise in (like cotton) would rise and developing countries would capture the gains by increasing exports. And because farming accounts for two-thirds of jobs in the poorest countries, it is the most important contributor to the early stages of economic growth. According to the World Bank, the really poor get three times as much extra income from an increase in farm productivity as from the same gain in industry or services. In the long term, thriving farms and open markets provide a secure food supply.

However, there is an obvious catch—and one that justifies government help. High prices have a mixed impact on poverty: they hurt anyone who loses more from dear food than he gains from a higher income. And that means over a billion urban consumers (and some landless labourers), many of whom are politically influential in poor countries. Given the speed of this year's food-price rises, governments in emerging markets have no alternative but to try to soften the blow.

Where they can, these governments should subsidise the incomes of the poor, rather than food itself, because that minimises price distortions. Where food subsidies are unavoidable, they should be temporary and targeted on the poor. So far, most government interventions in the poor world have failed these tests: politicians who seem to think cheap food part of the natural order of things have slapped on price controls and export restraints, which hurt farmers and will almost certainly fail.

Over the past few years, a sense has grown that the rich are hogging the world's wealth. In poor countries, widening income inequality takes the form of a gap between city and country: incomes have been rising faster for urban dwellers than for rural ones. If handled properly, dearer food is a once-in-a-generation chance to narrow income disparities and to wean rich farmers from subsidies and help poor ones. The ultimate reward, though, is not merely theirs: it is to make the world richer and fairer.

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WEAVER NIGHT VISION OPTICS - RECOMMENDED


Weaver Nightview 1st Generation Night Vision Monocular
We are close very close to a major war.
Posted: Tuesday, August 07, 2007
- written by jerry golden
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When the USSR fell so did their naval base in Syria, along with that the spy ship left that was not so secret about mid way in the Mediterranean between Cyprus and Israel. Private boats that didn’t know its location would often come close to that Russian Spy Ship at night as it just sit there with its lights turned off and on a very dark night a grey battle ship is hard to see if you are not watching your radar. We were told back then that it sat there to intercept communication between Israel and Europe. The naval base made it very easy for Russia to supply Syria with weapons to fight and hopefully destroy Israel.

We now learn that Russia has made a deal with Syria to supply them with weapons also in that deal Russia can re-establish its naval base on their Mediterranean coast. This puts the Russian navy just north of Israel in a position to once again spy for its Arab allies who live for the day they can kill every Jew on this land. It also puts the Russians in a very close proximity to the US 6th fleet that often bases itself in Mersin Turkey not that far from the Syrian border. It certainly makes me wonder what is really going on, with the great friendship of Bush and Putin, and at this very time the aircraft carrier Enterprise with its group of battle ships are playing war games with the French navy in the Mediterranean. At the same time the US 5th fleet is grouping in or around Guam (I had bad information saying it was in the Indian Ocean, but lets face it, that is getting very close to the Indian Ocean). With deployment of three carriers and their air and naval strike groups: USS Stennis, USS Nimitz and USS Kitty Hawk, altogether 30 warships, 280 warplanes and 22,000 soldiers and sailors. If that don’t sound like war on the horizon I have missed something. Like I’ve said many times when you have everything in place you either us it or lose it.

We all know of the great battle that will take place in the northern part of Israel, we also know it is Russians that will lead the charge. It is Russians the French, North Koreans and Pakistan who are making nuclear weapons available to the Islamic Terrorist Arab Countries. It is Russia who has nuclear subs at all times just off both coast lines of the US. As deadly serious al-Qaida Hamas and Hezbollah are, I think they are the smoke screen for what is really about to happen. The people of the Middle East and North America have never been in so much trouble as they are today. It’s like a deadly serious chess game and each move is being thought out very carefully for all the marbles are at stake, it is winner take all.

They all have of course left out the main deciding factor, “GOD”. For His Word is always 100% true and He cannot lie.

How much time do we have none of us known but one thing is certain if you don’t know Yeshua as your personal Messiah you are in the most trouble. And if you feel the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) tugging at your heart now is the right time to get on your knees before Holy God and ask Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah to come into your life and be the absolute Lord of your life.

As for this Ministry we only know that we must continue trying to purchase a larger boat for surely we are going to need one. The 60 footer we now have will limit us to the point that we will have to say no to more than we say yes to, not the position I want to be put in. So the answer to how much time we have is we don’t know, but what we do know is this is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it. That today is what we know we have and in it we must be about the Father’s business, we only fail if we are not obedient. Remembering always that God does nothing apart from Faith. Faith has lots of descriptions but all of them is in motion, for faith is a verb an action word and God wants us moving towards Him.

I will be making a trip in a couple days and meeting people for the first time and I know very little about them, I can only pray that they are who and what they say they are, please pray with me. In times like these we can only trust God and move forward.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for our son Joel and all the IDF soldiers. Pray for this Ministry and your part in it. Shalom, jerry golden

Thursday, December 06, 2007

1/3 of Bible is Prophecy

« A dry lake bed in Istanbul, Turkey—the result of a drought threatening water supplies in cities.
(Serzayi Erken/AFP/Getty Images)

Water Scarcity: A Cause for War

December 6, 2007 | From theTrumpet.com

2.7 billion people are under a high risk of violent conflict resulting from water shortages.

“Water scarcity threatens economic and social gains and is a potent fuel for wars and conflict,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to delegates at the first Asia-Pacific Water Summit December 3. This planet faces a water crisis that will hit Asia especially hard, according to a report in the Times.

The Times points out that Ki-moon is not the only one forecasting trouble:

His remarks come as environmental experts in Great Britain have identified 46 countries—home to 2.7 billion people—where climate change and water-related crises will create a high risk of violent conflict. …

Janani Vivekananda, one of the authors of the International Alert report, said: “Water management will be a huge tinderbox and now is the time for international organizations to come together. There is huge potential not just for conflict but for cooperation.”

Several of those who warn of water shortages identify a major cause of the problem as climate change. The fact is, however, that climate change has very little to do with the matter. Even if world water resources stayed the same, there would still be a shortage in the future. According to World Hunger Year, there would have to be 20 percent more water than is available now to satisfy the world’s estimated population of over 8 billion in 2025.

Water supplies are shrinking, making the problem even worse and even more immediate. Natural aquifers are being bled dry and half of the world’s rivers and lakes are seriously polluted. No climate change is needed for there to be a problem: The problem is very real right now.

As far back as 1995, the World Bank’s Ismail Serageldin famously warned of the problems of water shortage: “If the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water unless we change our approach to managing this precious and vital resource” (Hobart Mercury, Jan. 10, 2003).

Can water really cause a conflict? Look at some examples.

Several years ago in the Middle East, Israel and Lebanon came very close to blows as the Lebanese government pumped water from Israel’s Wazzani springs. Water’s influence in geopolitics was also felt in the Kashmir crisis, when Pakistan and India came frighteningly close to blows. At the height of this conflict, India threatened to revoke a 1960s water treaty. According to a report published last year by the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (part of the U.S. Department of Defense),

Rivalry over river resources has been a chronic source of severe interstate tension between India and Pakistan. With river resource issues intensifying, the possibility for violent interstate conflict will likely increase.

Even if direct violence is avoided, inability to resolve river resource issues will undoubtedly limit the ability of both countries to manage and utilize water resources in the most efficient manner. Inadequate management of water resources will exacerbate domestic problems in these demographically explosive societies, which could lead to a variety of unwanted conditions such as increasingly fertile grounds for political extremism and terrorism.

Rivers frequently flow through more than one nation. If one nation on a river starts taking more than what countries downstream believe is its fair share, things can quickly escalate. Already, several major rivers do not make it to the sea throughout much of the year because of withdrawals upstream.

Water is a vital resource. It is essential to all humans, everywhere. As supplies dwindle, watch for spats to break out over the little water that is left. For a more detailed analysis on the causes of this crisis, see our article “Running Out of Water.”

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Judea and Samaria: IDF Rounding Up Jews' Weapons


by Gil Ronen

(IsraelNN.com) The IDF is conducting a large scale operation to confiscate weapons from the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, according to Channel 10 TV. The purpose of the operation is described as "putting the settlers' gun permits in order."

The security coordinators of the communities in Samaria have been summoned to a meeting with IDF officers Thursday, and community leaders are convinced that the IDF intends to collect many of the weapons in the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

Hillel Reinus of Yitzhar said: "I have no idea who is giving the order, it seems to be coming from up high, but they've decided to take the weapons away from everyone." Another resident of the community, Yigal Amitai, added, "They are abandoning citizens, it is an irresponsibile act, but everything pales compared to reality."

'This amounts to making the settlers fair game'
MK Aryeh Eldad (NU/NRP) wrote a letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak following the report, saying, "Army representatives have recently informed the military security coordinators that they intend to collect most of the weapons which the residents of Judea and Samaria use for self-defense. When a move such as this is made along with
"I have no idea who is giving the order, but they've decided to take the weapons away from everybody."
the release of hundreds of terrorists, the deployment of Palestinian policemen in Shechem (three of whom were involved in the murder of Ido Zoldan) and the arming of these policemen with weapons, ammunition and armored personnel carriers, this amounts to making the settlers fair game and sending the terror organizations a clear message that they may murder Jews."

"When all this is done against the backdrop of your announcement that you are joining the 'expulsion/compensation' plan, this amounts to blackmail. You are trying to encourage Jews to run away from Judea and Samaria, and in order to prod them along you are taking away their weapons and urging terrorists to attack them," he wrote.

"With this letter," Eldad concluded, "I wish to inform you that the settlers of Judea and Samaria will hold you personally responsible for any casualties among the Jews in Judea and Samaria from now on, unless you immediately put an end to the process of collecting the settlers' weapons."

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RELOADING AMMO FROM TAIWAN : USE CAUTION


Posted - 10/23/2007 : 01:39:45 Show Profile Reply with Quote
I just prepped about 250 brass cases of 30.06 from taiwan de-linked ammo. Head stamped 30 . 60A . 57

I take it as 30 caliber, 1957 mfg. date, but what is 60A?

Anyway, the primer pockets are too large to re-prime... they don't fit tight. some actually fall out.

Do they take a different primer?

Anyone have any ideas?




Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.

You have only the rights you are willing to fight for and defend.

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Taiwan ships 1 billion rounds of ammo to USA

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan has shipped one billion rifle bullets to the United States for NT$560 million in a rare arms sale to the United States, it was reported yesterday.

The 5.56 mm bullets are mainly used to replenish supplies which have run low after wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Taipei-based China Times reported, citing a military source.
aiwan's defence ministry last year beat off competition from the likes of Singapore and South Korea to win the five-year contract from a U.S. military subcontractor, it was reported.

In a separate deal, the China Times said the Taiwanese Army plans to purchase 60 UH-60M Black Hawk transport helicopters from Washington for NT$71.7 billion.

The US is the leading arms supplier to Taiwan -- something China objects to -- with Beijing regarding the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Taiwan has been seeking more advanced weaponry amid China's repeated threats to invade.

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian last week accused China of provoking the island by targeting it with nearly 1,000 missiles.

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US forced to import bullets from Israel as troops use 250,000 for every rebel killed

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington


US forces have fired so many bullets in Iraq and Afghanistan - an estimated 250,000 for every insurgent killed - that American ammunition-makers cannot keep up with demand. As a result the US is having to import supplies from Israel.

A government report says that US forces are now using 1.8 billion rounds of small-arms ammunition a year. The total has more than doubled in five years, largely as a result of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as changes in military doctrine.

"The Department of Defense's increased requirements for small- and medium-calibre ammunitions have largely been driven by increased weapons training requirements, dictated by the army's transformation to a more self-sustaining and lethal force - which was accelerated after the attacks of 11 September, 2001 - and by the deployment of forces to conduct recent US military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq," said the report by the General Accounting Office (GAO).

Estimating how many bullets US forces have expended for every insurgent killed is not a simple or precisely scientific matter. The former head of US forces in Iraq, General Tommy Franks, famously claimed that his forces "don't do body counts".

But senior officers have recently claimed "great successes" in Iraq, based on counting the bodies of insurgents killed. Maj-Gen Rick Lynch, the top US military spokesman in Iraq, said 1,534 insurgents had been seized or killed in a recent operation in the west of Baghdad. Other estimates from military officials suggest that at least 20,000 insurgents have been killed in President George Bush's "war on terror".

John Pike, director of the Washington military research group GlobalSecurity.org, said that, based on the GAO's figures, US forces had expended around six billion bullets between 2002 and 2005. "How many evil-doers have we sent to their maker using bullets rather than bombs? I don't know," he said.

"If they don't do body counts, how can I? But using these figures it works out at around 300,000 bullets per insurgent. Let's round that down to 250,000 so that we are underestimating."

Pointing out that officials say many of these bullets have been used for training purposes, he said: "What are you training for? To kill insurgents."

Kathy Kelly, a spokeswoman for the peace group Voices in the Wilderness, said Mr Bush believed security for the American people could come only from the use of force. Truer security would be achieved if the US developed fairer relations with other countries and was not involved in the occupation of Iraq. The President, said Ms Kelly, should learn from Israel's experience of "occupying the Palestinians" rather than buying its ammunition.

The GAO report notes that the three government-owned, contractor-operated plants that produce small- and medium-calibre ammunition were built in 1941.

Though millions of dollars have been spent on upgrading the facilities, they remain unable to meet current munitions needs in their current state. "The government-owned plant producing small-calibre ammunition cannot meet the increased requirements, even with modernisation efforts," said the report.

"Also, commercial producers within the national technology and industrial base have not had the capacity to meet these requirements. As a result, the Department of Defense had to rely at least in part on foreign commercial producers to meet its small-calibre ammunition needs."

A report in Manufacturing & Technology News said that the Pentagon eventually found two producers capable of meeting its requirements. One of these was the US firm Olin-Winchester.

The other was Israel Military Industries, an Israeli ammunition manufacturer linked to the Israeli government, which produces the bulk of weapons and ordnance for the Israeli Defence Force.

The Pentagon reportedly bought 313 million rounds of 5.56mm, 7.62mm and 50-calibre ammunition last year and paid $10m (about £5.5m) more than it would have cost for it to produce the ammunition at its own facilities.

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US Importing Israeli Ammo for War in Afghanistan + Iraq


NuggzTheNinja
04-12-2007, 01:40 AM
US forces have fired so many bullets in Iraq and Afghanistan - an estimated 250,000 for every insurgent killed - that American ammunition-makers cannot keep up with demand. As a result the US is having to import supplies from Israel.

A government report says that US forces are now using 1.8 billion rounds of small-arms ammunition a year. The total has more than doubled in five years, largely as a result of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as changes in military doctrine.

"The Department of Defense's increased requirements for small- and medium-calibre ammunitions have largely been driven by increased weapons training requirements, dictated by the army's transformation to a more self-sustaining and lethal force - which was accelerated after the attacks of 11 September, 2001 - and by the deployment of forces to conduct recent US military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq," said the report by the General Accounting Office (GAO).

Estimating how many bullets US forces have expended for every insurgent killed is not a simple or precisely scientific matter. The former head of US forces in Iraq, General Tommy Franks, famously claimed that his forces "don't do body counts".

But senior officers have recently claimed "great successes" in Iraq, based on counting the bodies of insurgents killed. Maj-Gen Rick Lynch, the top US military spokesman in Iraq, said 1,534 insurgents had been seized or killed in a recent operation in the west of Baghdad. Other estimates from military officials suggest that at least 20,000 insurgents have been killed in President George Bush's "war on terror".

John Pike, director of the Washington military research group GlobalSecurity.org, said that, based on the GAO's figures, US forces had expended around six billion bullets between 2002 and 2005. "How many evil-doers have we sent to their maker using bullets rather than bombs? I don't know," he said.

"If they don't do body counts, how can I? But using these figures it works out at around 300,000 bullets per insurgent. Let's round that down to 250,000 so that we are underestimating."

Pointing out that officials say many of these bullets have been used for training purposes, he said: "What are you training for? To kill insurgents."

Kathy Kelly, a spokeswoman for the peace group Voices in the Wilderness, said Mr Bush believed security for the American people could come only from the use of force. Truer security would be achieved if the US developed fairer relations with other countries and was not involved in the occupation of Iraq. The President, said Ms Kelly, should learn from Israel's experience of "occupying the Palestinians" rather than buying its ammunition.

The GAO report notes that the three government-owned, contractor-operated plants that produce small- and medium-calibre ammunition were built in 1941.

Though millions of dollars have been spent on upgrading the facilities, they remain unable to meet current munitions needs in their current state. "The government-owned plant producing small-calibre ammunition cannot meet the increased requirements, even with modernisation efforts," said the report.

"Also, commercial producers within the national technology and industrial base have not had the capacity to meet these requirements. As a result, the Department of Defense had to rely at least in part on foreign commercial producers to meet its small-calibre ammunition needs."

A report in Manufacturing & Technology News said that the Pentagon eventually found two producers capable of meeting its requirements. One of these was the US firm Olin-Winchester.

The other was Israel Military Industries, an Israeli ammunition manufacturer linked to the Israeli government, which produces the bulk of weapons and ordnance for the Israeli Defence Force.

The Pentagon reportedly bought 313 million rounds of 5.56mm, 7.62mm and 50-calibre ammunition last year and paid $10m (about ?5.5m) more than it would have cost for it to produce the ammunition at its own facilities.


http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article314944.ece

Actually, the maker is Olin-Winchester, an American company, but they have factories in Israel. You used to be able to buy Israeli 5.56 here in the US too. It was some of the best ammo available. If you can still find it, it commands a hefty price.

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BENCHMADE RUKIS MODEL 610 - RECOMMENDED