UPDATED - THURSDAY - JAN. 8, 2009
HAMAS - MUST SEE VIDEO
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(Dreamstime)
Americans must ready themselves for a massive devaluation in the dollar as international investors dump their U.S. assets, says a former Bank of England policymaker. Relying on the kindness of foreigners to finance our standard of living may be about to be revealed as irresponsible folly.
Supreme Court sets 'natural born' conference to follow inauguration
Posted: January 08, 2009
12:14 am Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
A legal challenge that alleges Barack Obama isn't a "natural born" citizen and therefore constitutionally ineligible to be president of the United States will follow the Democrat into the Oval Office, with a U.S. Supreme Court conference on the dispute set after the Jan. 20 inauguration.
The court's website today announced that a fourth case on the issue will be reviewed by justices Jan. 23.
The court previously heard two cases in conference – private meetings at which justices consider which cases to accept – and denied both Cort Wrotnowski and Leo Donofrio full hearings.
The court now has a conference scheduled Friday on a case raised by attorney Philip Berg, with another conference on a matter related to the same Berg case on Jan. 16. Then today the court website revealed the case Gail Lightfoot et al v. Debra Bowen, California Secretary of State, will be heard in conference Jan. 23.
Five rockets from Lebanon hit northern Israel, Israeli tanks in Philadelphi corridor
DEBKAfile Special Report
January 8, 2009, 11:34 AM (GMT+02:00)
After five rockets from Lebanon exploded in the Nahariya-Kabri district, early Thursday, Jan. 8, West Galilee police ordered people to stay under cover, like citizens in the south for the past month. One rocket hit a home for retired citizens. Three were injured and 11 went into shock. Israeli aircraft and artillery shelled the source of fire. Schools were closed in the area and public shelters opened. Lebanese TV reported the rockets were fired from Wadi Hamoud south of the Litani River. Ashkelon and Ashdod also took rockets.
In the south, tanks joined the massive Israeli air-artillery assault Israel launched Wednesday night to destroy Hamas' smuggling tunnels, as an Israeli envoy headed for Cairo to discuss a ceasefire.
Wednesday, Jan. 7, Cairo presented Hamas with an ultimatum to reply to Egypt's ceasefire proposals by 6 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 8. The Palestinian terrorist group was not expected to meet the demand.
DEBKAfile reports: In the last 24 hours, the US, Israel and Egypt were clearly working in harness. In New York, the US acted for the second time to block a UN Security Council ordering an unconditional ceasefire; from Cairo, Egypt shut off Hamas' diplomatic options, while Israel embarked on a military operation to pre-determine a key outcome of the Gaza conflict: Hamas' inability to rearm.
Leaflets dropped in advance by the Israeli air force warned the 30,000 dwellers in the targeted Rafah region to leave their homes.
Hamas' Southern Brigade is deployed in this strategic sector of the southern Gaza Strip under the command of a high-ranking commander called Al-Attar. Its operatives tried and failed to stem the flight from the Yibne and Block O Rafah refugee camps and Rafah's Tel Sultan
DEBKAfile's military sources report that Israel pounded this Hamas lifeline for arms supplies and reinforcements for days by air and sea. The new operation aims to finish the system off for good by clearing the critical 300 meters between Rafah and Philadelphi, where the openings to the thousands of smuggling tunnels are concealed by buildings.
For Hamas-Damascus and Hamas-Gaza alike, bowing to the Egyptian ultimatum and accepting the proposal intelligence minister Gen. Omar Suleiman put before its representatives in Cairo Tuesday would be seen as a surrender to the Israeli army.
Israeli defense ministry official Amos Gilad flies to Cairo Thursday to start talks on Egypt's ceasefire proposals.
DEBKAfile also discloses that the Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert sent his political adviser Shalom Turjman to Washington Wednesday night.
Earlier that day, the Israeli defense cabinet decided to continue the military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip while also discussing the ceasefire proposals received from Egypt.
A growing number of cabinet ministers advocated expanding the military operation against Hamas and bringing it to the point of resolution, supporting the view held by Olmert and the military high command.
US, Egypt, Jordan, Germany and Israel are working together on Gaza ceasefire package
DEBKAfile Exclusive Reprot
January 6, 2009, 2:46 PM (GMT+02:00)
Israeli mobile artillery in Gaza
DEBKAfile's Washington sources disclose that Washington, Cairo, Amman and Jerusalem are hammering out the lines of a ceasefire deal that will be contingent on the state of combat in the Gaza Strip. Jerusalem accepts the proposition that the ceasefire lines will follow the lines of combat reached in the Gaza Strip in the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Egyptian and Jordanian forces will then enter the Gaza Strip.
Prime minister Ehud Olmert told visiting European Union ministers Monday, Jan. 5, that diplomacy is in progress to find an "international blanket for damping down the blaze in Gaza." He did not elaborate, but, according to our sources in Washington, he was referring to Egypt as the prime mover in a ceasefire solution – not the US.
Alongside the overt diplomatic drive for a ceasefire, Washington is quietly moving ahead on a package in conjunction with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt – which is managing the Hamas track – and German chancellor Angela Merkel. Israel will hold the lines established on the day the ceasefire went into effect for a two-three month trial period. Egyptian and Jordanian units will remain in the enclave until a pre-set date. An international mechanism will prevent Hamas from rearming.
Egyptian intelligence minister Gen. Omar Suleiman outlined this deal for the Hamas delegation, headed by operations chief, Imad Al Alami, which arrived in Cairo Monday night, after finally agreeing to discuss a truce. It was clear to both sides that he was dictating honorable terms for a Hamas capitulation, as Israeli forces entered the third and most dangerous phase of their Gaza offensive, the entry into Gaza's densely built-up areas.
Tuesday saw heavy Israeli-Hamas street battles in Gaza City after a night of heavy Israeli aerial and naval bombardment. Israel forces engaged Hamas in Khan Younis in the south and hit the southern arms smuggling tunnels of the Philadelphi route and Rafah by air and land.
Hamas attacked the Israeli troops holding the Netzarim belt cutting Gaza City off from the south at Deir al Balakh.
This phase of Israel's Operation Cast Lead follows Phase 1, the heavy aerial bombardment of Hamas military and government infrastructure, and Phase 2, the ground, tank and artillery incursion on Jan. 1, which split the 360-sq km Gaza Strip into three segments.
The outcome of the toughest challenge of the ongoing Phase 3 for flushing out Hamas operatives mingling with urban populations and reducing their rocket-firing capabilities will determine the ceasefire lines for ending the conflict. Meanwhile Hamas was still able to keep up its constant rocket and missile fire by Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 6.
Our diplomatic sources report that the German chancellor's involvement in the US initiative has left French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his 48-hour humanitarian ceasefire proposal more or less standing. In any case, it was rejected by Israel except for his proposal to open a corridor for wounded Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip for treatment.
The next UN Security Council meeting on the Gaza crisis is also likely to break up for a second time without accord on a ceasefire resolution.
Sarkozy continues his whirlwind Middle East tour in Damascus and Beirut Tuesday.
Massive Israeli assault on Hamas smuggling tunnels, Egyptian ultimatum to Hamas
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
January 7, 2009, 11:21 PM (GMT+02:00)
Israeli artillery smoke bombs
Wednesday, Jan. 7, Cairo presented Hamas with an ultimatum to reply to Egypt's ceasefire proposals by 6 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 8. That night, Israel launched a massive air and artillery assault on Hamas arms smuggling tunnels running under the Philadelphi route along the Egyptian border and adjoining houses in Rafah. Leaflets dropped in advance by the Israeli air force warned the 30,000 dwellers in the targeted region to leave their homes.
Hamas' Southern Brigade is deployed in this strategic sector of the southern Gaza Strip under the command of a high-ranking Hamas commander called Al-Attar. Its operatives tried and failed to stem the flight from the Yibne and Block O Rafah refugee camps and Rafah's Tel Sultan
DEBKAfile's military sources report that Israel has been pounding this Hamas lifeline for arms supplies and reinforcements by air and sea for days. Dozens of tunnels were demolished but enough of the system remained for Hamas to restore it if given the chance. With the new assault Israel is determined to destroy the entire network for good.
For Hamas-Damascus and Hamas-Gaza alike, bowing to the Egyptian ultimatum and accepting the proposal intelligence minister Gen. Omar Suleiman put before its representatives in Cairo Tuesday would be seen as a surrender to the Israeli Defense Forces.
The ultimatum may have been coordinated with the Israeli assault on the tunnels.
Israeli defense ministry official Amos Gilad and Olmerts envoy Yoram Turbovitch fly to Cairo Thursday to start talks on Egypt's ceasefire proposals.
DEBKAfile also discloses that the Israeli prime minister sent his political adviser Shalom Turjman to Washington Wednesday night.
Earlier, the Israeli defense cabinet decided to continue the military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip while also discussing the ceasefire proposals received from Egypt.
A growing number of cabinet ministers advocated expanding the military operation against Hamas and bringing it to the point of resolution, supporting the view held by prime minister Ehud Olmert and the military high command.
- Reuters
- Jan. 3: Israeli soldiers advance near the border with northern Gaza during a ground operation by the Israeli army.
Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:14:40 GMT
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In a veiled reference to Hezbollah on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tel Aviv is on high alert to respond to any threat coming from its northern fronts.
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EUROPE RUNNING OUT OF GAS
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Israel declares unilateral daily three-hour ceasefire for humanitarian corridor
DEBKAfile Special Report
January 7, 2009, 2:02 PM (GMT+02:00)
A Hizballah Fajr-5 rocket hits Afula in 2006
DEBKAfile's military sources report that Israel announced Wednesday, Jan. 7 a three-hour daily halt in military operations from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. as a goodwill gesture for the passage of humanitarian aid. Israel will suspend attacks in certain areas – though not the entire territory - to allow people to get supplies. The measure took immediate effect. Ashkelon took 4 rockets as the Israeli pause began.
Hamas' missile fire continued. More food, medicines and fuel supplies entered Gaza from Israel Wednesday.
The Israeli Gaza offensive has cut by half the daily missiles/ rocket level from Gaza by wiping out 60 percent of Hamas' missile stocks, demolishing its production facilities and knocking out of action the Philadelphi smuggling tunnels on the Egyptian border. However, DEBKAfile's military sources report that Hamas appears to have preserved an unused stock of Iran-made Fajr rockets capable of hitting central Israeli towns, such as Rehovot and Rishon Lezion, 16 km short of Tel Aviv.
And if the Israeli assaults on the Philadelphi border route were to be halted at this point, Hamas could restore part of its supply network within 3-6 weeks.
Tuesday, Jan. 5, Rehovot mayor Shuky Furer assured his town it was out of Hamas' rocket range. Military sources are less confident. Whereas the Homeland Command decided to leave the town out of its emergency planning, intelligence sources do not rule out the possibility that Hamas has kept hidden in one of its bunkers long-range rockets with ranges of 70-75 km, which would put Rehovot and Rishon within their sights and also the nuclear installation at the Negev town of Dimona.
Suspicions of a concealed stock of Iranian-made Fajr-3 - or the more advanced Fajr-5 rockets - was strengthened Monday, when the Hamas military spokesman threatened to target Rehovot, Rishon Lezion and even Tel Aviv. At the same time, the stock cannot be very large and is likely preserved as a "doomsday weapon" against Hamas' total collapse. External go-betweens have cautioned Hamas that firing long-distance weapons would provoke harsher retaliation than the Israeli Air Force has meted out till now.
Hizballah's Hassan Nasrallah tried more than once to bomb Tel Aviv in the 2006 Lebanon War, but every time he set up a launcher, the Israeli air force struck them down. But the Faj-5 rockets he received from Iran did hit the sand dunes of Caesaria north of Tel Aviv, as well as Afula and the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel.
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Bush Using Federal Funds To Secure Dallas Home
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I was hit by Lightning in 1984 in Katy, Texas and my wife and son saw the entire scenario from a safe distance. I did survive but it was a miracle. I have never been the same. The things that changed was my communication and my senses that I never understood before.
When G-D decides to strike there is absolutely no warning, there is no mercy and you must just pray to your own G-D - of course with all the countless religions there is but one G-D that has created this earth and this current situation. We have now reached a crossroads, a fork in the road so to speak, I do believe we are headed in the path of destruction and we are in for a rough ride.
This strange story started when I was 13 years old and my wonderful Russian Grandmother died. ( SHE DIED ON MY BIRTHDAY ).... When I was 15 years old I was on a plane alone from Miami to New York, the flight was packed with about 250 strangers of which I was alone. I had been visiting my Father who was working temporarily in Miami, Fl. I was going home to Brooklyn, NY. I was never on a plane before, this was the very first time. I was sitting in the isle seat behind the right wing and about one hour into the flight the right wing was in flames and we started to lose altitude. I NEVER SAID A WORD TO ANYONE THAT I REMEMBER.
People were screaming and I looked out the left widow toward the left wing and before long the entire left wing appeared to be in flames. THIS IS ALL TRUE. Engines on both wings were in flames and we dropped thousands of feet and the plane shook violently. I sat there alone like a moron while everyone was carrying on, I did not know what to say or what to do, I was helpless. I saw people with Rosary beads in their hands everywhere I looked.
Why the Captain never tried to land this 4 engine plane some where is beyond me. His name was Capt. McAllister. I will never forget it as I spoke with him after the flight. He was able to finally extinguish the flames on the right wing engine, and later on he extinguished the flames on the left wing engine and we operated on barely two engines. THIS WAS A FOUR ENGINE PROP PLANE THAT WAS FALLING APART AT 33,000 feet.
After some time and after we fell thousands of feet he managed to put the fire out on the left wing engine and we barely made it after 6 long hours in the air to the major NY city airport. No one met me at the airport as I was only 15 years old - I WAS ALONE - and I had to find what ever luggage I had and take many trains to Brooklyn, where I lived. My Father was frantic in Miami trying to locate me and my Mother was frantic in Brooklyn trying to locate me.
I had to walk about 5 blocks from the train with my luggage to where I lived at East 4th street in Brooklyn, NY. I had no idea that this was just the very beginning of the turmoil that G-D had in store for me on this very Earth he created. This is a true story and this is a drop in the bucket of what I have already endured and the worst is yet to come.
You must never give up your faith or your prayers, this is not going to go well for any of us but those that have total faith in G-D will survive in either this world or the next. I am a loyal and faithful AMERICAN but I have RUSSIAN BLOOD.
CONTINUED
I never had a childhood like other kids, I learned at a very young age that I was not in control of events or of my life, there was a G-D that no one could explain, I attended HEBREW school at age 7 years old until I was 14 years old aside from my regular school like the other kids. This was not an option in my life.
Brooklyn was a violent place to live and unless you learned the ways of the streets and how to survive there was a good chance that you would not. Gangs controlled every few blocks of territory and that did not have a bearing on the Mafia controlled interests and the dead bodies were a ritual in places like Canarsie which is a section of Brooklyn.
People were actually stupid enough to believe that they controlled their own destiny, very few people understood that only G-D controlled events. If there is so much free will as so many clergy proclaim then how can so much of the old testament be actual prophecy of what is going to happen to you and me. Even now and today, these geniuses think they can fix all these problems by printing bailout money, well its too late, they have no idea that they are no longer in control.
Nothing is going to work unless G-D wants it to work, its that simple. Now they are all running back to Kissinger for advice - well if he was so smart why didn't he fix everything when he was in control so many years ago instead he failed like all the rest. His hop scotch diplomacy never worked then and his new world order can only work if G-D allows it. These "ELITE" still do not get it.
You are now looking at the next Clinton third time, just ask your self why, I will not give you the answer, only you can figure this out and its clear as day if you listen to your G-D. I think Mr. Obama is a bright young man but he is in way over his head and actually no man on this earth can solve this ongoing problem that this world now faces.
These ELITE people put their clothes on just like you do and they take a bath and or shower just like you do and they eat just like you do and we all get sick from time to time just like the ELITE does. I know my weaknesses but they do not, I know my G-D but they do not. I know how to talk to my G-D but do they ?? I really do not know. I am not of the privileged, G-D has always given hard lives to the ones he loves the most.
I spend most of my spare time at night reading the OLD TESTAMENT and I read about the HEBREW PROPHETS and the very difficult lives they lived, especially "JOB"... I often read my MASONIC BIBLE WHICH IS SOME WHAT DIFFERENT. I still have my Fathers Masonic Bible as well. We have truly lost our beloved country because of human greed and now we will pay the price for this totally scandalous act againgst the only living G-D that gave us every opportunity to do the right thing and we did not.
I am disgusted with the "EREV RAV" traitors of my own people and I can never forgive them for what they have done and they will answer to their G-D in due time just like RABIN and SHARON and the rest of them.
This entire world is now out of control. I see the one American Political party taking us to HELL on a high SPEED TRAIN and the other American Political Party taking us to HELL on a high SPEED JET PLANE. IT DOES NOT MATTER BECAUSE OUR DESTINATION IS THE VERY SAME.
Please say a prayer to your G-D for your country and your world as more things are achieved through prayer than this world dreams of.
CONTINUED: THURS. 1-8-09
Back to Brooklyn in a condensed version. My story is far more involved to get into real detail here and now but my son Charles will always have my writings when I am dead. I really loved the Brooklyn that I grew up in and I never wanted to leave, but circumstances left me no choice. It was right after the KOREAN war when my dear friend FRED JOFFE and I went to the US MARINE base at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn and wanted to join, because things were heating up in South East Asia. Fred died of cancer many years ago and I think of him quite often, he went to New Utrict High School in Brooklyn.
I went to Erasmus Hall High School and in my school was Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamond. When I confronted my Father about Joining the Marines at such a young age he came unglued and I always tried to obey his wishes as G-D taught me to honor thy Father and Thy Mother and I never deviated from that strict order. I was very mentally stronger than anyone in my family all those years and they needed me to help them.
My two cousins that I was very close two migrated to Israel and I thought about going to Israel to join the IDF in order to fight for the country of Israel, but my Father needed me more so I had to stay and help him which I did until the day he died. After I broke my BACK in 6 places which I will not go into at this time I had to change my life, there was no teenage years or childhood like other kids, my very survival was at stake but my life was to take on a role of dedication to help my Father and my Mother and my Brother was beyond help.
I lived a life of great extreme danger from here on out like nothing the average person would ever consider doing. I went swimming in shark infested waters off miami beach and when the shark fins got too close I gave that up. I had 300 lb. sharks within 20 feet of me in water that had such undertow that it is a miracle that I was able to make it back to the boat.
I hunted poisonous snakes alone wearing sandals and light weight shoes in the Florida keys among the Hammocks and stream beds where they sun bathed. I shot most of them, mostly pygmy rattlers and some moccasins. Had I taken a serious bite, its doubtful that I could have made it to any hospital in time as I was too deep into the Everglades. I put all my faith in G-D. My Father was Furious with me. I kept a few live snakes in a cage in my Fathers utility room.
It took me years to recover from my back injury, and when I did I fought in Martial art schools and my Father read me the riot act. He was right of course and I tried to always talk to him and have him see it my way but that never worked very well. I even taught teen age classes of kids how to protect themselves for a long time. I liked living on the edge. I always knew that G-D's angels were with me round the clock.
Its when I decided to get into Law Enforcement that my Father and my Mother really got angry with me. I went to the Police Academy for 9 months and my Father was mad but he finally accepted it. I liked to live on the edge, I liked to live a very dangerous life. I only worked the "GHETTO" in Florida, I will not name the area, but they all wanted me dead and I felt comfortable dealing with people like that. The corrupt Police were no better, they in some ways were worse because they took bribes and they could be bought. I COULD NOT BE BOUGHT, MY SOUL WAS NEVER FOR SALE.
All the people that hated me are now dead, the corrupt Police I knew are now dead and I am still here because G-D wants me here. I got into gun work because my pistol jammed every other shot and I could not find one person that really was that good enough to understand it as well as I do at this point in time.
People do not know about pain, many think they do but most do not, unless a person has a severe kidney stone they do not understand pain. I have been there many years ago.
Some might ask why am I still alive, well its because I have a mission that is not complete, that is the real answer. My Father never liked my first two wives but he liked my third and present wife and he loved my son Charles. He made me promise that I would do all I could for them. My Father died at 64 years old and my Mother lived until almost 100 years old and I really tried never to let them down, sure I disappointed them in my extreme life style but I did apologize to both of them in the end and I always helped support them as per G-D's instructions to me.
I have intentionally barely touched the surface of what my life has been like. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of my deceased loved ones especially all my dogs. I am not even angry at my Dog Fred that bit me in the face and I almost lost my right eye in Miami 30 years ago, he did not mean it, he was sick. For an old man I remember everything, I can only have memories and regrets at this point in time and reflect on the good and the not so good times.
In looking back at what used to be a wonderful country, it is very clear to me that G-D has set up this entire scenario of the decline of AMERICA as it is unfolding right before your very eyes. He has allowed a third Clinton term to take place without the responsibility and it will crumble because both political parties have no clue what they are doing and they can no longer agree on anything. You are seeing the very decline of not only the WEST, but of the entire GLOBE, that only G-D could have achieved.
There is so much more I could tell you but for now I will save that for another day. I want to thank all of you for reading my commentaries. Have a better day.
Teddy Jacobson
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DO YOU WANT THIS MAN IN CHARGE OF YOUR NATIONAL SECURITY ??
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HAMAS
By: Jacob Laksin
How Palestinians cause their own suffering. More>
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WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO PRODUCE A TRUE VALID CERTIFIED COPY OF YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE. ??
IF A POLICE OFFICER STOPS YOU AND ASKS TO SEE YOUR VALID DRIVERS LICENSE ARE YOU GOING TO REFUSE TO SHOW IT TO HIM ??
Conference to evaluate claims president-elect isn't qualified
Posted: January 06, 2009
9:26 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
WASHINGTON – A conference is scheduled Friday at the U.S. Supreme Court during which justices will consider behind closed doors – again – taking up a case that could put to rest the questions about whether President-elect Barack Obama qualifies to occupy the Oval Office under the Constitution's requirement that he be a "natural born" citizen.
Twice before the justices have heard the questions, and twice before they've decided to ignore them.
The lingering questions continue to leave a cloud over the impending presidency of a man whose relatives have reported he was born in Kenya and who has decided, for whatever reason, not to release a bona fide copy of his original birth certificate in its complete form.
WND columnist Janet Porter today in her column raises some of the more significant consequences that could result should the questions continue without answers.
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WEAPONS OF CHOICE
Congress' plan would let AG 'ban guns at will'
2nd Amendment critics are 'ready to run wild'
Posted: January 06, 2009
10:05 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
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A perfect storm is developing for Second Amendment opponents that could allow President-elect Barack Obama's choice for attorney general – Eric Holder – to "ban guns at will" despite the 2008 affirmation from the U.S. Supreme Court that U.S. citizens have a right to bear arms.
The situation was described with alarm by Alan Korwin, author of Gun Laws of America, in a recent commentary.
He cited Holder's known support for gun bans – the former Clinton administration official endorsed the District of Columbia's complete ban on functional guns in residents' homes before it was overturned by the Supreme Court.
And Korwin pointed to overwhelming Democratic majorities in Congress as well as Obama's known support for gun restrictions and his presence in the Oval Office.
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- AP
- Jan. 4: An Israeli gunner covers his ears as a mobile artillery piece fires at a target in the Gaza Strip, on the Israel-Gaza border. Israel seized control of high-rise buildings and attacked houses, mosques and smuggling tunnels as it pressed forward with its offensive against the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers on Monday, even as a stream of European leaders headed for the region to press for a truce.
- AP
- Jan. 3: Israel infantry soldiers gather on the border just before leaving Israel for the northern Gaza Strip.
(Ali Al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images)
Does anybody really think Britain could survive a serious military confrontation?
It is the government’s job to defend its people, but can a nation that is forced to import its weapons really expect to keep its enemies at bay?
The British government may be about let the nation’s tank manufacturing capability wither away. And with nary a whimper.
British defense company bae Systems announced that it is now looking into closing the only tank factories in the United Kingdom, in response to government spending cuts. The announcement came after the Defense Ministry scrapped an order for 2,000 armored utility vehicles in December.
According to bae, the company urgently needs new orders for manufacturing work to keep its factories active and sustain key engineering skills.
“If the government wants an indigenous armored-vehicle capability in the UK, they need to buy something soon from bae,” said Nick Cunningham, a defense and aerospace analyst at Evolution Securities in London. “Otherwise bae will have to restructure and scale back its manufacturing business, which could even include selling it or closing it down.”
bae is the last heavy-duty combat vehicle manufacturer in the nation. If bae goes, the military will be forced to rely on other nations to provide for its military needs, parts, and maintenance.
Bernard Jenkin, a Conservative Party lawmaker who sits on Parliament’s defense committee, says the “next-generation battle tanks will be a multinational endeavor” (emphasis ours).
Quentin Davies, the procurement minister, recently suggested that the government was more focused on Britain retaining the ability to maintain and upgrade the vehicle platforms as opposed to being focused on where armored vehicles for future requirements were built.
It seems that the ability to construct tanks on British soil is no longer a priority for the British government.
What naive and dangerous thinking. Allowing domestic military manufacturing to disappear or move offshore is sheer arrogance and folly.
Over 90 years ago, during World War i, Britain was the nation that invented the tank. Designed to break the trench warfare deadlock, the multi-ton iron behemoths struck terror into the enemy and played a major role in breaking German lines during the Battle of the Somme.
Then during World War ii, it was British tanks that helped sweep the Italians from North Africa and defended the continent and the route to the Middle East from the Nazis until more tanks from America arrived to turn the tide.
But the concept of national self-sufficiency goes far beyond just tank production capability. And even beyond other military procurement. The UK has also undergone a massive economic outsourcing as well.
Britain will rue the day it allowed so much domestic industry to become foreign owned and offshored.
Britain’s days of military greatness are long gone. Britain is a silly dove. Its strength is spent. Grey hairs cover its head, yet it knows it not (Hosea 7:8-11). Like an old and crippled fighter, it languishes in past greatness, confusing past victories with current capabilities. And now its veneer of military strength is being ripped apart for all to see.
For more, read “Selling Britain’s Corporate Crown Jewels” and “Britain Cuts Military.” •
WHAT DOES "PALESTINE" MEAN?
It has never been the name of a nation or state. It is a geographical term, used to designate the region at those times in history when there is no nation or state there.
The word itself derives from "Peleshet", a name that appears frequently in the Bible and has come into English as "Philistine". The Philistines were mediterranean people originating from Asia Minor and Greek localities. They reached the southern coast of Israel in several waves. One group arrived in the pre-patriarchal period and settled south of Beersheba in Gerar where they came into conflict with Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. Another group, coming from Crete after being repulsed from an attempted invasion of Egypt by Rameses III in 1194 BCE, seized the southern coastal area, where they founded five settlements (Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gat). In the Persian and Greek periods, foreign settlers - chiefly from the Mediterranean islands - overran the Philistine districts. From the time of Herodotus, Greeks called the eastern coast of the Mediterranean "Syria Palaestina".
The Philistines were not Arabs nor even Semites, they were most closely related to the Greeks. They did not speak Arabic. They had no connection, ethnic, linguistic or historical with Arabia or Arabs. The name "Falastin" that Arabs today use for "Palestine" is not an Arabic name. It is the Arab pronunciation of the Greco-Roman "Palastina"; which is derived from the Plesheth, (root palash) was a general term meaning rolling or migratory. This referred to the Philistine's invasion and conquest of the coast from the sea.
The use of the term "Palestinian" for an Arab ethnic group is a modern political creation which has no basis in fact - and had never had any international or academic credibility before 1967.
Middle Eastern Political and Religious History Analyst
Brooklyn, New York
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