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Saturday, February 07, 2009
WRATH OF G-D IS JUST STARTING
UPDATED SUNDAY - FEB. 8, 2009
PLEASE PRAY FOR "AMERICA"
CANADIAN GUN CONTROL
"GUN CONTROL"
Store greeter: a job for George W?
His father went on to a lucrative job as an adviser to an investment firm. Bill Clinton has earned more than $90m for his speeches. So how will George Bush spend his post-presidential time?
A chain of hardware stores in his home state of Texas has come up with a career plan, offering the former president a job as a greeter at its Dallas branch.
Bush says he intends to focus on his presidential library, and work on his memoirs, although he has yet to find a publisher.
But even with those obligations, a Dallas businessman says Bush would be a natural fit to welcome people to his chain of stores. In a letter in the Dallas Morning News, Kyle Walters says: "We're confident that your experience ... would make you an excellent candidate for the position."
Some might think a greeter's job a less than illustrious career choice for a former president. But Bush's options may be limited. Speaking and publishers' agents have been less than enthusiastic about booking the former president. And at a time when unemployment is at its highest point in 18 years, a job is a job.
Subject: WELCOME TO WAL-MART
A very loud, unattractive, mean-acting woman walked into Wal-Mart with her two kids, yelling obscenities at them all the way through the entrance. The Wal-Mart Greeter said pleasantly, "Good morning, and welcome to Wal-Mart. Nice children you have there. Are they twins?" The woman stopped yelling long enough to say, "Hell no they ain't! The oldest one's 9 and the other one's 7. Why the hell would you think they're twins? Are you blind, or just stupid?" I'm neither blind nor stupid, Ma'am," replied the greeter. "I just couldn't believe someone would sleep with you twice. Have a good day and thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart.
************************************************************************************************ PETER SCHIFF
Calif. employees forced to take off without pay
By JUDY LIN – 1 day ago
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California drivers who needed to renew their licenses or registration found no one to help Friday at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The doors to the state health agency were locked, too.
Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's emergency services office was dark.
Hundreds of state offices closed because there was nobody to run them: More than 200,000 state employees had to take the day off Friday without pay to help ease California's budget crisis.
Schwarzenegger ordered employees to take two unpaid days off a month, hoping to save the state $1.3 billion through June 2010, when the mass furloughs are expected to end.
14 And I will turn the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
President Obama's proposed economic stimulus plan makes a deliberate – and unconstitutional – attempt to censor religious speech and worship on school campuses across the nation, according to a lawyer who argued related cases before the U.S. Supreme Court 20 years ago and won them all.
"This isn't like a convenient oversight. This is intentional. This legislation pokes its finger in the eyes of people who hold religious beliefs," Jay Sekulow, chief of the American Center for Law and Justice,told WND today.
His was the organization that decades ago argued on behalf of speech freedom on school campuses, winning repeatedly at the U.S. Supreme Court. Since then, the 2001 Good News Club v. Milford Central School District
decision was added, clarifying that restricting religious speech within the context of public shared-use facilities is unconstitutional.
The problem in the proposed stimulus bill comes from a provision that states: "PROHIBITED USES OF FUNDS. - No funds awarded under this section may be used for - (C) modernization, renovation, or repair of facilities - (i) used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school or department of divinity; or (ii) in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission."
The wording that specifically targets religious speech already has been approved by the majority Democrats in the U.S. House – all GOP members opposed it. In the Senate, Jim DeMint, R-S.C., proposed an amendment to eliminate it, but again majority Democrats decided to keep the provision targeting religious instruction and activities.
Hamas claims 181 Fatah operatives were war spies for Israel, US intelligence
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
February 6, 2009, 7:36 PM (GMT+02:00)
Mahmoud Abbas visits wounded Fatah operative transferred from Gaza to Ramallah
Disclosures appear this week in Hamas' internal publications of an alleged spy ring of 181 Fatah members said to have passed intelligence to the Israeli enemy during last month's hostilities, DEBKAfile's exclusive sources report.
Hamas fighters are said to have executed some of the alleged spies during the fighting and shot and injured others. These descriptions indicate that Hamas spent more time hunting down and killing Fatah members than fighting the Israeli invaders.
Our sources report that as soon as the fighting wound down on Jan. 20, Hamas security officers did indeed round up scores of Fatah members.
Hamas names Muhammad Habash, brother of the social affairs minister in the Salam Fayad government in Ramallah, as ringleader of the spy network. He is charged with passing secrets which ended up in Israeli hands to the Ramallah-based Palestinian General Intelligence Service, according to the evidence of documents, correspondence and signals.
Hamas specifically names the Palestinian General Intelligence Service to imply US complicity, since US advisers have been training its members and supervising its operations.
Hamas further charges that the Palestinian and Israeli security services have been collaborating for the past year against Hamas. They moved their center of operations to the Gaza Strip just before the flare-up as part of what Hamas calls the "Abu Mazen conspiracy" to take advantage of the fighting to reinstate his Palestinian Authority in Gaza City. The PA was overthrown there by Hamas in 2007.
Hamas has timed its disclosures to coincide with the breakdown of its talks in Cairo for a long-term truce in Gaza that would have entailed patching up its quarrel with Fatah and establishing a Palestinian unity government. The Islamist rulers of Gaza are telling Cairo that it is pointless to ask them to make peace with traitors.
Just two weeks after his historic inauguration ceremony, Obama’s presidency is lurching towards failure, and not because three of his administration picks have been found to be tax cheats, but because nearly all of his administration picks are corporate whores and shills.
The problem with the new Obama administration is that it is turning out to be not about change at all, as he claimed during the campaign, but rather about more of the same—and these are not times that call for more of the same. Nor is more of the same the reason Obama won the election.
The economic team President Obama has put in place is composed of the same Wall Street hacks and conservative economic theologians who helped produce the current crisis, many of them as part of the Clinton administration, and some, like Timothy Geithner, actually as appointees of the thoroughly discredited Bush administration.
Obama’s military team is essentially composed of holdovers from the Bush administration, starting at the top with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and retreads from the Clinton administration.
QUESTION & ANSWER ON GERMANY BECOMING A SUPERPOWER...
Germany already is a super power. For the past two years, Germany has been the number one exporter in the world. They have even surpassed China, although China is expected to secure the top spot in 2009.
Germany is the economic power house of Europe and many of its companies are brands recognized globally from Siemens to BMW to Opel to Marklin to MAN and on and on.
We can learn a lot from today's Germany.
Militarily -- the German Leopard II is the tank of choice of many of our NATO allies. Also, Germany has for many years been the only foreign power allowed to fly combat training missions inside the USA.
Former US President Jimmy Carter insisted on Monday that the Hamas terrorist organization is a group of trustworthy and respectable individuals that cannot possibly be blamed for the recent violence in and around the Gaza Strip.
Speaking on NBC's "Today" show, Carter said that Hamas can be trusted, and that the terror group had adhered fully to the terms of an unofficial six-month ceasefire prior to the outbreak of the Gaza war.
By making such an assertion, Carter indirectly blamed Israel for the violence that engulfed Gaza and southern Israel for three weeks. He sidestepped the fact that prior to the start of the Israeli offensive, Hamas had significantly escalated its rocket attacks on southern Israel.
Carter tried to qualify his remarks by acknowledging Hamas had done some bad things, but remained adamant that the terror group must be engaged diplomatically and made part of the "peace" process.
The interview was part of a PR campaign to push the former president's new book, "We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land," which Carter indicated is being written first and foremost to influence the policy decisions of President Barack Obama.
Said Carter: "I am writing another book about the Middle East because the new president of the United States is facing a major opportunity — and responsibility — to lead in ending conflict between Israel and its neighbors. The time is now. Peace is possible."
Carter's previous book, "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid," was highly critical of and in many places openly hostile toward Israel.
Wall Street CEOs, investment bankers charged prostitutes on corporate cards, madam says
ASSAULT RIFLE BAN
YOUR RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS
I BOUGHT A DOBERMAN PINCHER PUPPY THAT IS SIX MONTHS OLD AND HIS NAME IS "ALBERT VON RAG JACOBSON"- HE IS REGISTERED AND IS QUITE LARGE FOR A PUPPY... ROCKY IS NOT MY DOG - I WILL POST A PICTURE OF "ALBERT" SOON.
« U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrive to speak to the press at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on February 3 after a working lunch. Steinmeier has been persistent in seeking the ear of Clinton. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)
Steinmeier, Clinton and EU/U.S. Foreign Policy
February 6, 2009 | From theTrumpet.com
Germany’s foreign minister, Vice Chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier, lost no time in muscling in on President Obama’s foreign-policy agenda.By Ron Fraser
Intent on ensuring that Germany’s interests are to the fore as the Obama administration finds its sea legs in the turgid flow of international relations during a time of great global disorder, Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been very early and quite persistent in seeking the ear of Hillary Clinton.
No sooner had Mrs. Clinton been confirmed as the new American secretary of state on January 21 than Herr Steinmeier quickly dispatched a letter of congratulations. This he followed up with a telephone call the next day, with events in the Middle East very much on his mind.
German troops to be sent to France for first time in 65 years
France and Germany are expected to give details this weekend of an agreement to station hundreds of German troops on French soil for the first time since the second world war, in a region the countries have squabbled over for centuries.
The historic move for troops in either Alsace or Lorraine is part of a 20-year joint military project to encourage reconciliation between the two countries.
"We the People of the United States of America" are entitled to know the legal qualifications of the President and Commander in Chief. For the better good and National Security of "We the People of the United States" and for Absolute Command of the Military Forces of the United States. I whole heartedly support the efforts of Dr. Orly Taitz, ESQ for taking legl action to determine whether or not Barack Hussein Obama, aka Barry Soetoro, Citizen of Indonesia and possibly citizen of Kenya, is eligible to become President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces.
The economy may be bad, but if you listen to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it's worse than is even statistically possible. ........................................................................................................................................................................
We've been counting down to the year that Iran will finally become a nuclear power ever since Iranian dissidents exposed the Iranian nuclear program in 2002. European intelligence estimated it would take Iran until 2012 to achieve this. Israeli intelligence figured late 2007.
Last year's National Intelligence Estimate completely undercut the Bush administration's Iran foreign policy when it estimated Iran was still "many years" from being able to build a bomb.
The NIE predicted: "… with moderate confidence that the earliest possible date Iran would be technically capable of producing enough HEU [highly enriched uranium] for a weapon is late 2009, but that is very unlikely."
Unlikely though it may have been, the International Atomic Energy Agency found that Iran had enriched enough uranium to make its first atomic bomb on Nov. 21, 2008. By now, as it brings new centrifuges online, Tehran may well have enough for a second.
The head of Russia's state nuclear corporation, Sergei Kiriyenko, was quoted from the Kremlin on Wednesday confirming the launch of the Bushehr reactor later this year. Iran's nuclear ambitions are no longer even remotely unclear.
TEL AVIV, Israel – Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu – leading by a wide margin ahead of next week's prime ministerial elections – has secretly issued a stern warning to Hamas that if its rocket campaign continues once he's in power, he will not hesitate to eliminate the terror group's leadership in both the Gaza Strip and Syria, WND has learned.
The warning is particularly strong, since Hamas' leadership in Syria is protected by the Damascus regime. Israel traditionally shies away from threatening attacks on Syrian soil. The Jewish state took great care during its 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon to not strike targets too close to the Syrian border for fear of bringing Damascus into the conflict. One year later, though, Israel targeted a nascent Syrian nuclear reactor being built with aid from North Korea.
According to both Israeli and Palestinian sources intimately familiar with the threats, Netanyahu this week conveyed a secret message to Hamas through a third Arab party in which he stated he will undoubtedly be Israel's prime minister next week. Netanyahu's message warned if Hamas' terrorist attacks continue from Gaza, he could target its top leaders in both Gaza and Syria even if such actions would result in a confrontation with Syria.
The collapse of the export trade has left millions without work and set off a wave of social instability. The provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu are at the heart of the protests. Worker dormitory suburbs resemble ghost towns. Xiao Qingshan has defied bribery and threats from the Chinese authorities and has spoken to the foreign media. He wants international businesses to know what is really happening in China.
The CIA and Japanese militarist controlled regime that has been in power since 1955 is collapsing. The US government is using all its resources to try to prop up the junta, but its efforts will be useless. The gangsters who ruled the world with violence and crime are on their way out as the revolution begins.
CHANGE - HERE IT IS
SOCIALIZED MEDICINE - YOU WANTED CHANGE - HERE IT IS
Man pulls out 13 of his own teeth with pliers 'because he couldn't find an NHS dentist'
A former soldier pulled his own teeth out with a pair of pliers because he could not find a dentist to take on NHS patients.
Iraq War veteran Ian Boynton could not afford to go private for treatment so instead took the drastic action to remove 13 of his teeth that were giving him severe pain.
The 42-year-old, from Beverley, East Yorkshire, had not had his teeth looked at since seeing the army dentist in 2003. He had not been registered with a dentist of his own since 2001.
DIY: Ian Boynton pulled out 13 of his teeth with a pair of pliers because he couldn't afford a dentist
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- All charges against George Obama, half-brother to U.S. President Barack Obama, have been dropped after his arrest in a drug raid, according to police in Kenya.
George Obama was arrested in Kenya on suspicion of marijuana possession, according to police.
He was released on Saturday hours later, police added.
Obama was arrested in a Nairobi slum, and he was picked up with people who possessed marijuana, said police spokesman Eric Kiraithe.
"Being found with people who are in possession of cannabis is a petty offense," Kiraithe said.
Earlier, police had told CNN that Obama had been arrested for possessing cannabis and resisting arrest, which can carry a sentence of up to a year in jail or hefty fines.
Cypriots unload Iranian ship carrying illegal arms for Hamas
Although defense minister Ehud Barak did not confirm that the Iranian ships on their way to the Gaza Strip carry arms for Hamas - in a radio interview Thursday, Feb. 5, DEBKAfile's military sources report that Tehran is preparing to send a number of arms vessels to break the blockade on Gaza, encouraged by the failure of the US, Egyptian and Israeli navies to confiscate the arms aboard the Cypriot-flagged arms ships now docked at Limassol.
The Iranians calculate that while not all the ships may get through the Israeli naval blockade, one would suffice. Our sources report that some are already on the way. They are expected to enter the Gulf of Suez and waters opposite Gaza over the weekend and try to drop their cargoes of weapons containers off shore. Israeli warships and spy planes are tracking them.
At a special conference Thursday, Feb. 5, prime minister Olmert, foreign minister Tzipi Livni and the defense minister agreed to Iranian arms ships must be prevented from unloading its cargo, even at the cost of a marine clash with Iran.
Barak also disclosed that the Cypriot authorities are unloading the Iranian arms ship Monchegorsk renamed Iran Hedayt in Limassol harbor having discovered it is in contravention of the UN Security Council sanctions resolution 1747 which bans Iranian arms exports.
DEBKA file's military sources disclosed it was carrying 10 containers of Iranian rockets and other weapons for rearming Hamas in the Gaza Strip in violation of Israel's terms for accepting a Gaza ceasefire last month. Cyprus reported to the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on its findings in two inspections of the vessel but has not published them.
At stake now is the entire international effort to stop the Palestinian Islamists rearming – to which the US, Egypt and European nations are party.
A very common question amongst Hi Power aficionados is, "Which is the best model as well as, "Are old Hi Powers better than new ones?"
So, which is best?
In my opinion, it depends on what parameters you use to define "best."
If you are really into very nicely blued Hi Powers of the classic look, most agree that the T-Series sits at the pinnacle of fit and finish. These also had the traditional ring hammer associated with the Hi Power by purist. Commercial Hi Powers made in the '70's are also nicely finished, but came with spur hammers, something that some did not care for. Until the advent of the Mk II in the '80's, Hi Powers all had feed ramps that were "humped" and many were pretty picky about what JHP they would feed reliably…or at all!
In the '80's, the Mk II hit the stage and deviated from the classic fixed sight Hi Power in its higher visibility fixed sights as well as its extended, ambidextrous thumb safety levers. It also had a narrow full-length rib atop the slide. The frame was forged like the older Hi Powers, but the finish could have very well caused major heart palpitations for those preferring polished blue finishes. Gone were the checkered walnut grips and in their place sat black, checkered nylon ones with thumb rests! The earlier production runs did not have the internal firing pin safety common the practically all of the soon to come Mk III pistols sold in the US.
In the late '80's, FN produced the Mk III. Imported by Browning, this version of the Hi Power initially had a forged frame and the gun retained not only the stocks, but also the extended thumb safety levers. Both the Mk II and the Mk III came with the now common spur hammer. The Mk III did not retain the rib on the slide and the fixed sights were larger and both front and rear dovetailed into the slide. Every Mk III that I've seen sold in the US came with the internal firing pin safety. These pistols' slide and frames were finished in a baked epoxy finish that has varied from somewhat dull to downright shiny black. Regardless, Browning calls this a "matte" finish. The shape of the ejection port was also changed to a more square one very similar to that of the 1911. This was done to increase the metal present at the lower rear of the port to reduce the chances of the slide cracking under extremely heavy use with stout loads.
With the introduction of the forty-caliber Hi Power, a change was made from forged to quality cast frames. Some gasped in horror at this. It was reportedly done, as the frame was stronger than the forged. It has been reported that after about 2500 rounds of forty-caliber ammo, the forged frames would warp. The cast ones did not and soon both the forty and 9mm versions were available only with cast frames, probably a manufacturing cost-cutting measure. Contrary to what some have reported, the slides on Hi Powers have never been cast. They continue to be forged to this day. Because the frames are harder, current Hi Power slides are tougher as they are heat-treated to a higher level than was possible with the softer forged frames.
Using the Mk III "chassis," several cataloged versions of the Hi Power exist today and probably some with specific special modifications for certain military or intelligence services throughout the world. In this country, we see:
Mk III: Described above, this version is available in 9mm and .40 S&W.
Standard: This is a Mk III in all aspects except that it has a bright blue finish and the traditional checkered walnut stocks.
Practical: This is a basic Mk III but with a hard chromed frame. The slide stop and safety levers are hard chromed as well. I have seen one with a gold-plated trigger, but most are hard chromed. The front sight on the fixed sight version is more sloping than that of the Mk III and the gun comes with Pachmayr "Signature" grips. The gun is offered with fixed or adjustable sights as well.
Capitan: I have only seen these in blue finishes and with walnut stocks. Their main difference is in the tangent rear sight.
While some of these models are offered with adjustable sights, fixed are what's usually seen.
So which is best?
If you intend only to shoot standard pressure FMJ ammunition, take your pick. All will hold up to much more shooting than done by most users. If you want to shoot JHP ammo in your classic Hi Power, it will need to be of a rounded ogive, mimicking FMJ. I'd shoot a limited amount of +P in these guns, if any. To be reliable with a wide range of expanding ammunition, these guns will usually need their feed ramps "throated." Any of the models listed will handle ball ammo without fuss.
Should you want to shoot JHP ammunition with the gun out of the box, the best bet is to go with either a Mk II or Mk III, but if you cannot abide cast frames, you'll need to go with either a Mk II or early production Mk III. If you cannot stand the internal firing pin safety, you're back to either an early Mk II or a Mk III sold outside the US as some did not have the internal firing pin safety at the request of the purchasers. The only one I know of for sure is Israel. However, these had the small, single-side classic thumb safety at their request as well.
If you use hotter loads primarily, I'd suggest going with your choice in the cast frame Mk III or variants. Should you opt for the Practical, be advised that the factory ring hammer frequent bites the hand that shoots it and in my experience, more than the spur hammers.
While I've owned commercial Hi Powers from the '70's that had good trigger pulls, I've also owned some that were pretty lousy until a trigger job was performed. This has not gotten better in recent years and the lousy trigger on most Hi Powers is a common complaint. The magazine "safety" has unfortunately managed to be retained on each and every version of the Hi Power sold in the US.
In most cases, a trigger job by a competent gunsmith is required to wring the most out of these pistols.
Finally, should you prefer the forty-caliber, your options are limited to versions of the Mk III and the gun will have a cast frame.
Look at these differences and similarities and decide which is best with regard to what you prefer.
BAILOUTS: A COMPLETE FRAUD AGAINST THE AMERICAN WORKER
By Frosty Wooldridge February 2, 2009 NewsWithViews.com
A recent Associated Press news release exposed U.S. banks accepting billions in bailout money along with major corporations. Banks defraud American taxpayers by hiring thousands of foreign works in place of our citizens.
The European Union warned the US yesterday against plunging the world into depression by adopting a planned “Buy American” policy, intensifying fears of a trade war.
The EU threatened to retaliate if the US Congress went ahead with sweeping measures in its $800 billion (£554 billion) stimulus plan to restrict spending to American goods and services.
Gordon Brown was caught in the crossfire as John Bruton, the EU Ambassador to Washington, said that “history has shown us” where the closing of markets leads — a clear reference to the Depression of the 1930s, triggered by US protectionist laws.
ECONOMIC GIRLIE MEN - THIS GUY IS SOME PIECE OF WORK.
« California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger works desperately to balance his state government’s budget. (Getty Images)
California Begins Defaulting on Its Obligations
February 3, 2009 | From theTrumpet.com
Total mismanagement. Hoping a drought would never come, politicians didn’t prepare. Now, Californians brace for massive tax increases and service cuts.
Out of money, the eighth-largest economy in the world halted $3.5 billion worth of payments on Monday. The years of plenty are clearly over. Now, for thousands of Californians, the famine years have arrived. California has begun stiffing its citizens.
Obama administration gravely concerned by first all-Iranian satellite
DEBKAfile Special Report
February 3, 2009, 11:05 PM (GMT+02:00)
Iranian satellite goes into orbit
The White House and Pentagon issued strong statements Tuesday, Feb. 3 about the dangers posed by the launch of Iran's first homemade satellite into space while working toward developing long-range missile capability. DEBKAfile notes that none of the leading contenders in Israel's Feb. 10 general election, including the defense and foreign ministers - or even prime minister Ehud Olmert - saw fit to react to the event.
In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said any effort to develop missile delivery capability, continue an illicit nuclear program, threaten Israel and sponsor terror is an "acute concern to this administration."
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters that Iran poses "a real threat and a growing threat." He said: "It is certainly a reason for us to be concerned about Iran and its continued attempts to develop a ballistic missile program of increasingly long range."
DEBKAfile's Washington sources report that the Obama administration is beginning to get fed up with Tehran continually laying down hard facts ahead of any dialogue begins between the two governments. An official in the national security council commented wryly: Now that the Iranians have proved they have ballistic missiles capable of reaching Europe and our bases there, what else have they up their sleeves before we start talking?
Our Iranian sources have seen no sign that Tehran proposes to soften its attitudes on nuclear or missile issues ahead of those talks.
At a joint news conference with UK foreign secretary David Milliband, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton announced William Burns would join the six major powers in Germany Wednesday to discuss the next steps on Iran's nuclear designs which she called a threat to the world. "We are reaching out a hand, but the fist has to unclench," she said.
JERUSALEM – BENJAMIN NETANYAHU - The front-runner in Israel's election said in an interview published Monday that he would letJewish settlementsexpand in theWest Bank if he's elected prime minister, threatening to put him at odds with the Obama administration.
"OBAMA" = FROM A CHICAGO COMMUNITY ORGANIZER TO A WORLD PROBLEM "FIXER" OVER NIGHT. YOU BEST READ YOUR BIBLE NOW...
THE NEW SUPER POWER OF THE WORLD WILL EVENTUALLY BE GERMANY AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
President Obama's first major television interview was given to the Dubai-based Arab television network al-Arabiya as Mideast envoy George Mitchell headed to the region
JERUSALEM – The Palestinian Authority received a guarantee from President Obama's administration that understandings reached with Israel during U.S.-backed negotiations while President Bush was in office would be utilized as starting points for current and future talks with the Jewish state, top PA officials told WND.
With new general Israeli elections scheduled for next week, the move could limit the incoming Israeli prime minister, since the PA can point to points of agreement during previous talks between Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
The PA officials, speaking on condition their names be withheld, said they were enthusiastic about the new tone of the White House and about recent meetings with Obama's Mideast envoy, former Democratic Sen. George Mitchell. They said they believe that under Obama the Palestinians can extract from Israel concessions reaching "much further" than during talks held under the previous administration.
"Regarding all understandings achieved between the parties, the Obama administration told us they will give guarantees to carry them out," said a top PA official.
“Make no mistake, tax cheaters cheat us all, and the IRS should enforce our laws to the letter. ” Sen. Tom Daschle, Congressional Record, May 7, 1998, p. S4507.
Iran's first spy satellite launch Tuesday signifies nuclear-capable rocket in hand
DEBKAfile Special Report
February 3, 2009, 12:45 PM (GMT+02:00)
Iran launches satellite Omid into orbit
The launch of Omid (Hope), Iran's first home-made satellite into orbit early Tuesday, Feb. 3, is a breakthrough demonstrating the Islamic Republic has managed to develop long-range, three-stage, solid-fuel ballistic rockets capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Israel and Western officials have been playing down this fast-developing capability while proving helpless to hold back Iran's nuclear weapons program. Omid was launched by the Safir rocket, whereas a previous launching was boosted by a Russian rocket.
DEBKAfile's Iranian sources report the new satellite is designed for tracking, research, telecommunications and carries digital measuring instruments. They stress that it is a feather in the hat for Iran's "Military Group" – the team of scientists and technicians working on its clandestine nuclear bomb program. They are clearly moving ahead undisturbed by UN sanctions or technical difficulties toward rapidly finishing work on nuclear warheads for their ballistic rockets.
In weekend interviews, International Atomic Energy Agency director Muhammad ElBaradei contributed to the international effort to talk down Tehran's nuclear advances. He admitted Iran was in the process of constructing nuclear weapons despite his agency's monitoring efforts. But in his view it needed another two to five years to attain this objective. He therefore advised the West to try and negotiate an accord with Iran through diplomacy.
Our sources point out that ElBaradei's remarks were misleading. His remarks referred only to Iran's overt nuclear program, namely uranium enrichment, but ignored the clandestine facilities where Iran is making big strides toward a nuclear weapon.
« U.S. President Barack Obama faces an unhappy Europe should he uphold “buy American.” (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
Europe Threatens America With Trade War
February 3, 2009 | From theTrumpet.com
As the United States tries to navigate an economic squall, a trade war could be on the horizon. European Union diplomats have privately threatened to launch a trade war against the U.S. if President Barack Obama accepts protectionist provisions contained in the latest stimulus package. These threats are forcing Obama to choose between a showdown with Congress and a collision course with other Western governments.
The “buy American” provision of the congressional stimulus package stipulates that all major public works projects favor American steel, iron and manufacturing over foreign imports. The provision is designed to create more American jobs by supporting domestic labor.
Vladimir Putin faces signs of mutiny in own government as protests break out in east
Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, faces signs of an unprecedented mutiny within his own government that threatens to undermine his once unassailable authority, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
By Adrian Blomfield in Vladivostok Last Updated: 9:20AM GMT 01 Feb 2009
After President Obama's illegal alien aunt defied deportation orders, one group has filed an arrest request with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is publicly demanding that the president deport her.
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, or ALIPAC, is urging Obama to honor his rhetoric about the rule of law by ousting Zeituni Onyango from the United States.
"President Obama has promised the American public that his administration will honor the principles of open government, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law," ALIPAC President William Gheen said. "Obama must either deport his aunt or destroy his own credibility by showing her favoritism."
Onyango has enlisted the help of an immigration lawyer to help her win asylum and stay in the U.S. after ignoring a court order that she leave the country or be deported
Margaret Wong and Associates is representing Zeituni Onyango, the 56-year-old Kenyan half-sister of Obama's deceased father, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Onyango and her lawyer are scheduled to attend an immigration hearing in Boston on April 1.
Onyango, revealed in November to be dwelling on Flaherty Way in a South Boston slum, has been living in the United States illegally, and refusing to leave the U.S. for her Kenyan homeland after a judge rejected her request for asylum in 2004.
"She is currently a fugitive from justice and is staying with friends in Cleveland vowing to fight against being deported now that her nephew is president," ALIPAC contends.
World stocks mostly lower as investors prepare for more bad earnings, deeper economic downturn
Carlo Piovano, AP Business Writer
Monday February 2, 2009, 6:45 pm EST
LONDON (AP) -- World stock markets finished mostly lower Monday, with financial and energy stocks leading the way down as investors prepared for another week of poor earnings reports and gloomy economic data. .........................................................................................................................................................................
HAMAS
Iran denies secret talks with U.S.Obama's overtures seen as weakness by Tehran
Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran Feb. 1, 1979, after 14 years exile
The Iranian government has rejected any suggestion by President Obama that U.S. relations with Iran could improve, unless Washington is willing to make major policy changes, including a reduced military presence in the Middle East and the end of support for Israel.
Speaking at a celebration of the 30th anniversary of Iran's Islamic revolution – which began with the 1979 return of Ayatollah Khomeini to Iran from France – government spokesman Gholam Hossein Ehlam denied reports of secret meetings between unofficial representatives of the Obama administration and the Iranian government coordinated by the Pugwash Group, as reported by WND yesterday.
"There have been no official negotiations with the Americans," Ehlam told the Guardian newspaper of London.
Instead of responding positively to Obama's suggestion in his televised interview with the al-Arabiya Arabic television news service that Iran "unclench its fist," Tehran seems to be hardening its negotiation position.
California Crisis Deepens - Are Other States To Follow?
Monday February 2, 2009, 1:18 pm EST
Today is the day Californians begin to personally feel the pain of the state's massive budget gap. As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and top legislative leaders continue to meet behind closed doors to hammer out a plan covering the current $16 billion gap-projected to grow to $42 billion by June, 2010-the state controller is delaying $3.5 billion in payments to conserve cash.
2The LORD is a jealous and avenging God, the LORD avengeth and is full of wrath; the LORD taketh vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies.
3 The LORD is long-suffering, and great in power, and will by no means clear the guilty; the LORD, in the whirlwind and in the storm is His way, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.
6 Who can stand before His indignation? And who can abide in the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder before Him.
12 Thus saith the LORD: Though they be in full strength, and likewise many, even so shall they be cut down, and he shall pass away; and though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.
14 And the LORD hath given commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown; out of the house of thy god will I cut off the graven image and the molten image; I will make thy grave; for thou art become worthless. {P}
