Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!
~Isaiah 42:18
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them.
~ Isaiah 42:16
Should the Obama administration cave in to Israeli pressure it would send out the wrong signal, not only to the Palestinians, but also to the Arab and Muslim worlds that U.S. President Barack Obama so warmly addressed in his June 4 speech in Cairo.Mitchell extends Mideast trip
Jordan’s King Abdallah on Tuesday rejected Israel’s “unilateral measures” in East Jerusalem and vowed to go ahead with steps to preserve the Arab identity of the holy city, which the Jewish state captured in the 1967 Middle East war. King Abdallah made the remarks as he presided over a meeting grouping senior officials and representatives of Arab families in Jerusalem to follow up on projects being implemented by Jordan at Al-Aqsa Mosque, a royal court statement said. “The monarch expressed Jordan’s rejection of any Israeli unilateral measure that seeks to change the historical status of the holy city and the (Arab) identity of the holy places by emptying the city of its Muslim and Christian inhabitants,” the statement added.Jerusalem Patriarch: Israel discriminates against Christians
The Patriarch of Jerusalem accused Israel of continuing discrimination against minority religions. Archbishop Fouad Twal also said that Pope Benedict XVI's visit in May has not helped the situation. The "ongoing discrimination within Israel threatens Christians and Muslims alike," Twal said in a speech last week in England that was reported by the Catholic news service Zenit. "From limiting movement and ignoring housing needs to taxation burdens and infringing on residency rights, Palestinian Christians do not know where to turn." Twal specifically criticized Israel's West Bank security fence, which he said "has enclosed many Palestinians in ghetto-like areas where access to work, medical care, schooling and other basic services have been badly affected."Turkey-Syria leaders hold Middle East peace talks
The UN's Goldstone Commission Report claimed it could find "no evidence" that Hamas intentionally used civilians as human shields during the Gaza War. But PMW's special reports during the war documented this practice, and revealed testimony from children describing how they were being used by Hamas in combat support roles Hamas had already announced publicly before the war that using "women, children and the elderly" as "human shields" was indeed Hamas policy - and that Hamas was proud of it. Hamas Member of Parliament, Fathi Hamad,I Heart Hamas
pronounced with enthusiasm on Hamas TV that Hamas had made "death an industry," and that its message to Israel ("the Zionist enemy") about its use of civilians as shields was, "We desire death as you desire life."There was also Palestinian testimony about Hamas murdering Palestinian civilians during the war. PMW is re-releasing some of the PMW Special News Reports published during the Gaza War, documenting Hamas's use of civilians as human shields, its murder of Palestinian civilians, and Mahmoud Abbas's blaming the war on Hamas. To see all PMW Special News Reports that were released during the Gaza War, click here.
The Palestinian government is proud of its martyrs and their families, Haniyya said. “We will stand by you, sons of our people, in the path of jihad and resistance, and until we complete the path of the martyrs we will maintain their good achievements.”
...to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon
those who sit in darkness.
~ Isaiah 42:7
For over two weeks now, Toronto has been the arena for a bitter struggle between Israel bashers and Israel supporters. John Greyson used a distorted quote from me as the reason for pulling his film from the Toronto International Film Festival, but I hardly deserve the credit. Without it, another excuse would have been found to attack TIFF's decision to focus on Tel Aviv. The attempt to present Israeli culture in a manner that Naomi Klein called "uncritical" was for them simply unforgivable. I agree with the anti-Israeli activists about one thing: the real issue was not the boycott, nor the Israeli filmmakers. It was a struggle about Israel's right to be presented positively.10 minutes with … Tariq Ramadan
After decades of refuting the arguments of all his opponents, Ramadan, 47, has written a 160-page manifesto of his beliefs. The Swiss citizen and Oxford University professor talked about the book, “What I Believe,” which is scheduled for release in the U.S. and Europe in October. Some answers have been edited for length and clarity.Amreeka One of Few Films Portraying the Real Arab
Since its foundation in 1980, ADC has assumed a very proactive role in dispelling misconceptions that exist within major TV sitcoms and films. In the past, ADC has effectively worked alongside production companies for major motion pictures such as Syriana (2005) and Traitor (2008). Kareem Shora, National Executive Director of ADC, says "In these cases, the production companies welcomed our help, so we worked to show them how they were over sensationalizing historical inaccuracies."Don't worry, for the Islamic United States is at the door ...
By Ahaneefah ~ All these questions were rushing through my mind as I saw the United States of America totter and the flowers of the Islamic caliphate bloom at its doors and open up. Believe me, it is only the matter of a single bunt or two...CANADA: No permit for Juden. POTATO!
A Jewish organization in Montreal's West Island is scrambling to make alternative arrangements to hold a Rosh Hashanah event after the City of Dollard des Ormeaux refused to provide a permit. More than 200 people were expected to attend the West Island Jewish Experience event Friday night.Iraqi official: Talks with Syria over attacks fail
In that day, the deaf will hear the words of the scroll,
and out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind will see.
~ Isaiah 29:18
This fact has been so far undeniable that one of the two main characteristics of the '79 Revolution was its anti-western imperialism content. In this particular religious gathering at least a substantial section of the pro-bourgeois nationalists let the cat out of the bag and pointed at China and Russia as two enemies of Iran, at least in their eyes. Were the ideological leaders of the reformist crowd aware that China and Russia have supported Iran, more or less, on the nuclear power plant issue, on the enrichment of uranium and have softened the impacts of the U.S./U.K.-promoted U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran?Iran arrests dissident clerics' kids, grandkids
The LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
~ Psalm 146:8
China's Communist Party elite gathers on Tuesday to explore ways to ensure its one-party rule survives the strains of rapid economic growth and an increasingly fluid and divided society. The gathering may also reveal personnel moves that suggest how Chinese President Hu Jintao will pass power to a successor generation as he approaches retirement from 2012, as well as provide clues to any changes in economic policy.China North East Petroleum Holdings Ltd. to Raise $18.4 Million
While Hu will promote the nation's outward ambitions at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh next week, the communist party Central Committee meeting will act as a reminder his government remains worried about surmounting domestic challenges. The Central Committee full session, or plenum, will meet in closed session until Friday, and official media reports have said the some 200 full members will discuss "inner-party democracy", a term for making decision-making more open and rule-based. Behind that stolid theme lies the leadership's fears that its control could eventually slip as Chinese society becomes increasingly wealthy, fragmented and assertive. "Recently, mass incidents in some areas have exposed the indifference and weak governing abilities of a few leading officials," said a commentary on the Plenum in Outlook Weekly, a magazine issued by the official Xinhua news agency.
Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore's sovereign fund manager, and private-equity firm Hopu Investment Management Co, invested a combined $300 million....Sinopec, China Firms Seek Canadian Financing, Resources
The Balkans are slated to play an even more prominent role in the West's drives east and south into former Soviet space, including the Caucasus and Central Asia, and into South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. On September 11, a Balkans news source cited the chairman of the South East Europe Center at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, DC, John Sitilides, as claiming that "Although the United States is not focused on the Balkans as it was in the 1990s, the challenges in this region are still reviewed at a very high level in Washington."US to dilute missile defense plan
As reported by The Jerusalem Post earlier this month, Turkey, Israel and the Balkans are under evaluation as alternative sites for the (RAYTHEON) systems.Russia's PM Putin to meet US businessmen
Daily Georgian Times : The leader of the South Ossetian puppet regime, Eduard Kokoity received the director of the Russian energy giant, Gazprom, Aleksei Miller and decorated him...Gazprom buys Russian DTH rival
Russian oil and gas conglomerate Gazprom’s media division has bought a controlling stake in National Satellite, which trades locally as Tricolor TV (the Russian flag is made up of three coloured bands). Gazprom Media already controls NTV+ and its satellite operation. The combined DTH operation now numbers more than 6m homes, of which some 3.7m are pay-TV subscribers of Tricolor.Ruble Gains to Highest This Year on Oil
Jaw set, eyes narrowed, he was pictured aiming a semi-automatic. He looked impressed as he inspected the gun before moving on to a rifle. His aides, however, looked uneasy. The photographs undermine attempts to promote Putin as a soft-hearted man. He has been pictured painting for charity, receving cuddly tiger cubs for his birthday, and denouncing the slaughter of baby seals.But however hard aides try to convince the world that the Russian prime minister is a teddy bear at heart, he persists in cheerfully defying them.
Unpaid Workers In St. Petersburg Ask Putin For Help
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will meet several top U.S. executives on Friday, including General Electric Co (GE.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N), the Russian government said on Thursday. Putin's meetings with top Western executives are usually a precursor of major business deals. Earlier this year oil majors Total (TOTF.PA) and Royal Dutch/Shell (RDSa.L) announced plans to expand in Russia at meetings with Putin.
Talks with the U.S. firms follow a U.S. government decision to halt the deployment of a missile shield defence system in Europe, a move received positively by the Russian government.
As the enemy came down toward him,
Elisha prayed to the LORD,
"Strike these people with blindness."
So he struck them with blindness,
as Elisha had asked.
~ 2 Kings 6:18
In keeping with its mission to shape the future, Soldiers from Third Army/U.S. Army Central are working alongside representatives from the United States, Kazakhstan, and British Armies during the multinational exercise, Steppe Eagle, which began Sept. 14.Kazakhstan's Diversification and Global Central Banks' Dollar Reserves
Kazakhstan minister of defense, Adilbek Dzhaksybekov, officially opened the exchange, emphasizing the important role it plays. "This exercise will considerably increase the level of regional security and capability in our armed forces," Dzhaksybekov said.
"Steppe Eagle is in its seventh year and is military exercise designed to improve the participants' operational capabilities, combat readiness, and ability to conduct peace support operations as part of internationally sanctioned multinational operations," U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Richard Hoagland, said as he welcomed participants to the exercise. "I look forward to what I know will be an extremely rewarding and successful exercise for the warriors of KAZBRIG, Seventh Rifles Regiment, the Puerto Rico National Guard, NATO and U.S. Army Central."
One of the goals of this year's Steppe Eagle is to assist the Kazakh military as it works towards NATO certification, said Lt. Col. Dave Horn, Third Army/USARCENT Central and South Asia team chief and deputy exercise director for Steppe Eagle. Robert Simmons, special representative to the General Secretary of NATO, touched on this during his opening comments. "It permits the elements of the army of Kazakhstan to work with and to in fact operate with forces of allied countries in particular with the United Kingdom and the United States so that they are truly interoperable," Simmons said.
"During your diplomatic mission You became our real friend", A. Tagaev said and expressed hope for successful continuation of his diplomatic carrier.Kyrgyzstan To Sign New Agreements With NATO Transit Center
Cursed is the man who leads the blind astray on the road.Bush didn't understand Paulson's bailout? Those who think that the financial bailout in the US was rushed through without sufficient thought and that the Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson had far too much latitude will find plenty of ammunition in a tell-all book by a former Bush speechwriter, Matt Latimer. Latimer worked in the White House in the final two years of the Bush administration and the extract from his book in GQ gives a sense of the confusion as the administration tried to deal with the crisis. What is most revealing to me is how even the president didn’t know what the bailout was trying to do:Interview With Goldman Sachs on Financial Markets
“The president was clearly confused about how the government would buy these securities. He repeated his belief that the government was going to “buy low and sell high,” and he still didn’t understand why we hadn’t put that into the speech like he’d asked us to. When it was explained to him that his concept of the bailout proposal wasn’t correct, the president was momentarily speechless. He threw up his hands in frustration. “Why did I sign on to this proposal if I don’t understand what it does?” he asked.”
A recent Global Economics Weekly report from Jim O’Neil and the team at Goldman Sachs Global Economics highlights the answers to seven key questions that, according to them, should provide an indication of whether the improvement in the global economy and performance of world financial markets can be sustained.Bull Bear Trades: Ron Paul: "Goldman Sachs Has A Lot Of Influence on the Treasury & the Federal Reserve
Do not curse the deaf
or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,
but fear your God. I am the LORD.
~ Leviticus 19:14
A former Treasury official has told the watchdog for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout program thatBarack HusseinObama’s promise to restrict lobbyist access to the bailout was made purely for political reasons.Obama not much better than Bush on rights
Months after the administration’s pledge, the lobbyist rules haven’t been implemented and Neel Kashkari, the one-time czar of the agency’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, told the office of the special inspector general for TARP that the pledge to craft safeguards against lobbyist influence was a defensive move.
“Mr. Kashkari believed that this statement was purely for political reasons with Obama’s new entering administration, and that there was no substantive reason for this announcement,” the office wrote in a document obtained by The Washington Times in which the inspector general recounted Mr. Kashkari’s April 30 interview with the auditors.
“He noted that, at that time, there had been headlines in the press regarding lobbyists influencing the process, and Treasury wanted to show that they were taking action,” the inspector general’s office wrote.
Mr. Kashkari, a former executive at Goldman Sachs who was tapped in October by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. to oversee the distribution of TARP cash to vulnerable firms, stepped down in April after serving under the Obama administration since January.
In January, amid concerns that lobbyists would sway TARP decisions, the Treasury Department pledged to write rules to restrict their access, acting “in light of President Obama’s firm commitment to transparency, accountability and oversight in our government’s approach to stabilizing the financial system.” More than six months later, the rules have not been issued.
CACI International gets $24.5M airborne intelligence contractThe decision was swiftly celebrated by the private security industry. "The court's decision today is an important step toward resolving all legal matters regarding the company's mission and duties in Iraq," Jody Brown, executive vice president for public relations at CACI, said in a statement. "We have said from day one that these lawsuits are completely without merit and designed to pursue a political agenda."
"This is big, and this is the kind of good news the contracting community needs," wrote one security contractor on his blog. "Precedents like this are what we need for further protection in the future for similar cases."
By ABCNews.com - I wonder if Asst. Sec. of Defense William Lynn's former employer (Raytheon, Lyn was former SVP prior to joining Obama Admin.) will receive Defense contracts for this “more agile” system nobody seems to know about...DOD's #2 Willie RAYTHEON Lynn and pals will benefit:
Textron Prices $600 Million Of NotesThe new missile-defense strategy in Eastern Europe puts Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. technologies in the spotlight and reinforces Defense Secretary Robert Gates's preference for less risky and cheaper weapons technologies.
Instead of basing missiles in Poland and placing a special antimissile radar in the Czech Republic to defend against possible launches from Iran or other countries, the Pentagon said Thursday that it will employ an approach that involves sea-based and land-based systems from the two companies.
The White House is collecting and storing comments and videos placed on its social-networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube without notifying or asking the consent of the site users, a failure that appears to run counter to President Obama's promise of a transparent government and his pledge to protect privacy on the Internet. Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the White House signaled that it would insist on open dealings with Internet users and, in fact, should feel obliged to disclose that it is collecting such information. "The White House has not been adequately transparent, particularly on how it makes use of new social media techniques, such as this example," he said.
Who is blind but my servant,
and deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one committed to me,
blind like the servant of the LORD ?
~ Isaiah 42:19
York Telecom, a leading global provider of visual communications services and solutions, has worked with the US Army North (USARNORTH) Command to create a state-of-the-art Network Operations Center (NOC) to better serve the United States during the event of a natural disaster.Bill would grant emergency powers to health officials
The Justice Department inspector general issued blistering audits in 2007 and 2008, finding, for instance, that FBI agents had used demands for information known as national security letters in many cases where they were not authorized and had employed other tools called exigent letters to quickly obtain data without proper follow-up.PDF: ATT National Subpoena Compliance Center
During an emergency, the NSCC will provide a subscriber's name, telephone number and location to any Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP or 911 Emergency Dispatcher). The NSCC requires that PSAPs provide a completed 911 Emergency Services Exigent Circumstances Form (attached) with the request. In certain emergency situations, where taking the time to complete the form before receiving the information could result in death or serious injury, the form may be faxed immediately after resolution of the emergency.FCC buying emergency notification system
The purchase and increased coordination are two of the several steps outlined by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a 41-page report released today titled “FCC’s Preparedness for a Major Public Emergency.” The report was prepared by the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau in response to the chairman’s 30-day readiness review started in June.US Department of Defense Publishes Final Rule on Specialty Metals
The Department of Defense has published a final rule implementing recent statutory changes in its acquisition of specialty metals. 74 FR 37626, July 29, 2009. The final rule, effective July 29, 2009, implements provisions of both the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (P.L. 109-364) and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (P.L. 110-181).Opposing Obama does not make you racist
Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge;
they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark;
they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.
~Isaiah 56:10
(AP) – 6 days ago CAIRO — A representative of Darfur's refugee community says a visiting U.S. envoy is not welcome to the camps because he has downplayed the scope of the crisis.Abu Sharati told the Associated Press Friday that U.S. envoy to Sudan Scott Gration "is not wanted" because he is "not listening to our demands."Gration is traveling throughout Sudan this week and planned to visit Zamzam refugee camp in Darfur.During a visit to Darfur in July, Gration appealed to refugees to return to their villages. He also suggested easing sanctions against Sudan.Abu Sharati called for Gration to be replaced.According to the United Nations some 2.5 million people have been displaced in the vast western region since fighting began in 2003.Nigeria's Oil Mess
Of the six senators, Charles Grassley of Iowa comes closest to Baucus' health donations — $2.7 million...Sen. Grassley disappointed by "artificial deadline"
As corporate values statements go, there are few more stirring than the "Chevron Way" espoused by the nation's third largest corporation. Chevron aspires to be "the global energy company most admired for its people, partnership and performance," one that conducts business "in a socially responsible and ethical manner," and "respects the law, supports universal human rights, protects the environment and benefits the communities where we work." That's heady stuff.State health office fines Chevron, city
The Hawaii Department of Health is seeking $43500 in penalties from the Chevron refinery in Campbell Industrial Park for water quality violationsBrazil Govt Expects Crude-Oil Output To Double By 2017
As Jesus went on from there,
two blind men followed him,
calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
~ Matthew 9:27
When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him,
and he asked them,
"Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
"Yes, Lord," they replied.
~ Matthew 9:28
