Israeli sub sails Suez, signaling reach to IranThe strut.
Analysis: Iran crisis set to rage on Iranian media demanding Mousavi treason trialNaturally they are controlled by Supreme Leader.
Just like here! Show trials, possible execution, hang over "US agent" Mousavi Iran: Surrounded By Friendly EnemiesIran embassy staff 'face trial'Guardians Council chief Ahmad Jannati said: "Naturally they will be put on trial, they have made confessions."
Britain seeks clarification on trial threat to embassy staff in Iran Iran reports more protest arrestsIranian police arrest over 1000 during unrest Iran lawyer: reformers held on security charge
Iran hangs 20 "drug traffickers" in mass execution Who Will Stand With Iranians?Obviously not Obamanable's America.
U.S. to block Iran sanctions at G8 summit The United States is opposed to enacting a new set of financial sanctions against Iran that are due to be discussed in the G8 summit next week, diplomatic officials in New York reported Friday.
According to officials, sanctions against Iran are expected to top the G8's agenda. Sources are also predicting a pointed debate between the heads of the industrialized nations over an appropriate response to Iranian authorities' suppression of reformist demonstrations in Iran led by Mir Hossein Mousavi and other Iranian opposition leaders.
Iran nuclear sanctions 'counter-productive': MedvedevOr Bad Vlad's Russia
[INSERT ME LAUGHING MANIACALLY HERE]
No sign Iran seeks nuclear arms: new IAEA headACHIEVING GLOW BALL PEACE THROUGH DEAD JUDEN:Obamanable Snowjobman
keen on discussing this with Popella Von Der Villanous!
DRINK!
US President Barack Obama said in an interview published Friday he thought Pope Benedict XVI would "share my approach" on policy in the Middle East.Obama, who is due to meet the pope on July 10, told Catholic Italian newspaper Avvenire he was keen to discuss the situation in the Middle East with the head of the Roman Catholic Church."It is a subject I am keen to discuss with the pope, I think he will share my approach," said Obama, who will meet the pope after the G8 summit in the central Italian town of L'Aquila.
Zappy Dhimmhead, Chief EU Whore of the Caliphate Sez:
Alliance Of Civilizations Brought Together Cultures UNSTOPPABLE...
Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, said Friday the Alliance of Civilizations initiative brought together cultures and is unstoppable.
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis Sez:
Amnesty Int on the UAE – the Impermissible Territory No, I did not make that name up. I only wish I did!
Walid Phares: Preventing the West from Understanding JihadIn the years that followed 9/11, two phenomena characterized the Western public's understanding of the terrorists' ideology. The first characteristic stemmed from the statements made by the jihadists themselves. More than ever, Islamist militants and jihadi cadres didn't waste any opportunity to declare, clarify, explain, and detail the meaning of their aqida (doctrine) and their intentions to apply Jihadism by all means possible. Unfortunately for them, though, those extremely violent means changed the international public opinion: the public now was convinced that there was an ideology of Jihadism, and that its adherents meant business worldwide.
From Ayman al Zawahiri in Arabic to Azzam al Amriki in American English, via all of the videotapes made by "martyrs" in Britain, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the public obtained all the evidence necessary. Against all the faulty academic literature of the 1990's, the statements by the jihadists themselves were very convincing.
The second phenomenon of help to the public was the surfacing of a new literature produced by alternative scholars, analysts, journalists, experts, and researchers who, from different backgrounds and countries, filled in some of the gaps is "jihadi studies." Producing books, articles, and blogs from Europe, India, the Middle East, and North America, a combination of Third World-born and Western-issued scholarship began to provide the "missing link" as to what Jihadism is all about. These factors came together to shift the debate from "Jihad is spiritual yoga" to "Why didn't we know it was something else as well?" And this triggered in response one of the last attempts to prevent jihad from being understood.
Islam: The War of Propaganda Makes Huge GainsIslam is unique in that it is the only religion with a propaganda arm. No other religion advocates for propaganda, deception and disinformation. It is a powerful weapon in their war on the enemy (non-Muslims).
British Islamists plot against Pakistan British militants are pushing for the overthrow of the Pakistani state. Followers of the fundamentalist group Hizb ut-Tahrir have called for a “bloodless military coup” in Islamabad and the creation of the caliphate in which strict Islamic laws would be rigorously enforced.
Members of the group, which describes itself as the Liberation party in Britain but is banned in Pakistan, revealed last week that it had targeted the country as a base from which to spread Islamic rule across the world.
The Sunday Times has obtained the names of a dozen British Hizb ut-Tahrir activists based in Lahore and Karachi, or commuting between Britain and Pakistan. There are believed to be many more.
Hizb ut-Tahrir America (HTA) has booked the Hilton in Oak Lawn, IL for the "Fall of Capitalism & Rise of Islam" conference According to an update on their Khilafah Conference web site HTA was forced to find another venue at which to hold their conference after the original venue, the Aqsa School in Bridgeview, Illinois canceled. The Aqsa School's business manager told a CBS News reporter that the representatives of HTA had "misrepresented themselves and the event" and the school did not "want to be in the middle of something like that."
According to the announcement on the HTA conference web site, the conference will still be held on July 19th, from 11 am to 5 pm, as originally planned.
Manitoba's mystery arms sales to Saudi Arabia 'a disgrace'
US sets new Israel meeting, presses Arabs to helpU.S. President Barack Obama's envoy will hold a second meeting in a week with Israel's defense minister, an Israeli official said on Friday, announcing talks on Monday likely to focus again on a dispute over settlements. A senior U.S. official confirmed to Reuters that Washington is asking Arab governments whether they might ease sanctions on Israel if it freezes Jewish settlement on Palestinian territory, a move that could lead to regional peace negotiations. The U.S. State Department had no immediate comment.
NYT on it:
Israel and US to Hold Second High-Profile Meeting Bahrain officials make unprecedented Israel visitBahrain -- a staunch US ally which also hosts the US Navy's Fifth fleet -- does not recognise Israel...
An official Bahrain delegation travelled to Israel on an unprecedented trip to recover a group of nationals held by the Jewish state, the state news agency reported on Friday.According to BNA, the Bahrainis were in a group of pro-Palestinian activists on a ship seized by the Israeli navy on Tuesday as it headed for the Gaza Strip in defiance of Israel's blockade of the territory.Israel handed over the Bahraini citizens at the international airport near Tel Aviv, BNA said, without saying how many people were involved.Bahrain -- a staunch US ally which also hosts the US Navy's Fifth fleet -- does not recognise Israel and reports of the trip were the first to be announced publicly.
ADL accuses Whore of the Caliphate Galloping Galloway of raising money in NJ for HamasA British parliamentarian last week concluded a tour of the United States, which included a stopover in northern New Jersey, to raise money for what he called a humanitarian mission to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
The Anti-Defamation League had written to the U.S. Department of Justice in May to urge an investigation into George Galloway’s efforts to raise money here for his Viva Palestina campaign to bring aid to Gaza.
Galloway’s speaking tour brought him to Garfield on June 21, drawing ire from local ADL officials. He continued with a handful of engagements in New York last week, culminating with a large event in Chicago Saturday night.
“The hope is the local Jewish community is going to be concerned by this type of activity in our neighborhood,” Etzion Neuer, director of the ADL’s New Jersey office, told The Jewish Standard. “One need not be an Israel-supporter to be disturbed that an open supporter of a terrorist organization is conducting fund-raising in our backyard.”
About 540 people attended Galloway’s lecture in Garfield, according to Yousef Shahin of the Passaic County chapter of American Muslims for Palestine, the sponsoring organization. Shahin told the Standard last week that Galloway spoke of his experiences in Gaza and that the crowd reacted positively.
Hamas, not Israel, is oppressing Palestinian rightsThe Palestinians in Gaza live under the rule of Hamas, recognized as a terrorist organization by governments around the world. Israel vacated Gaza in 2005. If Hamas so wished, its court system could mete out justice to the "individuals" responsible for sending thousands of rockets into Israel. But Mr. Burch simply overlooks the stated intentions of Hamas to destroy Israel (read, the Jews), not mete out individual justice, but annihilation. Did Israel build its security barriers to wall in the Gazans and "strip them of human dignity"? No, Israel is protecting her people from terrorist attacks, and the security barriers have reduced what were the frequent murders of innocent civilians to very few.
Palestinian police arrest West Bank "plotters" Hamas and the Terror EliteHamas is also unlike other terrorist organizations. In contrast to Yasir Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, whose members it has hunted down since coming to power in Gaza, Hamas does not even pretend to value nationhood for Palestinians. Its purpose has always been chillingly clear: the total annihilation of Israel and its Jewish citizens. In one of its earliest proclamations, the group bluntly declared, "Every Jew or settler is a target and must be killed."
Syria amends, does not abolish, lenient “honor killing” law
Syria mends US, Arab ties as ally Iran in turmoilAssad sent a telegram to Obama on the occasion of the July 4 Independence Day holiday, saying, "the values that were adopted by President Obama during his election campaign and after he was elected president are values that the world needs today."
"It is very important to adopt the principle of dialogue in relations with countries based on respect and mutual interest," Assad said in the telegram, which was carried by state-run news agency SANA.
Syria Reshuffles Top Security PostsGerman foreign minister lines up Mideast tourTeutonic Whores of the Caliphate Glow Ball tour 2009
New momentum....Glow Ball Peace Through Dead Jews!
Germany's foreign minister will tour the Middle East next week seeking to lend momentum to US President Barack Obama's drive to jumpstart the dormant peace process, a spokesman said Friday.Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit Israel and meet Palestinian officials in the West Bank on Monday before holding talks in Syria and Lebanon on Tuesday.
"We have had new momentum in the Middle East peace process since the new government took office in Washington and support its fresh efforts to reach a two-state solution and a return to negotiations," a ministry spokesman, Andreas Peschke, told a regular government news conference.
Palestinian Arab hate-TVThe Palestinian Authority (P.A.) exists as a mendicant. It is begging the U.S. and EU to build a television station for it to counter Hamas TV.
China Looks to Undermine U.S. Power With ‘Assassin’s Mace’Further N. Korean nuclear test possible - UK envoy
Chronology of North Korea's missile program Russia And China Urge For Calm After North Korea's Missile TestsNATURALLY!
Despite the American and European sanctions currently in place, US-based Chevron and French-based TOTAL are doing business in Myanmar today
Total (FRANCE), CNPC (CHINA) Mulling Bid For Two Venezuela Oil Blocks Jordanian-French uranium exploration "promising"Jordanian officials on Saturday said initial results from uranium exploration being carried out in a joint venture with the French nuclear company Areva in central Jordan were 'promising'. 'The results so far are promising and positive and indicate the existence of uranium ores in commercial quantities,' Khalid Touqan, the head of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) said.
Sahara gas pipeline gets go-ahead France's Total, Anglo-Dutch firm Shell, and Russia's Gazprom have all expressed an interest in investing in the scheme
$10B deal would ship gas from Africa to EuropeBP Steals a March on Competitors in Iraq CNPC Rejects Terms For Iraq W Qurna-1 Field People's World Weekly Sez:
China, not Cheney, is now big player in Iraq's oil FACTBOX:
Chinese investments in commodities, energy sectors Nigeria:
The Gov't to Meet Algeria and Niger on Gazprom DealFACTBOX:
Foreign investment in Niger SAfrica union group say they want platinum mines nationalisedThis group is connected to the uber Marxist ANC, Mandella's party.
Fighting rages in Somalia, AU may strengthen force
Obama and George W. are on the same pathSeems all of a sudden now I am not the lone loon saying this sort of thing. People in Outer Glowballistan are starting to notice it too. Big time. The longer you know me, the less nuts I will seem.
Both the left and the right were wrong. G.W. Bush proved himself to be a big government advocate who passed "No Child Left Behind" and a very expansive and costly Medicare drug option. He wanted to gently move us towards a global economy. Many liberal administrative and ex-corporate executives staffed his second term. The staff assisted him in executing a softer policy and a too-big-to-fail TARP bailout. He stated, in conjunction with President elect Obama, he had to act immediately to stave off financial collapse by suspending capitalism. He is a global internationalist who attempted to use his world, political and corporate friendships to forge a world order based on money, not on national interest. President Obama, not having these political and corporate family relationships is applying a different tactic to reach a similar goal. He is taking control of the US corporations to reorganize the United States down to the level of the rest of the world. By redistributing our assets and technology to other more underprivileged countries a more peaceful and fairer world with greater opportunities will be established for all world citizens.
We're losing our freedomsIn the Bible there is a story that perfectly illustrates what we in America are doing. It is the story of how Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. How screwed up are we if we trade our birthright of freedom for a bowl of whatever the government will be serving up. -- Tom Steele
County native: Honduran revolt restored orderCNN has covered the situation only from the standpoint of ex-President Zelaya. Unfortunately, this has been the focus of most of the news services until now. But the real information that is beginning to come out is different from what the world has been fed until now.
What has happened is a new paradigm for the world as an army has disposed a constitutionally elected president in order to restore a democratic system of government but not to break a democratic system, which was characteristic of military actions in the past.
This case cannot be catalogued as a “coup de etat” as it does not represent two important elements of such an action: One is the taking of power by the military and the other is the breaking of a democratic form of government.
The action taken by the armed forces was based on a judicial order given to them to follow and the purpose was to re-establish the Rule of Law, which was being consistently violated by the president of the country, who did not respect the decisions and orders of the two other powers in the government – the Supreme Court and the Congress (the checks and balances).
After the intervention of the armed forces in removing Zelaya, the Constitutional Order was followed as the succession to power has been fully respected as described in the Constitution with the naming of a new constitutional president who has been sworn in and confirmed.
(Looking at) this action from a political science point of view: Honduras has set a precedent, which will be studied by universities, diplomats and politicians around the world.
Chavez to "buy" 60 percent of Banco de VenezuelaIn this way, the government of President Hugo Chávez, who announced the nationalization of the bank 11 months ago, will own 96 percent of the shares of Banco de Venezuela.
Additionally, the government will become the most powerful single actor in the Venezuelan financial system, with 25 percent of the bank sector.
Oil firms forming Venezuela Carabobo consortiums A partnership between state-run China National Petroleum Corp and France's Total (TOTF.PA) is on the table along with another between CNPC and refiner Sinopec Corp (0386.HK) also being discussed. Chevron (CVX.N) is evaluating working with a Venezuelan company, which limits its options to Suelopetrol, the only Venezuelan company registered in the pre-bidding process. Another partnership in the works is between Colombia's Ecopetrol ECO.CN, Malaysia's Petronas and Spain's Repsol (REP.MC), with Portugal's Galp Energy (GALP.LS), Brazil's Petrobras (PETR4.SA) and Norway's Statoil (STL.OL).
Bolivia points to energy, rail nationalisationUK:
Railway turmoil as line is nationalisedWhen citizens do this they call this racketeering.
Its emergency intervention followed an announcement by National Express that it could no longer afford £1.4bn premium payments due over eight years to the Department for Transport, because of falling passenger growth, potentially leaving taxpayers to shoulder the £20m cost of the downturn on the London to Scotland route.
Resolution on Stalin riles RussiaRussian delegates have walked out of an OSCE session in Vilnius after it voted for a remembrance day for the victims of both Nazism and Stalinism.
Obama appeals to skeptical RussiansBarack Obama dolls have hit Moscow shelves and a bar is handing out half-price cocktails to anyone who says the magic words "Yes we can" in anticipation of the American president's arrival here Monday for a summit."Obama has a wonderful smile, a face showing his self-confidence and clarity of mind," says Tatyana Verkhova, who has reproduced Obama's megawatt grin on a growing army of wooden Matryoshka nesting dolls.
Russia Opens Route for US to Fly Arms to AfghanistanBad Vlad does zero for free and without an agenda.
What seems good to many is very, very bad.
Obama hopes for nuclear arms breakthrough with RussiaSHOOT MAH HOPIUM!
Obama's visit to Russia a testIsn't everything?
Despite U.S. pressure, Russia has not yielded in its continuing confrontation with Georgia a year after their brief war. So Obama's first visit as president will be a test of his foreign policy. U.S. officials said the larger message is that if the Russians do not take his open hand, he will move on to other priorities.
Russia Seeks to Link US Missile Shield, Arms CutsWe will leave Europe naked, bound & splayed spread eagled, awaiting the inevitable Muscovite ravishing.
Russia Calls for Compromise on US Missile Defense PlansBend Over, Obamanable Bushman. You know you want to.
~ Bad Vlad
Russian Foreign Minister Sees 'Improvement' in US-Russian Relations Putin responds to Obama's criticismState news agencies quote him saying that Russians don't know how to stand so awkwardly with their legs apart. Instead, Putin says they "stand solidly on their own two feet and always look into the future."
Putin puts Russia in the driver's seatIt was 2006 and Russia was flush with petro-dollars, pride and industrial ambition. Vladimir Putin, then president, now Prime Minister, picked a high-profile investment to showcase his country's resurgence – Airbus owner EADS, the world's biggest aerospace company. Big mistake.
When the Germans and the French learned that Russia, through state-controlled VTB Bank, had snapped up 5 per cent of EADS and wanted more, they vibrated with fear. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's then-president Jacques Chirac told Russia that EADS, a strategically sensitive company, didn't need a Russian partner.
Mr. Putin seemed shocked by the Franco-German response.
After meetings with Ms. Merkel and other German officials, he said in a speech in Bavaria: “Where does the hysteria come from? European legislators have to get used to the fact that this is not the Red Army coming, but Russian businesses with money to invest.”
Scroll forward three years. Germany's recession is the deepest among the European Union's economic heavyweights. Businesses everywhere are failing or being bailed out. One big victim is Opel, the German division of bankrupt General Motors. Opel needs a rescue, and guess who is invited to do the rescuing?
Roll out the red carpet for … Mr. Putin.
Khodorkovsky must confess for pardon: MedvedevVee have so many glorious veys of mekink pipple confess, comrades so I advise you be nice and do not make us to have to show to you these many veys.
Putin's 'siloviki' move to resume commandPutin and his siloviki (political allies whose power base is in the security apparatus) seem to prefer an "inertia strategy" — the worst of the Russia 2020 scenarios. This strategy amounts to state capitalism, living on Russia's energy wealth and doing nothing to curtail Russia's massive red tape and corruption. By reversing course on the WTO, Putin has again shown himself to be Russia's master. He did the same thing last summer by lashing out against a successful mining and metallurgical company, Mechel, and provoking the war in Georgia.
Mikheil Saakashvili: Georgia on his mind, Moscow on his backRussia Gazprom plans $2 bln Eurobond in two tranches
Nabucco deal to be signed in AnkaraHA HA HA. Now you see it, now you don't!
Go ahead, sign. POOF!
~ Bad Vlad
Kyrgyzstan ranks 166th of world's most corrupt statesKyrgyzstan's corruption ranks 166 th among 180 most corrupt countries of the world
Tackling corruption will "cost Kyrgyzstan great efforts"
Boston Globe:
A good deal in KyrgyzstanNOBODY is disappointed. Mmmhmmm! REPENT!
NOBODY is disappointed, and all sides get what they need. That definition of a good deal fits the recent agreement to renew the US leasing of an air base in Kyrgyzstan that serves as a key transport hub for troops and equipment going to Afghanistan.
Kyrgyzstan will receive $60 million a year, three times the previous rent, and the US military will retain a convenient way station for supplies and air-refueling operations. But beyond its logistical value, the base deal also says something encouraging about President Obama’s plan to “reset’’ US-Russian relations. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin may want to reciprocate.
NYT: Russia’s Neighbors Resist Wooing and Bullying This was supposed to be Russia’s round in the battle over its backyard. All year, despite its own economic spasms, Moscow has earmarked great chunks of cash for its impoverished post-Soviet neighbors, seeking to lock in their loyalty over the long term and curtail Western influence in the region.
But the neighbors seem to have other ideas. Belarus — which was promised $2 billion in Russian aid — is in open rebellion against the Kremlin, flaunting its preference for Europe while also collecting money from the International Monetary Fund. Uzbekistan joined Belarus in refusing to sign an agreement on the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces, an idea Moscow sees as an eventual counterweight to NATO. There are other examples, like Turkmenistan’s May signing of a gas exploration deal with a German company, and Armenia’s awarding of a major national honor to Moscow’s nemesis, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia.
But the biggest came last week when Kyrgyzstan — set to receive $2.15 billion in Russian aid — reversed a decision that had been seen as a coup for Moscow, last winter’s order terminating the American military’s use of the Manas Air Base there. “A game of chance has developed in the post-Soviet space: Who can swindle the Kremlin in the coolest way?” wrote the military analyst Aleksandr Golts, when news of the Manas decision broke. “Such a brilliant result of Russia’s four-year diplomatic efforts!”
Living in Tajikistan
Turkmenistan, EU Hold Human Rights Talks In BrusselsGabriela Dlouha, the director of Human Rights and Transition Policy at the Czech Foreign Ministry, told RFE/RL's Turkmen Service that discussions this week focused on the functioning of a civil society, press freedom, and freedom of expression, religion, movement, association, and assembly.
Other topics included prison conditions, torture, and judiciary reform.
Dlouha, who headed the Czech delegation, said the EU gave the Turkmen officials a list of specific cases -- including political prisoners -- that the bloc would like the Turkmen government to resolve.
The power of dictator-litTurkmenistan's Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov is only the latest despot to commandeer the printed page...
Among his many claims to fame, Saparmurat Niyazov, aka Turkmenbashi, the demented and now deceased dictator of Turkmenistan, was celebrated for his Ruhnama or "book of the soul", two volumes of disjointed historical, biographical and cod-philosophical ramblings which he forced his subjects to study at educational establishments and in the workplace. Ultimately this masterpiece/confection of platitudinous banalities was translated into 41 languages including Zulu, and even launched into space so that aliens could enjoy it.
The literary efforts of his successor Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, however, have achieved far less attention – until now. The dissident website Chronicles of Turkmenistan reported this week that the president has just scored his first foreign book deal and that his masterpiece: Akhaltekke: Our Pride and Glory is about to appear in the international language of … er … Ukrainian.
In fact this is not Berdymukhamedov's first book. In May 2007, mere months after assuming power, he published Scientific Fundamentals of the Development of Public Health in Turkmenistan (Berdymukhamedov trained as a dentist). And who can forget the classic To New Heights of Progress: Selected Works – or Speech of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov at the Extended Sitting of the Cabinet of Ministers? However, these tomes reached a local audience only; unlike his predecessor, Berdymukhamedov has had to struggle for global success.
Major Gas Field Discovered in Eastern TurkmenistanTurkmenistan:
Sarkozy invites Gurbanguly to Paris
Turkmenistan/FranceThe central Asian country of Turkmenistan is to build a rival to Paris's Eiffel Tower, according to the chief architect of the capital, Ashgabat. The plan is the latest in a series of projects announced for the city.
Uzbekistan to exceed own records of grain harvestRemember this when they say there is a worldwide grain shortage. Because they will say it.
Gunmen kill nine Chechen police in Russia's Ingushetia
India Joins Russia, China in Questioning US Dollar DominanceHot Money bringing down US banks -- and IcelandBanks that are not deemed too big to fail are failing fast -- the FDIC has overseen 52 failures so far this year. And one of the biggest causes of these failures is what's called Hot Money -- high rate deposits gathered by brokers from around the country (if not the world). The 79 U.S, bank failures in the last two years had four times the brokered deposits of the average bank -- and 33 percent of the failed banks had high brokered deposits and extremely fast growth.
Why does Hot Money cause bank failures? Those deposits pay rates of return that are around 20 percent higher than the average so huge amounts of money flow to the highest paying banks -- and when those banks get in trouble and can't keep up, the money flows out of them just as fast. But the rapid growth in deposits leads banks to apply Say's Law -- the economic notion that supply creates its own demand.
SNIP
Hot Money is a problem around the world. Last October it helped bring down the banking system of an entire country -- Iceland (population 300,000) -- by attracting huge amounts of British and other foreign deposits to its largest banks by paying higher interest rates on deposits.
L'economista mascherato:
How Goldman Sachs and Citi Run the ShowTIME on it now:
Goldman Sachs vs. Rolling Stone: A Wall Street Smackdown Goldman Sachs bankers in line for record bonusesGoldman Sachs Bank Appoints 3 Independent Directors To Its Board General Motors may be forced to liquidateOur Name is called Obamanable Bushman. Render unto Seizer what is Seizer's, and no one gets hurt.
Pope urges G8 leaders to act on crisis Pope's new encyclical asks us to re-examine foundation of the economyTold yez.
INSIDE WASHINGTON: Items missing from ArchivesNational Archives visitors know they'll find the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights in the main building's magnificent rotunda in Washington. But they won't find the patent file for the Wright Brothers' Flying Machine or the maps for the first atomic bomb missions anywhere in the Archives inventory.Many historical items the Archives once possessed are missing, including:
_Civil War telegrams from Abraham Lincoln.
_Original signatures of Andrew Jackson.
_Presidential portraits of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
_NASA photographs from space and on the moon.
_Presidential pardons.
US government Internet traffic to be screened The Obama administration is planning to use the National Security Agency to screen Internet traffic between government agencies and the private sector, the Washington Post reported Friday. The project was first initiated by the previous administration of president George W. Bush and was due to be set in motion in February.
EINSTEIN III:The Obama administration is moving cautiously on a new pilot program that would both detect and stop cyber attacks against government computers, while trying to ensure citizen privacy protections.The pilot program, known as Einstein 3, was supposed to launch in February. But the Department of Homeland Security is still pulling the plan together, according to senior administration officials.
Einstein 3 has triggered debate and privacy concerns because the program will use National Security Agency technology, which is already being employed on military networks.
Any involvement of the NSA — the agency oversees electronic intelligence-gathering — in protecting domestic computer networks worries privacy and civil liberties groups who oppose giving such control to U.S. spy agencies.
Officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the program is still being finalized, said that while the technology will come from the NSA, the program will be managed and run by the Department of Homeland Security. The monitoring would be limited to government systems and any Internet traffic moving in and out of them.
Does Einstein 3 threaten citizen privacy?Police settle kiddie strip search lawsuit for $70K The US homeland security chief is in Pakistan, meeting with officialsNapolitano said U.S. officials were working on several issues with Pakistani officials, including ways to monitor who is traveling from Pakistan to the United States, as well as the protection of Pakistan's own borders.
Homeland Security funds come to Maine
Algerian Singer Sentenced to Jail in FranceAlgerian singer Cheb Mami was sentenced to five years in jail for abducting a former lover and trying to force her to have an abortion
Obama on pope, bishops, prayers on his BlackberryPope & Big O be BFF, Homeys!
Duke's homosexual baby rape case elicits silence A professor of criminology at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington says the outrage over a homosexual statutory rape case at Duke University is a deafening sound of silence.
Frank Lombard, associate director of Duke University’s Center for Health Policy, has been accused of molesting his adopted five-year-old African-American son and offering him up for sex with strangers on the Internet. Lombard’s homosexual partner, who resides in the same house with Lombard, was allegedly unaware of the activities.
Mike Adams is a professor at UNC-Wilmington and has written several pieces on the case. “The conduct that he was accused of engaging in, in front of a webcam with his five-year-old son, includes molestation,” Adams explains. “There was oral sex that was involved, and other very unhealthy practices that are too grotesque for me to describe….”
Is Frank Lombard's religion relevant?Here's a better question: Who exactly is Frank Lombard's GOD? Cause it ain't Adonai Elohim.
As it turns out, Lombard was -- until just a few days ago -- a veteran member of the vestry at the Episcopal Church of the Advocate in Chapel Hill, N.C., a progressive, activist congregation on gay issues that has been actively scrubbing most signs of his existence from its website [Note: the church appears to have restored Lombard's name to its website, now listing him as "inactive" on the vestry -- RD] . For those not familiar with Episcopal polity, the vestry is the church's controlling board. Being on the vestry is similar to being on the parish council, in a Catholic or Orthodox context, or on the board of deacons, in a Baptist context.
Now, here's the journalistic question that we will discuss: Do you think that journalists would be interested if you had a similar criminal case and the accused was a deacon or board member in an evangelical or Catholic congregation that takes strong stands on these kinds of hot-button social issues?
If this kind of sexy story broke in the mainstream press, would this deacon be called a "devout" Southern Baptist or a "devout," "practicing" Roman Catholic? I would imagine so.
If so, should Lombard be called a "devout" Episcopalian?
LONDON:
Change and repent, Bishop tells gaysAnd for this they will destroy him.
A senior Church of England bishop has called on homosexuals to repent and "be changed" in comments that have infuriated equality campaigners. The Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, has defended traditional biblical teachings on homosexuality and said the Church should not be "rolled over by culture".
Dr Nazir-Ali spoke as tens of thousands of people, including Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, joined the annual Pride London march to celebrate homosexual culture. A war of words broke out between Labour and the Conservatives over the issue of homosexuality last week after a minister accused the Tories of having a "deep strain of homophobia" running through the party. The bishop's controversial comments will reignite the battle over homosexuality in the Church of England ahead of what promises to be a divisive week for Anglicanism.
Tomorrow, a new coalition of evangelical and Anglo-Catholic parishes, backed by Dr Nazir-Ali, will get under way, which critics have claimed is an attempt to create a "church within the church".
The organisers said The Queen, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, had sent a message to the leaders of the movement saying she understood their concerns about the future of the Anglican Communion. Next weekend the General Synod of the Church of England is meeting at York University. The following week, the Episcopal Church in America is expected to endorse liturgies for single sex marriage and allow more homosexuals to be made bishops.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Dr Nazir-Ali said: "We want to uphold the traditional teaching of the Bible. We believe that God has revealed his purpose about how we are made.
NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY SEZ:
Camp Quest under attackCamp Quest coming to FloridaCamp Quest is coming to Florida for the first time ever this year. It is being put on by Florida Atheists and Secular Humanists (FLASH) in conjunction with Center for Inquiry (CFI) and The Humanists of Florida.
The camp is geared toward children of atheists, freethinkers, and the like. It offers an alternative to other camps that have an underlying (or overtly) religious theme. According to the Web site, "The purpose of Camp Quest is to provide children of freethinking parents a residential summer camp dedicated to improving the human condition through rational inquiry, critical thinking and creativity, scientific method, self-respect, ethics, competency, democracy, free speech, and the separation of religion and government guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States." (Granted the Florida event will not be taking place in the summer.) The Florida event is being referred to as "a winter secular humanist camp for kids."
THE NATION:
Rediscovering Secular AmericaOur ROOTS as a "secular nation"? Jewsus save me.
This Fourth of July, those who identify themselves as non-believers, or humanists, or atheists -- or a whole host of other names which signify a nontheistic worldview -- have much cause for celebration. After eight years in the Bush wilderness -- and an even longer period of ostracism by the Washington political establishment -- a rising demographic of like-minded Americans and a new president are guiding us back to our roots as a secular nation.
How Dawkins Rewrote Darwin's LegacyAs a rational pro-science atheist and specialist in the history and communication of evolutionary theory, Fern Elsdon-Baker has the academic tools and the intellectual daring to disassemble the Dawkins myth and method that has monopolised the popular understanding of evolutionary development for the latter half of the twentieth century. Richard Dawkins, she argues, was the typical "Enlightenment Gent," an outdated and uncompromising figurehead that wielded the broad sword of popular Science in a violent attempt to silence any evolutionary narrative that wasn't his own.
2009 marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's seminal work, On The Origin of the Species, as well as the bicentenary of Darwin's birth. So what better gift to the founder of evolution than reclaiming his groundbreaking theories from the dangerously totalitarian science of Dawkins' populist
hypotheses. Just as The Selfish Gene attempted to tie up the evolutionary debate once and for all, THE SELFISH GENIUS seeks to re-inject inquiry and current research back into the debate, to separate Darwin from Dawkins and in doing so, re-open both public and scientific conversations about where we come from and where we are heading.
Barack Obama For President - 2012Message from David Plouffe: "It's a go"
Pentagon Denies Flyover of Patriotic 'God and Country Rally' in Nampa Idaho Because of its Christian Content40-year resident of San Jose faces deportation to IsraelIt's not paranoia if they really do want to kill you. Dude was originally incarcerated for charges related to the Holy Leaf.
Diagnosed with a "chronic psychotic paranoid disorder,'' he is about to be deported and put on a plane to his native Israel...
SNIP
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has kept Nijmeh in custody since April 2006, when he tested positive for marijuana while on probation.Virginia Kice, an ICE spokeswoman, said Nijmeh has a lengthy criminal history dating back more than two decades, "including convictions for crimes of violence."
Looters attack Libyan ruins5.0 magnitude shakes central Colombia
Strong earthquake rattles Panama Earthquakes hit West Sumatra and N. Sulawesi
California Earthquake Rocks The Gulf Area Northern Mexico hit by 6.0-magnitude earthquake
Glaciers cause quakes in Iceland Faults And Earthquakes In China Monitored From Space Phivolcs heightens watch of restive Mayon Volcano
Walk circumspectly,
not as fools but as wise,
redeeming the time,
because the days are evil.
~ Ephesians 5:15-16
Germany's FM in Israel eyes 'fresh start'
Saudis would ignore Israeli jets en route to Iran
UK Warns of 'Consequences' as Iran Charges Embassy Employee
Autonomy and the Assyrians of Iraq
The White House bills Obama's graduation address as the third of four the president will have given this year on his vision of a new world order
Turkmen President to pay official visit to Turkey
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dhimmitude
N.Korean ship sails home after being tracked by US 
Violent Clashes in Honduras as Ex-President’s Return Blocked
Bankruptcy judge OKs sale of GM's assets
DHS takes step forward on interoperability
D.C. Councilman Marion Barry charged with stalking
Le Pen's daughter scents victory for resurgent far right
Low-intensity quake sends tremors through parts of Pakistan
