Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Major Hasan's E-Mail To Islamist Cleric: "I Can't Wait To Join You" In Afterlife
ABC News reports that "United States Army Major Nidal Hasan told a radical cleric considered by authorities to be an al-Qaeda recruiter, 'I can't wait to join you' in the afterlife, according to an American official with top secret access to 18 e-mails exchanged between Hasan and the cleric, Anwar al Awlaki, over a six month period between Dec. 2008 and June 2009. 'It sounds like code words,' said Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, a military analyst at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies. 'That he's actually either offering himself up or that he's already crossed that line in his own mind.' Other messages include questions, the official with access to the e-mails said, that include when is jihad appropriate, and whether it is permissible if there are innocents killed in a suicide attack." Tweet
Joe Lieberman Slams Public Option
Politico reports that "Sen. Joe Lieberman’s threat to filibuster any health care bill with a public option could kill health reform this year — and embolden Democratic challengers who’d like to send him packing in 2012. But Lieberman doesn’t seem worried. 'I don’t think about that stuff,' Lieberman told POLITICO this week. 'I’m just — I’m being a legislator. After what I went through in 2006, there’s nothing much more that anybody [who] disagrees with me can try to do.' Lieberman left the Democratic Party in 2006 after liberal Ned Lamont beat him in Connecticut’s Democratic Senate primary. Lieberman defeated Lamont in the general election and returned to Washington as an independent, where he continues to caucus with Democrats — even though he accuses them of engaging in a bit of bait and switch when it comes to the public option. 'It’s classic politics of our time that if you look at the campaign last year, presidential, you can’t find a mention of public option,' Lieberman said. 'It was added after the election as a part of what we normally consider health insurance reform — insurance market reforms, cover people, cover people who are not covered.'" Tweet
Thursday, November 19, 2009
East Jerusalem Jewish Residents: "Arab Rock-Throwing A Daily Problem"
The Jerusalem Post reports that while the unrest that plagued Jerusalem in October seems "to have all but died out, residents of Ma'aleh Zeitim, a large bloc of apartments next to the Mount of Olives Cemetery in east Jerusalem, say that in their neighborhood, Jewish-owned vehicles are being stoned almost daily. While the area was eventually brought under control, Ma'aleh Zeitim residents pointed to the Succot rioting as the beginning of an upswing in rock-throwing incidents, which, they added, were not commonplace beforehand and have not ebbed since. 'Just yesterday my neighbor's car was hit with a rock while she was driving by the neighborhood square,' said Shabach, a Ma'aleh Zeitim resident who spoke to The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. 'My car was hit recently as well, when I was driving by the Mount of Olives [Cemetery],' he added. 'It's really happening a lot. We're hearing about rock-throwing more and more often.' Shabach added that while he felt police weren't being idle, there was only so much they could do. 'A lot of the people throwing rocks are little kids," he said. "And it's hard to stop them.' Other residents echoed Shabach's statements, telling the Post that they had personally experienced the rock-throwing in recent weeks and believed it was a growing problem. 'It happens multiple times a day,' said another Ma'aleh Zeitim resident, who asked to remain unnamed. 'They're targeting private cars, Egged buses and private transport vans that are usually taking kids to and from school.' 'It's not just kids,' he added. 'There are adults taking part in the rock-throwing as well.' 'The atmosphere in the neighborhood has changed,' he continued. 'People used to be friendlier, and something has changed.' The resident said that while the rock-throwing was taking place on a regular basis, he also claimed that police were dissuading residents from filing complaints about the violence. 'You go down to the station and they tell you to come back [later],' he said. 'It should be that when you go to the police to file a complaint, they file a complaint.'"
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Obama Tells Troops In South Korea: "You Guys Make A Pretty Good Photo Op"
Is this Obama's version of respecting the troops?
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Senators Pushing Back Against Obama's Effort To Stall Congressional Investigations Into Fort Hood Massacre
The Washington Post reports that a "bipartisan group of senators began a concerted push Wednesday to get more cooperation from the Obama administration in its reviews of the Fort Hood shootings, which left 13 dead and a raft of questions about information-sharing among intelligence agencies. In addition to the public hearings that Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) is set to begin Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) demanded Wednesday that his panel receive the results of a White House review of agency investigations of suspect Nidal M. Hasan's communications with a radical Muslim cleric who has ties to al-Qaeda... Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is leading the investigation with Lieberman, said information-sharing is the most troubling issue that must be addressed... Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. continued the administration's push to slow the pace of congressional investigations, telling Leahy's panel Wednesday that the first order of business is gathering facts about the case and then working on legislative fixes. 'Once we have a handle on that, I think that we can propose and work with this committee on ways in which we can prevent such a tragedy from occurring again,' Holder said. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, was unmollified, telling the attorney general: 'The FBI did not pursue an investigation of [Hasan] because they concluded that the e-mails were consistent with his research at Walter Reed, and no contact was made with the Department of Defense. I understand that a thorough investigation will take time to complete, but we need to protect our troops now.'" Tweet
Senator Joe Lieberman To Go Ahead With Investigation Of Government Failures That Led To Fort Hood Massacre Despite Obama Objection
Rueters reports that two "U.S. senators vowed on Wednesday not to interfere with a criminal probe of the Fort Hood shootings but said they must move ahead with their own hearing into the rampage. Joe Lieberman, an independent who heads the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and the panel's top Republican, Susan Collins, want to know if the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies missed warning signs. The two said they also wanted to determine if authorities shared relevant information before shots rang out at the Army base in Texas on November 5, leaving 13 dead, dozens wounded and an Army major, Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim born in the United States to immigrant parents, charged with the massacre."
Lieberman says he supports investigation outside of Congress, that he looks forward to their outcomes, and has "no intention of interfering with them."
"But that does not mean that the rest of us, including the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, can just sit back and watch," Lieberman said. The senator said his committee had a responsibility "to determine whether the federal government could have prevented the murders at Fort Hood."
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
L.A. Pushes To Get Repaid For Michael Jackson Funeral Costs
The AP reports that Los Angeles city attorney Carmen Trutanich "says he's still seeking reimbursement of the $3 million the city spent for the Michael Jackson memorial — even though a report says there was no law at the time forcing a payback. The City Council's Public Safety Committee on Monday will review the report that shows Los Angeles spent $3.2 million on the July memorial at Staples Center, including $2 million in police overtime. It also says the memorial gave the local economy a $4 million boost. The report says there was no ordinance in place in July that required Staples owner AEG to reimburse the city. However, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich (troo-TAN'-ich) is still pursuing reimbursement. Jackson died June 25 in a rented Los Angeles mansion." Tweet
Fake News Alert: "Area Man Passionate Defender Of What He Imagines Constitution To Be"
To read this Onion News story for yourself visit http://www.theonion.com/content/news/area_man_passionate_defender_of. Tweet
Obama's Recovery Board Chairman: We Can’t Certify Jobs Data At Recovery.gov
ABC News reports that the "chairman of the Obama administration’s Recovery Board is telling lawmakers that he can’t certify jobs data posted at the Recovery.gov Web site -- and doesn’t have access to a “master list” of stimulus recipients that have neglected to report data. Earl Devaney, the chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, responded to questions posed by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., late yesterday to say the board can’t vouch for the numbers submitted by recipients of stimulus funding. 'Your letter specifically asks if I am able to certify that the number of jobs reported as created/saved on Recovery.gov is accurate and auditable. No, I am not able to make this certification,' Devaney wrote, in a letter provided to ABC News." Tweet
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Another Five Sentenced To Death In Iran For Election Protests
The AP reports that "Iran has sentenced five people to death over the unrest that followed the country's disputed June presidential election, state television reported Tuesday. At least three others caught up in the turmoil have received death sentences previously. Iran began a mass trial in August of prominent opposition figures and activists, accusing them of a range of charges from rioting to spying and plotting what authorities have called a "soft revolution" to topple the country's Islamic rulers. The opposition led massive street protests and clashed with security forces in the weeks following the disputed June 12 presidential election. The opposition claimed fraud after election authorities declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of a second term and their anger unleashed the most serious internal unrest in Iran in the 30 years since the Islamic Revolution." Tweet
Disbarred Lawyer Lynne Stewart's Conviction Upheld For Smuggling Messages To Jailed Islamic Terrorist
The NY Daily News reports that disbarred "radical lawyer Lynne Stewart is going to jail - maybe for a lot longer than she thought. A federal appeals court Tuesday upheld her conviction for smuggling messages to her jailed terrorist client, and said she deserves more than the 28 months she got because she may have lied at her trial. Stewart, 70, is to surrender to U.S. Marshals immediately. The Brooklyn resident has been free on bail since 2006."
Andy McCarthy, who prosecuted Omar Abdul Rahman (aka "the Blind Sheikh") and faced off against Stewart in the courtroom, explains the issue of sentencing here: http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YTMyOGQzNmRjM2EzZDBmMTE3ZjZiYjYwYmFlNGFlMDI.
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US And EU Against Palestinian State If PA Unilaterally Seeks Statehood
The VOA reports that "the European Union has followed the United States in saying it is not ready to recognize Palestinian statehood, after Palestinian leaders declared they would seek that status at the United Nations. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt of Sweden, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, said the time is not right for recognizing a Palestinian state. 'I do not think we are there yet,' he said. 'I would hope that we would be in a position to recognize a Palestinian state, but there has to be one first. So I think that is somewhat premature. We have said previously if you go back to what the European Union has said that we would be in a position to recognize a Palestinian state, but the conditions are not there as of yet.'" Tweet
Slate's Jacob Weisberg: "Obama's Muslim Problem: Has He Been Too conciliatory?"
Jacob Weisberg writes that Obama's "words at Fort Hood, while comforting, do not really come to grips with the problem. America does not face a threat from the perversion of faith in general. We face a threat from the perversion of one faith in particular. The president needs to dip into his reservoir of good will to remind mainstream Muslims of their special responsibility. If militant Islamism is a distortion of their moderate beliefs, only their beliefs can defeat it."
To read the full article visit http://www.slate.com/id/2235476/.
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Stimulus Jobs "Saved Or Created" In Congressional Districts That Don't Exist
ABC News reports that there's "a stimulus success story: In Arizona's 15th congressional district, 30 jobs have been saved or created with just $761,420 in federal stimulus spending. At least that's what the Web site set up by the Obama administration to track the $787 billion stimulus says. There's one problem, though: There is no 15th congressional district in Arizona; the state has only eight districts. And ABC News has found many more entries for projects like this in places that are incorrectly identified." Tweet
New York's Democrat Governor Rips Obama For Bringing KSM To NYC For Trial With Protections Afforded To Ordinary American Defendants
CBS reports that "Gov. David Paterson openly criticized the White House on Monday, saying he thought it was a terrible idea to move alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists to New York for trial. ]This is not a decision that I would have made. I think terrorism isn't just attack, it's anxiety and I think you feel the anxiety and frustration of New Yorkers who took the bullet for the rest of the country,' he said. Paterson's comments break with Democrats, who generally support the President's decision. 'Our country was attacked on its own soil on September 11, 2001 and New York was very much the epicenter of that attack. Over 2,700 lives were lost,' he said. 'It's very painful. We're still having trouble getting over it. We still have been unable to rebuild that site and having those terrorists so close to the attack is gonna be an encumbrance on all New Yorkers.' Paterson also said that the White House warned him six months ago this very situation would happen. He said while he disagrees with the decision, he will do everything in his power to make sure that the state's Department of Homeland Security will keep New Yorkers as safe as possible." Tweet
Fatah Official Nabil Sha'ath Calls For "Armed Struggle" Against Israel
IsraelINN.com reports that a "senior official of Fatah, the ruling faction of the Palestinian Authority, has openly called for a return to an 'armed struggle' against Israel to establish a new Arab state within Israel’s current borders. He stated that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) approved an 'armed struggle' in a meeting this past August. Nabil Sha'ath, who was the PA’s first foreign minister when the late PLO chief Yasser Arafat was in power, told an Arabic-language newspaper, 'We tried for 18 years through negotiations despite Israel’s aggressiveness against us and attempts to destroy our rights,' he asserted." Tweet
Monday, November 16, 2009
IAEA Worried About Syrian Nuclear Sites
The Jerusalem Post reports that the "International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has demanded an urgent and immediate visit to suspected nuclear sites in Syria, Channel 10 cited foreign media reports on Monday night. According to the report, IAEA inspectors discovered enriched uranium in three sites besides Dir Azur, where IAF jets destroyed an alleged reactor in September 2007. These findings have led that UN nuclear watchdog to suspect that Syria has uranium stockpiles. The main cause for suspicion was the discovery of nuclear material traces near a small research nuclear reactor outside Damascus, the TV channel reported. When the evidence was presented to the Syrians, they failed to provide convincing explanations, senior IAEA officials were quoted as saying." Tweet
IAEA: Iran May Be Hiding More Facilities
The Jerusalem Post reports that the "International Atomic Energy Agency has raised concern about possible further secret nuclear sites in Iran, beyond the enrichment site at Qom that was revealed nearly two months ago, Reuters reported, quoting an IAEA report the news agency obtained Monday. According to the document, Iran told the IAEA it had begun building the site at Qom, called Fordo, in 2007 - but the IAEA, the United Nations' global nuclear proliferation watchdog, had evidence the project had begun in 2002, paused in 2004 and resumed in 2006. The report said Iran had provided full access to IAEA inspectors on their first visit to the Qom site three weeks ago, but had yet to provide full, credible answers to verify that the plant was only for civilian purposes. 'The agency has indicated [to Iran] that its declaration of the new facility reduces the level of confidence in the absence of other nuclear facilities under construction and gives rise to questions about whether there were any other nuclear facilities not declared to the agency. Moreover, Iran's delay in submitting such information to the agency does not contribute to the building of confidence,' The report states. The IAEA also said Teheran had yet to give answers about the site's chronology and purpose. The report also said that Iranian technicians have moved highly sophisticated technical equipment into the previously secret uranium enrichment site in preparation for starting it up in 2011." Tweet
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Obama Urges Congress To Put Off Probe Into Fort Hood Massacre
The AP reports that "President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Congress to hold off on any investigation of the Fort Hood rampage until federal law enforcement and military authorities have completed their probes into the shootings at the Texas Army post, which left 13 people dead. On an eight-day Asia trip, Obama turned his attention home and pleaded for lawmakers to 'resist the temptation to turn this tragic event into the political theater.' He said those who died on the nation's largest Army post deserve justice, not political stagecraft."
I completely disagree. The American people have a right to have their representatives in appropriate committees in the House and Senate investigate this act of terror immediately so that we can learn how such a security risk was allowed to remain a major in the U.S. army, and so that we can urge our government to take all steps to make sure it never happens again. For example, Senator Joe Lieberman heads the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and if this is not under his purview and deserving of immediate investigation than I do not what it is. Furthermore, it was federal law enforcement that completely failed to keep America safe and missed all the "red flags" concerning Nadil Malik Hasan. To wait for the FBI or Defense Department, the government agencies that failed us, to write up a possibly self-serving report, rather than allow members of Congress who had no hand in missing the "warning signs" gather the information, is ridiculous. Finally, a little "political theater" would actually be useful because it would mean that many Americans would actually be able to see the investigations as they take place and learn what went wrong. It is a way to get the attention of the American people and let them know that government is looking into how and why those killings came to be with all the seriousness that it the issue deserves.
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