Thursday, December 8, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Hit With 14 Years In Federal Slammer
Blagojevich with a 14-year sentence: Disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison after making a final plea for leniency, acknowledging his guilt and saying, “I am unbelievably sorry.” “I believe he did, in fact, accept [responsibility],” U.S. District Judge James Zagel said in announcing how long Blagojevich should spend in prison after being convicted of 18 corruption charges that included attempting to sell or trade an appointment to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the election of President Barack Obama.
I will say that I do have some problems with the case against him. First, why were portions of the tapes declared off limits? Blago's lawyers have long wanted, including as of last week, all the tapes in totality released, the prosecutor and the judge won't allow it. What's up with that? See http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Blagojevich-Blago-Attorneys-Tapes-134487403.html as an example. I'm surprised Blago's defense that he was not trying to sell the Obama Senate seat, but rather get political exchanges such as commitments regarding passing certain legislation in exchange for his appointment, didn't go anywhere in court. I've only heard a few snippets of audio that the prosecutor released, but it would seem that defense might be plausible, especially when it's the Blago side that wants the tapes released in full and some of his allegedly most incriminating statements can be read in that light.
I also have suspicions about the special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald being a grandstanding press conference holding political witch-hunting hack, because after all he is the same guy that after years could only put Scooter Libby away (though his sentence was commuted) for having a different story than Tim Russert, but could nail no one on any underlying crime in the Valerie Plame affair. It was known, and it has been admitted, that dovish Undersecretary of State Richard Armitage was the first to release Plame's name, Fitzgerald knew this and instead kept his case in the media where there was constant talk of indicting Dick Cheney or Karl Rove which of course never happened. No charges were ever brought against Armitage.
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ATF Officials Discussed Using Fast & Furious To Push Gun Control
TweetATF officials didn’t intend to publicly disclose their own role in letting Mexican cartels obtain the weapons, but emails show they discussed using the sales, including sales encouraged by ATF, to justify a new gun regulation called “Demand Letter 3″. That would require some U.S. gun shops to report the sale of multiple rifles or “long guns.” Demand Letter 3 was so named because it would be the third ATF program demanding gun dealers report tracing information.
On July 14, 2010 after ATF headquarters in Washington D.C. received an update on Fast and Furious, ATF Field Ops Assistant Director Mark Chait emailed Bill Newell, ATF’s Phoenix Special Agent in Charge of Fast and Furious:
“Bill – can you see if these guns were all purchased from the same (licensed gun dealer) and at one time. We are looking at anecdotal cases to support a demand letter on long gun multiple sales. Thanks.”
On Jan. 4, 2011, as ATF prepared a press conference to announce arrests in Fast and Furious, Newell saw it as “(A)nother time to address Multiple Sale on Long Guns issue.” And a day after the press conference, Chait emailed Newell: “Bill–well done yesterday… (I)n light of our request for Demand letter 3, this case could be a strong supporting factor if we can determine how many multiple sales of long guns occurred during the course of this case.”
Food Stamps Buy Starbucks Frappuccinos In Oregon
Fox 12 in Oregon reports:
TweetWith the help of Jackie Fowler, who has a “supplemental nutrition card” or Oregon Trail Card, Fox 12 visited an in-store Starbucks within a Safeway in the town of Salem. Fowler purchased a tall Frappuccino and a slice of pumpkin bread — and paid for both using her Oregon Trail card.
“It’s crazy,” Fowler told Fox 12, showing off the receipt for $5.25.
“They’re overpriced as it is,” said Fowler of the specialty drink. “That’s money that somebody could be eating with — a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk.” Fowler, who made the purchase only for the purpose of Fox 12′s story, says she thinks it’s a huge misuse of the food assistance program.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Anti-Israel Remarks By Three Senior U.S. Officials: Hillary Clinton, Leon Pannetta, And Ambassador To Belguim Bash Israel
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports:
The Obama administration is reaping a whirlwind of criticism in the wake of pointed remarks about Israel by several U.S. officials over three days.Tweet
The U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Howard Gutman, caused an uproar when he suggested on Dec. 1 that hostility among European Arabs and Muslims toward Jews was rooted in anger over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and should be distinguished from traditional forms of anti-Semitism. Jewish groups condemned his remarks, which drew calls for his dismissal from Republican presidential front-runners Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.
The following day, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stirred controversy when he told an audience at the Saban Forum, an annual Washington conclave for American and Israeli policymakers, that Israel needs to “get to the damn table” to negotiate with the Palestinians and “mend fences” with its neighbors. The Anti-Defamation League expressed “surprise and dismay” at a speech that it said “disproportionately put the onus on Israel to overcome its isolation.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made waves a day later at the Saban Forum when she reportedly expressed some concerns about the state of Israeli democracy.
The confluence of controversies has added up to a headache for the Obama administration’s Jewish supporters and given fodder to its critics.
“This is the worst weekend we’ve had in a while,” said a Jewish Democratic activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, referring to the outcry over the remarks.
Each set of remarks share a common theme, said the ADL’s national director, Abraham Foxman.
They’re “putting all of the onus on Israel, and that’s with Panetta, with Hillary and with the ambassador," he said. "It’s something that we’ve had a problem with this administration.”
In his wide-ranging speech on U.S.-Israel relations, Panetta said that Israel needed to take steps to alleviate its isolation.
“For example, Israel can reach out and mend fences with those who share an interest in regional stability -- countries like Turkey and Egypt, as well as Jordan,” Panetta said. “This is an important time to be able to develop and restore those key relationships in this crucial area. This is not impossible. If gestures are rebuked, the world will see those rebukes for what they are. That is exactly why Israel should pursue them.”
After the speech, the Saban Center’s Kenneth Pollack asked Panetta what steps Israel should take to advance peace. Panetta replied, “Just get to the damn table. Just get to the table. The problem right now is we can’t get them to the damn table to at least sit down and begin to discuss their differences -- you know, we all know what the pieces are here for a potential agreement.”
Gingrich issued a statement condemning Panetta’s remarks.
“Barack Obama must tell the American people today whether he condemns or condones the deeply wrong statements by his Secretary of Defense and Ambassador to Belgium,” Gingrich said.
The Zionist Organization of America and the Emergency Committee for Israel -- both consistent critics of the Obama administration -- also blasted Panetta’s remarks. The ADL, however, was the main centrist Jewish group to take public umbrage.
“The Defense Secretary emphasized the shared U.S. and Israeli interest in deepened strategic cooperation and in countering the Iranian threat,” the ADL said in its statement. “But he undermined the sense of assurance that this could have projected by using a prestigious public platform to focus disproportionate responsibility on Israel for the campaign of hostility against her.”
Obama Urges For Softening Of Sanctions Against Iran's Central Bank That the Senate Approved By Only 100-0
The Obama administration is urging US lawmakers to soften proposed sanctions targehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifting Iran's central bank, Senator Mark Kirk said on Tuesday.Tweet
Kirk, a Republican, is the co-author along with Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of a proposal to penalize foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank, the main conduit for its oil revenues.
The Senate approved the proposal last week 100-0 despite lobbying against it by Obama administration officials, who argued that threatening US allies might not be the best way to get cooperation in action against Iran.
A similar measure is pending in the House of Representatives; both chambers must agree on the same version before it can become law.
Kirk said on Tuesday that the administration had written to some lawmakers' offices and "proposed what they describe as technical fixes" to the Kirk-Menendez amendment.
But Kirk complained: "They are not technical fixes at all. They are meant to undermine the amendment." He and Menendez have written to fellow lawmakers as well, urging them to "stick with" the Senate-passed proposal, Kirk said at an event on Iran's nuclear program, sponsored by the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank...
The Kirk-Menendez proposal would dissuade foreign banks from dealing with Iran's central bank by threatening to cut them off from the US financial system. The United States already bars its own banks from dealing with the Iranian central bank.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Newt Gingrich Responds To Nancy Pelosi's Threat To Release Dirt Gained Ethics Investigation
Visit http://www.therightscoop.com/newt-fires-back-at-pelsoi-bring-it-on/ to see the full clip for yourself. Tweet
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Now On "War Footing"
Recent explosions have added to the growing sense of paranoia within Iran, with the regime fearing it will be the target of a surprise military strike by Israel or the US. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s spiritual leader, issued a directive to the heads of all the country’s military, intelligence and security organisations to take all necessary measures to protect the regime. Gen Jaafari responded to this directive by ordering Revolutionary Guards units to redistribute Iran’s arsenal of long-range Shahab missiles to secret sites around the country where they would be safe from enemy attack and could be used to launch retaliatory attacks.
In addition, the Iranian air force has formed a number of “rapid reaction units”, which have been carrying out extensive exercises to practice a response to an enemy air attack.
This comes on the heels of a mysterious explosion in Iran:
The huge explosion that destroyed a major missile-testing site near Tehran three weeks ago was a major setback for Iran’s most advanced long-range missile program, according to American and Israeli intelligence officials and missile technology experts.Tweet
In interviews, current and former officials said surveillance photos showed that the Iranian base was a central testing center for advanced solid-fuel missiles, an assessment backed by outside experts who have examined satellite photos showing that the base was almost completely leveled in the blast. Such missiles can be launched almost instantly, making them useful to Iran as a potential deterrent against pre-emptive attacks by Israel or the United States, and they are also better suited than older liquid-fuel designs for carrying warheads long distances.
Ex-Saudi Spy Chief: "Saudi Arabia May Join Nuclear Arms Race'"
Saudi Arabia may consider acquiring nuclear weapons to match regional rivals Israel and Iran, its former intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal said on Monday.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifTweet
"Our efforts and those of the world have failed to convince Israel to abandon its weapons of mass destruction, as well as Iran... therefore it is our duty towards our nation and people to consider all possible options, including the possession of these weapons," Faisal told a security forum in Riyadh.
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