Russian Nuclear Bombers Circle Guam

The Washington Free Beacon reports: 

Two Russian nuclear-armed bombers circled the western Pacific island of Guam this week in the latest sign of Moscow’s growing strategic assertiveness toward the United States. The Russian Tu-95 Bear-H strategic bombers were equipped with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and were followed by U.S. jets as they circumnavigated Guam on Feb. 12 local time—hours before President Barack Obama’s state of the union address. Air Force Capt. Kim Bender, a spokeswoman for the Pacific Air Force in Hawaii, confirmed the incident to the Washington Free Beacon and said Air Force F-15 jets based on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, “scrambled and responded to the aircraft.” “The Tu-95s were intercepted and left the area in a northbound direction. No further actions occurred,” she said. Bender said no other details would be released “for operational security reasons.” The bomber incident was considered highly unusual. Russian strategic bombers are not known to have conducted such operations in the past into the south Pacific from bomber bases in the Russian Far East, which is thousands of miles away and over water. John Bolton, former U.N. ambassador and former State Department international security undersecretary, said the Russian bomber flights appear to be part of an increasingly threatening strategic posture in response to Obama administration anti-nuclear policies. “Every day brings new evidence that Obama’s ideological obsession with dismantling our nuclear deterrent is dangerous,” Bolton said. “Our national security is in danger of slipping off the national agenda even as the threats grow.”

Tweet

Senators Lindsey Graham And Kelly Ayotte Send Letter To Chuck Hagel About His Saying That The State Department Is Controlled By Israel; Jewish Groups Join In Expressing Concern

The Free Beacon reports:

Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte sent a letter to secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel Friday afternoon asking whether he said the U.S. Department of State was an extension of the Israeli government in a 2007 speech at Rutgers. “Given the importance of U.S. policy towards the Middle East and the Secretary of Defense’s direct role in implementing this policy, it is critical that we have a better understanding of your remarks before we vote on your nomination,” Senators Graham and Ayotte write in the letter. “Did you, in fact make this statement at the Rutgers event or have you ever made similar comments? If you made these comments or similar comments, please explain what you meant. Finally, does such a statement in any way reflect your views on the U.S.-Israeli relationship?” The letter was prompted by a Thursday story in the Washington Free Beacon that reported on a contemporaneous account of Hagel’s speech by George Ajjan, a Hagel supporter. Ajjan’s account was first unearthed by Steve Emerson’s Investigative Project on Terrorism. Hagel, according to Ajjan, described the State Department as an adjunct of the Israeli foreign minister’s office during a Q&A session after the speech. Ajjan told the Free Beacon he had been “taking notes as [Hagel] was speaking” and “If I wrote it, then that’s what happened at the time.” An official working on Hagel’s confirmation said the secretary of defense nominee “will be responding to this latest letter, as he’s done with every other he’s received.” The American Jewish Committee echoed the senators’ concerns on Friday, calling for further deliberation of Hagel’s nomination before a vote takes place. “In light of [Hagel’s] complex record in the Senate and controversial statements he has made since his public service on strategic and political affairs—notably grappling with the range of pressing Middle East issues—AJC believes that further Senate deliberation is called for before any final vote is taken,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. On Thursday, Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League told the Washington Post‘s Jennifer Rubin, “It is somewhat puzzling that this would surface the day that the Senate was scheduled to vote on the nomination. Nevertheless, if the story is true, it is very disturbing – probably more disturbing than his interview in Aaron David Miller’s book. If it is not true, then Senator Hagel should say so, and take the speculation about his remark off of the table.”

Tweet

Senator Jim Inhofe Responds To Anti-Israel Caller On C-SPAN Comparing Israel To Nazis

Tweet

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Now Wants To Ban Styrofoam

Tweet

Jon Stewart On CNN Coverage Of Stalled Cruise Ship

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Tweet

Iran Looking To Buy 10,000 Ring Magnets In Sign Of Major Expansion Of Nuclear Program

The Washington Post reports:

Iran recently sought to acquire tens of thousands of highly specialized magnets used in centrifuge machines, according to experts and diplomats, a sign that the country may be planning a major expansion of its nuclear program that could shorten the path to an atomic weapons capability. Purchase orders obtained by nuclear researchers show an attempt by Iranian agents to buy 100,000 of the ring-shaped magnets — which are banned from export to Iran under U.N. resolutions — from China about a year ago, those familiar with the effort said. It is unclear whether the attempt succeeded.

Tweet

House Speaker John Boehner On SOTU: "It's Easy To Go Out There And Be Santa Clause"

Tweet

Defense Secretary Nominee Chuck Hagel Referred To State Department As An "Adjunct To The Israeli Foreign Minister's Office"

This report has surfaced, with yet another mind-boggling statement that Hagel delivered at Rutgers University in 2007:

Hagel said the U.S. Department of State was an adjunct of the Israeli foreign minister’s office, according to a contemporaneous report of the event. Republican political consultant and Hagel supporter George Ajjan wrote about the March 2, 2007, speech on his website the following day, writing a description “point by point through some of the more important elements of his speech.” [Ajjan, on point six:]   The State Department has become adjunct to the Israeli Foreign Minister’s office …

Reached by phone, Ajjan confirmed his 2007 account of the event, saying he was “taking notes as [Hagel] was speaking.” 

Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said in a phone conversation that the notion that our government is an adjunct of Israel is “beyond fantasy.” As for Hagel himself, Cooper was blunt: “Do most Americans think he is the best person? They do not.” Moreover, Hagel’s shaky performance on Iran troubled Cooper greatly. “He either wasn’t briefed, or maybe he was nervous,” he offered. But well beyond any ludicrous statements about Jews and Israel, Cooper said, “most important, the mullahs are going full-blast with nuclearization. Our only shot is a chokehold on the people that count [in the regime] and the fear of a powerful, immediate response.” He worries that Hagel simply won’t be able to advance that position. “He would be entering the endgame,” Cooper said.

The Republican Jewish Coalition put out a statement, which read, in part:

This new information shows why Senate Republicans are right to insist that final action on this nomination not be rushed. We need to fully investigate this allegation, and that means Senator Hagel needs to be heard from directly. Did Chuck Hagel really tell this audience — or any audience — that “the State Department is an adjunct to the Israeli Foreign Minister’s office”? That is what a pro-Hagel blogger, who says he was “taking notes as [Hagel] was speaking,” reported at the time. It should go without saying that claiming Israel controls our State Department is absurd and outrageous.

Tweet

Filibuster Of Chuck Hagel Delays Senate Vote, One Republican Short Of Cloture

From the Huffington Post:

Senate Republicans successfully foiled attempts to confirm Chuck Hagel for the post of defense secretary on Thursday, by denying him the 60 votes needed for the nomination to proceed. Democrats ultimately came up short of the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and end the Republicans' filibuster, with a final vote count of 58 to 40. Republican Sens. Mike Johanns (Neb.), Susan Collins (Maine), Thad Cochran (Miss.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) voted with Democrats in their failed effort to end debate. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) voted present. The nomination is hardly dead. In fact, it looks increasingly likely that Democrats will be able to muster the needed votes to confirm Hagel's nomination after a 10-day recess.  But the failure to end the GOP filibuster is still is a setback for the administration, which wanted a fast confirmation process, and Senate Democratic leadership, whose decision to punt on filibuster reform at the beginning of this congressional session was met with criticism.

Tweet

Israel’s Ambassador To UN: “EU Must Find The Moral And Political Courage” To Label Hezbollah Terrorist Organization

The Algemeiner reports:

On Tuesday Israel’s Ambassador to the UN called on the European Union to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Speaking at a UN Security Council debate on the protection of civilians in combat zones, Ron Prosor noted that the suicide bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria last year that killed six, including five Israelis “was the deadliest attack on European soil since 2005.” Last week Bulgarian officials linked Hezbollah to the deadly incident.  “Make no mistake: Hezbollah’s sole purpose – its raison d’etre – is to commit terrorist acts both inside and outside the Middle East,” Prosor said. “Some European lawmakers continue to bend over backwards attempting to differentiate between Hezbollah’s military and political wings. This is an exercise in futility. The only ‘difference’ between these two wings is that the political wing negotiates the sum of drug cartel money that the military wing later uses to purchase weaponry.” Prosor challenged the EU to make the tough decision of designating Hezbollah a terrorist organization. “The EU must find the moral and political courage to place Hezbollah on its list of terrorist organizations.”

Tweet

President Barack Obama's 2013 State Of The Union Address And Republican Responses From Senators Marco Rubio And Rand Paul

President Obama's 2013 SOTU:  


The official Republican response delivered by Senator Rubio:  


The "Tea Party response" by Senator Paul: Tweet

Senator Rand Paul: I May Block Brennan Nomination For CIA Chief Unless He Says Whether American Citizens In The U.S. Can Be Targeted By Drones

Senator Rand Paul's official statement, reiterated to USA Today in an interview

Paul said he would do “whatever it takes” to delay Brennan’s confirmation until he directly answers whether American citizens legally can be killed by drone strikes within the United States.  The Kentucky Republican accused Brennan of obfuscating on the issue when it was raised at confirmation hearings before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week. Rand on Sunday said he wouldn’t vote for Brennan until the questions were answered, but he raised the stakes in an interview with “Capital Download,” a weekly video series on usatoday.com.
“He was asked a very specific question. . . ‘Can you kill an American with a drone in America?’ And he refused to answer the question,” Paul said. “I find that very, very worrisome (and) we’re going to do whatever it takes to get the answer. Can the government, does the government, the president himself, claim the power to unilaterally kill an American in America without a trial?”

Tweet

Medal Of Honor Recipient Clint Romesha's Son Steals Show At White House

Watch More News Videos at ABC | 2012 Presidential Election | Entertainment & Celebrity News

Tweet

Treasury Secretary Nominee Jack Lew: I Did Not Know I Had Money In Cayman Islands

Tweet

Prager University On Teachers Unions And Schools

Tweet

Dr. Benjamin Carson On Neal Cavuto

Tweet

Robert Gates: I Am A "Big Advocate" Of Drones

Tweet

Treasury Secretary Nominee Jack Lew Has Bank Account In Cayman Islands

Via NBC:

Jack Lew, President Barack Obama’s Treasury Secretary nominee, previously held up to $100,000 in investments in an offshore hedge fund located in the Cayman Islands, according to financial disclosure forms. Lew’s financial disclosure forms, filed in 2009 and 2011, showed that Lew had invested between $50,000 and $100,000 in a fund called Citigroup Venture Capital International Growth Partnership (Employee) II, L.P. — the very type of fund President Obama has repeatedly criticized. … According to his official White House biography, Lew served as managing director and chief operating officer of Citi Global Wealth Management and then Citi Alternative Investments (CAI) from 2006 to 2008. … The source also told NBC News that Lew had no role in creating, managing or operating the fund, and that Citigroup had organized the fund in the Cayman Islands and made it available to other employees. The source said that many other Citigroup employees had investments in the fund.

Tweet

Egypt Bans Youtube For Hosting Anti-Islam Video

The Washington Post reports:

 An Egyptian court ordered a one-month ban on YouTube on Saturday, after it said the video-sharing Web site had failed to remove an American-made anti-Islam video. Cairo’s administrative court ruled in response to a suit filed by an independent Egyptian lawyer. Judge Hassouna Tawfiq, who presided over the case, said the ban would also apply to other Web sites that circulated the video, including, potentially, social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Tweet

Muslim Brotherhood Appoints One Of Its Own As Grand Mufti Of Egypt, Seeking To Dominate All Egyptian Institutions

Reuters reports:

 Egypt's ruling Muslim Brotherhood has nominated one of its senior leaders for the influential position of grand mufti, the nation's top cleric, defying critics who accuse the Islamist group of seeking to dominate all institutions. Islamic scholars chaired by the head of the ancient seat of learning, Al-Azhar, are due to pick a new mufti on Monday from a shortlist of three candidates and send their choice to President Mohamed Mursi to approve. The mufti is empowered to issue opinions (fatwas) on any matter, influencing legislation on social and cultural issues, public behavior and court rulings.

Tweet