 |
| Newest form of "chip" (NaturalNews) Being microchipped is now being spun as a method of protecting the health of hospital patients. To help mask the practice of this bodily invasion with a trendy, high-tech appearance, microchipping sensors are being referred to as "electronic tattoos" that can attach to human skin and stretch and move without breaking. Supposedly the comparisons of this hair-thin electronic patch-like chip to an electronic tattoo are being made because of how it adheres to the skin like a temporary tattoo using only water. The small chip is less than 50 micrometers thick, which is thinner in diameter than a human hair. It is being marketed as a "safe" and easy way to temporarily monitor the heart and brain in patients while replacing bulky medical equipment currently being used in hospitals. This device uses micro-electronics technology called an epidermal electronic system (EES) and is said to be a development that will "transform" medical sensing technology, computer gaming and even spy operations, according to a study published last week. The hair-thin chip was developed by an international team of researchers from the United States, China and Singapore and is described in the Journal of Science. For other videos regarding this, go here.http://yedies.blogspot.com/2010/11/microchipping-humans-by-2017.html |
Friday, August 26, 2011
"The Mark of the Beast"?
Ahmadinejad: Palestinian statehood only 'first step'
This hot off the Jerusalem Post
By REUTERS
08/26/2011 14:03
He spoke weeks ahead of a UN General Assembly in New York where the Arab League plans to seek full UN membership for a Palestinian state.
RELATED:
Ahmadinejad vows 'decisive response' to Israeli attack
Ahmadinejad: Israel is greatest threat in Mideast
Ahmadinejad, restating a position expressed soon after taking office in 2005 that Israel was a "tumor" to be wiped off the map, urged Palestinians not to settle for a two-state solution that is backed by [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas but to strive for a complete return of what they consider their land.
"Recognizing the Palestinian state is not the last goal. It is only one step forward towards liberating the whole of Palestine," Ahmadinejad told worshippers at Friday prayers on international Qods Day -- an annual show of support for the Palestinian cause.
"The Zionist regime is a center of microbes, a cancer cell and if it exists in one iota of Palestine it will mobilize again and hurt everyone."
"It is not enough for them to have a weak, powerless state in a very small piece of Palestine. They should unite to establish a state but the ultimate goal is the liberation of the whole of Palestine," he said.
"I urge the Palestinians never to forget this ideal. Forgetting this ideal is equal to committing suicide. It would be giving an opportunity to an enemy which is on the verge of collapse and disappearance."
By REUTERS
08/26/2011 14:03
TEHRAN - The creation of a universally-recognized Palestinian state would be just a first step towards wiping out Israel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday.
He spoke weeks ahead of a UN General Assembly in New York where the Arab League plans to seek full UN membership for a Palestinian state.
RELATED:
Ahmadinejad vows 'decisive response' to Israeli attack
Ahmadinejad: Israel is greatest threat in Mideast
Ahmadinejad, restating a position expressed soon after taking office in 2005 that Israel was a "tumor" to be wiped off the map, urged Palestinians not to settle for a two-state solution that is backed by [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas but to strive for a complete return of what they consider their land.
"Recognizing the Palestinian state is not the last goal. It is only one step forward towards liberating the whole of Palestine," Ahmadinejad told worshippers at Friday prayers on international Qods Day -- an annual show of support for the Palestinian cause.
"The Zionist regime is a center of microbes, a cancer cell and if it exists in one iota of Palestine it will mobilize again and hurt everyone."
"It is not enough for them to have a weak, powerless state in a very small piece of Palestine. They should unite to establish a state but the ultimate goal is the liberation of the whole of Palestine," he said.
"I urge the Palestinians never to forget this ideal. Forgetting this ideal is equal to committing suicide. It would be giving an opportunity to an enemy which is on the verge of collapse and disappearance."
Monday, August 22, 2011
1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them
from http://english.aljazeera.net/
Libya: freedom is in the air
towards the end of the original post we read:
The three countries should experiment with open borders and the free movement of people, goods, and ideas to show that the dawn of Arab democracies will not have any semblance to the era of Gaddafi, Mubarak and Ben Ali. Mr Al-Arabi has a golden opportunity to make this a reality. Just as Arab youth are steadfast in the struggle for freedom and democracy, their elder statesmen should meet them halfway in helping reconstruct a better Arab world.
Tunis, Cairo and now Tripoli: the call of freedom
Green Square, Tripoli, impatiently waits to join Tahrir Square and Habib Bourguiba Boulevard in an epic call for freedom across Arab geography. Tomorrow it will be the turn of Marjah Square and Yusuf Al-Azm, Syria, as the circle gets wider, and the dance for freedom louder, drowning out and silencing the guns of brutality for good.
Larbi Sadiki is a Senior Lecturer in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter.
to read the entire piece, go here
Dumping Gaddafi won't change the ire of Libya for Israel. It may signal a worsening of events!
1 Thessalonians 5
1. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
Ezekiel 38
1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3. And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4. And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6. Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
7. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
10. Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11. And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
14. Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when My people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15. And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16. And thou shalt come up against My people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17. Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18. And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
20. So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
22. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.(volcanic activity)
23. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
For better understanding of the timing of the rapture and how these things will unfold, go here
Anybody notice an increase in volcanic activity lately? go here
God is still on the throne! Don't despair for the obvious world events, what is not obvious to the world, we are to be observing!
Gaddafi is dead- pictures, timeline, etc: go here
Libya: freedom is in the air
towards the end of the original post we read:
The three countries should experiment with open borders and the free movement of people, goods, and ideas to show that the dawn of Arab democracies will not have any semblance to the era of Gaddafi, Mubarak and Ben Ali. Mr Al-Arabi has a golden opportunity to make this a reality. Just as Arab youth are steadfast in the struggle for freedom and democracy, their elder statesmen should meet them halfway in helping reconstruct a better Arab world.
Tunis, Cairo and now Tripoli: the call of freedom
Green Square, Tripoli, impatiently waits to join Tahrir Square and Habib Bourguiba Boulevard in an epic call for freedom across Arab geography. Tomorrow it will be the turn of Marjah Square and Yusuf Al-Azm, Syria, as the circle gets wider, and the dance for freedom louder, drowning out and silencing the guns of brutality for good.
Larbi Sadiki is a Senior Lecturer in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter.
to read the entire piece, go here
Dumping Gaddafi won't change the ire of Libya for Israel. It may signal a worsening of events!
1 Thessalonians 5
1. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
Ezekiel 38
1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3. And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4. And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6. Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
7. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
10. Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11. And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
14. Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when My people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15. And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16. And thou shalt come up against My people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17. Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18. And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
20. So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
22. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.(volcanic activity)
23. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
For better understanding of the timing of the rapture and how these things will unfold, go here
Anybody notice an increase in volcanic activity lately? go here
God is still on the throne! Don't despair for the obvious world events, what is not obvious to the world, we are to be observing!
Gaddafi is dead- pictures, timeline, etc: go here
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Keeping the faith
Slated for completion in 2014, the Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska is an experiment in religious coexistence between Jews, Muslims and Christians.
By The ForwardDeep in America’s heartland, a Reform synagogue, a nondenominational mosque and an Episcopalian church are all putting down roots on a 37-acre tract of land that once belonged to a Jewish country club. A body of water called Hell Creek runs through the development, over which the faith groups plan to build “Heaven’s Bridge.”
Fantastical as it sounds, this interfaith campus is currently in the works in Omaha, Neb. Slated for completion in 2014, the Tri-Faith Initiative is an experiment in religious coexistence in a city better known as a hub of corn-fed conservatism.
 | Jon Meyers (left) and John Waldbaum (right) of Temple Israel talk with Azhar Kalim of Omaha’s new Islamic center. | |
| Photo by: Justin Limoges Photography / The Forward |
“The only other place where such a thing exists is Jerusalem,” said Dr. Syed Mohiuddin, chairman of the Creighton University School of Medicine. Mohiuddin’s organization, the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture, is building a mosque on the campus. “Jerusalem is so important to these three faiths. We are sort of reproducing that model.”
If the experiment works, the city of Omaha — with a metropolitan area population of about 900,000, including 5,500 Jews, 6,000 Muslims and 4,500 Episcopalians — will become a beacon of cooperation in a world of interreligious strife. But before that can happen, the three groups still need to navigate fears, stereotypes and bureaucratic hang-ups.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
China Calls for Global “Supervision” of Dollar, New World Currency
Written by Alex Newman
Tuesday, 09 August 2011 11:00
The communist Chinese dictatorship blasted the U.S. government for endangering its massive dollar holdings, calling for America to rein in its out-of-control debt by slashing military spending and welfare. The regime also demanded international supervision of the dollar and even suggested the creation of a new global reserve currency.
The attack came in the form of an editorial from Xinhua News Agency, one of the dictatorship’s official propaganda arms, following the downgrade of American debt last week by Standard & Poor's (S&P). It immediately made headlines around the world.
“China, the largest creditor of the world's sole superpower, has every right now to demand the United States to address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China's dollar assets,” read the commentary. “To cure its addiction to debts, the United States has to reestablish the common sense principle that one should live within its means.”
The stinging Xinhua editorial also proposed “substantial cuts” to America’s “gigantic military expenditure and bloated social welfare costs.” Otherwise, it warned of more credit downgrades and increased financial turmoil to come.
Most alarming to observers, however, was the direct attack against the dollar.
“International supervision over the issue of U.S. dollars should be introduced and a new, stable and secured global reserve currency may also be an option to avert a catastrophe caused by any single country,” the regime said. “All Americans, both beltway politicians and those on Main Street, have to do some serious soul-searching to bring their country back from a potential financial abyss.”
But news of the S&P downgrade led to turmoil in China’s economy as well. Chinese stocks, for example, dropped sharply on Monday. The nation’s controlled currency, however, was allowed to rise significantly against the dollar before dropping back on Tuesday.
Chinese people also expressed outrage in recent days that the communist regime had invested so much of its foreign reserves in American debt. Furious bloggers cited by the New York Times complained that the dictatorship was forcing people to live in poverty so it could lend money to out-of-control American politicians.
China is the U.S. government’s largest single creditor, with over $1 trillion in treasuries as well as more than a trillion in other dollar-denominated assets. The U.S. government is officially above $14 trillion in debt, but the real figure including unfunded liabilities is estimated in the tens of trillions — possibly even hundreds of trillions. State and local governments are facing hundreds of trillions in debts and unfunded liabilities, too.
The Chinese regime’s editorial touted the fact that its own credit-rating agency, Dagong Global, downgraded U.S. Treasuries well before S&P. It also lambasted Western commentators for their arrogant response when the Chinese agency announced the downgrade, saying the move by S&P had proven that it was simply telling investors “the ugly truth.”
Dagong boss Guan Jianzhong took the opportunity to go on the attack as well. In comments e-mailed to CNBC, he said the dollar was being “gradually discarded by the world” and that the “process will be irreversible.”
“I think the most pressing issue facing the U.S. at the moment is to reflect on the crisis which happened in relation with the debt ceiling," Guan told the financial news agency. "They should get a clear understanding that the continuous decline of the debt service capability will inevitably result in the outbreak of a sovereign debt crisis.”
Speculation about the regime’s potential diversification from dollars has also been making headlines for days. "China will be forced to consider other investments for its reserves. U.S. Treasuries aren't as safe anymore,” director Li Jie of Central University of Finance and Economics’ Reserves Research Institute told Reuters. “There is a class of assets out there that are more risky than AAA, but less risky than AA+. China didn't consider these investments before, but now it would be forced to do so."
Another Chinese economist, Ding Yifan of a state-controlled “think tank,” told Reuters that the chances of even more money-printing by the Federal Reserve were rising. As investors move away from dollars assets, he warned, it could leave the American central bank no choice but to buy up U.S. Treasuries, which would “definitely add more uncertainties to the global economy.”
But China’s dictatorship is hardly the only entity talking about getting out of dollars and treasuries. PIMCO, the world’s largest bond fund, dumped its treasuries earlier this year.
"In addition to an existing nearly US$10 trillion of outstanding Treasury Debt, the U.S. has a near-unfathomable US$66 trillion of future liabilities," noted PIMCO boss Bill Gross in his August investment outlook, urging investors to consider how the American government would be able to service its obligations. "One rather clever way for the US to pay its bills to foreign creditors is to pay them in depreciated dollars."
Indeed, former Federal Reserve boss Alan Greenspan recently boasted about the fact that the U.S. government would always be able to pay its bills because the privately owned central bank can just print more money. But rather than calming investors, the statement appears to have made matters worse.
Some analysts even interpreted all of the recent financial turmoil as a challenge to the global fiat-currency system itself. As the dollar continues plunging even against other currencies that are themselves rapidly depreciating, gold — which more than a few investors believe is due for a short-term correction soon — is still surging to record highs. Confusion and panic are growing as investors scramble for safe-haven assets.
The International Monetary Fund recently predicted that China’s economy would surpass America’s by 2016. Despite all of the Chinese regime’s boasting and lecturing, however, countless economists believe that its economy will soon experience a spectacular crash of its own.
With financial chaos reigning from America and Europe to Japan and China, some analysts are forecasting another major economic crisis on the horizon — potentially worse than the most recent recession. Stocks and currencies are still dropping as debt crises around the world dominate the headlines.
Where the global economy might go from here is uncertain. But with the calls for a new world currency growing louder as panic continues to spread, there will likely be a bumpy ride ahead for world markets.
Tuesday, 09 August 2011 11:00
The communist Chinese dictatorship blasted the U.S. government for endangering its massive dollar holdings, calling for America to rein in its out-of-control debt by slashing military spending and welfare. The regime also demanded international supervision of the dollar and even suggested the creation of a new global reserve currency.
The attack came in the form of an editorial from Xinhua News Agency, one of the dictatorship’s official propaganda arms, following the downgrade of American debt last week by Standard & Poor's (S&P). It immediately made headlines around the world.
“China, the largest creditor of the world's sole superpower, has every right now to demand the United States to address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China's dollar assets,” read the commentary. “To cure its addiction to debts, the United States has to reestablish the common sense principle that one should live within its means.”
The stinging Xinhua editorial also proposed “substantial cuts” to America’s “gigantic military expenditure and bloated social welfare costs.” Otherwise, it warned of more credit downgrades and increased financial turmoil to come.
Most alarming to observers, however, was the direct attack against the dollar.
“International supervision over the issue of U.S. dollars should be introduced and a new, stable and secured global reserve currency may also be an option to avert a catastrophe caused by any single country,” the regime said. “All Americans, both beltway politicians and those on Main Street, have to do some serious soul-searching to bring their country back from a potential financial abyss.”
But news of the S&P downgrade led to turmoil in China’s economy as well. Chinese stocks, for example, dropped sharply on Monday. The nation’s controlled currency, however, was allowed to rise significantly against the dollar before dropping back on Tuesday.
Chinese people also expressed outrage in recent days that the communist regime had invested so much of its foreign reserves in American debt. Furious bloggers cited by the New York Times complained that the dictatorship was forcing people to live in poverty so it could lend money to out-of-control American politicians.
China is the U.S. government’s largest single creditor, with over $1 trillion in treasuries as well as more than a trillion in other dollar-denominated assets. The U.S. government is officially above $14 trillion in debt, but the real figure including unfunded liabilities is estimated in the tens of trillions — possibly even hundreds of trillions. State and local governments are facing hundreds of trillions in debts and unfunded liabilities, too.
The Chinese regime’s editorial touted the fact that its own credit-rating agency, Dagong Global, downgraded U.S. Treasuries well before S&P. It also lambasted Western commentators for their arrogant response when the Chinese agency announced the downgrade, saying the move by S&P had proven that it was simply telling investors “the ugly truth.”
Dagong boss Guan Jianzhong took the opportunity to go on the attack as well. In comments e-mailed to CNBC, he said the dollar was being “gradually discarded by the world” and that the “process will be irreversible.”
“I think the most pressing issue facing the U.S. at the moment is to reflect on the crisis which happened in relation with the debt ceiling," Guan told the financial news agency. "They should get a clear understanding that the continuous decline of the debt service capability will inevitably result in the outbreak of a sovereign debt crisis.”
Speculation about the regime’s potential diversification from dollars has also been making headlines for days. "China will be forced to consider other investments for its reserves. U.S. Treasuries aren't as safe anymore,” director Li Jie of Central University of Finance and Economics’ Reserves Research Institute told Reuters. “There is a class of assets out there that are more risky than AAA, but less risky than AA+. China didn't consider these investments before, but now it would be forced to do so."
Another Chinese economist, Ding Yifan of a state-controlled “think tank,” told Reuters that the chances of even more money-printing by the Federal Reserve were rising. As investors move away from dollars assets, he warned, it could leave the American central bank no choice but to buy up U.S. Treasuries, which would “definitely add more uncertainties to the global economy.”
But China’s dictatorship is hardly the only entity talking about getting out of dollars and treasuries. PIMCO, the world’s largest bond fund, dumped its treasuries earlier this year.
"In addition to an existing nearly US$10 trillion of outstanding Treasury Debt, the U.S. has a near-unfathomable US$66 trillion of future liabilities," noted PIMCO boss Bill Gross in his August investment outlook, urging investors to consider how the American government would be able to service its obligations. "One rather clever way for the US to pay its bills to foreign creditors is to pay them in depreciated dollars."
Indeed, former Federal Reserve boss Alan Greenspan recently boasted about the fact that the U.S. government would always be able to pay its bills because the privately owned central bank can just print more money. But rather than calming investors, the statement appears to have made matters worse.
Some analysts even interpreted all of the recent financial turmoil as a challenge to the global fiat-currency system itself. As the dollar continues plunging even against other currencies that are themselves rapidly depreciating, gold — which more than a few investors believe is due for a short-term correction soon — is still surging to record highs. Confusion and panic are growing as investors scramble for safe-haven assets.
The International Monetary Fund recently predicted that China’s economy would surpass America’s by 2016. Despite all of the Chinese regime’s boasting and lecturing, however, countless economists believe that its economy will soon experience a spectacular crash of its own.
With financial chaos reigning from America and Europe to Japan and China, some analysts are forecasting another major economic crisis on the horizon — potentially worse than the most recent recession. Stocks and currencies are still dropping as debt crises around the world dominate the headlines.
Where the global economy might go from here is uncertain. But with the calls for a new world currency growing louder as panic continues to spread, there will likely be a bumpy ride ahead for world markets.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
U.S. debt crisis sidelines an emergency attack on Iran
America's national debt crisis and Pentagon budget cuts are pushing to the margins emergency plans for an operation against Iran.
By Amir Oren an opinion piece found in Haaretz.comThe American trigger finger is itchy. Itchy, but flinching - the wallet is emptier than the magazine. Iran is provoking. It is pressing ahead with its nuclearization and upping the rate of its assaults on U.S. forces in Iraq, as well as their lethality.
To this end, Iran is enlisting the help of local Iraqi organizations that receive equipment, training and guidance from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds force; and it is using them to strike at the rearguard of the American forces, which are supposed to be leaving Iraq by the end of the year.
Iran wants to depict the planned U.S. withdrawal as a frightened escape under fire (in the same vein as the withdrawal of American forces from Lebanon following the terror attack on the Marines headquarters in Beirut in 1983 ); it wants to push pro-Iranian political elements into putting pressure on the Iraqi government not to ask the Americans to extend their stay in the country - a move that would require legislation to grant immunity to the foreign forces. Once forces do leave, it wants to make sure Tehranian influence is supreme.
During a recent Congressional hearing, Gen. Martin Dempsey, who will take over as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the end of September, warned that the nuclearization and indirect assaults on the U.S. forces in southern Iraq could lead Tehran to err gravely in underestimating America's determination to mount a strike against Iran.
But Dempsey also advocated caution. He stressed that he preferred the path of sanctions and diplomacy and would advise the president to launch a preemptive attack only in the event of a clear and present threat - to a high degree of certainty - of an Iranian strike against vital U.S. national interests.
Dempsey's statements appeared to indicate that based on the current pace of Iran's nuclearization - without any weapons development or the transferal of arms to a terror organization - such conditions have yet to be met. A preemptive strike, as far as Dempsey is concerned, must be focused, must serve a broad political initiative involving America's allies, and must rely on a broad plan for the period following the operation.
Under the current economic and political circumstances, the Obama administration will not be in any hurry to do Israel a favor and pull the nuclear chestnuts out the Iranian fire by means of a preemptive strike against Tehran's nuclear facilities, material storage locations and missile sites.
America's national debt crisis and Pentagon budget cuts are pushing to the margins emergency plans for an operation against Iran.
Ehud Barak got this message during his meetings in Washington last week with senior administration officials: While discussing the goings on in the region, their minds were clearly more focused on more worrying and pressing matters at home.
When it comes to a choice between nuclear and deficit, deterrence and austerity, economics wins out. Security can wait.
Obama's hands are tied by the economic and leadership crises. He will not embark on a head-on collision course with Iran, aside from acute responses to the killing of his soldiers.
Election season looms; his personal approval rating has been compromised. With the list of tasks ahead topped by Al-Qaida, Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran will have to fight for a place between North Korea, Libya (where NATO appears to be treading water and getting nowhere ), Yemen and even Somalia.
According to the current head of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Michael Mullen, the U.S. national debt is the greatest security risk facing the country. This is an allusion to the direct blow to America's economic strength and the political implications of Obama's compromise with Congress that seeks to find the missing dollars in the Pentagon budget.
If indeed there is a certain degree of American deterrence against Iran, it is only enough to prevent Tehran from using nuclear arms, which it doesn't yet have. Activity in Iraq and the gradual progression to nuclearization is not being deterred.
On the eve of his retirement last week, Mullen's deputy, General James Cartwright, complained that the United States does not have non-nuclear arms that can be readily and reliably deployed within 24 hours. Conventional warheads are now being developed for the inter-continental ballistic missiles that fly fast and do not penetrate the airspace of countries whose consent may be required. Until then, for testing, they are using concrete warheads.
The scenario: Mass fatalities among U.S. soldiers in Iraq as a result of an attack by pro-Iranian forces leads to the launch of a concrete missile into the Iranian desert, as a final warning. But it won't be a precursor to the realization of the hopes of Barak and Netanyahu - just a meager and cheap substitute, in the spirit of the times.
To go to the original post, click the title of this posting.
To this end, Iran is enlisting the help of local Iraqi organizations that receive equipment, training and guidance from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds force; and it is using them to strike at the rearguard of the American forces, which are supposed to be leaving Iraq by the end of the year.
Iran wants to depict the planned U.S. withdrawal as a frightened escape under fire (in the same vein as the withdrawal of American forces from Lebanon following the terror attack on the Marines headquarters in Beirut in 1983 ); it wants to push pro-Iranian political elements into putting pressure on the Iraqi government not to ask the Americans to extend their stay in the country - a move that would require legislation to grant immunity to the foreign forces. Once forces do leave, it wants to make sure Tehranian influence is supreme.
During a recent Congressional hearing, Gen. Martin Dempsey, who will take over as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the end of September, warned that the nuclearization and indirect assaults on the U.S. forces in southern Iraq could lead Tehran to err gravely in underestimating America's determination to mount a strike against Iran.
But Dempsey also advocated caution. He stressed that he preferred the path of sanctions and diplomacy and would advise the president to launch a preemptive attack only in the event of a clear and present threat - to a high degree of certainty - of an Iranian strike against vital U.S. national interests.
Dempsey's statements appeared to indicate that based on the current pace of Iran's nuclearization - without any weapons development or the transferal of arms to a terror organization - such conditions have yet to be met. A preemptive strike, as far as Dempsey is concerned, must be focused, must serve a broad political initiative involving America's allies, and must rely on a broad plan for the period following the operation.
Under the current economic and political circumstances, the Obama administration will not be in any hurry to do Israel a favor and pull the nuclear chestnuts out the Iranian fire by means of a preemptive strike against Tehran's nuclear facilities, material storage locations and missile sites.
America's national debt crisis and Pentagon budget cuts are pushing to the margins emergency plans for an operation against Iran.
Ehud Barak got this message during his meetings in Washington last week with senior administration officials: While discussing the goings on in the region, their minds were clearly more focused on more worrying and pressing matters at home.
When it comes to a choice between nuclear and deficit, deterrence and austerity, economics wins out. Security can wait.
Obama's hands are tied by the economic and leadership crises. He will not embark on a head-on collision course with Iran, aside from acute responses to the killing of his soldiers.
Election season looms; his personal approval rating has been compromised. With the list of tasks ahead topped by Al-Qaida, Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran will have to fight for a place between North Korea, Libya (where NATO appears to be treading water and getting nowhere ), Yemen and even Somalia.
According to the current head of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Michael Mullen, the U.S. national debt is the greatest security risk facing the country. This is an allusion to the direct blow to America's economic strength and the political implications of Obama's compromise with Congress that seeks to find the missing dollars in the Pentagon budget.
If indeed there is a certain degree of American deterrence against Iran, it is only enough to prevent Tehran from using nuclear arms, which it doesn't yet have. Activity in Iraq and the gradual progression to nuclearization is not being deterred.
On the eve of his retirement last week, Mullen's deputy, General James Cartwright, complained that the United States does not have non-nuclear arms that can be readily and reliably deployed within 24 hours. Conventional warheads are now being developed for the inter-continental ballistic missiles that fly fast and do not penetrate the airspace of countries whose consent may be required. Until then, for testing, they are using concrete warheads.
The scenario: Mass fatalities among U.S. soldiers in Iraq as a result of an attack by pro-Iranian forces leads to the launch of a concrete missile into the Iranian desert, as a final warning. But it won't be a precursor to the realization of the hopes of Barak and Netanyahu - just a meager and cheap substitute, in the spirit of the times.
To go to the original post, click the title of this posting.
Monday, August 8, 2011
16 Nations File Briefs Against Alabama's New Immigration Law
| Written by R. Cort Kirkwood |
| Monday, 08 August 2011 09:56 |
Sixteen nations, all of them sources of illegal aliens who cross Mexico’s border into the United States, have filed briefs concurring with the U.S. Justice Department’s lawsuit against Alabama to block the enforcement of the state’s newly passed immigration law. The briefs claim the law, HB 56, impedes the relations between the United States and those nations, the Montgomery Advertiser reports.
Along with the Justice Department’s attack on Alabama, another challenge to the law came from the usual coalition of open-borders advocates, including Mobile's Roman Catholic archbishop, who has used the issue to press the case that tough immigration laws are inherently racist.
A federal judge has consolidated the lawsuits.
The Briefs
According to the Advertiser, the briefs say the law threatens the rights of the illegals. Leading the charge, unsurprisingly, is Mexico, whose brief stated, "Mexico has an interest in protecting its citizens and ensuring that their ethnicity is not used as a basis for state-sanctioned acts of bias and discrimination."
As for the other countries, they’re just interested in fair treatment, their lawyer says. Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay joined in one brief, the paper reported.
"They want to make sure their citizens are treated correctly, and they have a sovereign interest in the way in which immigration law is carried out by the United States," said Edward Still, a Birmingham attorney who filed the briefs on behalf of the nations. "They want to have one immigration law and not 50."
Alabama passed HB 56 in June. As The New American reported, the law is matter of fiscal self defense for the state. Illegals cost Alabamians $298 million annually, the Federation for American Immigration Reform reports.
Addressing those costs, the bill ends public welfare and some public education benefits for illegals. Schools must collect information on illegal-alien children. Employers must verify the eligility of employees to work in the United States. The bill punishes anyone who harbors or tranports illegals.
The bill also requires the state Attorney General to negotiate a memorandum of understanding about immigration law between Alabama and the Departments of Justice or Homeland Security. Voters must prove they are citizens before casting ballots.
The codicil that upset the radical left, however, is that which mirrors Arizona’s law, which a federal judge invalidated. Alabama police are required to check the immigration status of anyone arrested for an offense that requires bail. Police must detain anyone whose immigration status they doubt.
Local governments and officials must help enforce federal or state immigration laws by notifying federal authorities when criminal illegals are in custody, HB 56 says, and it forbids state and local officials from refusing to cooperate in the enforcement of state and federal immigration laws.
Leftists Go Ballistic
After Gov. Robert Bentley signed HB 56 into law, opponents quickly counterattacked with a lawsuit to stop the bill from taking effect. The widely discredited leftist Southern Poverty Law Center claimed the law “perpetuates bigotry.”
This ill-advised bill undermines our core American values of fairness and equality. By perpetuating the hate rhetoric that has become commonplace among many elected officials, this bill threatens the rights of citizens and non-citizens alike. H.B. 56 attacks workers trying to make a better life for their families, divides communities, and places Alabama, once again, on the wrong side of history.
The American Civil Liberties Union fretted that it legalized racial profiling.”
Immigration status is not something you can accurately determine based on a brief observation or interaction, but this law pretends otherwise. It invites profiling on the basis of race, ethnicity, and language. Subjecting people to harassment, investigation and arrest because they are perceived to be foreign is contrary to who we are as Americans
In its lawsuit, ACLU argued that HB 56 is flatly unconstitutional and trespasses, for instance, the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
[T]the law, HB 56, unconstitutionally subjects Alabamians — including countless U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents — to unlawful search and seizure, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The lawsuit also charges the law unconstitutionally deters immigrant families from enrolling their children in public schools; bars many lawfully present immigrants from attending public colleges or universities in Alabama; drastically restricts the right to enter into contracts; and interferes with federal power and authority over immigration matters, in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The draconian law is even more restrictive than the Arizona law it was inspired by.
The Obama administration joined the attack this month. The Justice Department argues the same as what it argued in its successful lawsuit against Arizona’s tough immigration law: that Alabama is usurping federal authority.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder insisted that immigration enforcement is his job, not Alabama’s:
Today’s action makes clear that setting immigration policy and enforcing immigration laws is a national responsibility that cannot be addressed through a patchwork of state immigration laws. The department is committed to evaluating each state immigration law and making decisions based on the facts and the law. To the extent we find state laws that interfere with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration law, we are prepared to bring suit, as we did in Arizona.
DOJ argues that “that various provisions of H.B. 56 conflict with federal immigration law and undermine the federal government’s careful balance of immigration enforcement priorities and objectives.” As well, DOJ complained,
Alabama’s law is designed to affect virtually every aspect of an unauthorized immigrant’s daily life, from employment to housing to transportation to entering into and enforcing contracts to going to school.
H.B. 56 further criminalizes mere unlawful presence and, like Arizona’s law, expands the opportunities for Alabama police to push aliens toward incarceration for various new immigration crimes by enforcing an immigration status verification system. …
[T]he mandates that H.B. 56 imposes on Alabama law enforcement may also result in the harassment and detention of foreign visitors, legal immigrants and even U.S. citizens who may not be able to readily prove their lawful status. In addition, H.B. 56 will place significant burdens on federal agencies, diverting their resources away from dangerous criminal aliens and other high-priority targets. In addition to interfering with law enforcement, H.B. 56 imposes further burdens on children by demanding that students prove their lawful presence, which could discourage parents from enrolling their children in school.
The question is whether the federal judge who hears this case will concur that Alabama has no power to protect itself from the fiscal, cultural, and criminal depredations of the illegal alien horde that costs state taxpayers $300 million annually.
How did Denmark finally decide to handle this problem that was crushing her? To find our, go here.
IDF jets attack Gaza overnight after rockets fired at Israel's southern towns
Published 08:19 05.08.11
Latest update 08:19 05.08.11
Air Force attacks five military targets in Gaza after third rocket attack from Strip in 24 hours.
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff Tags: Gaza Palestinians IDF
Israel Air Force jets attacked five targets in the Gaza Strip early Friday morning in response to the firing of Grad rockets at Israel in the last several days.
Hours before the air strike a rocket fell in an open field near the town of Kiryat Gat. The rocket was the third of its kind in 24 hours, but it caused no injuries or damage.
IAF strike on Gaza - Reuters - April 8, 2011
An IDF Spokesperson said that planes attacked three tunnels used for terror activity and a terror activity site in central Gaza and another terror activity site in southern Gaza.
The IDF added that, "The IDF will operate with determination and respond with force against any terror organization attempting to disturb the way of life or harm the citizens of Israel. The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip."
Two additional rockets landed on Wednesday, one near Ashkelon and the other near Kiryat Gat. A woman was lightly wounded on Monday when a Qassam rocket landed near a kibbutz near Ashkelon.
In response to rocket fire Thursday night, the IDF fired rockets of its own at eastern Gaza in trying to hit the cell that had fired the original rockets. Two Palestinians were wounded in the attack, though it was unclear if they were among the militants.
The Abdallah Azzam Brigades took responsibility for the militant rocket fire. The Azzam group is connected to global jihadists and the namesake of the group is considered to be the spiritual progenitor of Osama bin Laden.
Islamic Jihad and other extremist groups that have splintered off from more established militant groups have been responsible for the rocket attacks in recent days. Security sources in Israel said Thursday night that the Hamas government in Gaza is opposed to this round of rocket fire and is currently making an effort to halt it, arresting a number of militants.
At this time, the IDF does not believe that the events will lead to a general escalation in violence unless there are casualties from rockets launched at Israel. Mayors of towns in the area are worried about a possible escalation and have been making appropriate preparations in recent days.
Air Force attacks five military targets in Gaza after third rocket attack from Strip in 24 hours.
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff Tags: Gaza Palestinians IDF
Latest update 08:19 05.08.11
Air Force attacks five military targets in Gaza after third rocket attack from Strip in 24 hours.
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff Tags: Gaza Palestinians IDF
 | Smoke rises after an explosion in a smuggling tunnel along the borders between Rafah and Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip April 8, 2011. | |
| Photo by: Reuters |
Israel Air Force jets attacked five targets in the Gaza Strip early Friday morning in response to the firing of Grad rockets at Israel in the last several days.
Hours before the air strike a rocket fell in an open field near the town of Kiryat Gat. The rocket was the third of its kind in 24 hours, but it caused no injuries or damage.
IAF strike on Gaza - Reuters - April 8, 2011
An IDF Spokesperson said that planes attacked three tunnels used for terror activity and a terror activity site in central Gaza and another terror activity site in southern Gaza.
The IDF added that, "The IDF will operate with determination and respond with force against any terror organization attempting to disturb the way of life or harm the citizens of Israel. The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip."
Two additional rockets landed on Wednesday, one near Ashkelon and the other near Kiryat Gat. A woman was lightly wounded on Monday when a Qassam rocket landed near a kibbutz near Ashkelon.
In response to rocket fire Thursday night, the IDF fired rockets of its own at eastern Gaza in trying to hit the cell that had fired the original rockets. Two Palestinians were wounded in the attack, though it was unclear if they were among the militants.
The Abdallah Azzam Brigades took responsibility for the militant rocket fire. The Azzam group is connected to global jihadists and the namesake of the group is considered to be the spiritual progenitor of Osama bin Laden.
Islamic Jihad and other extremist groups that have splintered off from more established militant groups have been responsible for the rocket attacks in recent days. Security sources in Israel said Thursday night that the Hamas government in Gaza is opposed to this round of rocket fire and is currently making an effort to halt it, arresting a number of militants.
At this time, the IDF does not believe that the events will lead to a general escalation in violence unless there are casualties from rockets launched at Israel. Mayors of towns in the area are worried about a possible escalation and have been making appropriate preparations in recent days.
Air Force attacks five military targets in Gaza after third rocket attack from Strip in 24 hours.
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff Tags: Gaza Palestinians IDF
IDF redeploys Iron Dome as rocket fire from Gaza increases
IDF deploys missile defense system near Ashkelon; Sdot Negev Regional Council chairman: We are stepping toward the month of September, but we have security problems.
An Iron Dome battery on the outskirts of Ashkelon.
Photo by: Tal Cohen
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff The Israel Defense Forces redeployed the Iron Dome missile defense system near Ashkelon on Friday following days of heightened rocket fire from Gaza into Israel.
The Iron Dome's deployment comes a day after Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin, sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak a letter imploring them to redeploy the missile defense system.
For the rest of this posting go here:
The Iron Dome's deployment comes a day after Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin, sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak a letter imploring them to redeploy the missile defense system.
For the rest of this posting go here:
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