Cutting to the chase in all the smoke around the Debt Ceiling the following points need to be addressed:
1. OBAMA's great fear of another go around about the Debt Ceiling BEFORE the 2012 Elections, which would NOT be favorable to him has been conceded by the Republicans so Obama has surmounted this huge obstacle he feared. His advisor Valerie Jarett has said he has not been sleeping well these days.
She tries to imply that his insomnia is because he is worried about the country going into default.
NOT SO! He is concerned only with his own re-election and if the matter of the Debt ceiling comes up again, his chances of getting re-elected fall to almost ZERO (his nickname among those who view his nqrcisstic actions as self-serving and inept).
2. The Spending Cut Commission due to be formed under the deal has an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.
In the event of a deadlock, the choice of which areas to cut or pay reverts to the TREASURY.
Even if Treasury Secretary Geithner resigns (as he hints he wants to do) after August 2nd, his replacement will be someone chosen by Obama. So it will be an Obama person who makes those decisions/choices and Obama definitely does NOT like the military, so he will ensure the military (and thus our security) gets shafted.
To make his One Million person Civilian Security Forces more effective he needs a greatly weakened military. They have sworn an oath to our Constitution. The civilianmequivalent which he isnsiss should be as well funded and equipped as the regular military will swear allegiance to the Presidency NOT the Constitution! Thus Obama can order them to attack anyone who disagrees with him. And they have to obey.
Not that they would want not to.
As members of ACORN, SEIU Union and the Palestinians and Moslem BrotherHood and other Marxist-Islamists he is paying/rewarding with taxpayer (your) money, they are his supporters. Not yours!
He is past redemption but we can save our country and extract it from his inexperienced hands but we need real people like Sarah Palin and the Tea Party to achieve this.
As the negotiations and the vote-getting on raising the debt ceiling have dragged on these last two weeks, it's became clear that President Obama really is not a good negotiator. Several times, just as a deal seemed imminent, the discussions have collapsed—and very publicly. There were leaks from the administration, he-said-she-said accounts from both sides, angry White House press conferences—just a "parade of horribles," as lawyers would call it. The result is a rising tide of public disgust and frustration. Not only has he lost bipartisan support in both the House or the Senate, his lack of ability to persuade people to join his cause has cost President Obama the vital center of the electorate.
According to yesterday's Pew Research national survey, with results collected just this week, only 31 percent of independent voters want to see Obama re-elected, down from 42 percent in May. Two months ago, Obama held a 7 point lead among independent registered voters two months ago, but independent support has swung 15 points the other way, giving an 8 point advantage to a generic Republican. "This is consistent with a drop in Obama's approval among all independents. Currently, a majority (54 percent) disapprove of Obama's performance for the first time in his presidency," according to Pew.
Maybe it's because Hillary Clinton's "three in the morning" ad was right—maybe he just doesn't have the experience to be president. Of the top 100 jobs that would qualify one to be president, being a law professor isn't one of them. A plumber would be better qualified than a law professor. Seriously—a plumber is a problem solver who has to keep customers happy. A used car salesman knows how to close a deal. A UPS deliveryman knows how to meet a deadline. A diplomat knows how to be, well, diplomatic. Meaning he doesn't lecture people about "eating their peas" when he needs them to jump on board.
Think about some of our former presidents and their qualifications for the job. Bill Clinton had been a governor, a job that involves being an executive decision-maker. Ronald Reagan had headed the Screen Actors Guild and worked for General Electric, in addition to being governor. President Bush 41 had served as ambassador to the U.N., liaison to Communist China, head of the RNC during Watergate, director of the CIA during its most difficult years, and had even served as a freshman Republican in a Democratic Congress. Harry Truman had run a men's clothing store that failed in a recession and narrowly escaped bankruptcy—certainly something that would have prepared him for the job today. Surely some of them got elected for reasons other than their qualifications—after all, the desire for economic or political change can be a powerful force among voters, no matter who is running— but certainly some presidents' past experiences helped them once they got in office.
Peggy Noonan writes today that "the secret of Mr. Obama is that he isn't really very good at politics, and he isn't good at politics because he doesn't really get people." I think that's right. Being a plumber or a used car salesman—or a union organizer or a men's clothing store owner or the liaison to Communist China—requires you to know how to deal with people and how to negotiate in good faith. Being a law professor doesn't.
And he's not a law professor - just a lecturer - maybe not even that.
This includes most of science and computers, so this new technology era is pure fantasy! So let's take it a step forward for your enjoyment!
AND THE BEST ONE!
MEANWHILE
God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel, found Him, resting on the seventh day.
He inquired, "Where have you been?"
God smiled deeply and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made."
Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, "What is it?"
"It's a planet," replied God, and I've put life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place to test Balance."
"Balance?" inquired Michael, "I'm still confused."
God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while southern Europe is going to be poor.
Over here I've placed a continent of white people, and
over there is a continent of black people. Balance in all things."
God continued pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."
The Archangel , impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land area and said,
"What's that one?"
"That's Wyoming, the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful mountains, rivers and streams, lakes, forests, hills, and plains.
The people from Wyoming are going to be beautiful, modest, intelligent, humorous, and
they are going to travel the world.
They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving, carriers of peace, and producers of good things."
Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then asked, "But what about balance, God? You said there would be balance."
God smiled, "I created Washington, DC. Wait till you see the idiots I put there."
Labour Youth League summer camp at Utøya got the Labour Party’s young hopefuls a visit by Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
The Palestinians “must have their own state, the occupation must end, the wall must be demolished and it must happen now,” said the Norwegian Foreign Minister to cheers from the audience.
The main activity at the Utoya Island Meeting were mock “Break the Israel blockade” games.
One event was Palestinian aide boats would try to break the Israel blockage.
The sign says “defeat the blockade” (opphev blokkaden – Gaza)
Utoya camp was not Islamist but it WAS something not much more wholesome (by our standards, at any rate).
It was a summer indoctrination camp run by Norway’s ruling Labor Party for up-and-coming children of the ruling elite.
Glen Beck was not far off when he compared it to the Hitlerjungend or Young Pioneers.
It’s so the junior members of the aristocracy can be properly told what to think and can network with each other in preparation for their brilliant careers ruling over the peasants.
I saw at least one article that had photos of previous summers with the little dearies and their handlers assembling Israel-bashing displays.
We Americans had similar traditions further back in the twentieth-century. The likes of David Horowitz and Ronald Radosh have written of the red-diaper summer camps their parents sent them to.
There are still institutions such as the “Midwest Academy” where budding labor activists go get schooled in labor and community organizing over the summer.
Not to mention the many religiously-oriented summer camps that have long been a cultural staple.
Note the faces which are more MIddle Eastern or mixed than pure Norwegian
The camp was run by the Youth Movement of the Labour Party and used to indoctrinate teens and young adults.
Breivik was targeting the future leaders of the party responsible for flooding Norway with Muslims who refuse to assimilate, who commit major violence against Norwegian natives, including violent gang rapes, with impunity, and who live on the dole... all done without the consent of the Norwegians.
The day before the shooting, a pro-Palestinian rally was held. LINK
In an interesting article Breivik and totalitarian democrats in which Sevje, the Norwegian ambassador to Israel is quoted: Totalitarian Democrats CLICK HERE
"Ma’ariv asked Sevje whether in the wake of Breivik’s terrorist attack Norwegians would be more sympathetic to the victimization of innocent Israelis by Palestinian terrorists.
Sevje said no, and explained, “We Norwegians view the occupation as the reason for terror against Israel. Many Norwegians still see the occupation as the reason for attacks against Israel. Whoever thinks this way, will not change his mind as a result of the attack in Oslo."
The author of the article notes:
"So in the mind of the illiberal Norwegians [the Labour Party], terrorism is justified if the ideology behind it is considered justified.
For them it is unacceptable for Breivik to murder Norwegian children, because his ideology is wrong. But it is acceptable for Palestinians to murder Israeli children, because their ideology is right."
ALSO take a closer look at the progression of Islam in the UK! There are now SHARIA CONTROLLED ZONES spreading across the country.
Only days after a deranged Anders Breivik claimed creeping Islamization of Norway as an excuse for cold-bloodedly murdering 76 people, the majority of which were children, a group of British Muslim extremists have seemingly mocked the tragedy by hanging bright yellow posters in several London boroughs declaring them “Sharia-controlled zones.”
One has to wonder about the timing.
Pasted on bus stops and street lamps, the posters have appeared in the London boroughs of Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets and Newham. The message they convey is that there is to be “no gambling,” “no music or concerts,” “no porn or prostitution,” “no drugs or smoking” and “no alcohol” in the areas where the posters are displayed. The warning at the top reads: “You are entering a Sharia-controlled zone – Islamic rules enforced.” The messages are going up in both Muslim and non-Muslim-majority areas and are expected to appear country-wide.
“We now have hundreds, if not thousands of people up and down the country willing to go out and patrol the streets for us,” said Anjem Choudary, 41, the Muslim “preacher” claiming responsibility for the poster campaign.
A former lawyer, Choudary says that besides addressing “the sort of thug life attitude you get in British cities,” the campaign’s goal is also “to put the seeds down for an Islamic Emirate in the long term.” Choudary heads the banned radical Islamist group Islam4UK and has advocated for a Sharia-ruled Great Britain.
Choudary has a long association with radical Islamic politics in Britain. He was the co-founder of the Salafist group al-Muhajiroun (“the emigrants”) with Omar Bakri Mohammed. Bakri, a Lebanese citizen, once headed Great Britain’s Sharia law court and was prohibited from returning to Britain from Lebanon in 2005. The British government banned al-Muhajiroun last year.
Choudary also has a record for provocative behaviour. He once called the 9/11 terrorists “magnificent martyrs” and said the 2005 London subway bombings had been only “a matter of time.” He has also called for the execution of Pope Benedict, saying the Catholic leader had insulted Islam.
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PRESENTLY ENCOURAGED BY OBA-HUSSEIN and his Islamic buddies in America is Choudry's statement below about the UK - being applied to the USA!
Who says America belongs to you? It belongs to Allah!!!! Obama PUBLICLY stated "America is no longer a Christian country! And we have more Moslems in the USA than any other country"!
BOTH Obama statements trying to lay claim of the USA for Allah, power for Obama and disowning all of the rest of us of our God given and hard EARNED rights! And freedoms, which do NOT exist under Islamic religious tenets or Sharia socio-politicallaw.
But Choudary is probably best known for a statement he made on a British television show after the interviewer suggested he should move to a country that already had Sharia law if he did not like Great Britain. Enraged, Choudary told the interviewer: “Who told you … that Great Britain belonged to you.The country belongs to Allah! If I were to move to the jungle, I would also not live there like the animals.”
One of the London areas targeted by the poster campaign, Tower Hamlets, has also seen “gay-free zone” warnings pasted on its walls in recent months, as well as women threatened by Islamists if they were not wearing headscarves. As a result of his extremist views, Choudary has received little support from Great Britain’s mainstream Muslim groups.
In a way, Choudary’s Sharia poster campaign is similar to the plan a Muslim group in America had to build a mosque at Ground Zero. With the Ground Zero mosque, the location was very suspect, while with the sharia posters, it is the timing. The possibility of a connection between the posters and the Norwegian tragedy may or may not exist, but the cultural and spiritual insensitivity of both initiatives, however, is great, especially with respect to the Ground Zero mosque plan.
But in the case of the poster campaign, just when Europe — and the rest of the world for that matter — is trying to come to grips with the senselessness of Norway’s tragedy, to promote Sharia law so soon after the event, whether deliberately or not, and claim it is part of a long-term plan to turn Great Britain into an Islamic state, is as unfeeling as it gets. Indirectly, with their posters the British Islamists are supporting Breivik’s evil, indicating his analysis was essentially correct concerning both the Islamization of Europe and multiculturalism. After all, the Sharia posters are obviously not an enlightened multicultural exchange.
Columnist Thomas Sowell described the planned mosque at Ground Zero as a big middle finger being given to America. The same can be said about the poster initiative vis-à-vis the Norwegian massacre. There is a human impulse to commiserate with Norwegians at this time, but the Sharia posters are not only devoid of compassion but also strike at our basic human sensitivity.
And it is useless to think the Islamists will ever stop to think about some of these things. They have long used our tolerance to promote their intolerance and now are using our sense of decency and compassion against us to mutilate our world. Perhaps the more important question concerning this matter is why the community of moderate Muslim leaders is not condemning this offensive behaviour.
To their credit, the British police are investigating the posters with the intention of prosecuting the people who put them up. Part of the reason is to prevent any escalation. If Choudary’s Islamist thugs are allowed to walk the streets and enforce Sharia rules, frightening and intimidating people, the police know it would only be a matter of time before there would be a very unpleasant counter-reaction.
Ironically, because of the Oslo massacre Choudary says he is organizing a march against the English Right. Never ones to miss an opportunity, it is obvious that Islamic extremists like him will now cynically use the Oslo tragedy to deflect attention away from their own extremism.
“The Muslim community needs to be vigilant,” he said. “There is an undercurrent against Islam. I do believe a Norway-style attack could happen here.”
Contrary to Choudary’s belief, a Norway-style attack has already taken place in Great Britain. The 2005 London subway bombings by Islamic extremists took 52 lives and injured more than 700 people.
Therefore, due to this home-grown tragedy, perhaps the most fitting prohibition symbol Choudary could put on his posters is one of a crossed-out bomb.
Want to know if there is a mosque or an islamic school in your neighborhood, your county or around the State - or other Islamic activity - use this detailed FINDER. Also in other countries.
The least you can do is to be aware of the extent of Moslem penetration around you. Much of it is Jihadi and not necessarily peaceful nor friendly.
Read "Is Islam Misrepresented?" by Amil Imani for more knowledge on Islam. And comments to his article.
Goodbye secular Turkey (since 1920) hello Islamic Republic courtesy of currently American citizen, Fetulah Gulen, labelled the Khomeini of Turkey, who has established Sharia schools up and down and across the USA from his headquarters in Pennsylvania.
Gulen receives tons of our taxpayer dollars to fund his Islamic schools and full protection of increasingly openly devoted Moslem Obama, whose main aim in life - the destruction of America - gets closer day by day with the ruin of our economy via the debt ceiling crisis and if that were not enough, by failing for the third year in a row to pass a budget when the continuing resolution, by which we operate financially, expires in September of 2011.
==============================
Turkey:
By Damien McElroy
Gen Isik Kosaner, the head of the Turkish armed forces, quit his post along with the heads of the ground, naval and air forces in protest over government pressure to sack scores of serving officers they wished to promote.
The generals had been preparing for a confrontation with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at next week's annual promotions board.
Gen Kosaner resigned because he "deemed it necessary," according to a report on NTV. Mr Erdogan had signalled he would block promotions for officers he believed were part of a conspiracy to destabilise Turkey and undermine his government.
The first elected prime minister from an Islamic movement was targeted by a conspiracy known as Sledgehammer, prosecutors have alleged.
Police have drawn up a list of 195 suspect, all retired or active duty members of the military, who had been party to the plot since 2003, the year Mr Erdogan took office.
Senior officers in the army had been trying to get the imprisoned officers promoted despite their incarceration, but the government has insisted that they be forced to retire.
Officials have also hinted that they wish to seek charges brought against two former chiefs of staff, Gen. Büyükanıt, who has been accused of involvement in a 2005 bombing, while retired Gen Ilker Başbuğ has been accused of ordering subordinates to run subversive websites.
Turkey's military regards its role as guardian of the secular state established by Mustafa Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. The second biggest military in Nato has steadily lost ground as Mr Erdogan is rewarded by voters for presiding over an economic boom.
The Turkish Lire fell more than one per cent on foreign exchange markets as analysts warned that the escalation of tensions and a protracted power struggle could derail Turkey's progress.
"Things in Turkey look chaotic," Suha Yaygin, deputy chief of emerging markets at Toronto-Dominion Bank said. "This has never happened in Turkey."
The Turkish military serves in Afghanistan and has been battling an upsurge in Kurdish terrorism. More than 20 conscripts have been killed in recent attacks.
Its defenders rubbish the government claims of a vast deep state conspiracy believing the evidence presented so far is built on assumptions not hard evidence of wrong doing.
The government said that Turkish democracy will lack credibility and be vulnerable to security service plotting if the cases are not prosecuted.
More than 400 people, including high profile academics, journalists, politicians and soldiers, are separately on trial for participation in another project – known as the Ergenekon Plot – to bring down the government.
We are out of money but subsidizing illegal aliens? Even if this video is exaggerated it does make a point. I have met "illegals" who are getting about $1,800 monthly from SSI or other welfare and also food stamps (now plastic cards), one type of which can be "translated" into cash after a nominal purchase of some food. They end up with close to $3,000 a month!
That's more than many American earn no matter how had they work and a lot more than some of our citizens, who paid into Social Security for over 40 years receive for their contributions.
Obama has been and is a disaster for America and in effect for the whole global economy through his moronic and inexperienced policies. UNWILLING to accept his own incredible ignorance he has surrounded himself with advisors as idiotic as himself.
Some more events that will likely happen in the Obama future for America.
1. Obama Suspends The Elections
• The Obama administration will continue to propagate their made up “terrorist threats.” Those “threats” will increase exponentially as the 2012 Presidential elections draw near. Therefore, the Kenyan will have to suspend the elections and declare martial law since the “government” has received “credible” intel that Americas polling places are terrorist targets, and in order to keep us safe, the elections will be suspended until it is safe for them to resume. Why else would our clown in chief do the things he does with complete arrogance and impunity. America, “We The People” must be prepared for what’s coming.
• Obamas terrorism will be a simple act to pull off; Obama is very good friends with weather underground terrorists Bill Ayers, Bernadine Doehrne as well as numerous Islamic terrorist organizations. If will be very easy for them to set explosive devices in obscure polling places around the nation, hopefully not while occupied, then begin a series of bombings all the while blaming it on “terrorists” which will be true, but the Obama regime would have us believe it will be homegrown terrorists, NOT his good buddies Bill Ayers, Bernadine Doehrne, islam or the rest of that fanatical ilk. Of course, all financing will be provided by Obama's owner and massah, George Soros.
• Now that the government has its newly acquired powers over the internet, the internet will be seized to eliminate fast communications so citizens are unable to quickly mobilize. I also suspect all cell phone networks will be shut down as well; their justification will be that those pesky “terrorists” may try setting off bombs remotely by…. CELL PHONE!!
IT'S NO LONGER JUST THE MAYAN PREDICTION!
NASA has warned of a once-in-a-lifetime ‘space storm’ after the sun wakes ‘from a deep slumber’ sometime around 2013, causing ‘20 times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina’.
Or, according Australian scientists' calculations, it will be closer to the Mayan ONCE EVERY 16,000 YEARS version and the "space storm" will hit our planet with the force of 100 Million nuclear Hydrogen Bombs!!!
Senior space agency scientists believe that the super storm (regardless of severity) would hit like ‘a bolt of lightning’ and damage everything from emergency services’ systems, hospital equipment, banking systems and air traffic control devices, through to “everyday” items such as home computers, iPods and Sat Navs.
And unless precautions are taken, it could cause catastrophic consequences for the world’s health, emergency services and national security.
"We know it is comingbutwe don’t know how bad it is going to be,” Dr Richard Fisher, the director of NASA’s Heliophysics division, said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
He, however, said that preparations were similar to those in a hurricane season, where authorities knew a problem was imminent but did not know how serious it would be.
"I think the issue is now that modern society is so dependant on electronics, mobile phones and satellites, much more so than the last time this occurred,” he said.
"There is a severe economic impact from this. We take it very seriously. The economic impact could be like a large, major hurricane or storm,” he added. Fisher said the storm, which will cause the Sun to reach temperatures of more than 10,000 F (5500 degrees Celsius), occurred only a few times over a person’s life.
Every 22 years the Sun’s magnetic energy cycle peaks while the number of sunspots — or flares — hits a maximum level every 11 years.
Fisher said these two events would combine in 2013 to produce huge levels of radiation.
ALL OBAMA WANTS - APART FROM GRINDING AMERICA INTO FINANCIAL RUIN - IS TO PREVENT THE DEBT CEILING SITUATION FROM INTERFERING WITH HIS RE-ELECTION PLAN.
His biggest fear is not being in the Oval Office after 2012 to finish us off as a nation! He could NOT care LESS what damage gets done by his blocking any plan which is not his and HE does not have one to offer!
(In real life in early days, around 2002, when I was assigned out there, we would lose fuel and supply trucks intended for the palace In Kabul through sabotage but paying a very small sum, $20 to the driver often got them through - frequently under added police protection that cost an extra $25 or dependng on the cargo maybe $50! It was pocket change type pf expenses before someone escalated it and began filling pockets.
The payoffs had a purpose but turned into a corrupt milch cow of the giver and receiver when they began to both feed at the same, now shared trough of ever larger amounts of payoffs).
11 August 2005 (look at this date and follow through till today and the Dept. of Homeland Security video at the end)
On Friday 20th May 2005 a crowd of some 300 Muslims burned a wooden cross outside the American embassy in London. This was part of a protest against the rumoured desecration of a Qur'an by American soldiers in Guantanamo Bay, during which British and American flags were also burned. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this event was that it was not deemed to be newsworthy, receiving little attention in the national press.
The whole scenario is reminiscent of what happens in so many Muslim-majority countries: a rumour of an insult to Islam, a violent and blasphemous anti-Christian reaction, police watching idly, and a complete lack of public interest let alone outrage. It could have been Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia or Northern Nigeria. But it was the UK.
Europe is undergoing a rapid process of change as Muslims make their presence felt in politics, economics, law, education and the media. While there is a wide range of attitudes amongst Muslims in Europe, with many who are broadly content with the status quo and just want to live their lives peacefully, others are striving deliberately to drive forward the changes.
As a result of the efforts of the latter, Europe is gradually being transformed into a society in which Islam takes its place, not just as an equal alongside the many other faith communities, but often as the dominant player. This is not purely, or even primarily, a matter of numbers, but is more a matter of control of the structures of society. It is not happening by chance but is the result of a careful and deliberate strategy by certain Muslim leaders.
Though the effects are only now becoming noticeable, the planning was done decades ago. In 1980 the Islamic Council of Europe published a book called Muslim Communities in Non-Muslim States which clearly explained the Islamic agenda in Europe. When Muslims live as a minority they face theological problems, because classical Islamic teaching always presupposed a context of Islamic dominance; hence the need for guidance on how to live in non-Muslim states.
The instructions given in the book told Muslims to get together and organise themselves with the aim of establishing a viable Muslim community based on Islamic principles. This is the duty of every individual Muslim living within a non-Muslim political entity. They should set up mosques, community centres and Islamic schools.
At all costs they must avoid being assimilated by the majority.
In order to resist assimilation, they must group themselves geographically, forming areas of high Muslim concentration within the population as a whole. Yet they must also interact with non-Muslims so as to share the message of Islam with them. Every Muslim individual is required to participate in the plan; it is not allowed for anyone simply to live as a "good Muslim" without assisting the overall strategy.
The ultimate goal of this strategy is that the Muslims should become a majority and the entire nation be governed according to Islam. (M. Ali Kettani "The Problems of Muslim Minorities and their Solutions" in Muslim Communities in Non-Muslim States (London: Islamic Council of Europe, 1980) pp.96-105).
Not all Muslims would support this action plan. The more secularized are happy to become integrated within the majority society. Even amongst those who agree on the ultimate goal of creating an Islamic state, there are differences about methodology i.e. whether this should be a slow and peaceful transition, or whether it should be hastened by means of political dominance or even - say some - by violence.
Despite the variety of opinion amongst Muslims, it is not hard to recognize the different stages of the Islamic Council of Europe's strategy being put into practice within today's Europe.
Muslims do tend to live in tightly concentrated areas, and show little sign of integrating into wider society. Saudi funding is paying for the erection of large and beautiful mosques, staffed by imams brought over to Europe from the "home countries".
Sweden's third largest city, Malmø, is effectively ruled by violent gangs of Muslims, and some of the Muslim residents of the city still cannot read or write Swedish though they have lived there for 20 years.
Denmark has recently seen the Nordgårdsskolen in Aarhus become the first school in the country to have 100% Muslim pupils.
Britain's Muslim population (variously estimated at between 1.6 and 3 million) is concentrated in three areas: north-west England, the midlands and London. In some of these areas Muslims are now targeting the remaining Christian presence, arsoning churches, physically attacking church leaders and their property; the aim seems to be to "cleanse" these areas of non-Muslims.
European Muslims are Islamizing many aspects of life that also affect non-Muslims. Spanish Muslims have expressed their desire to "regain" the mosque of Cordoba. This building was originally a church, then turned into a mosque, and then turned back into a place of Christian worship.
Halal meat is now routinely served in many British prisons, schools and hospitals, sometimes to Muslim and non-Muslim alike, and the hijab [Islamic headscarf] is worn in British schools.
Muslims in the London borough of Tower Hamlets have forced name-changes for districts and local amenities if the existing name sounds too Christian for their liking.
In the UK, where Islam is making its most rapid advance, Islamic law (shari'a) is already practised unofficially, with shari'a councils and shari'a courts giving judgments on Muslim family matters.
In education numerous concessions are being made to British Muslims, Islam often being given more prominence and respect than other faiths at state schools.
An increasing number of university posts are being funded from Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries on condition that a certain line of thinking is promoted.
The ultimate goal of taking control of society, as depicted by the Islamic Council of Europe in 1980, is clearly in the minds of at least some Muslim leaders.
A Dutch Imam has stated that Islamic law is superior to other forms of legislationso there is no need to obey other laws.
Some Finnish imams preach on the Islamic duty to kill a Muslim who converts to another faith, adding that it is difficult to carry this out in Finland at present because Muslims do not yet "own the state".
Furthermore, the freedoms of European society are being exploited by Islamic militants and their supporters to plan terrorist activities around the world. London - or "Londonistan" as it is becoming known - is one of the most important bases for Islamic terrorism worldwide. This has been illustrated by the July bombings in London itself.
Despite all these advances, Muslims still tend to portray themselves as victims in European society, while the majority society in turn struggles to affirm them and to avoid giving any accidental offence.
But this kind of reaction by non-Muslims can be seen as the typical behaviour of dhimmi. In classical Islam, Christian and Jewish minorities within an Islamic state were called dhimmi. They were free to worship and live out their faith, but had to submit to a raft of discriminatory and humiliating laws. They learned to be subservient, and to consider the dominance of Muslims as normal as the Muslims themselves did.
It is typical of dhimmi not to protest if a Christian cross is burned by an angry crowd, nor even to feel that anything outrageous has occurred. Likewise the Muslim scheme to turn the cathedral of Cordoba back into a mosque has the backing of some Spanish government leaders in the city.
At a political level, European countries are responding in different ways to the challenge of Islam. France is determinedly protecting its secularism, and has banned the hijab in school.
The Netherlands have recently swung from one extreme to the other, following the ritualized killing of Dutch film director Theo van Gogh by a young Muslim in November 2004; they are turning against multiculturalism and becoming concerned to control immigration.
The UK seems to be seeking to replicate the segregation and communalism of the British Raj in India, whereby the various religious communities were each given their own laws. This policy would certainly mesh well with some Muslim leaders' own plans for Britain.
If Britain is to be sub-divided in this way, perhaps geographically as well as legally, it raises the question of how the Church would survive in areas of Islamic rule. What form would Christian ministry be able to take in these areas?
Muslims are still a minority in numerical terms in Europe, with an estimated 20 million living in the European Union. No country apart from Albania has a Muslim community amounting to more than about 10% of the population. However, demographic studies indicate that Muslim populations are growing far faster than the non-Muslim populations.
This is due partly to continued immigration, partly to conversion, but mainly to the larger number of children which Muslim families typically have. The growing Muslim community is a mosaic of different ethnic, linguistic, cultural, sectarian and geographical backgrounds, and characterized by increasing internal tensions particularly over how to relate to the host society.
AND OBAMA'S ADMINISTRATION RUNS MOSLEM TAGHIYA (LYING) AND PROTECTION FOR ISLAM WITH HIS OFFICIAL Homeland Security VIDEO (Below)
DHS Video Characterizes White Americans as Most Likely Terrorists
Big Sis Napolitano fear campaign continues, but Americans are just as likely to be killed by peanut allergies than they are in terrorist attacks
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com 2011
DHS Denies “Racial Overtones” In ‘White Middle Class Terrorists’ Video
A new promotional video released by the Department of Homeland Security characterizes white middle class Americans as the most likely terrorists, as Big Sis continues its relentless drive to cement the myth that mad bombers are hiding around every corner, when in reality Americans are just as likely to be killed by lightning strikes or peanut allergies.
The video is part of Homeland Security’s $10 million dollar “See Something, Say Something” program that encourages Americans to report “suspicious activity,” which in every case throughout history has been a trait of oppressive, dictatorial regimes, which Obama's is becoming as fast as he can get it there.
In the course of the 10 minute clip, a myriad different behaviors are characterized as terrorism, including opposing surveillance, using a video camera, talking to police officers, wearing hoodies, driving vans, writing on a piece of paper, and using a cell phone recording application.
Despite encouraging viewers not to pay attention to a person’s race in determining whether or not they may be a terrorist, almost all of the scenarios in the clip proceed to portray white people as the most likely terrorists.
Bizarrely, nearly every single one of the “patriotic” Americans who reports on their fellow citizen is either black, Asian or Arab.
Imagine if the video had portrayed every terrorist as an Arab and every patriotic snoop as white, there’d be an outcry and rightly so, but this strange reversal must have been deliberate on the part of the DHS, but why? Is this merely political correctness taken to the extreme or is something deeper at work?
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the DHS’ own internal documents list predominantly white conservative groups as the most likely terrorists, such as Ron Paul supporters, gun owners, gold bullion enthusiasts, and a myriad of other comparatively banal political interests that are largely the domain of white middle class Americans.
This has little to do with the color of a person’s skin, and everything to do with the fact that white, middle class Americans are the biggest roadblock when it comes to OBAMA'S Big Sis expanding its control over every facet of American society.
It’s plain to see that very little of the budget for this video went towards paying for decent actors, but perhaps it’s fitting that the participants were about as believable as Santa and his elves, because the notion that terrorists are hovering around every underground parking lot waiting to blow up federal buildings is demonstrably false.
As Ohio University’s John Mueller has documented, the likelihood of actually being a victim of terrorism is infinitesimally small, and only highlights how such threats are hyperbolically exaggerated for political purposes.
Figures collected by Mueller clearly show that Americans are just as likely to be killed by lightning strikes, accident-causing deer, or severe allergic reactions to peanuts.
But the facts don’t matter for a federal agency whose primary function is to manufacture fear to keep Americans under control and submissive to the fact that their economic futures and their constitutional rights are being torn to shreds by their own government while it points to a contrived outside threat as a convenient distraction.
“At its core, the video is filled with scenes of ordinary citizens spying on each other and alerting the authorities to their compatriots’ suspicious deeds,” writes Simon Black. In my favorite scene, a woman calls the police after snooping over the shoulder of a young man typing away on his smartphone.”
(Alan note: Remember the Hitler Youth had the same duties)
Black notes that such videos are solely aimed at reinforcing ignorance, hate and fear for those who still live in darkness and are completely unaware of the real agenda behind Homeland Security’s “see something, say something” charade.
But what is that agenda?
No matter where you look, from East Germany, to Communist Russia, to Nazi Germany, historically governments who encourage their own citizens to report on each other do so not for any genuine safety concerns or presumed benefits to security, but in order to create an authoritarian police state that coerces the people into policing each other’s behavior and thoughts.
(Alan note: part of Obama's long stated creation of a ONE MILLION person Civilian Security force of which 250,000 people have already been budgeted and PASSED in his HEALTH care bill nobody had time to read and which had to be passed to find our what was in it! AND who report directly to the President (an oath to that office) NOT to the Constitution he ignores and tramples).
As Robert Gellately of Florida State University has highlighted, Germans under Hitler denounced their neighbors and friends not because they genuinely believed them to be a security threat, but because they expected to selfishly benefit from doing so, both financially, socially and psychologically via a pavlovian need to be rewarded by their masters for their obedience.
At the height of its influence around one in seven of the East German population was an informant for the Stasi. As in Nazi Germany, the creation of an informant system was wholly centered around identifying political dissidents and those with grievances against the state, and had little or nothing to do with genuine security concerns.
(Alan note: as with Obama who is trying to tar and feather those most likely to vote against him than, as are the real facts on the ground, the Moslems he favors and who will be on his side instead of opposing his trashing the Constitution on their behalf as he has started to do with ignoring subpoenas issued by Congress).
This is the kind of society the Department of Homeland Security is, whether deliberately or inadvertently, recreating in 21st century America. It is about as far removed as you can possibly get from the vision the founders of the nation had in mind when they created the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.
Comment by Alex Jones: This DHS video is purposefully designed to transfer fear and hatred of Muslims over to white Americans. Look at the part of the clip where an image of “Jihad Jane” is displayed, the blue eyes are artificially intensified in order to get the message across.
This is about playing minorities off against whites, creating further resentment and suspicion, getting us at each other’s throats just as how different racial groups were set upon each other in Hitler’s Germany to create an environment of fear and distrust, motivating people to inform on each other for the state.
Whether it refers to Obama Senior or Obama Junior, the birth place of EITHER in Kisumu invalidates Barack Hussein Obama's eligibility to be in the Oval Office! He cannot be a "natural born citizen" in either case.
MULTI-ASPECT POST WITH TWOLINKS TO IMPORTANT MUST-READ ARTICLES
White House operative heading 'birther' smear campaign? Former Fannie Mae chief allegedly manages 100-strong attack team from Pennsylvania Ave
NEW YORK – A top Democrat, apparently operating with the full approval and cooperation of the president, has been directing a team of up to 100 who are paid to publish disinformation on a wide variety of websites to discredit "birthers," according to anti-Obama researchers.
The radical supporters of the president, known as Obama robots, or "OBOTs" for short, have confirmed their White House-appointed ring leader is Democratic Party operative James A. Johnson, the former chairman of Fannie Mae.
Initially, the OBOTs attempted to mask their Internet identities by posting under usernames with avatars that suggest their personalities. But due largely to the efforts of anti-Obama researchers, including "birthers" vilified by the OBOTs, the true identities of key OBOT operatives have been revealed.
If "NeonZX" and "JimBot" are James A. Johnson, a link will have been established between the Obama White House at the topmost levels and a highly organized disinformation campaign, most likely financed by taxpayer funds.
This can result in a 90% drop in visitors to a site almostovernight as back door White House influence with major search engine sites like Google leads to their SearchBots selectively filtering out much of the links to the site's articles if they have "Obama" or "Certificate" or other "keywords" in the article and reduction of bandwidth with providers like AT&T that suddenly drop connection for sites being accessed through their broadband / wi-fi access channels. Even on purely AT&T networks.
James Johnson, who was a major player in the collapse of our economy while at FannyMae, reportedly has the full power of the White House behind this misuses of tax dollars.
Both at Fannie Mae and his role of White House "disinformation czar".
We. at this site, have faced and and still encounter this kind of "discrimination/censorship" with Google and AT&T where with the latter, suddenly our Broadband ceases to exist! NOT for the whole Internet but for access our site! And on occasion to a major Conservative site we visit. We can continue to access other websites!
To be fair, Google management, to their credit , when made aware that the settings for their Searchbots result in unusual fluctuations in visitors or just access to our site (hosted by Google) eventually take steps to correct, resolve and repair this.
They need to revisit this as the techies also tamper with settings needed by external statistics software inserted to the site settings to keep track.
(And on one recent occasion, Techies totally deleted a whole week of our posts they apparently did not like, which TO BE FAIR, management restored within 24-hours)
There are some fervent activist supporters of the Islamic regime of Iran amongGoogle Technical Staff, who have repeatedly abused their positions in arioius ways over the years and as the Islamic regime is also a hot and dedicated supporter of Obama, who protects the Iranian Islamic regime against the populace they rule with bloodthirstysuppression, it kills two birds with one stone to disable or reduce this site's effectiveness.
Note: We have NON-RACIST disagreement with Obama's policies and actions - as we would with anyone of any RACE OR COLOR who implemented the same moronic or intentional damage to America AND THE WORLD!
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Also, any bone of contention with Islam is NOT with the religious, spiritual side of what is in reality an UNIQUE combination of "Church and State" with SOCIO-LEGAL powers to condemn and brutally punish people - through Sharia courts which are CIVIL actions of a State, not religious actions and invalidate the "protection" or other claims of Islam as PURELY a religion instead of a SOCIO-LEGAL SYSTEM.
When an Islamic Sharia appeals COURT recently refused permission for a Moslem to change their religion and threatened loss of life (execution) if this were pursued, then this exits "religion" and enters "temporal/State " law not "spiritual" activity.
Thus NOT religious/spiritual philosophy that applies to every other established religion.
Because of the chameleon nature of those who present or represent varying versions of Islam, where they want to exercise "legal" temporal power in this world, in the name of religion, not in an after-life of other religions, to enforce their decisions.
No EXISTING laws protecting religions and freedom of worship apply to this "church/state Islam" nor even conceived Oof it when they were passed by governments.
In fact Obama's heavily biased "promotion/protection/expansion" of Jihadi Islam in the USA (and worldwide to facilitate the establishment of a Moslem Caliphate) is contrary to the USA Constitution, which states:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ...............or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
Obama is doing this by decree (Executive Orders) and going around Congress using his Department of "Justice" to favor Islam against any other religion and not prosecute black-on-white crime or where Islam is involved. in a lawsuit
And those laws which address the subject along the lines of all other established religions are openly abused by Jihadi Moslems.
The Jihadis are very different from the everyday Moslem and even bully them into submission to Socio-LEGAL, this world crime and punishment that a State imposes.
If Islam is PURELY a religion, thenso is England!
As in Islam there is a long established "religious component" called the Church of England. And as in Islam there is a legal State component of law courts which judge and impose punishment on people in THIS world not in an after-life where they have to answer to God or to Allah - or their souls do.
Would Moslems in Britain (or anywhere) accept the "England" religion to put them to death or condemn them to being whipped for disobeying the "England" religion?
Or if the "England" religion followers came to live as a minority in Moslem countries and demanded those countries permit the Canonic (religious) laws of Christianity be including in the laws of the land, would that seem reasonable to Moslems living there?
That's assuming that the "freedom of religion" of the West, even exists in those countries. (The closest we came to that kind of freedom in a Moslem country was in Iran before the Pahlavi monarchy was overthrown by blooodthirsty Ayatollah Khomeini.
Under the Shah you were free to practise any religion you chose - or not! Nobody insisted you go to a mosque or a church or a Jewish Temple of worship - or criticize you for staying home instead).
Again, I have NO QUARREL with Islam the SPIRITUAL religion, nor with Moslems spiritually connecting to their deity, Allah. I would even fight to protect their right to do so but cannot accept the Jihadi demands of exceptional and special treatment for their Sharia law component.
EXAMPLE OF WHERE TAX DOLLARS GO UNDER OBAMA LEADERSHIP
After Obama took over! (Hillary also at fault)
State Department officials have fired contract specialist Kathleen McGrade in the wake of The Daily Caller’s exclusive investigation, which discovered that she funneled more than $52 million in taxpayer money to a company her husband and daughter own and operate.
State Department spokesman Andy Laine told The Daily Caller that McGrade’s employment has ended.
“Upon learning of the allegations, the Department immediately relieved Ms. McGrade of her responsibilities,” Laine said in an email. “Subsequently, the Department instructed her company that her employment at the Department is terminated.”
McGrade worked as a federal government contractor, handling the disbursement of taxpayer money for the State Department to other contractors. She worked on-site at the State Department in the office of Overseas Building Operations.
McGrade’s husband, Brian Collinsworth, and her daughter, Jennifer Herring, own and operate the Sterling Royale Group. McGrade helped Sterling Royale win 43 government contracts worth $52,095,333 between 2009 and June 15 of this year.
Reuters: "Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini backs offering $5.8 billion in aid to Syria to bolster its economy, a French newspaper said Friday, citing a report by a Tehran think-tank linked to Iran's leadership. Damascus has long been Tehran's main ally among otherwise mainly hostile Arab states.
After four months of popular unrest, Syria's economy is reeling under the weight of strikes, reduced oil exports, scaled-back trade and international sanctions. Its troubles have prompted Iran's leadership to consider offering $5.8 billion in financial help, including a three-month loan worth $1.5 billion to be made available immediately, French business daily Les Echos said. It added that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has backed the idea of the aid, which was outlined in a secret report by the Center for Strategic Research, a think tank linked to the Iranian leadership." http://t.uani.com/n4kP4X
UPI: "Iran expects to garner non-oil trade worth more than $45 billion during its current calendar year despite a plethora of international sanctions led by the United States, the United Nations and the European Union. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said non-oil exports during the calendar year ending March 20, 2012, would exceed $45 billion -- against $30 billion in the previous year -- and would consist of gas condensates, mineral fuels, chemical products, plastics and fertilizers as well as traditional commodities of fruit and nuts, Press TV reported... The United against Nuclear Iran campaign in the United States, meanwhile, is drumming up support for tougher measures against entities that trade with Iran.
UANI has urged U.S. state and municipal legislatures to follow the lead of California and Florida and pass legislation barring companies that do business in Iran from receiving state contracts. UANI said it wrote to governors and legislative leaders of 48 states, urging them to take action to pressure the Iranian regime. California and Florida have already passed Iran debarment legislation. UANI says Japanese crane manufacturer Tadano responded to its call by ending its business in Iran which was reported to have used the company's cranes to stage public hangings." http://t.uani.com/rmn7oK
YnetNews: "A Japanese heavy machinery manufacturer said it has cut business ties with the Iranian government following a report that its cranes have been used for public executions. The company's announcement came several days after United Against Nuclear Iran President Mark D. Wallace published an op-ed in Los Angeles Times where he names the Japanese Tadano company as one of several companies exporting cranes to Iran. 'In response to Iran's brazen attempts to intimidate and terrorize its own people, United Against Nuclear Iran has launched a Cranes Campaign. The goal is to educate crane manufacturers worldwide about the Iranian regime's clear misuse of their products and how such use can tarnish their brand image,' Wallace wrote. As part of the campaign, United Against Nuclear Iran published on its website a list of seven international manufacturers exporting cranes and other heavy equipment to Iran, along with pictures of the cranes being used for public executions." http://t.uani.com/r92WoP
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
Reuters: "Iran said on Sunday it would export 2.6 million litres of gasoline per day due to a rise in production and fall in consumption, an official was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency. 'Considering the country's gasoline production capacity has increased to 70 million litres per day and consumption dropped to around 54 million, it is now possible to export 2.6 million,' said Ali-Reza Zeighami, the head of the state-owned National Iranian Refining and Distribution Co. Zeighami added exports would be from current stockpiles.
In July 2010, the oil ministry reported Iran's daily gasoline production was 45 million litres and consumption 63 million, with the rest made up by imports -- an economic weak point deliberately targeted by U.S. and European sanctions. Iranian officials had said the country's production capacity would increase by 25 million litres after it built refineries. Some foreign analysts view this rapid transformation with scepticism, saying it would take years to add so much capacity." http://t.uani.com/pPndCC
AP: "Iran's official news agency IRNA says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for a quick increase in trade with China to $100 billion a year. The news agency says current trade between the two countries is worth about $30 billion. Iran turned to China after the West imposed economic sanctions over Tehran's suspected nuclear weapons program. Iran says it's nuclear program has a strictly peaceful purpose. Ahmadinejad spoke after a meeting Saturday with He Guoqiang, a senior executive of the Chinese Communist Party. The Iranian president says he hopes the new trade goal will be reached quickly, but did not give a time frame. IRNA says the two countries signed agreements worth $4 billion in mining, energy and other areas." http://t.uani.com/nrfWvM
Human Rights
AP: "Iran's intelligence minister said Friday that his country has found a way to block the so-called 'Internet in a suitcase,' a program reportedly developed by the U.S. to bring online access to dissidents around the world. The minister, Heidar Moslehi, told Muslim worshippers that Iran was aware of the program from the start. 'We prepared a solution for it,' he said in a speech broadcast live on state radio. He did not elaborate. Iran has alleged that the program, first reported by The New York Times last month, is largely aimed at the Islamic Republic.
Earlier this month, Iran's telecommunications minister, Reza Taqipour, said Iran is taking technical measures to combat the the program. Taqipour was quoted by state media as saying that the program is part of a 'cultural invasion' by Iran's enemies aimed at promoting dissent and undermining Iran's ruling system." http://t.uani.com/rlzMGM
AFP: "Iran has arrested another female reporter wanting to cover the women's football World Cup in Germany, a press report said on Sunday, saying she was being held in Tehran's notorious Evin jail. Pegah Ahangarani, 27, who is also an actress and film-maker and said to be a supporter of the Iranian opposition movement, was arrested earlier this month in her flat and has not been seen since, the Spiegel weekly said. Ahangarani was intending to cover the women's World Cup, which was due to wrap up on Sunday, for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Spiegel said. Deutsche Welle said that Ahangarani was due to travel to Germany for the tournament and write an Internet blog about it.
According to sources close to Ahangarani cited by Deutsche Welle's Persian language service, she was summoned to the interior ministry the day before she was due to travel and threatened with arrest if she tried to leave the country. As a result of this and further 'threats' Ahangarani decided not to attempt to travel to Germany, and on July 14 it was confirmed that she had been arrested four days earlier, Deutsche Welle said." http://t.uani.com/nZGky9
Domestic Politics
Guardian: "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has suffered an unprecedentedly harsh blow to its credibility during the last few weeks. The Iranian president has witnessed the arrest of officials close to high-ranking members of his cabinet, and has engaged in an escalating war of words with senior conservatives and Iran's judiciary. Even high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Guards, long believed to be politically aligned with Ahmadinejad, have sparred publicly with his administration, with both sides accusing each other of illegal financial dealings. Despite this crisis, Ahmadinejad has not only maintained his clout but has also managed to break through many of the regime's traditional restrictions on executive power. His political standing has been weakened but not undermined.
This has left Iranian legislators worried that Ahmadinejad can still gain long-lasting political influence through next year's parliamentary elections. In an effort to extend his power beyond 2013, when his term ends, Ahmadinejad will continue to push the limits of Iran's government structure and pick fights to place allies in influential positions, according to Hossein Askari, who holds the Iran chair at George Washington University." http://t.uani.com/r3Vdh6
AP: "Iran's central bank is asking citizens their opinions on new names for the country's currency. Visitors to the bank's website can choose from several names, including rial - the current name - toman, parsi and derik. In the online survey, the bank also asks respondents how many zeros should be removed from the currency. The government has proposed lopping off four zeros.
The biggest Iranian banknote is 100,000 rials, which is equivalent to around 9 dollars. The poll results will be taken into consideration when the government draws up a draft on changes to the currency. The proposal will be submitted to parliament." http://t.uani.com/nue2b6
Foreign Affairs
Reuters: "Argentina on Sunday welcomed an offer from Iran to help investigate the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish centre that killed 85 people and which local prosecutors blame on Iranian officials. Argentine prosecutors say that Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi is among those behind the attack. Iran denies any links to the bombing. Local newspapers over the weekend carried a news release from the Iranian government offering to start talks aimed at 'shedding light' on the bombing that levelled the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association building. 'The foreign ministry hopes to receive an official communication from its Iranian counterpart,' the Argentine government said in a statement, which went on to call the overture from Iran 'unprecedented and very positive.'" http://t.uani.com/pxVDeL
AP: "Iran's official news agency says Revolutionary Guard forces have taken control of three bases of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in neighboring Iraq. IRNA quoted Colonel Delavar Ranjbarzadeh, a local Guard commander, as saying on Monday that many members of the Iranian Kurdish opposition group PEJAK have been killed in fierce clashes on the border over the past two days. Iran threatened last week to attack PEJAK bases in Iraq after it accused the president of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, of providing bases for the group without informing the central Iraqi government in Baghdad. Iran has sporadically bombed PEJAK bases deep inside Iraqi Kurdistan." http://t.uani.com/q1cP6Y
AP: "Iran's state TV says the country's supreme leader has told Pakistan's president that the United States is Pakistan's real enemy. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke Saturday during a meeting with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. It was Zardari's second visit to Iran in less than a month. Khamenei has the final say on all state matters in Iran. The U.S.-Pakistan relationship has been on a downward spiral since the May 2 U.S. raid that killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town." http://t.uani.com/o9Qx3o
Opinion & Analysis
Jackson Diehl in WashPost: "One of the most curious features of the Obama administration's foreign policy is the contrast between the silky, non-confrontational public diplomacy it employs when dealing with dictatorships and adversaries, such as Russia, China and Venezuela - and the brusqueness with which it often addresses U.S. clients and allies. The latest example of this came last week in Iraq, where the United States is engaged in a complex and high-stakes competition with Iran. At immediate issue is whether Iraq's Shiite-led government will ask Washington to leave behind 10,000 or so soldiers of the 47,000 troops now there, instead of completing a full withdrawal by the end of this year.
The larger question is whether Iraq will be forced by a full U.S. pullout to become an Iranian satellite, a development that would undo a huge and painful investment of American blood and treasure and deal a potentially devastating blow to the larger U.S. position in the Middle East...
The tone of that remark, like other administration rhetoric on the potential deal, suggests that Obama and his top aides believe they are offering Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki a favor by inviting a request to leave troops behind, and don't think a stay-on force is a vital U.S. interest. Others see it quite differently. Maliki, like U.S. commanders in the Middle East, understands very well that without an American military presence, Iraq will be unable to defend itself against its Persian neighbor.
Iranian-backed militias are already stepping up attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces with sophisticated rockets and roadside bombs; without U.S. help, Iraqi forces cannot easily counter them. Moreover, Iraq's conventional forces are no match for those of Iran... Most Iraq watchers believe Maliki wants to ask for U.S. troops. But the problems - in addition to the chronic Iraqi practice of putting off hard decisions until the last minute - are formidable. Perhaps the most serious is Maliki's political dependence on the Shiite party of Moqtada al-Sadr, an Iranian client.
Sadr is threatening armed resistance if U.S. troops stay, and the offensive already underway by Iranian-sponsored militias shows that Tehran is ready to fight. Administration officials nevertheless argue that the danger of Iranian hegemony in Iraq - and hence the importance of a stay-on force - is overstated by analysts such as Kagan. 'Iran is struggling with its own economy,' Antony Blinken, a senior aide to Biden, told me. 'Infighting among Iranian leaders has undercut its ability to make decisions about domestic and foreign policy,' and the uprising against the Syrian regime has further shaken Tehran's confidence... The only Obama administration official who has publicly made the case for a continued U.S. military presence is former defense secretary Robert M. Gates. In a speech in May, he said it would send 'a powerful signal to the region that we're not leaving, that we will continue to play a part.' He added: 'I think it would be reassuring to the Gulf states. I think it would not be reassuring to Iran, and that's a good thing.' Gates publicly urged Iraq to keep U.S. troops. Now he is gone, and the message is 'dammit, make a decision.' Whether or not Iran is prepared to seize hold of Iraq, those aren't the right words to keep an ally." http://t.uani.com/qGtyyj
Farnaz Fassihi in WSJ: "Iranians have turned to the Internet to organize antigovernment protests. Now they're flocking online to defy another Islamic Republic edict: buying and selling dogs.
Pooch lovers in Iran are clicking on popular websites like Woof Woof Iran Digital Pets and Persianpet to pick their favorite canine, study dog grooming or swap pet tales. Buying and selling dogs is illegal in Iran, unless they are guard dogs or used by police. Dogs are considered 'haram,' or unclean, in Islam. Until recently, keeping dogs as pets was limited to a small circle of Westernized Iranians. But access to satellite television-and American programs depicting families playing with pups-has turned dog ownership into a sign of social status in Iran. 'It's the latest fashion now to buy each other puppies as birthday gifts,' says Amin, a 25-year-old. He had never pet a dog until traveling to a village two hours outside Tehran to obtain a German Shepherd puppy. Authorities are striking back. Last year, Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi issued a fatwa, or religious edict, denouncing dog ownership. In April, Iran's parliament passed a bill to criminalize dog ownership, declaring the phenomenon a sign of 'vulgar Western values.' This summer, so-called morality police are cruising the streets looking to enforce the anti-dog law. The punishment varies from a fine of up to $500 if the dog is seen in a public space to temporarily confiscating cars and suspending drivers' licenses if the dog isn't contained in a carrier inside the car.
To evade detection, pooch owners are resorting to middle-of-the-night walks and driving hours to the countryside just so their pets can roam. Vendors charge the equivalent of up to $10,000 for top dogs and operate so covertly that some blindfold potential buyers en route to the kennel." http://t.uani.com/ox4t0T
Frida Ghitis in The Miami Herald: "Chavez's good pal Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is going through some difficulties of his own. The Iranian president, whose own hate-filled speeches have triggered walkouts at the UN - as when he said most people blame Washington for the 9/11 attacks - is gradually losing power. The ayatollahs who helped him retain the presidency after the protests that followed the disputed 2009 election, have had enough of Ahmadinejad. He got too big for his britches and now the turbaned ones want him out. He may or may not stay in office, but he has lost much of his power. Neither Ahmadinejad nor Chavez would get much sympathy from another of their best friends, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Assad is fighting for his political life, and doing it by killing hundreds upon hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators in his own country. The demonstrators continue the fight. Assad has lost all legitimacy. He had tried to wear the mask of a moderate reformer, but now all Syrians, all Arabs - the entire world, really - know the truth. He is a butcher who will stop at nothing to hold on to power. The troubles for Assad and Ahmadinejad could give ulcers to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who has his hands full with serious problems of his own.
A U.N. Special Tribunal has indicted four Hezbollah members in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Nasrallah had desperately tried to prevent this from happening. That's because the indictment rips the veneer off Hezbollah's claim to work only for the protection of Lebanon. Most Lebanese know his militia was created by Iran, armed by Tehran and Damascus, and worked at the behest of the Iranian and Syrian regimes.
Hariri's killers sought to protect Syrian control of Lebanon by eliminating its most effective critic... Lest Americans derive too much satisfaction from the woes of key adversaries, it's worth noting that many others remain. Ahmadinejad's domestic foes may hate the United States even more than he does.
In Arab countries where America has lost important friends, their replacements could create new difficulties.
In Egypt, the most powerful political party is the Muslim Brotherhood, hardly fans of America. But even more troubling is what we're learning about the 'liberal' parties. The vice president of Wafd, the biggest secular party, recently declared that 9/11 was 'Made in America,' the Holocaust is a 'lie,' and Anne Frank a 'fake.' Still, a world in which the likes of Ch�vez, Ahmadinejad and Assad are not permanent fixtures of the global political landscape is one where Washington can hope to make some inroads. No guarantees, but at least it's not only America and its friends having a tough time."
