Even as al Jazeera propagandizes for the Iranian mullacracy, the mullahs and
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have coupled its advanced uranium enrichment with renewed
threats against Israel and the West.
Iran Couples Upped Uranium
Enrichment with Violent Threats Source: DEBKAfile
Tehran followed through on its leaders' promise to start home-processing of
uranium up to 20 percent grade, in open defiance of a UN ban. Adding insult to
injury, UN inspectors were invited to Natanz to witness the event, which was
charged with echoes of the threat sounded by Iran's spiritual ruler Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei the day before. "The Iranian nation with its unity and God's grace
will punch the arrogance [of Western powers] on the 22nd of Bahman (Feb. 11) in
a way that will leave them stunned!" Some of the claims are dismissed by certain
informed circles in the West as empty boasts, part of the extremist Islamist
regime's war of propaganda against the world or its campaign to still domestic
fears of a US or Israeli attack. But some Iran-watchers in the West believe
Khamenei is talking about blood on the streets of Tehran during the coming
opposition protest rallies. But others do not rule out Iran's first nuclear
test. Foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki contributed to the heightened tension
generated by the war-mongering from Damascus in the last ten days. He pledged
that if Israel attacked Syria or any other Arabs, Iran would come to their aid...
US, EU Fear Fresh
Crackdown on Green Movement in
Iran
Washington and the EU issued a rare joint statement on Iran, warning the
country's leaders to live up to their international human rights obligations.
The Iranian opposition is expected to revive anti-government protests around the
anniversary, raising the prospect of new clashes with the security forces.
Yemen al Qaeda
Urges Jihad, Wants Red Sea
Blockaded
The Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda called for a regional Muslim holy war and a
blockade of the Red Sea to cut off US shipments to Israel, a further sign of the
group's ambitions to mount new strikes outside its base. Western powers and
neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, fear that Yemen's
growing instability as it struggles with northern Shi'ite rebels and southern
secessionists, may allow al Qaeda to strengthen its operations.
Congressional
Dems Blame Rahm Emanuel for
Demise of Healthcare
Democrats in Congress are holding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel
accountable for his part in the collapse of healthcare reform. The emerging
consensus among critics in both chambers is that Emanuel’s lack of Senate
experience slowed President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority. The share of
the blame comes as cracks are beginning to show in Emanuel’s once-impregnable
political armor.
North Carolina
Schools May Cut Chunk Out of US
History Lessons
He may be the president who governed during the Civil War, freeing the slaves,
but under a new curriculum proposal for North Carolina high schools, US history
would begin years after President Lincoln, with the presidency of Rutherford B.
Hayes in 1877.
Filmmaker Who
Targeted ACORN Arrested
The independent filmmaker who brought ACORN to its knees last year with
undercover exposes was arrested this week along with three others, including the
son of a federal prosecutor, and accused of trying to interfere with the phones
at Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu's office. Federal officials did not say why the
men wanted to interfere with Landrieu's phones or whether they were successful.
Boehner: We Can't Have 'Anti-Catholic Bigot' in White House
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said today that Harry Knox, who serves
on President Barack Obama’s faith-based advisory council, appears to be an
“anti-Catholic bigot” and should resign as a White House adviser, after Knox said he stood by
his statement that Pope
Benedict XVI is “hurting people in the name of Jesus” because the Pope does not
support promoting the use of condoms as a means to stem the spread of HIV.
Understanding the Threat
of Radical Islam CD: First in a
series of educational and informative
audio CDs that provides a basics
overview of the threat posed by those
who adhere to radical Islamist ideology.
Green Waterless Urinals
Fill Chicago City Hall with
Stench
There's been a stench coming from the second floor of City Hall -- and it has
nothing to do with the steady stream of Chicago aldermen convicted on corruption
charges. Waterless urinals installed to promote water conservation in the public
men's room outside the Chicago City Council chambers have turned into a stinky
mess. The odor got so bad that the "green" urinals are now being ripped out and
replaced with the old-fashioned kind at a cost City Hall has refused to
disclose.
GOP Winning
War Over Miranda
Rights for Terrorists
GOP lawmakers believe they are having some success in the effort to stiffen
the spine of the Obama administration as it makes policy for dealing with
captured terrorist suspects in the future. Even as the administration
defends its decision to grant accused Detroit bomber Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab the right to remain silent, the president himself is hinting
that things might be done differently in the future.
Democrat
Senator Prodded Fed to Aid
Contributor's Ailing Bank
Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey urged the Federal Reserve last July to
approve an acquisition to save a struggling bank in his state. He didn't mention
that the bank's chairman and vice chairman were big contributors to his
political campaign. If the acquisition had been approved, it would have
prevented the two executives from losing what was left of their investments in
the bank.
UK Passengers Left Stunned After Muslim Bus Driver Pulls Over to Pray
A Muslim bus driver stunned passengers when he pulled over and started praying
in the aisle, with the engine still running. The driver parked without warning
then rolled out a fluorescent jacket as an improvised prayer mat. He took off
his shoes, knelt down facing Mecca, and began to chant. The prayer session held
up the bus for more than five minutes with no-one able to get on or off.
Vegetative
State Patient Communicates
by Thought
A man who was presumed to be in a vegetative state for five years has answered
questions using his thoughts alone in a ground-breaking experiment that promises
to allow some patients who are “locked in” by brain injuries to communicate. The
man was able to reply to simple “yes”/”no” questions by changing his brain
activity. Scientists then read his answers by studying functional MRI scans.
The Tea Party &
Pre/Post SOTU Analysis
A news-issues analysis Internet-based
radio show available for download also
broadcast on NetTalkWorld Global Talk
Radio and heard by the US Military
around the world.
The Power of Iconography
Barack Obama ran a presidential campaign utilizing the power of design to help
secure the seat of the presidency. However, his iconic emblem, the ever present
"O", holds more power than even he knows. Bill Whittle or PJTV.com points out
the dangers of branding an ideology with an icon.
Courting Disaster by Marc Thiessen Few know more about
the CIA’s terrorist interrogation program than Marc Thiessen. In his new book, Courting Disaster,
he documents just how effective the CIA’s interrogations were in foiling attacks
on America, penetrating al-Qaeda’s high command, and providing our military with
actionable intelligence.
America, Stop Eating Your Young by Ercille I. Christmas
No, this is not an article about abortion of babies. This is about “aborting”
the livelihoods and freedoms of too many of those we hired to protect and defend
us. Our soldiers, airmen, and Marines are sent out to fight a “War on Terror,”
and increasingly, return to be locked up, instead of receiving tangible
expressions of gratitude. Although the enemy remains the same, President Obama’s
administration was a little too concerned with renaming this struggle against
enemies who are dedicated to killing us. The struggle is no longer “War on
Terror.” It has been designated “Overseas Contingency Operations.” What new name
will be next?
Editorial:
To Faithfully
Execute
the Presidency of the United States by Nancy Salvato, Senior Editor
When studying history, it’s not so much a memorization of the details but
noticing the emerging patterns that is most important. Any study of the 20th
century American presidency would reveal that candidates actively seeking to
become the Chief Executive of the United States make campaign promises to the
people that cannot be addressed using the powers of the executive office. Once
one detects such a pattern playing out in a presidential campaign, one can more
realistically assess how successful a presidency might prove; in essence, it is
possible to anticipate the next verse in the rhyme.
Do Islamists Offer Insight or Threat?
Editorial, The Dallas Morning News
After the worst military base massacre in US history, officials acknowledged
that they failed to "connect the dots" --- the shooter had been corresponding
with an imam tied to al-Qaida and had condemned the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
as a war against Islam. But Fort Hood gunman Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan wasn't the
only one working on a Texas Army base the day of the shooting who had links to
radical Islamists.
The Grasping Hand by Peter
Sloterdijk
To assess the unprecedented scale that the modern democratic state has attained
in Europe, it is useful to recall the historical kinship between two movements
that emerged at its birth: classical liberalism and anarchism. Both were
motivated by the mistaken hypothesis that the world was heading toward an era of
the weakening of the state. While liberalism wanted a minimal state that would
guide citizens almost imperceptibly, leaving them to go about their business in
peace, anarchism called for the total death of the state. Behind these two
movements was a hope typical of the European nineteenth century: that man’s
plunder of man would soon come to an end.
Disclosing the Real Risks
on Climate Change by Paul
Driessen
We are not weighing in on the climate debate. We are not opining on whether the
world’s climate is changing, at what pace or due to what causes, Securities &
Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Shapiro insisted on announcing the SEC’s new
“interpretive guidance” on climate change. The Commission’s two Republican
members objected that the Obama Administration was using the Commission to
promote its global warming and renewable energy agenda (along with the EPA,
NASA, Defense and Interior Departments and others). It’s true, but irrelevant.
Transformational Leadership
or Constitutional Statesmanship? by David
J. Bobb
Lots of politicians make promises they can’t keep. Statesmen, by contrast,
promise less and deliver more. Knowing their own limitations and those of the
people they serve, they act according to principles, not just promises. As a
presidential candidate Barack Obama promised the American people nothing less
than a new nation. “...We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the
United States of America,” he said just before he was elected president in
November 2008. Since his victory the president has made very clear his reverence
for the idea of transformational leadership.
What Happens If China's 'Bubble' Pops? by Katie
Benner
World-renowned short seller Jim Chanos -- the hedge fund manager who called the
fall of Enron and the systemic problems cause by subprime mortgages --recently
turned his gimlet eye on China. He saw a country whose rapid rise was hiding
massive flaws: grossly inflated real estate prices, irresponsible construction
lending, massive overbuilding, a banking system larded with bad loans, and
unreliable government data. Fitch Ratings weighed in this week saying that
China's banks face the greatest "bubble risk" of any Asian country. If Chanos
and his fellow Cassandras are right and there's a bubble waiting to burst,
investors might be surprised...
