The baffling Mr. Holder

May 15, 2010

American Thinker

By:  Albert Boese

Eric Holder, US Attorney General, has justifiably solidified his reputation as a lightning rod of controversy for the Obama Administration, based no less on his troubling decisions and unexplainable denial of facts pertaining to the War on Terror.

His metaphysical aversion to the term, Jihadists Islamic Terrorists, is at once slightly amusing, astonishingly arrogant and confusing. Despite empirical evidence of the origin of the current batch of attempted acts of terrorism, as Islamic Jihadists, Mr. Holder refuses to apply that label to them on the grounds of indictment of Islam itself. One can only imagine the outrage that would have occurred during WWII, if a government official refused references to Hitler's régime as, German Fascists, or Nazis, in fear of offending all Germans?

Mr. Holder is still unwilling to commit to holding the trial of KSM in a venue other than New York City, when it is all but certain that it will not take place there. We continue to be baffled by his insistence on the classification of these recent attempted acts of terrorism, as subject to Miranda, when the Supreme Court Sanitized use of the principles of Enemy Combatants is available. All of these behavioral traits are troubling enough and cause for the question of competence of the AG. However, the recent revelation during Thursdays hearings on Capitol Hill, that Holder had not actually read the Arizona SB 1070, of which he expressed such public outrage, is cause to examine his seriousness and commitment to the job, other than carry the Presidents political agenda burdens. That is simply not good enough for the role of an Attorney General.

Watching Stephen Hayes of The Weekly Standard, while appearing on a recent Fox Cable News show, Special Report with Bret Baier, quietly shaking his head in disbelief while a clip was played of the AG admitting he had not actually read the 16 page bill, spoke volumes. After appearing on the Sunday morning talk shows during which Mr. Holder severely criticized the legislation and suggested a law suit was likely in order to overturn it, one would hope that the AG would have taken the time to read the bill. Had the AG read the short and coherent language of the act, he may not have been so dismissive and cavalier about its intent and application by Arizona law enforcement.

Actual language of intent:
                                                                                                         

"The provisions of this act are intended to work together to discourage and deter the unlawful entry and presence of aliens and economic activity by persons unlawfully present in the United States"

Actual Language of Direction to Law enforcement:    

"For any lawful contact made by a law enforcement official or agency of this State or a County, City, Town or other political subdivision of this State, where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person, the persons immigration status shall be verified with the Federal Government pursuant to 8 United States Code Section 1373 (c)" 

We should be offended by the behavior of our AG and frankly, question his competence and his capacity to hold the position of Top Law Enforcement Officer of the United States.

Note:  Perhaps Holder should watch a few videos on Islam, like the following one of Geert Wilder's warnings.  Bee Sting 





Islam is not a religion - it is a totalitarian ideology.  Holder kept saying he did not want to speak about "religion", so refused to say "Radical Islam".  Someone seriously needs to educate Holder, the Attorney General of the United States - Ignorance will get us all killed.  Bee Sting

Venezuela is Crumbling

Economic misery in Hugo’s populist paradise.

BY Jaime Daremblum

May 14, 2010 12:00 AM

The Weekly Standard

Recent weeks have brought more depressing economic news from Venezuela, where populist leader Hugo Chávez seems intent on destroying not only democracy but also the last remaining vestiges of private enterprise.

On April 21, the Latin Business Chronicle predicted that Venezuela would post the world’s highest inflation rate in 2010, ahead of even the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.

On May 5, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reported that foreign direct investment (FDI) in Venezuela dropped from $349 million in 2008 to negative $3.1 billion last year, “mainly as a result of nationalizations.” In other words, the Bolivarian Republic experienced a net FDI outflow of $3.1 billion in 2009.

On May 7, the Venezuelan central bank released data showing that consumer prices rose by 5.2 percent from March to April. As Bloomberg News noted, this represented the largest monthly increase since 2003. Meanwhile, the annual inflation rate hit nearly 32 percent.

On May 11, the Chávez-controlled National Assembly introduced legislation designed to clamp down on currency trading and strengthen the bolívar, Venezuela’s national monetary unit. “This is a very negative measure for the Venezuelan economy,” Barclays Capital economist Alejandro Grisanti told Dow Jones. “It will increase the pressure on prices and will deepen the contraction of the economy.” In January, Chávez devalued the bolívar in order to facilitate greater social spending. Since then, the currency has plummeted, making Venezuela’s already dire inflation problem even worse.

The Bolivarian Republic is gradually crumbling, and Chávez seems intent on speeding up the process. According to International Monetary Fund projections, Venezuela is the only major Latin American country that will experience an economic contraction in 2010. Inflation has reached staggering levels: As Bancaribe economist Adrian Aguirre told Bloomberg News after Venezuela’s central bank unveiled the April price data, “The fact that food prices rose by more than 11 percent is something we’ve never seen in the last decade.” Venezuelan importers are also grumbling about the new two-tiered exchange-rate regime, which was implemented as part of the devaluation back in January. The higher rate (4.3 bolívares per dollar) applies to “non-essential” imported goods. But the Associated Press reports that “the government has not distributed enough dollars at the official rate to satisfy demand, forcing close to half of Venezuela’s importers to buy much more expensive greenbacks on the black market.”

Venezuela’s economic misery has inflamed anti-Chávez sentiment and fueled large-scale protests. Ordinary Venezuelans are mad about food and water shortages, power outages, and surging crime rates. There are national legislative elections scheduled for September; unfortunately, many Venezuelans fear those elections will never take place. It’s possible that Chávez will manufacture a phony “security crisis” and suspend the voting indefinitely. It’s also possible that he will permit the elections to go forward but disqualify certain candidates from running or preemptively arrest them on trumped-up charges.

If the elections are canceled, the last remnants of Venezuelan democracy will collapse. Opponents of Chávez may eventually decide they have no peaceful choice. I sincerely hope this scenario does not come to pass. It is still possible that Chávez can be defeated at the ballot box—but only if he allows the elections to proceed. The Venezuelan strongman has been organizing regime-backed militias to subjugate the democratic opposition and protect his socialist revolution. In essence, he is creating his own version of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (who are committed to defending the theocratic dictatorship in Tehran).

Chávez’s paramilitary supporters effectively serve as a private government security force. They seek to intimidate the likes of former Venezuelan defense minister Raúl Baduel, who was recently sentenced to nearly eight years in prison. Baduel has been sitting in jail since 2009 as punishment for turning against the regime. Earlier this year, he published a letter with several other former Chávez loyalists calling on the Venezuelan president to resign. The letter condemned Chávez as “totalitarian” and argued that he “has neither moral nor material authority to rule the country, since he can not meet people’s demands satisfactorily.”

With inflation and crime spiraling out of control, more and more Venezuelans are coming to that conclusion. Rather than address their concerns, Chávez is building an enormous militia movement to squash the unrest. As the September election date draws closer, the paramilitaries will seek to terrorize opposition candidates and discourage them from campaigning. There is a very real threat of bloody street violence. Is the international community paying attention? 

Jaime Daremblum, who served as Costa Rica’s ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2004, is director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the Hudson Institute.

Note:  Dictators come, dictators go ... should be a warning to anyone in the United States who may think he "knows" better than the Constitution of the United States.  Looks like only a matter of time before Chavez falls, along with his "crumbling" economy ... however, from what we know about Chavez, the country be damned, he will survive.  Iran will welcome him if things get too hot in Venezuela.   Reminds me of that song, "Don't cry for me Argentina" ...!!   (Just change the name of the country to Venezuela) ....  Bee Sting

Iran: Rule by Execution

This from our friends in Iran. The regime continues to kill those it can’t control.

The West, Islam and Sharia

Following the vicious act of hanging of five political prisoners on May 9, four of them Kurds, an act that was the subject of wrath and protest of all Iranians especially residents of Kurdistan, today Fars news agency affiliated with IRGC (Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps) announced that the clerical regime intends to hang six more political prisoners all supporters of PMOI (People’s Mujhadeen of Iran).

It is more than clear that these criminal and savage acts prior to the anniversary of the uprising of people of Iran rise from the weakness of this regime which tries to prevent the uprising of people at this anniversary by provoking an atmosphere of fear and terror.

Students Committee in Iran condemns this anti-human and impudent act. We demand all human right organization around the world to act immediately to stop this criminal act. The lives of these innocent political prisoners can be saved for sure by international pressures and inspection of international bodies from Iran.

Fars News Agency: “Tehran- 15.5.2010- Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Tehran’s prosecutor announced on Saturday May 15 the decree of execution has been approved for 6 opposition activists who have been arrested after the last presidential election”.

Dolatabadi said that three of them, Ahmad iDaneshpoor Moghadam, Mohsen Daneshpoor Moghadam and Alireza Ghanbari have been arrested in regard with Ashura protests and conceded that: “their decree for execution has been endorsed. Also the decree of execution for three others Mohammadali Sarami, Jafar Kazemi and Mohammadali Hajaghaee who have been arrested last December has been approved too”.

This story has also appeared via Agence France Press (AFP).

Analysis: Please allow me to reiterate. Either we support these people and the other revolutionary groups in Iran and topple the mullahocracy or we fight a real big, messy, ugly and destructive war in the Middle East.

If you think that perhaps I am a little strident on this point please read the posts on the Hezbollah Wall and A New Persian Empire as well as Ryan’s just posted Iran Cleric calls for a Greater Iran.

These people are as serious as a major coronary. So besides the Ryan recommended diaper I suggest you have your defibrillator handy when this goes down.

As long as Iran is run by the insane Ayatollahs, we are all in great danger. Lest you forget we are the Great Satan. Israel is only the Lesser Satan. These people still chant “Death to America. Death to Israel.” after Friday prayers and they mean it.

Si vis pacem, para bellum.

With thanks to World Threats

Hezbollah Builds a Wall

thewestislamandsharia.blogspot.com/

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Debka is reporting that the Syrians and Hezbollah are building a fortified wall in eastern Lebanon.

Hizballah and Syria are building a massive fortified wall, running from Rashaya Al-Wadi on the western, Lebanese slopes of Mt. Hermon (85 kilometers southeast of Beirut) in the south, to the Lebanese Beqaa Valley town of Aita el-Foukhar, in the north, debkafile’s military sources reveal.

The structure, 22 kilometers long in parallel to the Lebanese-Syrian border promises to be one of the biggest fortified structures in the Middle East.
It is designed as an obstacle against any Israeli tank forces heading through Lebanon toward the Syrian capital, Damascus. When it is finished, the barrier will isolate a key Lebanese border region - 14 kilometers wide and 22 kilometers long - from the rest of the country and place it under Hizballah-Syrian military control.

Please read the entire article for more important information.

Analysis: Here is the main point of the article as I see it. “Syria stands to gain another prime strategic asset with its control of Rashaya Al-Wadi, at the southernmost point of the new wall:

This scenic village commands the Taim valley, whence flow a number of water courses that feed the River Jordan and the Sea of Galilee; for the first time in many years, Damascus will be placing a hand on one of Israel’s primary water sources.”

The only thing more important in the Middle East than oil is fresh water. This is not “another button pushed”. This is the engine fire light glowing brightly in Israel’s face.

Juxtapose this with the post on Karrazi’s admission of Iran’s intentions and you have the recipe for a glorious mess.

With thanks to World Threats

Note:  Hezbollah, Syria, Lebanon and Iran ... are covering the news this Saturday, May 15, 2010, in case some have not noticed concerns rising about this group and their intentions.  What do you suppose Obama's paying attention to today?   Bee Sting

Brazil's Lula arrives in Iran for key nuclear talks

 

 

Brazil's Lula arrives in Iran for key nuclear talks

(AFP) – 2 hours ago

  March 2009 - President Obama meets President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva of Brazil

TEHRAN — Brazilian President Lula Inacio de Silva arrived in Tehran on Sunday for a nuclear summit that major powers have said might prove to be Tehran's last chance to avoid tough new UN sanctions.

The Brazilian leader, heading a delegation of 300, was welcomed on the two-day visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, an AFP journalist said.

He is due to meet Sunday morning with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and is also due to meet the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ahead of his trip, Lula told reporters in Moscow that he was "optimistic" and hoped to be able to persuade Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to reach an agreement with the West.
"I must now use everything I have learned over my long political career to convince my friend Ahmadinejad to come to an agreement with the international community," Lula said.

Just hours before his arrival, Iran said it was willing to discuss a venue to swap uranium that needs to be enriched for a nuclear research reactor if it obtains "concrete guarantees," Al-Alam television reported.

The Arabic-language channel quoted foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying that Tehran struck a deal on the amount of uranium to be exchanged and the modality of the swap -- simultaneously or in batches.

"There is an agreement on the time and the volume of the fuel to be exchanged," Mehmanparast said according to Al-Alam, without elaborating on the deal or with whom it was reached. "But there is still the venue (to be decided) and if there are concrete guarantees, Iran is willing to discuss the location," he added.

The United States and Russia have already said that Lula's chances of success are weak.   (Stop linking Russia with the United States, please!  We know that there are conflicting relationships between Russia's "friends" and the US friends.)

Brazil is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and has so far resisted US-led efforts to push through a fourth set of sanctions against Iran over its failure to heed repeated ultimatums to stop enrichment activity.  (Yeah, right!  Exactly why I would not bet one dime on successful agreement between Brazil and Iran!)


Iran has rejected a UN proposal to enrich abroad the uranium it says it needs for a nuclear research reactor. The West fears Iran wants highly enriched uranium to make an atomic bomb, a charge Tehran vehemently denies.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jL3j7AjbyZVSYX62SYqD3i2Wa6Hg 

Lebanese arrested for spying for Israel

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, .

Man suspected of providing Jewish state with details of location of Lebanese president's house, entry of Iranian ships to Lebanon waters

Roee Nahmias

Published: 05.14.10, 15:36 / Israel News

Lebanon's security forces arrested a man 10 days ago suspected of spying for Israel, Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar reported Friday. The man is suspected of passing reports to Israeli intelligence services detailing the exact location of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, .

Investigators were surprised to hear from the detainee, who also served in the Lebanese navy, that Israeli intelligence had also requested identification details of yachts owned by Lebanese politicians.

About two months ago it was reported in Lebanon that the state's security forces had arrested a young man from Tripoli on suspicion that he had maintained contact with the Israeli embassy in Turkey and with a young Lebanese woman who had escaped from Israel after Israel left southern Lebanon in the year 2000.

According to the newspaper, the man, identified by his initials F.S. only, was also instructed to keep track of Iranian ships entering Lebanese territorial waters as well as a ship belonging to a businessman who maintains links with Hezbollah. 

YNetnews.com

The new Lebanon battlefield - Part One of Two - Ynetnews

Ynetnews.com

Israelis don’t fully realize scope of military threat posed by Hezbollah

Alex Fishman

Published: 05.14.10, 15:09 / Israel Opinion

Nobody knows whether a war will break out in Lebanon this summer. Yet what is completely clear is that a war in the north – if and when such war breaks out – will not be like the war that took place there in 2006. Hezbollah is growing stronger every day, in terms of the number of fighters, quantity of missiles, and capabilities. And what’s even more significant: The way this military power will be utilized will be vitally different.

Every few weeks, another piece of information finds its way to the media and hints to the new face of the confrontation taking shape in Lebanon. Both sides prepare for the next round in full force, yet the lay citizen doesn’t understand much of it. Well, another rocket was smuggled to Hezbollah, but it already has 40,000 anyway, so what’s the difference, people say. All the rockets are the same, the average Israeli thinks.      

Meanwhile, our defense establishment does not bother to inform the public about the kind of confrontation it should be preparing for. Israeli citizens had already been stunned by the scope of the damage that the other side can cause and rightfully asked: How come we didn’t know? How come we didn’t prepare? And who’s responsible for this failure? Yet this is precisely what’s happening now too. 

Defense officials and academic experts see a very clear picture of the new battlefield in Lebanon, but the average citizen, who will be a full party to the fighting in the next war, has no idea. Nobody tells him anything. 

Coincidently, a foreign professional newspaper recently published an item about the M-600 missiles supplied by Syria to Hezbollah. Yet someone in Israel finds it convenient to hide this information, just like the transfer of Scud missiles to Lebanon was a secret in Israel, until it was uncovered by an Arab newspaper. Here and there, someone hints something about tensions on the northern border. Occasionally, Arab media report about unusual Air Force over-flights. Yet for the average Israeli all this activity is out of bounds, on the order of authorities.
So why didn’t Israel prevent the transfer of missiles and rockets into Lebanon? That’s a good question. We may get the answer for it in the history books to be written in the future.

Terrorizing civilians

It’s important that we understand that M-600 missiles in Hezbollah’s possession are not just another item in its arsenal. That’s the DNA; the code that exposes the new pattern of the group’s preparation for the next confrontation.

Let’s start from the fact that the M-600 is not a rocket, but rather, a much more accurate and effective weapon with strategic capabilities in Mideastern terms. Theoretically, Hezbollah would be able to hit the IDF headquarters in central Tel Aviv in the next war should it wish to do so. In 2006, it did not possess this ability. 
 
Does it mean that what we saw in the Second Lebanon War – hundreds of short and medium range rockets fired at northern Israel every day – will not repeat? Not at all. Most of Hezbollah’s 40,000 rockets are still of this type, and next time it will again use them in an effort to sow destruction in northern communities and hit IDF troops before they enter Lebanon. 

Based on the last war’s experience, these rockets are a “statistical weapon”: The fire is inaccurate, most rockets land in unpopulated areas, and the number of casualties and extent of damage isn’t great. However, in the next war, and in addition to the barrages we know, Hezbollah will have the option of firing dozens of accurate missiles simultaneously from dozens of launch sites across Lebanon – while directing them at one specific target. 

Not only will the damage caused by these missiles be much more accurate and graver, it’s much more complicated to spot and destroy dozens of single missiles that will appear simultaneously at different sites. 

The accurate missiles possessed by Hezbollah are meant to destroy strategic targets in central Israel. Such missiles are already deployed in southern Lebanon, with Hezbollah apparently intending to fire dozens of missiles daily for many days. At the same time, the group plans to fire thousands of other rockets, and through this combined attack destroy national infrastructure and various facilities. 

The objective of the thousands of long-range missiles accumulated by Hezbollah would be to sow pure terror among civilians and undermine our willingness to fight. However, at this time, according to Hezbollah too, the group still does not possess enough accurate missiles in order to put this doctrine into action. This is precisely the junction that calls for much more intensive international and Israeli activity, in order to curb the flow of accurate arms into Lebanon, before it’s too late. 


Part 2 of article to be published Saturday (see Part 2 ... http://llphfreedom.blogspot.com/2010/05/getting-ready-for-hezbollah.html

Getting ready for Hezbollah

IDF to head into next Lebanon war with more firepower, upgraded capabilities

Alex Fishman
Published: 05.15.10, 17:01 / Israel Opinion

Part 2 of article

Hassan Nasrallah

The Scud missiles which Hezbollah reportedly received from Syria are meant for a specific objective. Should it indeed turn out that the missiles smuggled in are of the Scud D type, this is apparently a threat on Israel's nuclear reactor in Dimona.

As far as is known, Nasrallah's group does not have plans to take over areas in the Galilee. It may have the ability to raid a community, in order to produce drama, yet its war will focus on firing rockets and missiles deep into Israel, over time. For that reason, most of its fortifications aim to protect and feed its strategic arm.

This protection is premised on roughly 160 military compounds established in southern Lebanon, in villages and in their vicinity, including in Christian enclaves. For that reason, when the IDF held drills it referred to the communities as military compounds in every way. For a change, the army will head into the next war in Lebanon with a plan that had already been practiced.

Hezbollah started the process of drawing lessons in the wake of the Second Lebanon War, and updated them following Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The operation in the south in 2008-9 demonstrated to an even greater extent than in 2006 the grave results of the IDF's so-called "Dahiya Doctrine" – Nasrallah realizes that today the IDF is in a whole new place, both in terms of maneuvering and firepower. 

For this reason, Hezbollah (as well as Hamas) is rapidly digging up fortifications underground – bunkers, headquarters, control centers, and passage ways from one sector to another.

In order to direct coordinated fire at the same target, one needs a much more advanced command and control system than the one possessed by Hezbollah thus far. Here, in fact, lies its vulnerability. On the one hand, it's hard to cope with a terror group that conducts itself like an army. On the other hand, Hezbollah is already suffering all the problems of an institutionalized military organization; problems which small and secretive guerilla cells are not afflicted with.

In the Second Lebanon War, the Air Force destroyed Hezbollah's long-range missiles within 35 minutes. Meanwhile, 50% of the rockets fired from industrialized short and mid range rocket launchers were destroyed before they were used, while the rest were destroyed immediately after the first attack. We can assume that the Israeli Air Force's and ground forces' abilities in terms of accurate weaponry and hitting such targets have improved since then, by several notches.

Hezbollah's dream is to maintain an army of at least 40,000 men, Today it has less than half of that, and the increase it aspires for requires compromise on manpower quality. Moreover, advanced weapons systems require strict maintenance and high technological capabilities. This is no longer a case of fighting with your Kalashnikov or RPG.

In the next war, UNIFIL will not be in south Lebanon. Its members will leave when the war breaks out, even if they're not saying this right now. UNIFIL does not have the mandate to interfere in the fighting, and it certainly has an interest in safeguarding its soldiers' lives.

On another front, the 15,000 troops of the Lebanese Army deployed south of the Litani River do not constitute a target for the IDF at this time. However, this army is expected to put up a fight once a war breaks out. Based on this logic, the IDF will be addressing this army as a hostile force. In other words, any clash that includes IDF ground movement in Lebanon will have to push aside and neutralize these 15,000 troops as quickly as possible.

Nasrallah is apparently unconvinced that his group has reached the optimal point to embark on war. He possesses endless amounts of rockets, yet not many accurate and long-range missiles. We can assume that once he accumulates a sufficient arsenal, the countdown shall begin. The fire will only be a matter of time.

And this is precisely the place to ask what Israel's government is doing so that these balance-violating weapons won't continue to pour into Hezbollah's hands, and whether the convoys that cross the Syria-Lebanon border should continue to enjoy impunity under UN Resolution 1701.

YNetnews.com

Grey whale spotted near Israel likely swam through B.C. waters

 By Judith Lavoie, Canwest News Service; 

with files from Agence France-Presse

The Vancouver Sun

The grey whale that has stunned scientists by showing up off the coast of Israel is probably one of the whales that usually swims past Vancouver Island, migrating from the birthing lagoons in Mexico to the Bering Sea.

"It is quite remarkable," said John Ford, head of the cetacean research program at the federal Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo.

Ford is pondering the possibilities that led to a whale heading to the Mediterranean instead of Alaska and wondering whether the Arctic is sufficiently ice-free to allow passage by a wayward whale.

"It's certainly a big topic of speculation," said Ford, wondering whether the whale could have swum the Northwest Passage, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, in late summer or fall when ice cover would have been at its thinnest.

"The ice cover last winter was pretty minimal," he said.

So did it get lost, forget to ask the way or deliberately head into unknown waters?
Possibly, it did not listen to its mother.

"I don't think grey whales have their migration routes genetically hardwired. I think they learn their migration route by swimming it the first time with their mothers," Ford said. "It was probably wandering around looking for food."

The 12-metre whale was first sighted off Herzliya, Israel, on Saturday and was identified by Aviad Scheinin, chairman of the Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Centre.
Scheinin believes the whale swam the Arctic route.

"Here you have an animal that is supposed to live in the Pacific and, because the ice in the Arctic is melting, it managed to get through this corridor near the Bering Strait," he said.

Ford is keeping in touch with scientists around the world who are frantically looking at grey whale photo identification to see if the animal was previously photographed.

John Calambokidis, of Cascadia Research in Olympia, Wash. has photo ID of 1,000 grey whales, out of the eastern Pacific population of about 22,000, but has not found a match. In Mexico, where there is a photo database of about 7,000 whales, it will take longer to sort through.

Photos of the western Pacific population, which migrates between the Russian coast and north China, is also being checked but, with a population of only about 100, it is unlikely the whale came from the western Pacific, Ford said.

The other remote possibility is that the whale is a remnant of the Atlantic population.
However, as the population has officially been extinct since the late 1700s, it is unlikely a small group was able to escape detection for centuries.

Scheinin, who described the event as "one of the most important whale sightings ever," said the big question is whether there will be re-colonization of the Atlantic.

"This is very important ecologically because of the change of habitat. It emphasizes the climate change that we are going through," he said.

In the meantime, the whale should be able to eat, provided it is in shallow waters where it can find delicacies such as small crustaceans, sand fleas, tube worms and krill.
"It certainly doesn't look emaciated from the photo," Ford said.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Grey+whale+spotted+near+Israel+likely+swam+through+waters/3026574/story.html#ixzz0o2Ay0TZ8

Swimming with Whales

The Israel Defence Forces Looks to Hybridize Its Jeeps

An IDF jeep posted at the Jordan River, West Bank. Image credit Green Prophet

The Israel Air Force is doing it (with solar panels), and now the IDF, Israel Defence Forces will save carbon emissions as it looks to buy hybrid Jeeps. Haaretz newspaper reports that the IDF is now testing the hybrid Ford Escape to see how it performs, and that the force is not making the switch out of environment concerns. They want to save money on gas.


Intended to provide support for forces in the field, the Ford Escape could also become a mobile command center, transporting a limited number of soldiers or equipment, and it may even be used to evacuate casualties. With good fuel efficiency for an SUV (12-15 kilometers per liter – depending on road conditions), gas savings will be less when the jeep is used for off-roading purposes.

According to the report, the Ground Forces unit, which will test the vehicle, has asked Ford for a few test models and a price quote. The unit already tested the Indian Mahindra SUV, and found it lacking. The army will also conduct a test of the radiation levels emitted by the Escape to see if soldiers can spend over four hours inside at a stretch.

But any army, from Israel, the Middle East, America or Europe is not serving higher green ideals. Just read the cost of conflict to the environment report. While it sounds good for the media that an army in the world is going green, the greenest army is no army. We can dream.

More on greening the army in Israel and the cost of conflict:

Israel Plans Solar Installations at All Its Bases
Israel’s Army Makes Advances in Green
The IDF Says Birds, Not Guns
The Israeli Army Tries To Go Green
Choose the Environment in Middle East Conflict
::Haaretz

A thanks to GreenProphet.com

Pakistan holds two over funding Times Square plot

A NYPD officer in an bomb suit examines a Nissan Pathfinder parked in New York's Times Square on May 1. Faisal Shahzad has since been arrested in connection with the attempted attack.Photo: REUTERS

(Reuters) - Pakistani authorities have taken into custody at least two men who may have helped provide funding for a botched car-bombing in New York's Times Square, U.S. officials said Saturday.

The men are believed to be associated with the Pakistani Taliban movement and to have helped provide an estimated $15,000 to accused Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American, to plan and execute the attack, one of the officials said.

But two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. investigators have yet to establish that Shahzad had direct ties to any known Pakistani Taliban leaders, who have claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing.

Establishing direct links between Shahzad and the Pakistani Taliban could increase pressure on Islamabad to broaden its military offensive against militants in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

"This is an investigation that is still ongoing. We don't have perfect knowledge yet about how this was done," one of the U.S. officials said.

Shahzad was arrested as he tried to leave the United States on a Dubai-bound flight two days after a sport utility vehicle containing a crude bomb was found parked in Times Square on May 1st.

He has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and trying to kill and maim people.

(Reporting by Adam Entous; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Note:  Can you say "RADICAL ISLAM"?  Islamic terrorism - funded and operating in the United States?  Taliban supported?   .... Define the enemy and you will begin to have victory over RADICAL ISLAMIC terrorists.   If the Islamic terrorist NYC bomber had only asked the Taliban for money to pay his mortgage  ... hmm!     Immigration Dept. really needs to begin dong a better background check on potential US citizens, before allowing ISLAMIC terrorists to become US citizens.  We have only had almost ten years to straighten that department out since 9/11 ,,  so, is it possible to get it right before another ten years pass us by? 

This "would-be" Pakistani bomber had ony been a citizen of the United States for one year - ONE YEAR!  Do the math and ask, did he become a citizen knowing full well that he planned to attack the US and then claim all the rights of a US citizen?  Let's talk about using our own laws against us ... as Islam is so well know for doing - it's their "MO" !!  .  .. ..    Bee Sting

Netanyahu continues to juggle with US demands and interference

 U.S. asks Israel to curb rhetoric, demolitions of Palestinian homes

By SHEERA FRENKEL

McClatchy Newspapers

JERUSALEM -- The Obama administration presented new demands to Israel this week to avoid taking any actions that might disrupt the fledgling peace talks with the Palestinians, among them a newly announced plan to demolish more than 100 Palestinian homes in Jerusalem, senior Israeli officials said Friday.

"The U.S. has moved from asking to making stronger demands to make sure the peace talks go forward," a senior official in the Israeli foreign ministry told McClatchy Newspapers. "They don't want to see a massive failure where the negotiations fail before they've even started." 

The United States also demands that Israel prosecute Jewish settlers who are suspected of using violence against Palestinians.

But the U.S. delegation led by former Maine Sen. George Mitchell said it was "fine if Israel - formally and loudly - defies the U.S., as long as their actions do otherwise," said the official, who couldn't be quoted by name because he wasn't authorized to make public remarks.

Israel considers Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital, and it insisted again this week that Jewish building would continue throughout the city. Palestinians, however, consider Jerusalem the capital of their future state and say Jewish building there is a major stumbling block to the U.S.-led peace talks.

The Israeli government has refused to make a formal decision halting settlement construction in Jerusalem and repeatedly voiced defiance of U.S. demands. Celebrating the Jerusalem Day holiday on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared: "We will continue to build and to be built in Jerusalem."

He went on: "We will continue to plan and to create. Jerusalem shall never be divided again. We must remember that Jerusalem was divided in half and there was no peace. Each side will make its demands, but in the end, we have a right to Jerusalem."

In similar addresses that day, Minister of the Interior Eli Yishai said that settlements throughout Israel would continue to grow, and Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich announced that demolition orders were ready to be carried out against 109 Palestinians homes in East Jerusalem. Israel maintains that the homes were built without legal permits, while Palestinians say Israel refuses to issue such permits to Palestinians.

Following U.S. pressure, however, Netanyahu told Aharonovich and Yishai to curb their rhetoric, the official said. Israeli pro-settler groups have already stated that a de-facto slowdown is limiting Jewish projects in East Jerusalem, and the Jerusalem municipal government has confirmed that housing demolitions would be postponed by "at least" two weeks.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's envoy, Lt. Gen. Paul Selva, met Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon this week and asked Israel to do more to curb the violence of some settlers, Israeli officials said.

Last month, a series of attacks against Palestinians was traced to settlers in the northern West Bank. The attacks were believed to be part of a "price tag" policy by which settlers seek retribution for anti-settlement policies by targeting Palestinians. Israeli authorities have said settlers were responsible for burning down a mosque just outside the Palestinian village of Nablus and attacking several cars.

The nearby settlement of Yitzhar has been widely blamed for similar attacks in the past, and Israeli authorities have said there's evidence to suggest that the "price tag" policy originated there.

Selva asked Israel to prosecute those responsible for the attacks to the fullest extent of the law and to prevent similar attacks. Israeli officials responded that they'd continue to investigate the charges against the settlers.

The Hebrew-language daily Yediot Ahronot summarized the current Israeli policy as "scream loudly in one direction and walk in another."

"Israel is listening to the requests from the U.S., and answering them quietly. Our allies understand that this is the best way forward," said the foreign ministry official.

Netanyahu's aides have explained to the Americans that he is juggling a difficult and largely right-wing coalition that will contest any compromises regarding the settlements or East Jerusalem.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/14/1629979/us-asks-israel-to-curb-rhetoric.html#ixzz0o1vyZtHE

Note:  So, does the United States also interfere with the Palestinian's laws (if they have any) and processes of their daily routine?  Do we interfere with the laws of the land of any other nation on the face of the earth? Has the United States become the "new" President of Israel?  or, perhaps they are now the new "street police" of Israel.  Judge and Jury?  Perhaps Netanyahu is the 'New" puppet of the Untied States(?).   ...  Just wondering.  Bee Sting

JEWS AND THE MILITARY UP TO THE 20TH CENTURY

Jews and the military were two concepts that were far apart throughout the Middle Ages and up to the end of the eighteenth century.

Jews and the military were two concepts that were far apart throughout the Middle Ages and up to the end of the eighteenth century. With the acceleration of the emancipation process in Europe and the appearance of national liberation movements in the 19th century, the number of Jews serving in regular European armies or that fought in the ranks of national liberation movements steadily increased. At the end of the 19th century Jews also began to join revolutionary terror organizations. In all forms of military organization ? the regular national army, national uprisings based on militias or a revolutionary terror organization ? Jews served among non-Jews for general objectives. 

The Jews in the eastern part of the continent evinced a different attitude towards military service than that of the Jews in the West. In the western countries, military service was perceived as an entrance ticket to society and as an integral part of emancipation. In Eastern Europe ? where emancipation was nipped in the bud and the army was identified with an oppressive regime ? Jews developed a norm of shirking the enforced service both within the ranks of the traditional public and among the radical youth, which turned to the revolutionary movements.  

In Muslim states, where Jews lived under the patronage of local rulers, there was no possibility of Jews joining the army or of their involvement in a military framework. 

In the beginning of the 20th century, in the aftermath of the pogroms that Jewish Europe underwent, self-defense groups were founded throughout the Jewish "Pale" of residence in Russia. These groups constituted the first organization on behalf of a Jewish cause.

 

A Tradition of Hostility In the mid-19th century the majority of the Jewish people was concentrated in Eastern Europe. In Russia, the czars maintained a strict anti-Jewish tradition whose main expression was the banning of the entry of Jews into Russia until the second half of the 18th century. Following the partition of Poland at the end of the 18th century, large parts of that country were annexed to Russia. In the beginning, Czarina Catherine the Great treated them in the manner of enlightened leaders: She recognized their religious community life and granted them freedom of movement and commerce. However, in the aftermath of the French Revolution she changed her policy and restricted the "Pale" of Jewish residence to New Russia, White Russia and the Ukraine. The Czarina limited commerce, imposed heavy taxes, established harsh rental conditions and introduced restrictions in the area of employment.  The Czar Paul, Catherine?s heir, also adopted a heavy-handed policy towards the Jews, banned their communities, and prohibited the dissemination of religion and religious schools. Alexander the First, who rose to power in 1801, enacted the Jewish Constitution three years later, with the aim of distancing the Jews from tradition and religion.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

A People that will Dwell Alone In the early 19th century, Western Europe underwent many changes in the aftermath of the French Revolution, which enabled the granting of rights to Jews in Central and Western Europe, but had no effect on the status of Jews in Eastern Europe. Pestel, leader of the nobility in Russia, claimed that the Jews could not blend in with any nation, because their character was that of ?a people that dwell alone.?  In 1825 the Czar Nicolai the First rose to power; he was known for his antagonism towards the Jews. He was a narrow-minded man who had reservations about the West and the changes that had taken place there. Nicolai the First regarded the Jews as an onerous burden and aspired to rectify the situation through assimilation. He believed that one of the main conditions for Russia?s power was complete spiritual and cultural uniformity that would not tolerate exceptions. The czar imposed decrees on the Jews in various areas, such as restricting the ?Pale? of Jewish residence. Jewish children were forced to attend state schools, which was meant to impair their Talmudic studies.  Another law was the Cantonist Decree, which banned Jews from redeeming themselves with money to avoid serving in the Russian army. The conscription quota for Jews was higher than that of any other nationality. The law enabled the conscription of children from the age of 12, who were to be placed in dormitories under the supervision of priests and harsh military men. Many of the children died of sorrow, disease and starvation when they refused to eat non-kosher meat. Many died as religious martyrs or were forced to undergo baptism. Tens of thousands of them disappeared. This decree caused grave demoralization among the Jews.  After a drought in the ?Pale? of Jewish residence, Jews who made a living from winemaking were exiled from their homes in order to protect the farmers. Tens of thousands of Jews became refugees in the crowded cities. Jews were not allowed traditional garb or to grow their sidelocks. In addition, Nicolai the First declared the disbanding of the community committees.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Presentation by:  ALL ISRAEL

Note:  All Israel is a tremendous website and would be well worth a visit to their web site, for news, videos, and history.  Bee Sting

"You are the Land, You are the Home" - New Music video

15 May 2010 , 19:48

Music video: ''You are the Land, You are the Home''. Photo: IDF Spokesperson

Music video released by the Education Corps celebrating Israel's 62 years of independence

The Education Corps of the IDF is proud to release a music video for "You are the Home," celebrating Israel's 62 years of independence. Smadar Shir wrote the song and Libi (Li Biran), who works as a musical arranger for the IDF band, composed the music. Gaya Traub stars in the music video, playing a young photographer capturing many different sides of Israeli life.

Cartoonist Lars Vilks House Aflame in Assassination Attempt - by Atlas Shrugs

Tolerance and plurality, right? A shrine to jihad on the hallowed ground of the World Trade Center. We are accomplices in Muslim expansionism.

This arson attempt is fresh on the heels of the attack on Lars Vilks: Artist Attacked by Muslims During Free Speech Lecture UPDATE: VIDEO ALLAHU AKBAR!

Why was there no protection around his house? How can we, as free men, sanction this? It is matter of time before they get him. 

 

And this is not merely merely a "Danish" jihad, this is global. You must remember that the now infamous American Jihad Jane was conspiring with other devout Muslims to murder Vilks. How many Van Goghs must we mourn before we understand we have a terrible war on our hands? Untie our hands.

Arson attack on Lars Vilks  Last night attackers tried to burn Muhammad cartoonist's house down
COPENHAGEN May 15 2010
By Uwe Max Jensen, Sappho.dk During the night of May 15 unknown perpetrators smashed a window in Lars Vilks' house in Scania, Sweden, poured gasoline into the bouilding and proceeded to set fire to it.
By coincidence the artist spent the night with his girlfriend and escaped with his life.
After being alerted by the Swedish police, Vilks has returned to his house, where Sappho.dk contacted him at noon today.
"The place is swarming with police and I can talk no further right now," Vilks told Sappho's reporter. In the background one can hear policemen talking to each other.
Sappho is following the case and will soon have a man on the spot in Scania.
Lars Vilks' blog is up and running again after being hacked following Islamicist attacks on him at Uppsala University last Tuesday.
In a comment to this latest attempt on Vilks' life, the President of the Free Press Society Lars Hedegaard expresses his astonishment.
"How was possible for these murderers to gain access to Vilks' house only a few days after a mob assaulted him at Uppsala University? What are the Swedish police and political class up to? As far as I know not a single Swedish politician has had a word to say about the attack in Uppsala. Is the truth that Swedish power-holders prefer to see Vilks killed in order to send a message to other critics of the Swedish multicultural idyll?"

“Now is the time to demonstrate practical solidarity. We can all do that by purchasing the drawing his would-be murderers are so angry about," says Lars Hedegaard.

Posted by Pamela Geller on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 10:49 AM 
Atlas Shrugs

PROTEST THE 911 MEGA MOSQUE ON JUNE 6TH - by Atlas Shrugs

Pamela Geller says, ......

I had just entered the WTC on my way to work on 9/11 when the first plane crashed into WTC 1. My company lost 300 lives that day - the 2nd largest loss after Cantor Fitzgerald. I am appalled that anyone in NYC would even consider allowing a mosque be built literally on the ashes of those precious Americans murdered by muslim terrorists. If these muslims have any decency, they will reconsider and build their mosque elsewhere. Otherwise NYC authorities must come to their senses and cancel this project. It is an affront to all those who died that day at that site. It is difficult enough for us survivors to visit Ground Zero without a 13-story islamic mosque looming overhead intensifying our pain. Nicky (an email from a  911 family member)

The protest at ground zero against the mega mosque is morphing into a global event. In addition to the 911 families, the tea parties in and around the New York area have joined SIOA in support of the protest of the  monster mosque protest.

In addition to the tea parties, our international partners will be joining us. SIOE (Europe) and SIOE (Bulgaria) will be flying in for the rally, as well as SIOE representatives from each country in the EU.

I am also coordinating solidarity rallies in other states on June 6th that are too far away to attend the NYC rally (although many many people are coming from far and wide).

The enormous masterpiece "Atrocity 911" (above) by Marc Rubin will be hung at stageside. "Its blunt imagery depicts the tragedy and the perpetrators of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attack on the WTC. Liberty ’s Lamp held high as she cries for her children while the sword of Islamic Jihad stabs her book of Law. The souls of the victims ascend from the inferno of destruction."

Posted by Pamela Geller on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 11:47 AM 
Atlas Shrugs