Archive for March, 2011

Discovery Of 70 Ancient Metal Books, The Book of Revelation and The Twelth Iman Mahdi–Videos

Posted on March 31, 2011. Filed under: American History, Books, Communications, Education, European History, Federal Government, government, government spending, history, Language, Law, liberty, Life, Links, media, Music, People, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Rants, Raves, Regulations, Religion, Resources, Strategy, Talk Radio, Video, War, Wealth, Wisdom | Tags: Ancient Books, Bible, Book of Revelations, The Twelth Iman Mahdi |

Discovery of Ancient Metal Books Talk of Jesus’ Life, Crucifixion, and Resurrection…

Biggest Discovery Since the Dead Sea Scrolls?

The Book of Revelation

Glenn Beck-03/31/11-A

Glenn Beck-03/31/11-B

Glenn Beck-03/31/11-C

Glenn Beck-02/17/11-A

Glenn Beck-02/17/11-B

Glenn Beck-02/17/11-C

Imam Mahdi (The Twelfth Imam) and Antichrist – Signs of the Apocalypse

Book of Revelation

“…The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament corpus. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning “unveiling” or “revelation” (the author himself not having provided a title). It is also known as the Book of Revelation of St John the Divine or the Apocalypse of John, (both in reference to its author) or the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ (in reference to its opening line) or simply Revelation, (often erroneously dubbed “Revelations”) or the Apocalypse. The word “apocalypse” is also used for other works of a similar nature, and the genre is known as apocalyptic literature. Such literature is “marked by distinctive literary features, particularly prediction of future events and accounts of visionary experiences or journeys to heaven, often involving vivid symbolism.”^[1] The Book of Revelation is the only apocalyptic document in the New Testament canon, though there are short apocalyptic passages in various places in the Gospels and the Epistles.^[2]

Revelation brings together the worlds of heaven, earth, and hell in a final confrontation between the forces of good and evil. Its characters and images are both real and symbolic, spiritual and material. Revelation’s cryptic nature makes the book a source of controversy among scholars who try to interpret its meaning and its message. Nevertheless, it has not only endured, but captured the imagination of generations of Bible students, both professional and lay readers alike.

The author, named John, has traditionally been identified with John the Apostle, to whom the Gospel of John is also attributed. Historical-critical scholars, however, conclude that the author did not also write the Gospel of John.^[3]^[4] Most scholars think that Revelation was written near the end of the 1st century.^{[5] …”}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation

Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī

“…Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī (محمد ابن الحسن المهدى) (born c. July 29, 869; 15 Sha‘bān 255 AH) is believed by Twelver Shī‘a Muslims to be the Mahdī, an ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve Imams. Twelver Shī‘a believe that al-Mahdī was born in 869 and did not die but rather was hidden by God (this is referred to as the Occultation) and will later emerge with Isa (Jesus Christ) in order to fulfill their mission of bringing peace and justice to the world. He assumed the Imamate at 5 years of age. Some Shi‘īte schools do not consider ibn-al-Hasan to be the Mahdī , though the mainstream sect Twelvers do.

Twelver Shi’as believe that Mahdi was born in 869 AD as Abu’l Qasim Hujjat ibn Hasan ibn ‘Alī. There are a couple of narrations regarding the origin of his mother. One is that his mother, Narjis (Melika), was a Byzantine princess who pretended to be a slave so that she might travel from her kingdom to Arabia. Another narration says she was from Africa.^[4]^[5] His father, Hasan al-Askari, is believed to have been the eleventh and penultimate Shi’a Imam. Shi’as believe that his birth was kept a secret due to the persecution that the Shi’a were facing during this time at the hands of Al-Mu’tamid, the Abbasid Caliph.^[6]^[7]

To support Imam Mahdi’s claim, Twelver Shi’as along with some other Muslim sects quote the following Hadith: “I and `Ali are the fathers of this nation; whoever knows us very well also knows Allah, and whoever denies us also denies Allah, the Unique, the Mighty. And from `Ali’s descendants are my grandsons al-Hasan and al-Husayn, who are the masters of the youths of Paradise, and from al-Husayn’s descendants shall be nine: whoever obeys them obeys me, and whoever disobeys them also disobeys me; the ninth among them is their Qa’im and Mahdi.” ^[8]

The eleventh Shi’a Imam Hasan al-Askari died on 1 January 874 AD (8th Rabi’ al-awwal, 260 AH)^[6] and since that day, his son Mahdi is believed by Shi’as to be the Imam, appointed by Allah, to lead the believers of the era. The most popular account of al-Mahdi in Shi’a literature is taken from his father’s funeral. It is reported that as the funeral prayer was about to begin, al-Mahdi’s uncle, Jafar ibn Ali approached to lead the prayers. However, al-Mahdi approached and commanded, “Move aside, uncle; only an Imam can lead the funeral prayer of an Imam.” Jafar moved aside, and the five-year-old child led the funeral prayer for his father. It is reported that it was at this very moment that al-Mahdi disappeared and went into ghaybat, or occultation.^{[citation needed]}

Significance of the Twelfth Imam

Some hadith indicate significance to the twelfth generation of descendants of Muhammad.

A hadith from the Shi’a text (Kitab Al-Kafi) containing a conversation between the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib and a man named al-Asbagh ibn Nubata, as well as a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim in which Muhammad speaks of Twelve Successors.

From Sahih Bukhari:

Narrated Jabir bin Samura: I heard Muhammad saying, “Islam will continue to be strong to twelve Muslim rulers.” He then said a sentence which I did not hear. My father said, “All of them (those rulers) will be from Quraish.” ^[9]

In a hadith widely regarded as authentic, Muhammad said,

Even if the entire duration of the world’s existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before the Day of Judgment, Allah will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person out of Ahl al-Bayt who will be called by my name and my father’s name. He will then fill the Earth with peace and justice as it will have been filled with injustice and tyranny before then.^{[10] …”}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_al-Mahdi

Background Articles and Videos

Glenn Beck-03/30/11-C

Background Articles and Videos

International Crisis Group chief Louise Arbour Interview

Nick Grono – International Crisis Group

International Crisis Group (ICG)

“…The International Crisis Group (ICG) is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts around the world through field-based analyses and high-level advocacy. It is generally recognised as the world’s leading independent, non-partisan, source of analysis and advice to governments, and intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations, European Union and World Bank, on the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict.^[1].

History

The International Crisis Group was founded in 1995 by World Bank Vice-President Mark Malloch Brown, former US diplomat Morton Abramowitz^[2] and Fred Cuny, an international disaster relief specialist who disappeared in Chechnya in 1995. Their aim was to create an organisation, wholly independent from any government, to assist governments, intergovernmental bodies and the international community at large in preventing deadly conflict.

Organization and purpose

The ICG gives advice to governments, and intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations, European Union and World Bank, on the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict. Its primary goals are a combination of field-based analysis, policy prescription, and aggressive advocacy, with key roles being played by a senior management team highly experienced in government and by a highly active Board of Trustees containing many senior diplomats. By its own accounts, the ICG plays a major role in six ways:

Ringing early warning alarm bells, in the monthly CrisisWatch bulletin, and in specific ‘crisis alerts’, e.g., in Ethiopia-Eritrea, Darfur, Somalia and Pakistan;
Contributing, on both process and substance, behind the scenes support and advice to critical peace negotiations, e.g., in Sudan, Burundi, Northern Uganda, Aceh, Nepal and Kenya;
Producing highly detailed analysis and advice on specific policy issues in scores of conflict or potential conflict situations around the world, helping policymakers in the UN Security Council, regional organisations, donor countries and others with major influence, and in the countries at risk themselves, do better in preventing, managing and resolving conflict, and in rebuilding after it;
Providing detailed information unobtainable elsewhere on developments regarding conflict, mass violence and terrorism of particular utility to policymakers, e.g., on the Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia and Islamic Courts in Somalia;
Offering new strategic thinking on some of the world’s most intractable conflicts and crises, e.g., on the Iran nuclear issue, the role of Islamism worldwide, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the way forward in Kosovo, Iraq and the Western Sahara; and
Strongly supporting a rules-based, rather than force-based, international order, in particular significantly influencing UN resolutions and institutional structures in relation to the new international norm of the ‘responsibility to protect’.^[1]

The ICG maintains teams of analysts in 17 field offices worldwide, who are dispatched to areas at risk of outbreak, escalation, or recurrence of conflict. Based on the information these teams gather, the organization creates analytical reports with recommendations targeted at various world leaders and organizations. In addition to this work, the Crisis Group publishes a monthly newsletter, CrisisWatch, which provides a brief overview of continuing or impending violence in the world. All of the Crisis Group’s reporting is available on its website.

Current officers

The Crisis Group is co-chaired by former British politician and European Commissioner for External Affairs, Christopher Patten and former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Thomas R. Pickering.

Its President and Chief Executive from January 2000 was former Foreign Minister of Australia, Gareth Evans. In July 2009 he was succeeded by Louise Arbour, formerly the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Funding

The Crisis Group raises funds from mainly western governments, charitable foundations, companies and individual donors. In 2006, 40% of its funding came from 22 different governments, 32% from 15 philanthropic organisations, and 28% from individuals and private foundations. Philanthropist George Soros who is chairman of the Open Society Institute is on the Board of Trustees.^[3]

…”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Crisis_Group

Background Articles and Videos

Wesley Clark

Wesley Kanne Clark, Sr., KBE (born December 23, 1944) is a retired general of the United States Army. Graduating as valedictorian of his class at West Point, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later graduated from the Command and General Staff College with a master’s degree in military science. He spent 34 years in the Army and the Department of Defense, receiving many military decorations, several honorary knighthoods, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Clark commanded Operation Allied Force in the Kosovo War during his term as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000.

Clark joined the 2004 race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination as a candidate on September 17, 2003, but withdrew from the primary race on February 11, 2004, after winning the Oklahoma state primary, endorsing and campaigning for the eventual Democratic nominee, John Kerry. Clark currently leads a political action committee—”WesPAC”—which was formed after the 2004 primaries,^[1]^[2] and used it to support numerous Democratic Party candidates in the 2006 midterm elections.^[3] Clark was considered a potential candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2008, but, on September 15, 2007, endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton.^[4] After Clinton dropped out of the Presidential race, Clark endorsed the then-presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama.^[5] Clark currently serves as the co-chairman of Growth Energy, an ethanol lobbying group^[6]^[7] and on the board of directors of BNK Petroleum.^[8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:General_Wesley_Clark_official_photograph,_edited.jpg

Lockheed AC-130

“…The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily-armed ground-attack aircraft. The basic airframe is manufactured by Lockheed, and Boeing is responsible for the conversion into a gunship and for aircraft support.^[1] It is a variant of the C-130 Hercules transport plane. The AC-130A Gunship II superseded the AC-47 Gunship I during the Vietnam War.

The gunship’s sole user is the United States Air Force, which uses AC-130H Spectre and AC-130U Spooky variants.^[2] The AC-130H “Spectre” is powered by four Allison T56-A-15 turboprops and is armed with two 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannons, one Bofors 40mm autocannon, and one 105 mm M102 cannon. The upgraded AC-130U “Spooky” has a single 25 mm GAU-12 Equalizer in place of the Spectre’s twin 20 mm cannons, as well as an improved fire control system and increased capacity for ammunition. It has a standard crew of twelve or thirteen airmen, including five officers (two pilots, a navigator, an electronic warfare officer, and a fire control officer) and enlisted personnel (flight engineer, sensor operators, aerial gunners, and a loadmaster).

The US Air Force uses the AC-130 gunships for close air support, air interdiction, air missions, bombing raid, and force protection. Close air support roles include supporting ground troops, escorting convoys, and flying urban operations. Air interdiction missions are conducted against planned targets and targets of opportunity. Force protection missions include defending air bases and other facilities. AC-130U Spooky gunships are stationed at Hurlburt Field in Northwest Florida and the AC-130H models are stationed at Cannon AFB, New Mexico. The gunship squadrons are part of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a component of United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM). …”

“…he United States used gunships during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (2001– ), and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq (2003–2010). In 2007 U.S. Special Operations forces used the AC-130 in attacks on suspected al-Qaeda militants in Somalia.^[24]^[25]

There are eight AC-130H and seventeen AC-130U aircraft in active-duty service as of July 2010.^[2]

In March 2011 the US Air Force deployed two AC-130s to take part in Operation Odyssey Dawn, the military intervention in Libya.^[26]

…”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_AC-130

A-10 Thunderbolt II

“…The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support (CAS) for ground forces by attacking tanks, armored vehicles, and other ground targets with a limited air interdiction capability. It is the first U.S. Air Force aircraft designed exclusively for close air support.^[3]

The A-10 was designed around the GAU-8 Avenger, a heavy automatic cannon which forms the aircraft’s primary armament. The aircraft’s hull incorporates over 1,200 pounds (540 kg) of armor and was designed with survivability as a priority, with protective measures in place which enable the aircraft to continue flying even after taking significant damage.

The A-10’s official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of World War II, a fighter that was particularly effective at close air support. The A-10 is more commonly known by its nickname “Warthog” or simply “Hog”.^[4] As a secondary mission, it provides airborne forward air control, guiding other aircraft against ground targets. A-10s used primarily in this role are designated OA-10.^[5] The A-10 is expected to be replaced in 2028 or later. …”

“…Afghanistan and Iraq Wars

During the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, A-10s did not take part in the initial stages. For the campaign against Taliban and Al Qaeda, A-10 squadrons were deployed to Pakistan and Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, beginning in March 2002. These A-10s participated in Operation Anaconda. Afterwards, A-10s remained in-country, fighting Taliban and Al Qaeda remnants.^[77]

Operation Iraqi Freedom began on 20 March 2003. Sixty OA-10/A-10 aircraft took part in early combat there.^[78] United States Air Forces Central issued Operation Iraqi Freedom: By the Numbers, a declassified report about the aerial campaign in the conflict on 30 April 2003. During that initial invasion of Iraq, A-10s had a mission capable rate of 85% in the war and fired 311,597 rounds of 30 mm ammunition. A single A-10 was shot down near Baghdad International Airport by Iraqi fire late in the campaign. The A-10 also flew 32 missions in which the aircraft dropped propaganda leaflets over Iraq.^[79]

The A-10C first deployed to Iraq in the third quarter of 2007 with the 104th Fighter Squadron of the Maryland Air National Guard. The jets include the Precision Engagement Upgrade.^[80] The A-10C’s digital avionics and communications systems have greatly reduced the time to acquire a close air support target and attack it.^[81]

On 25 March 2010, an A-10 conducted the first flight of an aircraft with all engines powered by a biofuel blend. The flight, performed at Eglin Air Force Base, used a 1:1 blend of JP-8 and Camelina-based fuel.^[82]

Libya

In March 2011, six A-10s were deployed as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn, the coalition intervention in Libya. They participated in attacks on Libyan ground forces there. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II

F-15E Strike Eagle

“…The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole fighter. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. It is a major derivative of the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter. United States Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles can be distinguished from other U.S. Eagle variants by darker camouflage and conformal fuel tanks mounted along the engine intakes.

The Strike Eagle has been deployed in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Allied Force, carrying out deep strikes against high-value targets, combat air patrols, and providing close air support for coalition troops. It has also seen action in later conflicts and has been exported to several countries. …”

“…Operation Odyssey Dawn

Following the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 on 17 March 2011, 10 USAF F-15E fighters, and a variety of other US aircraft were deployed to enforce the Libyan no-fly zone as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn. On 21 March 2011, an F-15E Strike Eagle 91-304 crashed in Libya, near Bengazi.^[48] Both crew members parachuted into territory held by resistance elements of the Libyan population and were sheltered by the resistance until they were rescued by a Marine Corps CSAR mission. An equipment malfunction is the reason stated for the crash.^[49]^[50]^[51] …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-15E_Strike_Eagle

Forward air control

“…Forward air control is the provision of guidance to Close Air Support (CAS)^[1] aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC).^[2] For NATO forces the qualifications and experience required to be a FAC are set out in a NATO Standard (STANAG). FACs may form part of a Fire Support Team or Tactical Air Control Party, they may be ground based, airborne FACs in fixed wing aircraft (FAC-A) or in helicopters (ABFAC).^[3] Since 2003 the United States Armed Forces have used the term joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) for some of their ground based FACs,^[4]^[5] and this term was used for Vietnamese Forward Air Controllers and was not used in reference to any US Air Force Forward Air Controllers. ^[6]

A primary function of a Forward Air Controller is ensuring the safety of friendly troops. Enemy targets in the Forward Edge of the Battle Area (FEBA) are often close to friendly forces and therefore friendly forces are at risk of friendly fire through proximity during air attack. The danger is twofold: the bombing pilot cannot identify the target clearly, and is not aware of the locations of friendly forces. Camouflage, constantly changing situation and the fog of war all increase the risk. Air interdiction the term used for air attacks conducted at such distance from friendly forces that detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of friendly forces is not required, thus it by definition does not involve the participation of a FAC.^{[7] …”}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_air_control

This entry is the total oil exported in barrels per day (bbl/day), including both crude oil and oil products

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2176rank.html?countryName=Libya&countryCode=ly&regionCode=af&rank=16

Rank	country	(bbl/day)	Date of Information


1	Saudi Arabia	8,728,000	2007 est.


2	Russia	5,430,000	2009


3	United Arab Emirates	2,700,000	2007 est.


4	Iran	2,400,000	2010 est.


5	Kuwait	2,349,000	2007 est.


6	Nigeria	2,327,000	2007 est.


7	European Union	2,196,000	2008 est.


8	Venezuela	2,182,000	2007 est.


9	Norway	2,150,000	2009 est.


10	Canada	2,001,000	2008 est.


11	Iraq	1,910,000	2009 est.


12	Algeria	1,891,000	2007 est.


13	United States	1,704,000	2008 est.


14	Netherlands	1,660,000	2008 est.


15	Libya	1,542,000	2007 est.


16	Angola	1,407,000	2007 est.


17	United Kingdom	1,393,000	2008 est.


18	Singapore	1,374,000	2007 est.


19	Kazakhstan	1,345,000	2009 est.


20	Mexico	1,225,000	2009 est.

This entry is the total natural gas exported in cubic meters (cu m).

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2183rank.html?countryName=Libya&countryCode=ly&regionCode=af&rank=20

Rank	country	(cu m)	Date of Information


1	Russia	179,100,000,000	2009


2	Norway	98,850,000,000	2009 est.


3	Canada	94,670,000,000	2009 est.


4	Algeria	59,670,000,000	2008 est.


5	Qatar	56,780,000,000	2008 est.


6	Netherlands	55,590,000,000	2009 est.


7	Indonesia	33,500,000,000	2008 est.


8	Malaysia	31,030,000,000	2008 est.


9	United States	30,350,000,000	2009 est.


10	Australia	22,300,000,000	2009 est.


11	Nigeria	20,550,000,000	2008 est.


12	Kazakhstan	17,660,000,000	2008 est.


13	Trinidad and Tobago	17,360,000,000	2008 est.


14	Uzbekistan	15,000,000,000	2008 est.


15	Turkmenistan	14,000,000,000	2009 est.


16	Germany	12,640,000,000	2009 est.


17	United Kingdom	12,170,000,000	2009 est.


18	Bolivia	11,590,000,000	2010 est.


19	Oman	10,890,000,000	2008 est.


20	Libya	10,400,000,000	2008 est.

Background Articles and Videos

UN imposes no-fly zone on Libya

Obama Too Soft For Neocons

‘Libya no-fly zone is insane’

Background Articles and Videos

Iconography promotes communion

Background Articles and Videos

Samantha Power on Sergio Vieira de Mello

Sergio Vieira de Mello

In memoriam: Sérgio Vieira de Mello

Obama advisor Samantha Power steps down

Hillary’s Not a Monster

AP source: Obama to name Samantha Power to UN post

A White House official says President Barack Obama will name former aide Samantha Power as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Power will replace Susan Rice, who will take over as Obama’s national security adviser. The official says Obama will announce both appointments from the White House Wednesday afternoon.

Power is a longtime Obama adviser who worked on his 2008 presidential campaign and ran the human rights office in the White House. She left the administration in February but was considered the favorite to replace Rice at the U.N.

http://news.yahoo.com/ap-source-obama-name-samantha-power-un-post-120030277.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UhmKa9RcUsAj8rQtDMD

Samantha Power

“…Samantha Power (born September 21, 1970) is an Irish American academic, governmental official and writer. She is currently a Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and runs the Office of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights as Senior Director of Multilateral Affairs on the Staff of the National Security Council. She is also the Founding Executive Director and the Anna Lindh Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government

Power began her career by covering the Yugoslav Wars and was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for her book A Problem from Hell, a study of the U.S. foreign policy response to genocide. She was originally a senior adviser to Obama until March 2008 when she resigned from his presidential campaign under controversy. After rejoining the Obama State Department transition team in late November 2008, she was named to her position in the new administration.

Power was born in Dublin, Ireland^[1] and emigrated to the United States in 1979. She attended Lakeside High School in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was a member of the cross country team and the basketball team. She later graduated from Yale University.

From 1993 to 1996, she worked as a journalist, covering the Yugoslav wars for U.S. News & World Report, The Boston Globe, The Economist, and The New Republic.

When she returned to the United States, she attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1999. Her first book, A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, grew out of a paper she wrote in law school. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction and the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize^[2] in 2003. It offers a survey of the origin of the word genocide, the major genocides of the 20th century, as well as an analysis of some of the underlying reasons for the persistent failure of governments and the international community to collectively identify, recognize and then respond effectively to genocides ranging from the Armenian Genocide to the Rwandan Genocide. This work and related writings have been criticized by the historian Howard Zinn for downplaying the importance of “unintended” and “collateral” civilian deaths that could be classified as genocidal;^[3] and by Edward S. Herman^[4] and Joseph Nevins^[5]

A scholar of foreign policy especially as it relates to human rights, genocide, and AIDS, she is currently the Anna Lindh Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

In 2004, Power was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 top scientists and thinkers of that year.^[6] In fall 2007, she began writing a regular column for Time. Power appears in Charles Ferguson’s 2007 documentary, No End in Sight, which alleges numerous missteps by the Bush administration in the U.S. war in Iraq.

The character of Nadia Blye in The Vertical Hour, a play by David Hare, shares key surface similarities with Ms. Power.

Power spent 2005–06 working in the office of U.S. Senator Barack Obama as a foreign policy fellow, where she was credited with sparking and directing Obama’s interest in the Darfur conflict.^[7] She served as a senior foreign policy adviser to Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign until she was forced to resign for referring to Hillary Clinton as “a monster”.^[8] Power apologized for the remarks made in an interview with The Scotsman in London, and resigned from the campaign shortly thereafter.

Her second book, Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World was released on February 14, 2008. It concerns Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations Special Representative in Iraq who was killed in the Canal Hotel bombing in Baghdad along with Jean-Sélim Kanaan, Nadia Younes, Fiona Watson, and other members of his staff, on the afternoon of August 19, 2003. The book was the basis for the documentary film Sergio, directed by Greg Barker and edited by Karen Schmeer.

Personal life

In January 2008, Power began dating the prominent law professor Cass Sunstein, whom she met while working on the Obama campaign.^[9] On July 4, 2008, they married.^[10] On April 24, 2009, Sunstein and Power welcomed their first child, Declan Power-Sunstein, born in Washington at seven pounds, eight ounces. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Power

Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )

President Obama’s Anti-American and Anti-Israel Foreign Policy–Samanth Power, Cass Sunstein and Richard A. Falk–Videos

Posted on March 24, 2011. Filed under: Blogroll, Communications, Demographics, Economics, Energy, Federal Government, government, government spending, history, Law, liberty, Life, Links, media, People, Philosophy, Politics, Rants, Raves, Resources, Talk Radio, War, Wealth, Wisdom | Tags: Anti-American, Anti-Israel Foreign Policy, Cass Sunstein, Foreign Policy, Israel, Richard A. Falk, Samanth Power |

Glenn Beck-03/24/11-A

Glenn Beck-03/24/11-B

Glenn Beck-03/24/11-C

Samantha Power: Shaking hands with the devil

Obama Advisor Samantha Power Calls for Invasion of Israel

Conversations With History – Samantha Power

Samantha Power: Can Genocide Be Stopped in an Age of Terror?

NED 2010 Democracy Award – Samantha Power – Obama Statement

Samantha Power: America and the Age of Genocide

Obama’s Senior Foreign Policy Adviser Samantha Power-1/4

Obama’s Senior Foreign Policy Adviser Samantha Power-2/4

Obama’s Senior Foreign Policy Adviser Samantha Power-3/4

Obama’s Senior Foreign Policy Adviser Samantha Power-4/4

Obama’s Position on Negotiating with Enemies – Samantha Power

NY Women 4 Obama – Samantha Power (Camera A)

Charlie Rose – Samantha Power

Tulane: Samantha Power of the “Save Darfur” Campaign

Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World

Obama advisor Samantha Power steps down

Senator Obama advisor resigns after “monster” remark

Israel expels UN rights envoy Richard Falk – Dec 17 08

Interview – Richard Falk – Gaza, Afghanistan and International Law

The Obama Administration like the United Nations is a failed and corrupt institution.

Good intentions are never enough, achievements and results count.

When you work for such an institution you are part of the problem and not a solution.

Progressive radical socialists of both political parties have many wars and deaths to answer for.

Abortion: Black Genocide in 21st Century America–Videos

The United States should get out of the United Nations.

The United Nations should get out of the United States.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions and government interventionists including Sergio Vieira de Mello and Samantha Power.

Thomas Barnett: The Pentagon’s new map for war and peace

Walter Williams : Good Intentions! (Part 3/3)

The good intentions of the progressive radical socialists gave us the warfare and welfare economy and the collectivist state.

The time has come to quickly change from a warfare and welfare economy and collectivist state to a peace and prosperity economy and constitutional republic.

Which would you rather have a paycheck or an unemployment or welfare check?

Which would you rather do, build a house for your family or build a nation abroad?

Bring all of America’s professional soldiers home and shut permanently eleven Federal Departments.

The Federal Government is the problem both at home and abroad.

Stop progressive radical socialist government interventionism.

Join the Second American Revolution.

Background Articles and Videos

Samantha Power on Sergio Vieira de Mello

Sergio Vieira de Mello

In memoriam: Sérgio Vieira de Mello

Hillary’s Not a Monster

Samantha Power

From 1993 to 1996, she worked as a journalist, covering the Yugoslav wars for U.S. News & World Report, The Boston Globe, The Economist, and The New Republic.

The character of Nadia Blye in The Vertical Hour, a play by David Hare, shares key surface similarities with Ms. Power.

Personal life

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Power

Richard A. Falk

Richard Anderson Falk (born 1930) is an American professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, the author or co-author of 20 books and the editor or co-editor of another 20 books,^[1] speaker, activist on world affairs, and an appointee to two United Nations positions on the Palestinian territories. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and others have condemned remarks Falk has made suggesting that there is an “apparent cover-up” by U.S. authorities over the September 11 attacks.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Falk described his family background as “assimilationist Jewish with a virtual denial of even the ethnic side of Jewishness,”^[6] and more recently described himself as “an American Jew”.^[7]

Falk obtained a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, a Bachelor of Laws from Yale University, and a Doctor of Laws (SJD) from Harvard University. He is Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Law and Practice, Emeritus at Princeton University, and was Visiting Distinguished Professor in Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (2001–04). He retired from teaching in 2001.^[8]^[9]

Falk has published a number of books and essays analyzing the legality of the Vietnam War and other military operations. With regard to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he has written that it is “inescapable that an objective observer would reach the conclusion that this Iraq war is a war of aggression, and as such, that it amounts to a Crime against Peace of the sort for which surviving German leaders were indicted, prosecuted and punished at the Nuremberg trials conducted shortly after the Second World War.”^[10]

In early 1979, shortly before the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, when Falk was a professor of International Law at Princeton, he joined a group of Americans in visiting visited Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini at his home in exile in France.^[11] After Khomeini returned to Iran to lead the revolution, Falk spoke out strongly in defense of Khomeini, condemning “the depiction of him” by certain American leaders “as fanatical, reactionary and the bearer of crude prejudices,” which seemed done “in a manner calculated to frighten.” Falk explained that “Khomeini’s style is to express his real views defiantly and without apology, regardless of consequences.” Fortunately this “depiction of him as fanatical, reactionary and the bearer of crude prejudices seems certainly and happily false.”^[12] Falk was later criticized by other commentators for his remarks,^[11]^[13] and changed his opinion of Khomeini.^[14]

He is a member of the Editorial Boards of The Nation and The Progressive, and Chair of the Board of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.^[15]^[16] He is a former advisory board member of the World Federalist Institute^[17] and the American Movement for World Government.^[18] He is Distinguished Visiting Professor in Global & International Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara [2].

During 1999–2000, Falk worked on the Independent International Commission on Kosovo.^[16]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_A._Falk

Background Articles and Videos

Inside al Qaeda

Libya frees al Qaeda linked group

The Neoconservative Media by the Southern Avenger

The Iran problem with Hanson and Baer

On the NRO Libya Editorial, I Respectfully Dissent

By Andrew C. McCarthy

“…Contrary to the editors’ claim, a military campaign to pick a winner between Qaddafi (for whom we were vouching for up until a few weeks ago) and the “rebels” (who include anti-American jihadists) would not be “commensurate with our interests.” It could not be, for such campaigns, as the editorial concedes, have “costs and risks.” Our interests are calculated by weighing those costs and risks against the anticipated benefits. To justify the use of military force, the benefits have to be clear and substantial, and their pursuit must be supported by the public. The fate of Libya is just not that important. Qaddafi is a creep, but he hasn’t done anything to us since our government absolved him seven years ago. If he falls, no one will weep. But that doesn’t make it worth a single American life to move him out so the “rebels” can move in.

Arab League members have been lushly armed by the U.S. for years. Why don’t we suggest that they band together to drive Qaddafi out, just like they have banded together several times to try to wipe out Israel? Why don’t we let our great NATO ally Turkey take a time-out from trying to break Israel’s blockade of Hamas to deal with its own backyard?

To borrow General McChrystal’s words about Afghanistan, Libya is not our war. The editors observe that “waiting for U.N. or even NATO approval is a formula for inaction,” but there are very good reasons for inaction. Putting aside Security Council authoritarians like China and Russia, who have their own reasons for protecting Qaddafi, many other countries see the potentially catastrophic downsides of getting involved and say, “No thanks.” Why do we need to be the ones to take on the empirically thankless task of stepping in between warring Muslims who are united only by their disdain for America and the West?

It is not easy to explain to our troops and their loved ones why the combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have devolved into increasingly pointless nation-building exercises, continue to be worth their sacrifice. But at least in those missions, there were clear U.S. national security reasons for the initial invasions. At least in those missions, we are still killing and capturing some terrorists who might otherwise attack the U.S. In Libya, there are no similar U.S. interests. Yet NR is not only undertaking to support a forcible intervention; the editors lay the groundwork for supporting “other options” to be considered once Qaddafi’s offensive has been checked. Intended of not, that leaves the door ajar to yet another long-term, troop-intensive occupation, the editors’ protestations to the contrary notwithstanding. And is it not worth at least a mention that among the “costs and risks” of military intervention in a Muslim country is that, regardless of how well-meaning we are, mainstream Islam construes sharia to require attacks against Western forces that attack Muslim countries? By intervening — even if some Muslim countries are asking us to intervene, history tells us — we would guarantee intensified calls by influential Islamic clerics for jihad against us. …”

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/262377/nro-libya-editorial-i-respectfully-dissent-andrew-c-mccarthy

Our Blood and Treasure, for Britain and France

“…Britain is so desperate for drilling rights in Libya that it engineered the release and repatriation of the Libyan bomber of Pan American Flight 103, ignoring international outrage. France is one of the major importers of Libyan oil, and France accepted trivial compensation for a Libyan mid-air bombing of one its flights, UTA 772. The incident, like Pan Am 103, was settled by Gaddafi’s government paying monetary compensation to the victims’ families.

After tolerating the murder of its citizens in order to get access to Libya’s easily refined oil, Britain and France saw in Libya’s uprising the handwriting on the wall. Gaddafi might end up on the scrap heap of history, and what Britain and France needed was a new Libyan partner.

With Britain and France ostensibly standing up for the “democratic” opposition and the media bringing the visual horror of Gaddafi’s words and deeds to the world, the Obama administration could not continue to sit on the sidelines. Yet the media has been beating the drums over the “democratic” opposition, but there has been no real analysis of what the opposition will bring to the political process, if they do win.

In the meantime, Hillary Clinton’s earlier warning that no-fly zones are ineffectual because they don’t stop troops and tanks has been superseded in this conflict by the French. Their air force has been doing more than just keeping Libyan planes out of the air. They shot up Libyan tanks and armor, carving out seemingly new rules of engagement without objection, until the Arab League began to complain.

If the Arab League wanted to stop Gaddafi, they didn’t have to wait until his forces were near victorious, nor did they really need the West to carry out the attacks. Egypt and Saudi Arabia alone could have defeated Gaddafi, but ultimately they had no desire to do so. What they had was the desire to rhetorically enter the fray and to posture appropriately for the international community when it appeared Gaddafi would win. After all, the continual fall of Arab tyrants and despots threatens the Arab League itself, an organization comprised of despots and tyrants.

Obama has dragged us into yet another endless war in the Islamic world, a war where the military mission is clear, as it was in the early days of Iraq, and where the strategy and endgame are totally undefined. Britain’s and France’s strategic interests in this conflict are unambiguous. America’s? They are no clearer than they are in Zimbabwe and a host of other places where people are wantonly oppressed and killed by tyrants. …”

http://209.157.64.201/focus/f-bloggers/2693532/posts

Preventive War

A preventive war or preventative war is a war initiated to prevent another party from attacking, when an attack by that party is not imminent or known to be planned. Preventive war aims to forestall a shift in the balance of power^[1] by strategically attacking before the balance of power has a chance to shift in the direction of the adversary. Preventive war is distinct from preemptive war, which is first strike when an attack is imminent.^[1] Preventive war undertaken without the approval of the United Nations is illegal under the modern framework of international law,^[2] though Robert Delahunty and John Yoo from the George W. Bush administration maintained in their discussion of the Bush Doctrine that these standards are unrealistic.^[3]

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preventive_war}

Bush Doctrine

The Bush Doctrine is a phrase used to describe various related foreign policy principles of former United States president George W. Bush. The phrase was first used by Charles Krauthammer in June 2001 ^[1] to describe the Bush Administration’s unilateral withdrawals from the ABM treaty and the Kyoto Protocol. The phrase initially described the policy that the United States had the right to secure itself against countries that harbor or give aid to terrorist groups, which was used to justify the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.^[2]

Different pundits would attribute different meanings to “the Bush Doctrine”, as it came to describe other elements, including the controversial policy of preventive war, which held that the United States should depose foreign regimes that represented a potential or perceived threat to the security of the United States, even if that threat was not immediate; a policy of spreading democracy around the world, especially in the Middle East, as a strategy for combating terrorism; and a willingness to unilaterally pursue U.S. military interests.^[3]^[4]^[5] Some of these policies were codified in a National Security Council text entitled the National Security Strategy of the United States published on September 20, 2002.^[6]

The phrase “Bush Doctrine” was rarely used by members of the Bush administration. The expression was used at least once, though by Vice President Dick Cheney, in a June 2003 speech in which he said, “If there is anyone in the world today who doubts the seriousness of the Bush Doctrine, I would urge that person to consider the fate of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq.”^[7] …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_Doctrine

Oil and Gas in Libya
– Overview

“…Libya, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), holds the largest proven oil reserves in Africa. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Libya had proved oil reserves of 41.464 billion barrels at the end of 2007 or 3.34 % of the world’s reserves.

Oil exploration in Libya began in 1955, with the key national Petroleum Law No. 25 enacted in April of that year (a new petroleum law is currently under development). Libya’s first oil fields were discovered in 1959 (at Amal and Zelten — now known as Nasser), and oil exports began in 1961.

Libya is Africa’s major oil producer and one of Europe’s biggest North African oil suppliers. Supplies from North Africa to Europe destinations have the advantage of being both timely and cost effective. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Libya produced an average of 1847.7 thousand barrels of crude oil per day in 2007, 2.2% of the world total and a change of 0.5 % compared to 2006. Libya’s economy is based on oil and exports contribute between 75% and 90% of State revenues.

Foreign involvement in Libya was severely reduced as a result of the sanctions and embargoes emplaced upon it, especially between the years of 1992 and 1999. Access to oil industry equipment and technology was restricted and Libya is reliant on foreign investment to keep the industry active.

Libya has very low production costs and the oilfields are close to the refineries and markets of Europe. In addition, despite almost half a century of exploration, Libya remains largely unexplored with vast oil and gas potential. The under-exploration of Libya reflects the impact of sanctions formerly imposed on the country.

According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Libya had 2007 proved natural gas reserves of 1.49 trillion cubic metres, 0.84% of the world total, while producing 15.2 billion cubic metres, 0.51% of the world total, in the same period.NOC controls the whole of the downstream sector together with its numerous subsidiaries and overseas arms, Umm Jawwaby Oil Services and OilInvest with its two subsidiaries of Gatoil and Tamoil

The Umm Jawwaby Oil Services acts as the Libyan National Oil Company’s procurement arm based in London. Libya is a direct producer and distributor in Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Egypt. In Italy, Tamoil Italia, which is based in Milan and has approximately 2,100 service stations, controls about 5% of the country’s retail market for oil products and lubricants. …”

http://www.mbendi.com/indy/oilg/af/lb/p0005.htm

USS Vincennes (CG-49)

“…The fourth USS Vincennes (CG-49) is a U.S. Navy Ticonderoga class Aegis guided missile cruiser. In 1988, the ship shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 civilian passengers on board, including 38 non-Iranians and 66 children.

The ship was launched 14 April 1984 and sponsored by Marilyn Quayle, wife of Indiana Senator Dan Quayle. The Vincennes was named for the Battle of Vincennes during the Revolutionary War, while the previous Vincennes heavy cruiser and Vincennes light cruiser were named for the city of Vincennes, Indiana. She was commissioned at Pascagoula 6 July 1985, Captain George N. Gee in command. The ship normally carries guided missiles, rapid-fire cannons, and two Seahawk LAMPS helicopters for anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, personnel transfers, and other purposes.

As of 2008, the Vincennes is mothballed and slated for scrapping. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Vincennes_(CG-49)

Iran Air Flight 655 (IR655)

“…Iran Air Flight 655 (IR655) was a civilian jet airliner shot down by U.S. missiles on 3 July 1988, over the Strait of Hormuz, toward the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The aircraft, an Airbus A300B2-203 operated by Iran Air, was flying from Bandar Abbas, Iran, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when it was destroyed by the U.S. Navy’s guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes, killing all 290 passengers and crew aboard, including 66 children,^[1] ranking it seventh among the deadliest airliner fatalities.^[2] It was the highest death toll of any aviation incident in the Indian Ocean and the highest death toll of any incident involving an Airbus A300 anywhere in the world. Vincennes was traversing the Strait of Hormuz, inside Iranian territorial waters, and at the time of the attack IR655 was within Iranian airspace.^[3]

According to the US government, the crew identified the Iranian Airbus A300 as an attacking F-14 Tomcat fighter. The Iranian government maintains that the Vincennes knowingly shot down the civilian aircraft. The event generated a great deal of controversy and criticism of the U.S. Some analysts have blamed U.S. military commanders and the captain of the Vincennes for reckless and aggressive behavior in a tense and dangerous environment.^[4]^[5]

In 1996, the United States and Iran reached “an agreement in full and final settlement of all disputes, differences, claims, counterclaims” relating to the incident at the International Court of Justice.^[6] As part of the settlement, the United States agreed to pay US$61.8 million, an average of $213,103.45 per passenger, in compensation to the families of the Iranian victims. However, the United States has never admitted responsibility, nor apologized to Iran.^[7]

As of summer 2009 Iran Air was still using flight number IR655 on the Tehran–Dubai route.^[8] …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655

Pan Am Flight 103

“…Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways’ third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. On Wednesday 21 December 1988, the aircraft flying this route—a Boeing 747–121 named Clipper Maid of the Seas—was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members.^[1] Eleven people in Lockerbie, in southern Scotland, were also killed as large sections of the plane fell in the town and destroyed several houses, bringing total fatalities to 270. As a result, the news media has named the event the Lockerbie bombing.

On 24 February 2011, resigned justice minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil revealed that Muamar Gaddafi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing.^[2] …”

^“…Based on a 1995 investigation by journalists Paul Foot and John Ashton, a number of alternate explanations of the plot to commit the Lockerbie bombing were listed by The Guardian’s Patrick Barkham in 1999.^[122] Following the Lockerbie verdict in 2001 and the appeal in 2002, attempts have been made to re-open the case amid allegations that Libya was framed. One theory suggests the bomb on the plane was detonated by radio. Another theory suggests the CIA prevented the suitcase containing the bomb from being searched. Iran’s involvement is alleged, either in association with a Palestine militant group, or that it was involved in loading the bomb while the plane was at Heathrow. The US Defense Intelligence Agency alleges that Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur (Ayatollah Mohtashemi), a member of the Iranian government, paid US$ 10 million for the bombing:

Ayatollah Mohtashemi: (…) and was the one who paid the same amount to bomb Pan Am Flight 103 in retaliation for the US shoot-down of the Iranian Airbus.^[123]

Other theories implicate Libya and Abu Nidal, and apartheid South Africa. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103

Background Articles and Videos

Explaining the Employee Free Choice Act

Wall Street’s “Bizarro World” for CEO Bonuses

SEIU on CNBC: Fire CEO Ken Lewis

(1 of 3) Exposed: How SEIU’s “Corporate Campaign” Used Clinton’s Department of Labor

(2 of 3) Exposed: How SEIU’s “Corporate Campaign” Used Clinton’s Department of Labor

(3 of 3) Exposed: How SEIU’s “Corporate Campaign” Used Clinton’s Department of Labor

SEIU: The Early Years | beginning

SEIU Official Apparently Taped Plotting to Disrupt Wall Street, Crash Stock Market

“…An official formerly with one of the nation’s most prominent unions, SEIU, was apparently caught on tape with a plan to take down JP Morgan Chase, the stock market, and ultimately bridge the gap between the rich and poor.

The voice of what sounds like Stephen Lerner, a former Service Employees International Union (SEIU) official, was caught on tape which were published on The Blaze website. He was speaking at a Pace University forum several days ago. SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the country with 2.2 million members.

The tape, which was published on several sites including YouTube , generated a bit of buzz throughout the Internet, including message boards and on other forums.

“We need to figure out in a much more, through direct action, much more concrete way how we really are trying to disrupt and create uncertainty for capital, for how corporations operate,” the voice said.

He added that there are “extraordinary things” that one could do to “destabilize the folks that are in power and start to rebuild a movement.” One of those things includes taking down the stock market to make way for the lower and middle classes in America. …”

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/united-states/seiu-official-apparently-taped-plotting-to-disrupt-wall-street-crash-stock-market-53412.html

Unions see sharp membership declines again

Union membership falls sharply; private sector union ranks at pre-WWII levels

“… The nation’s labor unions saw another steep decline in membership last year, even as the economy showed signs of recovery and job losses slowed.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that unions lost 612,000 members in 2010, dropping the unionized share of the work force to 11.9 percent from 12.3 percent in 2009. That follows a loss of 771,000 workers in 2008, continuing a steady decline from the 1950s when more than a third of workers belonged to unions.

The news comes as union officials are pressing President Barack Obama and other leaders to invest more money in infrastructure projects like repairing highways and bridges to help stimulate the economy and create new jobs. That plea is meeting stiff resistance from Republicans intent on cutting spending sharply to pare back the rising national debt.

Union membership in the private sector fell from 7.2 percent to 6.9 percent, a low point not seen since the infancy of the labor movement in the 1930s. The steepest decline was seen in the construction industry, where unemployment remains around 20 percent.

Public employment unions saw a 1.2 percent decline, mostly from job cuts among state and local government workers. Those unions could see further declines this year, as states eliminate jobs in an effort to make up multibillion-dollar budget deficits.

“In the absence of federal support for state and local governments, public sector cutbacks will continue to depress the overall union membership rate,” said Ben Zipperer, a senior research associate of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. …”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Unions-see-sharp-membership-apf-2604944800.html

Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )

F-15 Fighter Crashes Near Benghazi, Libya–Pilots Ejected and Rescued–Video

Posted on March 22, 2011. Filed under: Blogroll, Communications, Economics, Federal Government, Foreign Policy, government, government spending, history, Language, Law, liberty, Life, Links, media, People, Philosophy, Politics, Rants, Raves, Religion, Technology, Video, War, Wealth, Wisdom | Tags: Crashes, F-15 Fighter, Libya, War |

U.S. F-15 Fighter Jet Crashes in Libya ~ Crewmember is Rescued by Rebels & Returned to U.S. Forces

F-15 Crashes In Libya Due To Mechanical Failure, Both Crew Members Safe

Battlefield: Libya

US warplane crashes in Libya

Video of F-15 ruins in Libya after US fighter jet crashes near Benghazi

AMERICAN F 15 FIGHTER JET CRASH LANDED OR SHOT DOWN IN LIBYA? CNN MORNING NEWS

F-15 fighter jet crashes in Libya

“…Two crewmen reported to be safe and unhurt after crashing near Benghazi following apparent mechanical failure

“…Two US airmen were forced to eject from their F-15E fighter jet over Libya on Monday night after an apparent mechanical failure, the US military said.

The wreckage of their F-15E Strike Eagle jet, which crashed at 9.30pm GMT, was found near Benghazi.

Vince Crawley, a spokesman for the Africa Command, said both crew members had been safely recovered and had received only minor injuries. Crawley said the crash was likely to have been caused by mechanical failure rather than hostile fire. He declined to give the location of the crash and would not say how the rescued crewmen were picked up or where they were taken.

The aircraft, based at RAF Lakenheath, was flying out of Italy’s Aviano airbase in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn at the time of the incident. The cause of the crash is being investigated. …”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/22/f15-fighter-crash-libya

U.S. F-15 fighter jet crashes in Libya; both crew members rescued

“…A U.S. Air Force fighter jet crashed Monday night in Libya after an apparent equipment malfunction but both crew members were able to eject and were back in American hands with only minor injuries, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

The F-15E Strike Eagle jet was conducting a mission against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s air defenses when it crashed at 2130 GMT (4:30 p.m. CDT), said Lt. Cmdr. Karin Burzynski, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Africa Command.

The crash was the first major loss for the U.S. and European military air campaign, which over three nights appears to have hobbled Gadhafi’s air defenses and artillery and rescued the rebels from impending defeat. But the opposition force, with more enthusiasm than discipline, has struggled to exploit the gains. …”

“…He said the second crew member came down in a different field and was picked up by a helicopter, an account that coincided with the U.S. explanation of the rescue.

A Marine Corps Osprey search and rescue aircraft retrieved the main pilot, while the second crew member, a weapon systems officer who is also a pilot, was recovered by rebel forces and is in American hands, a U.S. official said in Washington. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

The two were separated after ejecting from the crippled jet at high altitude and drifting down to different locations, Africa Command spokesman Vince Crawley said, adding they sustained minor injuries.

The aircraft, based out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, was flying out of Italy’s Aviano Air Base in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn. The cause of the crash is being investigated.

The Air Force has said only that B-2, F-15 and F-16 fighters are participating in operations over Libya. The U.S. involvement in Libya is being run by Africa Command, which is based in Stuttgart, Germany. …”

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110322/GPG0101/110322022/U-S-F-15-fighter-jet-crashes-Libya-both-crew-members-rescued?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Background Articles and Videos

Jeremy Clarkson in an F15E – Briefing and Flight

F-15E Eagle – Generation Jet Fighter (Part 1)

F-15E Eagle – Generation Jet Fighter (Part 2)

F-15 lands with one wing

F-15 Eagle – Best Jet Fighter in Aviation History

Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )

Robert Fisk–The Great War For Civilisation: The Conquest of The Middle East and On War and The Role Of Media–Videos

Posted on March 22, 2011. Filed under: American History, Blogroll, Communications, government, government spending, history, Language, Life, Links, media, People, Philosophy, Rants, Raves, Regulations, Security, Video, War, Wealth, Wisdom | Tags: Israel, Journalism, media, Peace, Reporter, Robert Fisk, The Great War For Civilisation: The Conquest of The Middle East, War, Weapons |

Conversations with History: Robert Fisk

“…Synopsis

A sweeping and dramatic history of the last half century of conflict in the Middle East from an award-winning journalist who has covered the region for over thirty years, The Great War for Civilisation unflinchingly chronicles the tragedy of the region from the Algerian Civil War to the Iranian Revolution; from the American hostage crisis in Beirut to the Iran-Iraq War; from the 1991 Gulf War to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. A book of searing drama as well as lucid, incisive analysis, The Great War for Civilisation is a work of major importance for today’s world.

Reaching back into the long history of invasion, occupation and colonization in the region, Robert Fisk sets forth information in a way that makes clear how a history of injustice “has condemned the Middle East to war.”

He lays open the role of the West in the seemingly endless strife and warfare in the region, traces the growth of the West’s involvement and influence there over the past one hundred years, and outlines the West’s record of support for some of the most ruthless leaders in the Middle East. He chronicles the ever-more-powerful military presence of the United States and tracks the consequent, increasingly virulent anti-Western – and particularly anti-American – sentiment among the region’s Muslim populations. …”

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Great-War-for-Civilisation/Robert-Fisk/e/9781400041510

Robert Fisk & Jeremy Bowen – On War & The Role Of Media

Robert Fisk

“…Robert Fisk (born 12 July 1946) is an English writer and journalist from Maidstone, Kent.

Middle East correspondent of the The Independent, he has primarily been based in Beirut for more than 30 years.^[1] He has published a number of books and has reported on the United States’s attack on Afghanistan and the same country’s 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Fisk holds more British and International Journalism awards than any other foreign correspondent.^[2]

The New York Times once described Robert Fisk as “probably the most famous foreign correspondent in Britain.”^[3] He reported the Northern Ireland troubles in the 1970s, the Portuguese Revolution in 1974, the Lebanese Civil War, the Iranian revolution in 1979, the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the Iran–Iraq War, the Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. A vernacular Arabic speaker, he is one of few Western journalists to have interviewed Osama bin Laden, and did so three times between 1994 and 1997.^[4]^[5] His awards include being voted International Journalist of the Year seven times.

Fisk has said that journalism must “challenge authority, all authority, especially so when governments and politicians take us to war.” He has quoted with approval the Israeli journalist Amira Hass: “There is a misconception that journalists can be objective … What journalism is really about is to monitor power and the centres of power.”^[6]

He has written at length on how much of contemporary conflict has its origin, in his view, in lines drawn on maps: “After the allied victory of 1918, at the end of my father’s war, the victors divided up the lands of their former enemies. In the space of just seventeen months, they created the borders of Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia and most of the Middle East. And I have spent my entire career—in Belfast and Sarajevo, in Beirut and Baghdad—watching the people within those borders burn.”^[7]

Fisk is a pacifist and has never voted.^[8] …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fisk

Background Articles and Videos

Fisk lashes out at West in Middle East

Robert Fisk & Jeremy Bowen – On War & The Role Of Media

Background Articles and Videos

Riz Khan – Robert Fisk – 1 Oct 08 – Part 1

Riz Khan – Robert Fisk – 1 Oct 08 – Part 2

Robert Fisk & Jeremy Bowen – On War & The Role Of Media

The Libyan Fighting Group (LIFG)

“…The Libyan Fighting Group (LIFG) also known as Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyyah al-Muqatilah bi-Libya is the most powerful radical faction waging Jihad in Libya against Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi’s regime. Shortly after the 9-11 attacks, LIFG was banned worldwide (as an affiliate of al-Qaeda) by the UN 1267 Committee.^[1]

LIFG was founded in the fall of 1995 by Libyans who had fought against Soviet forces in Afghanistan. It aims to establish an Islamic state in Libya and views the current regime as oppressive, corrupt and anti-Muslim, according to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. LIFG claimed responsibility for a failed assassination attempt against Gaddafi in February 1996, which was in part funded by MI6 according to David Shayler, and engaged Libyan security forces in armed clashes during the mid-to-late 1990s.^[2] They continue to target Libyan interests and may engage in sporadic clashes with Libyan security forces.^[3] They strongly deny any links with al-Qaeda and are keen to emphasize that LIFG has never carried out an attack outside Libya or against civilians.^{[citation needed]}

On October 10, 2005, the United Kingdom’s Home Office banned LIFG and fourteen other militant groups from operating in the UK. Under the United Kingdom’s Terrorism Act 2000, being a member of a LIFG is punishable with a 10-year prison term. The Financial Sanctions Unit of the Bank of England acting on behalf of HM Treasury issued the orders to freeze all their assets.^[4] The fourteen banned groups were:

Libyan Islamic Fighting Group
Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain
Ansar al-Islam
Al Ittihad Al Islamia
Islamic Jihad Union
Ansar al-Sunna
Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin
Harakat ul-Mujahidin/Alami
Jundallah
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Lashkar-e Jhangvi
Khuddam u-Islam
Jamaat ul Furquan
Harakat ul Jihad ul Islami
Harakat ul Islami (Bangladesh)

Mohammed Benhammedi lived and worked in Liverpool at the time of the UN sanction against him. Sergey Zakurko, the father to his Lithuanian mistress was suspended from his job at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) for fear that the link could pose a security threat.^[5]

One of al-Qaeda’s most senior members, Atiyah Abdul-Rahman, is purportedly a member of LIFG as well.^[6]

The “Summary of Evidence” from Mohammed Fenaitel Mohamed Al Daihani’s Combatant Status Review Tribunal. states: “The Sanabal Charitable Committee is considered a fund raising front for the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.”^[7] …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Islamic_Fighting_Group

THE LIBYAN ISLAMIC FIGHTING GROUP (LIFG)

Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 3 Issue: 6March 23, 2005 07:00 PM Age: 6 yrsCategory: Terrorism Monitor By: Gary Gambill

“…Following 9/11, Qadhafi jumped at the opportunity to collaborate in the Bush administration’s war on radical Islamist terrorism. Just weeks after the attacks, a CIA team flew to London to meet face to face with the man believed to have planned the 1988 Lockerbie bombing – Musa Kusa, the head of Libyan intelligence. Kusa provided the CIA (and also Britain’s M16 foreign intelligence service) with the names of LIFG operatives and other Libyan Islamists who trained in Afghanistan, as well as dossiers on LIFG leaders living in the UK. In light of the central role of Libyan Afghans in al-Qaeda, this was a major intelligence windfall for the Bush administration.

The American government, for its part, officially designated LIFG as a terrorist organization. Although LIFG does not have a presence in the United States, the Bush administration’s designation is not merely symbolic. For starters, it means that any state providing assistance to LIFG can potentially be designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. State Department. More importantly, it means that any member of LIFG living in undemocratic countries backed by the United States (e.g. Pakistan, Egypt) runs the risk of arrest and “rendition” back to Libya.

That Britain has not designated LIFG a terrorist organization is significant, as several prominent leaders of the group continue to live in London and Manchester. All of them strongly deny any affiliation with al-Qaeda and are keen to emphasize that LIFG has never carried out an attack outside Libya or against civilians. [7] This may be technically true. One member of LIFG living in Britain was jailed for sixteen months without charge after he allegedly sent money to a suspected al-Qaeda member, but was eventually released because the government failed to present concrete evidence of criminal activity in court. According to the U.S. State Department, LIFG was “involved in planning and facilitating” the May 2003 bombings in Casablanca, but the suspects in this case were non-Libyan members of the Fighting Islamic Group in Morocco (FIGM). Although the two groups are almost certainly linked by more than ideological affinity, the U.S. government has never released information clarifying their relationship. …”

http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=30147

Eisenhower’s Farewell Address Jan 17, 1961 Pt 1

Eisenhower’s Farewell Address Jan 17, 1961 Pt 2

The Other Side Of Suez 1956 – BBC Documentary – part(1/3)

The Other Side Of Suez 1956 – BBC Documentary – part(2/3)

The Other Side Of Suez 1956 – BBC Documentary – part(3/3)

Julian Assange: The man who leaked the world

Should We Intervene in Libya?

By Victor Davis Hansen

“…There are plenty of good arguments for imposing a no-fly zone in Libya. Without Libyan-government air strikes, the rebels might have a better chance of carving out permanent zones of resistance. Qaddafi has a long record of supporting anti-American terrorism, whether in the form of killing Americans in Europe during the Reagan administration or masterminding the Lockerbie bombing that took down a Pan Am 747 jumbo jet, killing 270 in the air and on the ground. In humanitarian terms, Libyans have been living an ungodly nightmare since Qaddafi’s coup in 1969, and it would be a fine and noble thing to lend them a hand to end their four-decade-long misery. The world would be a better and safer place without Qaddafi and his odious clan in power.

“…But all that said, using military force at this moment in Libya is a bad idea, and for a variety of reasons. I supported the Iraq war on the basis of the legitimate 23 writs adduced by both houses of Congress, in bipartisan fashion, which went well beyond trumped-up fears of massive arsenals of weapons of mass destruction. We had been in a de facto war with Saddam since 1991, and he was an enemy as sinister as Qaddafi but far more powerful. In some sense, America had been responsible for encouraging a popular revolt among Shiites and Kurds, and then allowing a defeated Saddam the means by which to put it down savagely. The mission was clearly articulated: to remove Saddam Hussein and foster a consensual government in his place. When we went into Iraq in 2003, less than 100 Americans had been killed since 2001 in Afghanistan, which was relatively quiet after two years of fighting. Indeed, the American fatality rate there would stay well below 100 per year on average during the first six years of the Afghan war and the first four years of simultaneous conflict in Iraq. That is not true today, as 499 Americans were killed just last year in Afghanistan, more than the cumulative fatality rate for the first seven years of the war. …”

“…Do we express support for regime change in a Middle Eastern country when protesters pour into the streets, or only when such protesters seem to be on the edge of winning? By what criteria is Mubarak worse than Ahmadinejad or Assad? Will those who might replace King Abdullah in Jordan be better or worse? Is the Saudi autocracy less harsh to its own than the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia, or is it Saudi Arabia’s unique oil status that earned its present exemption from American pressure? And as we contemplate moving into Libya, are we opposed to or supportive of the ongoing Saudi incursion into Bahrain to stamp out dissidents there? Are the Saudis acting as good allies who are protecting Western petroleum interests and the contractual integrity of U.S. military installations, or as reactionary forces that are denying the people a voice in their own affairs? And is a new Egypt going to be more tolerant of religious minorities than Mubarak’s Egypt? No one in Washington seems to be cognizant that those in power in Iran, Syria, and Libya are much worse than the dictators and kings in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf — nor does anyone seem aware that, at least for now, popular plebiscites in the Middle East without constitutional guarantees and institutionalized human rights (and a large American ground presence to help draft and enforce a new constitution) would translate into more, not less, illiberal government. …”

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/262217/should-we-intervene-libya-victor-davis-hanson?page=2

Libyan rebellion has radical Islamist fervor: Benghazi link to Islamic militancy:U.S. Military Document Reveals

“…Well known to the United States policymakers in Obama White House and Clinton State Department along with the National Security Council but not widely known to American mainstream media, the U.S. West Point Military Academy’s Combating Terrorism Center document reveals that Libya sent more fighters to Iraq’s Islamic militancy on a per-capita basis than any other Muslim country, including Saudi Arabia.

Perhaps more alarmingly for Western policymakers, most of the fighters came from eastern Libya, the center of the current uprising against Muammar el-Qaddafi.

The analysis of the Combating Terrorism Center of West Point was based on the records captured by coalition forces in October 2007 in a raid near Sinjar, along Iraq’s Syrian border.

The eastern Libyan city of Darnah sent more fighters to Iraq than any other single city or town, according to the West Point report. It noted that 52 militants came to Iraq from Darnah, a city of just 80,000 people (the second-largest source of fighters was Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which has a population of more than 4 million).

Benghazi, the capital of Libya’s provisional government declared by the anti-Qaddafi rebels, sent in 21 fighters, again a disproportionate number of the whole.

If the 2007 captured records revealed the Eastern Libyan participation in the anti-coalition forces militancy in Iraq one could imagine the Banghazi-Darnah export of Islamists since then.

“Libyans were more fired up to travel to Iraq to kill Americans than anyone else in the Arabic-speaking world,” Andrew Exum, a counterinsurgency specialist and former Army Ranger noted in a blog posting recently. “This might explain why those rebels from Libya’s eastern provinces are not too excited about U.S. military intervention. It might also give some pause to those in the United States so eager to arm Libya’s rebels.”

Despite this data and information available to the United Stated government Secretary of State Hilary Clinton met late Monday 14 with a leader of the Libyan rebel movement in Paris privately and without a public statement. Mrs. Clinton met the opposition rebel leader Mahmoud Jibril at her hotel in Paris after attending a dinner with foreign ministers of the countries of the Group 8 who discussed ways to increase pressure on Colonel Qaddafi’s Libyan regime. …”

http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/03/17/libyan-rebellion-has-radical-islamist-fervor-benghazi-link-islamic-militancyus-milit

Paraded on Libyan TV, the rebel ‘Al Qaeda fighter’ from Britain

“…A British citizen captured in Libya has been branded an Islamic terrorist by Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

Salah Mohammed Ali Aboaoba was paraded in front of the world press yesterday by officials who claim he has been helping Al Qaeda fuel unrest in the country.

Flanked by officers, the father-of-four said he was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, a terrorist organisation banned in Britain.

Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Aboaoba said he moved from Yemen to Britain in 2005 and travelled to Libya late last year.

He claimed he had been granted asylum in the UK and lives with his family in Manchester, where he raised funds for his jihadist group.

‘I do indeed have British nationality,’ he said. ‘I was not involved in any terrorist activity against Britain, apart from my funding involvement with the LIFG.’ …”

Background Articles and Videos

Fred Rogers – Archive Interview Part 9 of 9

Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )

Two Dogs Survive Japanese Tsunami–Videos

Posted on March 16, 2011. Filed under: Blogroll, Communications, Culture, liberty, Life, Links, People, Philosophy, Raves, Video | Tags: Dogs, Pets, Two Dogs Survive Japanese Tsunami |

Dog survived after the Japanese Tsunami (Amazing Video)

Background Articles and Videos

Deficits, Debts and Unfunded Liabilities: The Consequences of Excessive Government Spending

Quantitative Easing Explained

Peter Schiff – How the Government can Avoid Default 1-3-2011

Peter Schiff Video Blog – March 4, 2011

Peter Schiff and Marc Faber on CNBC 8/23/10: Time to Flee U.S. Treasuries!

Peter Schiff Video Blog – March 15, 2011

PIMCO Dumps US Treasuries

Pimco’s Bill Gross on Bloomberg Television

Billions in Bloat Uncovered in Beltway

“…A report from the nonpartisan GAO, to be released Tuesday, compiles a list of redundant and potentially ineffective federal programs, and it could serve as a template for lawmakers in both parties as they move to cut federal spending and consolidate programs to reduce the deficit. Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.), who pushed for the report, estimated it identifies between $100 billion and $200 billion in duplicative spending. The GAO didn’t put a specific figure on the spending overlap. …”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703749504576172942399165436.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories