Shadd2000 For Today!

TEA PARTY IS ALIVE AND KICKIN!

2012-02-04T11:59:00.001-08:00

Patriots,

Check out this video and post about US Supreme Court Justice Ginsberg: South Africa has a better Constitution model than US..

This is the kind of thing that makes my blood boil! Be sure to review the video, then the post with some valuable advice and insights as we approach the historic elections this year.

An additional note:

Several have stated that the Tea Party is dead, gone, and uninvolved. To this I say NOT SO. I have found that the Tea Party has evolved into a working machine of activists that have embedded themselves into the local elections, politics, and activism. I say we are more organized at the local level, where subsequently, elections are made and won.

I spoke to a friend here in Arizona yesterday evening. In 3 brief years she is embedded at the crux of most anything relevant in local politics. I have seen numerous tea party people step up to run for office, run a campaign, or become precinct committeemen. Don't let the mainstream media talking heads convince you that the Tea Party is over. The Tea Party is positioning itself to be the most influential segment of activism and change in the political spectrum for 2012 and beyond. If you aren't personally involved...there is no time like the present!

Great job Patriots! Keep standing!

Darla Dawald, National Director

Be sure to view this video:

US Supreme Court Justice Ginsberg: South Africa has a better Constitution model than US..

2012-02-03T11:04:00.001-08:00

A Positive Action

By Dr. Drew Bennett
Chancellor, Missouri State-West Plains

The following letter to the editor appeared in the West Plains Daily Quill on Jan. 31, 2012

In my welcome message on the Missouri State University-West Plains website, I state, “Some say that we can’t change the world. I believe if enough people improve themselves, we can change the world. We at Missouri State-West Plains want those who invest with us in education to take what they have learned and change their world for the better.” On Jan. 24, 2012, I experienced a very real example of just how Missouri State-West Plains is helping to change the world for the better.
Everyone in West Plains knows about our Grizzly Basketball team. In fact, our team has a regional and even national reputation for excellence. Last year the Grizzlies finished the season as the No. 1 NJCAA Division I team in the nation, a ranking they held for five consecutive weeks, with the ranking during the final two weeks being unanimous among all national pollsters. This year, the Grizzlies are off to another good start, having recently beaten Indian Hills Community College (IA) by a 17-point margin. At the time, Indian Hills was undefeated and ranked second in the nation. Anyone attending a Grizzly Basketball game this year can’t help but notice the player wearing the No. 15 jersey, a 6-foot, 11-inch forward named Farbod Farman from the country of Iran.
What many people don’t know is that Farbod’s parents traveled from Iran to see their son in West Plains, spending almost two months in our country. On Jan. 24, Mr. and Mrs. Farman came to my office to say good-bye. Farbod accompanied them in order to translate. As we met over a cup of coffee, Farbod’s parents told me they had been very worried about their son coming to the United States. They had heard many bad things about our country; however, they wanted me to know they were no longer worried. As her son translated, and with tears running down her face, Mrs. Farman told me how everyone in West Plains had been so nice and friendly. She said that everyone on our wonderful campus – the professors, staff, and the other students – had been so outgoing and helpful. The Farmans told me they were relieved to know their son was getting an excellent education in addition to the opportunity to play basketball.
For example, Farbod had told his parents of the attention that his coaches give to monitoring the players’ class attendance and the required study program for student athletes. He also had told them about his “home-away-from-home” with his host family, another wonderful feature of the Grizzly Athletics program. It was humbling and touching for me to observe the unconditional love these parents had for their son. Just as any of us would be about our own children, they were thoroughly happy about Farbod’s well-being and the excellent care he is receiving in West Plains.
When it was time to say good-bye, Mr. Farman shook my hand and called me friend. He said he would be going back to his country with a different view of the United States. As Farbod and his parents walked out the door, I knew Missouri State-West Plains had made the world a better place.
There are similar stories we could recount about other student-athletes who have enrolled at Missouri State-West Plains, performed for the Grizzlies, and gone out into their world to proclaim great things about this University, this community, and this special region

2012-01-31T03:57:00.000-08:00

Israel sees narrowing window for attack on Iran

January 30, 2012|Amy Teibel, Associated Press

Officials are quietly conceding that new international sanctions targeting Iran’s suspect nuclear program, while welcome, are further constraining Israel’s ability to take military action — just as a window of opportunity is closing because Tehran is moving more of its installations underground.

The officials say that Israel must act by the summer if it wants to effectively attack Iran’s program.

A key question in the debate is how much damage Israel, or anyone else, can inflict, and whether it would be worth the risk of a possible counterstrike.

Israel has been a leading voice in the international calls to curb Iran’s nuclear program. Like the West, it believes the Iranians are moving toward nuclear weapons capability — a charge Tehran denies.

Israel contends a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten its survival, citing Tehran’s calls for the destruction of the Jewish state and its support for anti-Israel militant groups. It also fears an Iranian bomb would touch off a nuclear arms race in a region still largely hostile to Israel.

Israeli leaders say they prefer a diplomatic solution. But — skeptical of international resolve — Israel refuses to rule out the use of force, saying frequently that “all options are on the table.’’

In comments Friday to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called for even tougher sanctions against Iran and said time was running out for the world to act.

“We are determined to prevent Iran from turning nuclear,’’ he said. “It seems to us to be urgent, because the Iranians are deliberately drifting into what we call an immunity zone where practically no surgical operation could block them.’’

Returning Monday to Israel, Barak added: “We must not waste time on this matter; the Iranians continue to advance (toward nuclear weapons), identifying every crack and squeezing through. Time is urgently running out.’’

Key Israeli defense officials believe that the time to strike, if such a decision is made, would have to be by the middle of this year.

Complicating the task is the assessment that Iran is stepping up efforts to move its work on enriching uranium — a critical component of bombmaking — deep underground. Iran’s enrichment site at Fordo near the Iranian city of Qom, for instance, is shielded by about 300 feet (90 meters) of rock.

A team of U.N. nuclear inspectors, including senior weapons experts, is in Iran this week, and the findings from the visit could greatly influence Western efforts to expand economic pressures on Tehran over its uranium enrichment.

JAYHAWK HUMOR

2012-01-25T04:28:00.000-08:00

Only Jayhawkers will truly understand the humor.

The year is 2036 and the United States has just elected
the first woman as President of the United States ..

A few days after the election,
the president-elect calls her father in Kansas and asks,
"So, Dad, I assume you will becoming to my inauguration?"

"I don't think so. It's a long drive;
your mom isn't as young as she used to be,
we'll have the dog with us,
and my arthritis is acting up in my knee."

"Don't worry about it, Dad, I'll send Air Force One or
another support aircraft to pick you up and take you home,
and a limousine will pick you up at your door," she said.

"I don't know. Everybody will be so fancy.
What would your mother wear?"

"Oh, Dad," she replied, "I'll make sure she has a wonderful gown
custom-made by one of the best designers in New York ."

"Honey," Dad complained, "You know we can't eat those rich foods
you and your friends like to eat."

The President-elect responded, "Don't worry, Dad.
The entire affair is going to be handled by the best caterer in D.C.
and I'll ensure your meals are salt-free.
Dad, I really want you to come."

So her parents reluctantly agreed, and on January 20, 2037,
arrived to see their daughter sworn in as President of the United States .
The parents of the new President are seated in the front row.

The President's dad notices a senator sitting next to him
and leans over and whispers,
"You see that woman over there with her hand on the Bible,
becoming President of the United States ?"

The Senator whispered in reply, "Yes I do."

Dad says proudly,
"Her brother played basketball at KU."

2012-01-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

Thailand officially recognizes Palestine

Thai foreign ministry says informed Palestinian delegation, UN member states it has given recognition to Palestine

Associated Press

Published:

01.20.12, 07:25 / Israel News

Thailand says it has recognized Palestine as an independent state.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said Friday that Thailand has informed the Palestinian delegation and all member states at the United Nations in New York that it "has given recognition to the state of Palestine.

he move comes as Palestine pushes for full membership at the UN, a bid Washington opposes because it says a political settlement with Israel must be reached first.

Thailand has friendly ties with Israel and is a major tourist destination for Israeli travelers.

Thai officials have expressed concern that the recentarrest of a Lebanese man allegedly linked to Hezbollahand plotting an attack in Bangkok could hurt ties with Middle Eastern countries.

New Supreme Court Brief

2012-01-16T10:27:00.000-08:00

Lee,

332,278 lives were taken by Planned Parenthood in 2009 – supported by half a billion dollars of taxpayer money. What happens if ObamaCare opens the floodgates of taxpayer money to the abortion industry?

We are about to file at the Supreme Court of the United States the latest in a series of briefs against ObamaCare. This is the most important pro-life fight since Roe v. Wade, and we are taking nothing for granted. We need your voice with ours at the Supreme Court.

Sign your name to our new Supreme Court amicus brief to defeat ObamaCare now.

Time is running out. The Supreme Court is poised to hear oral arguments in March.

Add your name to our brief today, forward this email to your friends and family who want to defeat ObamaCare and use the "Like" buttons in this email to share this on Facebook.

There is no doubt that ObamaCare expands access to and taxpayer funding for abortion. ObamaCare, and its health insurance mandate, forces every American to purchase health insurance, every business to provide insurance, and expands government-funded health insurance programs. These insurance programs can, and in some cases are required to, pay for abortions.

That is your tax dollars being used to cover abortions and expand access to this barbaric practice of killing babies.

119 Members of Congress and more than 100,000 Americans already have joined our Supreme Court briefs opposing ObamaCare. Now, Round Two - Stand with the ACLJ by adding your name today. Take action now.

Thank you for continuing to take a stand for life and liberty.

Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel

US Warns Israel On Strike

2012-01-14T13:16:00.000-08:00

By ADAM ENTOUS,JULIAN E. BARNES and JAY SOLOMON

WASHINGTON—U.S. defense leaders are increasingly concerned that Israel is preparing to take military action against Iran, over U.S. objections, and have stepped up contingency planning to safeguard U.S. facilities in the region in case of a conflict.

Associated Press

Iranians on Friday carried the flag-draped coffin of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a scientist working in Iran's nuclear sector assassinated in Tehran.

President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top officials have delivered a string of private messages to Israeli leaders warning about the dire consequences of a strike. The U.S. wants Israel to give more time for the effects of sanctions and other measures intended to force Iran to abandon its perceived efforts to build nuclear weapons.

Stepping up the pressure, Mr. Obama spoke by telephone on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet with Israeli military officials in Tel Aviv next week.

The high-stakes planning and diplomacy comes as U.S. officials warn Tehran, including through what administration officials described Friday as direct messages to Iran's leaders, against provocative actions.

Mutual Contempt

Insults, taunts and threats between Israel and Iran have been heating up in recent months:

Oct. 31, 2011: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to the Knesset: 'Security is not just about defense' but also 'the ability to attack.'
Nov. 5: Israeli President Shimon Peres, in a television interview, says a strike against Iran by Israel and other countries is 'more and more likely.'
Nov. 18: Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani: 'If the Zionists like to sit on wheelchairs, then they should attack Iran.'
Nov. 21: Iranian Brig. Gen. Ali Hajizadeh: 'One of our big wishes is that they take this action … We are eager to … throw the enemies of Islam and Muslims to the garbage can of history.'
Jan. 2, 2012: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 'Iran must expand its relations with all countries, except the illegal Zionist regime and the U.S. administration.'
Jan. 10: Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz: '2012 will be a critical year in the connection between Iran gaining nuclear power, changes in leadership, continuing pressure from the international community and events that happen unnaturally.'
Jan. 11: IDF Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, on the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan: 'I don't know who brought the Iranian scientist to account. But I certainly won't shed a tear for him.'
Jan. 12: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on Roshan's killing: 'Another black page to the heavy records of crime and savageness of the terrorism-centered Zionist regime [of Israel] and its sympathizers in the White House and the West.'

Source: WSJ research

The U.S. and Iran, however, have taken steps in recent days apparently designed to ease tensions. Iran has agreed to host a delegation of United Nations nuclear inspectors this month. The U.S., meanwhile, has twice this month rescued Iranian sailors in the region's seas

Covert efforts by Israel's intelligence service to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons have been credited with slowing the program without the high risk of military conflict that could be sparked by an airstrike. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful uses.

But Israel has declined to rule out a strike, as has the U.S.

"It is the policy of the Israeli government, and the Obama administration, that all options remain on the table. And it is crucial that the ayatollahs in Tehran take this policy seriously," said Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the U.S.

Mr. Netanyahu said in a recent interview that Iran has begun to "wobble," a signal some U.S. officials believe suggests he is willing to follow the current U.S. strategy, which seeks to avoid a military confrontation with Iran.

"Recent comments by the Israelis show they understand how tough the sanctions we've put in place are and are giving them time to work," said a senior Obama administration official.

The U.S. military is preparing for a number of possible responses to an Israeli strike, including assaults by pro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, according to U.S. officials.

The U.S. believes its embassy and other diplomatic outposts in Iraq are more vulnerable following the withdrawal of U.S. forces last month. Up to 15,000 U.S. diplomats, federal employees and contractors are expected to remain in Iraq.

In large measure to deter Iran, the U.S. has 15,000 troops in Kuwait, and has moved a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf area.

Israel ‘not shedding a tear’ over mystery death of Iranian nuclear scientist

Reuters Jan 11, 2012 – 8:26 AM ET | Last Updated: Jan 11, 2012 1:21 PM ET

JERUSALEM — A senior Israeli official on Wednesday said he was unaware who planted a car bomb that killed an Iranian nuclear scientist, but called the plot an act of “revenge.”

“I don’t know who took revenge on the Iranian scientist, but I am definitely not shedding a tear,” Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai wrote on his official Facebook page.

Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, 32, was killed along with his driver/bodyguard in a Tehran car bombing earlier on Wednesday, in a blast the Islamic republic immediately blamed on Israel and the United States.

He was the fourth Iranian scientist to be killed in an explosion in the past two years, with the finger repeatedly pointed at Israel.

Israeli officials rarely respond to such accusations and for the most part, do not comment on events in Iran, but the story made the headlines on the websites of the country’s main newspapers, as well as on its radio and television stations.

The blast came a day after Israel’s chief of staff said 2012 would be a “critical” year for Iran.

“2012 is expected to be a critical year in terms of the link between the continuation of the nuclearisation (process), the internal changes within the Iranian leadership, the growing pressure from the international community and things which happen to them in an unnatural way,” Lieutenant General Benny Gantz told MPs in remarks communicated by a spokesman.

His comments were interpreted in the press as referring to a series of mysterious attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear programme and officials involved in various aspects of it.

National Post Graphics
Click to see an enlarged version about modern spies & espionage.

The scientist was killed by a magnet bomb fixed to his car by a motorcyclist, intensifying diplomatic tensions the West over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The bombing came as Washington sought to persuade a skeptical China to help efforts to toughen sanctions against Iran.

“The bomb was a magnetic one and the same as the ones previously used for the assassination of the scientists, and is the work of the Zionists,” Tehran Deputy Governor Safarali Baratlou told the semi-official Fars news agency, referring to Israel.

“Iran’s enemies should know they cannot prevent Iran’s progress by carrying out such terrorist acts,” state news agency IRNA quoted First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi as saying.

Heightened tensions over the nuclear program, which major oil producer Iran insists is purely for civilian use but Western powers suspect has military goals, have driven oil prices higher, with Brent crude up more than 5% since the start of the year to above US$113 a barrel.

The European Union has brought forward to Jan. 23 a ministerial meeting that is likely to confirm an embargo on oil purchases, and big importers of Iranian oil are moving to secure alternative supplies. Iran is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) second biggest exporter.

NUCLEAR AGENCY DEFIANT

The victim was a nuclear scientist who “supervised a department at Natanz uranium enrichment facility,” Fars said.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation confirmed in a statement that chemistry engineer Mostafa Ahmadi-roshan was part of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program and vowed not to be deflected from its development of nuclear technology: “America and Israel’s heinous act will not change the course of the Iranian nation,” it said.

Witnesses told Reuters they had seen two people on the motorcycle fix the bomb to the car. As well as the person killed in the car, a pedestrian was also killed. Another person in the car was gravely injured, they said.

Other Iranian media also reported the death but there were differing accounts of the killing.

2012-01-10T03:32:00.000-08:00

Report: Israel preparing for nuclear Iran

London Times quotes Institute for National Security Studies as saying Israel believes Iran may become full-fledged nuclear power in one year's time

AFP

Published:

01.10.12, 07:06 / Israel News

Israel is preparing for Iran to become a nuclear power and has accepted it may happen within a year, the London Times reported on Monday citing an Israeli security report on Monday.

The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) think-tank prepared scenarios for the day after an Iranian nuclear weaponstest at the request of former Israeli ambassadors, intelligence officials and ex-military chiefs, the paper reported.

Related stories:

'Iran uranium enrichment – further escalation'

'Iran will be stopped if it pursues nuclear path'

EU agrees on Iran oil embargo

Israel has so far maintained it will do all within its power to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities, but has shifted its position following recent United Nations' reports, according to the Times.

The UN atomic agency said Monday that Iran is now enriching uranium at a new site in a hard-to-bomb mountain bunker, in a move set to stoke Western suspicions further that Tehran wants nuclear weapons.

NSS specialists including a former head of Israel's National Security Council and two former members of the prime minister's office conducted the simulation study in Tel Aviv last week. If Iran does test a nuclear weapon, INSS predicts a profound shift in the Middle East power balance.

According to extracts of the report seen by the British publication, experts believe the US would propose a defense pact with Israel, but would urge it not to retaliate.

Russia would seek an alliance with the US to prevent nuclear proliferation in the region, although Saudi Arabia would likely pursue its own nuclear program, the report concluded based on current policies.

INSS specialists believe that an Iranian test in January 2013 would follow increasingly provocative demands by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime, including the redrawing of its Iraqi borders and action against the vessels of the US Fifth Fleet.

"The simulation showed that Iran will not forgo nuclear weapons, but will attempt to use them to reach an agreement with the major powers that will improve its position," said a passage of the report published by the Times.

"The simulation showed that (the Israeli military option), or the threat of using it, would also be relevant following an Iranian nuclear test," it added

2012-01-09T07:28:00.001-08:00

15th monk self-immolates, dies in Tibet: reports

Jan 9, 2012

#Beijing #China #Dalai Lama #Qinghai #Radio Free Asia #Tibetan unrest

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Beijing: A Tibetan monk in western China died after setting himself ablaze in protest against the government, marking the 15th self-immolation in the country’s restive mountainous region since March, an exiled Tibetan spokesman said on Monday.

Sonam Wangyal, a Tibetan Buddhist monk, set himself on fire in front of a police station in Darlag county in Qinghai province on Sunday to protest against the lack of religious freedom, Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the Central Tibetan Administration, said in an emailed statement.

China’s official Xinhua news agency confirmed the death.

Radio Free Asia said in an earlier report the monk, aged in his 40s, drank kerosene, doused his body in the fuel, and then set himself on fire while calling for the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

A Tibetan demonstrator near the Chinese embassy in New Delhi on 23 Nov. At least eight of 15 Tibetans who have self-immolated in the past 10 months are believed to have died. Reuters

He died at the scene and his body was taken away by police, the report said, citing unidentified sources there.

The act of deadly defiance by the high-ranking monk — called a “Living Buddha”, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency — followed two other self-immolations near the Kirti Monastery in an ethnically Tibetan part of China’s Sichuan province on Friday.

At least eight of the 15 Tibetans who have self-immolated in the past 10 months — most of whom were Buddhist monks and nuns — are believed to have died.

The spokesman for the exiled Tibetan government in Dharamsala in India said thousands had protested on Sunday in the area of Qinghai province that borders the official Tibet region, demanding that authorities return the body.

“Due to his position as a local spiritual leader, approximately 2,000 local Tibetans are said to have held a candlelight vigil urging the local police authorities to release his body. The local police averted further tension by agreeing to do so,” spokesman Thubten Samphel said.

Xinhua said the body of the latest monk to have died, whose name it spelled as Nyage Sonamdrugyu, was returned to relatives.

Calls to officials in Darlag county, called Dari in Mandarin Chinese, went unanswered on Monday.

For the Chinese government, the self-immolations are a small but destabilising challenge to its regional policies, which it says have lifted Tibetans out of poverty and servitude.

China has ruled since Communist troops marched into Tibet in 1950 and says Tibetans are free to practise their Buddhist faith. There are also many ethnic Tibetans who live in provinces neighbouring the official Tibetan region.

Senior officials in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region vowed to boost stability in Tibet as well as “patriotic legal education” among Buddhist monks and nuns after the self-immolations, Xinhua reported separately on Sunday.

China’s Foreign Ministry has branded the self-immolators “terrorists” and has said the Dalai Lama, whom it condemns as a supporter of violent separatism, should take the blame for the “immoral” burnings.

In March 2008, deadly riots against the Chinese presence spread across the Tibet Autonomous Region and Tibetan regions ahead of the Beijing Olympics, triggering sometimes deadly confrontations with troops and police.

The Dalai Lama has not condemned or condoned the burnings but said the desperate conditions Tibetans face under Beijing’s rigid controls in what amounted to “cultural genocide” have led to the spate of self-immolations.

He denies advocating violence and separatism and insists he wants only real autonomy for his homeland.

Islam terror group tells Christians: Leave north Nigeria or be attacked

2012-01-04T03:24:00.000-08:00

Abul Qaqa, a purported spokesman for Boko Haram, said the terror group was “giving a three-day ultimatum to the southerners living in the northern part of Nigeria to move away”, the English language Vanguard newspaper reported.

The group has been linked to many attacks on Christians, most notably the bombings on Christmas Day killed 49 people, most of them at a Catholic church as services were ending.

Nigeria’s 160 million people are divided between the mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south

Qaqa said Boko Garam wished "to call on our fellow Muslims to come back to the north".

The BBC reported that Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, declared a state of emergency on Saturday in parts of four states hard hit by violence blamed on Boko Haram.

It said Mr Jonathan vowed to "crush" the group, which he said "started as a harmless group" but had "now grown cancerous".

uman rights activist Shehu Sani told CNN that the latest Boko Haram threat was credible, but many Christians born and raised in the north have nowhere else to go.

"The killings will continue," he told CNN, adding that the state of emergency and an enhanced presence of the security forces would not improve the situation, alleging that troops had already been involved in human rights abuses and had done little to reduce violence.

David Cook of Rice University, who has studied the rise of Boko Haram, told CNN that "if radical Muslim violence on a systematic level were to take hold in Nigeria ... it could eventually drive the country into a civil war

2012-01-02T02:46:00.000-08:00

Occupy Wall Street protesters return to Zuccotti Park, scuffle with police on New Year

Jonathan D. Woods / msnbc.com

Occupy Wall Street protesters stand on barricades they took down and piled inside Zuccotti Park in the Manhattan borough of New York, Jan. 1.

By Jonathan Woods, Multimedia editor

Just as a record crowd ushered in the new year in New York's Times Square, Occupy Wall Street protesters returned to Zuccotti Park by the hundreds to reclaim the park and the area around it.

After taking down metal barricades, piling them up and scuffling with police, protesters were soon kicked out of the park. Smaller groups splintered and started marching through the streets after being shoed from lower Manhattan. Police used pepper spray on protesters and a number of them were arrested.

Into the wee hours of the morning, groups of protesters marched north. Some hurled orange traffic barrels into the street, blocking traffic, though most of the demonstrations were peaceful. A seemingly high ratio of police to protesters monitored the groups' movement, keeping them on sidewalks and from obstructing traffic.

Jonathan D. Woods / msnbc.com

An Occupy Wall Street protester hurls barrels into the middle of Broadway near Zuccotti Park in the Manhattan borough of New York, Jan. 1.

Scores of officers on foot, on scooters and in sundry vehicles closed streets to keep up with the group as traffic snarled.

There was a bizarre contrast between protesters and revelers out in force for New Years' celebrations. The group marched through Manhattan's West Village, an upscale neighborhood, loaded with as many drinking establishments as quiet residential streets.

By 3:00am, demonstrators had zig-zagged their way to the East Village.

Jonathan D. Woods / msnbc.com

Police monitor a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters that marched to the West Village after being barred from Zuccotti Park in the Manhattan borough of New York on Jan. 1.

Polly Smith, 30, of Brooklyn, was celebrating New Years with friends and witnessed the roving band of police and protesters as they marched east towards 2nd Ave.

"I was really surprised at the volume of the police response for what seemed like a relatively small organized protest. It was surprising to see [the protest] in that neighborhood. You would expect to see that in Times Square or downtown, but not right in the heart of a more low-key neighborhood."

For more from AP, read here.

Jonathan D. Woods / msnbc.com

Police push back Occupy Wall Street protesters after they were cleared from Zuccotti Park in the Manhattan borough of New York, Jan. 1.

2011-12-31T09:51:00.001-08:00

Ankara: Turkish warplanes mistakenly killed 35 smugglers and other villagers in an operation targeting Kurdish rebels in Iraq, a senior official said Thursday, one of the largest one-day civilian death tolls during Turkey's 27-year drive against the guerrillas.

The killings spurred angry demonstrations in Istanbul and several cities in the mostly Kurdish southeast, and were the latest incident of violence to undermine the Turkish government's efforts to appease the aggrieved Kurdish minority by granting it more cultural freedoms.

Huseyin Celik, a spokesman for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, said authorities were still trying to identify the dead, but that most were youngsters from an extended family in the mostly Kurdish-populated area that borders Iraq.

All of the victims were under age 30 and some were the sons of village guards who have aided Turkish troops in their fight against rebels, he said.

"According to the initial information, these people were not terrorists but were engaged in smuggling," Celik said, indicating that Turkey was ready to compensate the victims. "If there was a mistake, if there was a fault, this will not be covered up, and whatever is necessary will be done."

In Istanbul, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse pro-Kurdish protesters denouncing the air strikes, the Dogan news agency reported. Dogan footage showed some demonstrators smashing glass panels at a bus stop and others throwing stones at a police vehicle near Taksim square, a transit hub adjacent to shopping and hotel districts. Plainclothes officers hustled or dragged away several protesters.

Earlier, the Turkish military confirmed the Wednesday night raids, saying its jets struck an area of northern Iraq frequently used by rebels to enter Turkey after drones detected a group approaching the often unmarked mountainous border. Border troops were on alert following intelligence indicating that Kurdish rebels were preparing attacks in retaliation for recent military assaults on the guerrillas.

The military said drones had detected a group approaching Turkey, apparently at a mountain pass that the rebels have used to smuggle weapons into Turkey, and that the military conducted strikes in areas where the rebels have bases far away from civilian settlements.

Pro-Kurdish legislator Nazmi Gur said earlier that most of those killed were teenagers making a living out of smuggling from Iraq into Turkey and claimed that officials should have known that Turkish smugglers would be operating in the area.

Video footage provided by Dogan on Thursday morning showed mourners, some crying, as they surrounded more than a dozen bodies that lay side-by-side and wrapped in blankets in the Turkish village of Ortasu.

Ahmet Deniz, a spokesman for the Kurdistan Workers' Party, as the rebel group is known, said earlier that the victims were among a group of about 50 people attacked on their way back to Turkey from Iraq's self-ruled northern Kurdish region. Most of the survivors were injured, he said.

"Those who were killed yesterday had no links to the PKK. They were only smugglers who were on their way back to Turkey from Iraq," Deniz said, using the rebel group's acronym.

"We were on our way back when the jets began to bomb us," the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency quoted one survivor, Servet Encu, as saying. "Five or six took refuge behind some rocks, but the planes bombed those as well. They all died behind the rocks."

Firat said some of the survivors rushed back to Ortasu for help and that its villagers then transported the bodies back to the village. Some of the bodies were carried to the village tied to donkeys or to mules, photographs obtained by The Associated Press showed.

Gur's pro-Kurdish party released a statement condemning "the massacre," and Turkey's main opposition party said it was "extremely disturbed" that civilians were apparently killed in the fight against the PKK.

Kurds, who make up around 20 percent of Turkey's 74 million people, have long felt marginalized in the country and many want autonomy in Kurdish-dominated southeast Turkey. Since Kurdish rebels took up arms in 1984, tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict with the state.

The rebels have long used northern Iraq as a springboard for hit-and-run attacks on Turkish targets. This year, Turkey's air force has launched dozens of air raids on suspected rebel bases and other targets in northern Iraq and along the Turkish side of the mountainous border.

Turkish authorities said at least 48 suspected rebels were killed in two offensives backed by air power in southeast Turkey last week.

The government also has taken steps toward improving the standing of Kurds, including by allowing Kurdish-language institutes and private Kurdish courses as well as Kurdish television broadcasts. But it won't permit lower-level education in Kurdish.

The European Union, which Turkey is striving to join, has pushed the Turkish government to grant more rights to the Kurds. But EU countries also have urged Kurdish lawmakers to distance themselves from the PKK, which is considered a terrorist group by the United States and the EU.

2011-12-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

IDF strikes two Gaza targets, at least three dead

By JPOST.COM STAFF
12/28/2011 01:09

Joint Israel Air Force and Shin Bet operations kill at least three terrorists, injure at least ten in Gaza Strip.

The Israel Air Force, working with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), launched twomissile attacks against terrorist groups in Gaza Tuesday night, killing at least three and, according Palestinian reports, injuring at least 11. Several hours later,Palestinians fired a Kassam rocket from inside Gaza but it exploded inside the Strip.
Hamas identified the man killed in the earlier strike as Abdullah Telbani, an operative of World Jihad's Saraya Al-Quds wing in his 20s. Two other Palestinianswere also injured in the attack when the explosion ripped through their tuk tuk, a motorized rickshaw, according to medics in the Strip. They were taken to Amal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

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'Palestinian dies from IDF fire in Gaza'Hamas to Egypt: Pressure Israel over Gaza strikes

The IDF Spokesman's Unit confirmed a second strike targeting terrorists planning to infiltrate into Israel.

One of the terrorists targeted was Rami Douad Jabber Kafarna, a Jebaliya resident born in 1984 who was active in the armed wing of Hamas and took part in firing high-trajectory weapons at Israel, the IDF said.

Another target was Hazam Mohammed Sa'adi Al-Shakar, an Islamic Jihad militant from Beit Hanoun born 1985 who had been a Hamas activist and hid munitions in Gaza.

The IDF confirmed directly hitting their target, but the fate of the men remains unclear; Palestinian sources did not report any additional deaths.

In a statement, the IDF Spokesman said, "The IDF will not tolerate attempts to harm Israeli citizens or IDF soldiers and will continue to operate strongly and decisively against anyone who uses terrorism against Israel," adding that it holdsHamas responsible for all terrorist activity coming out of Gaza.

Army radio reported that the defense establishment was preparing for rockets in response to the attack.

Palestinians fired two short-range rockets into Israel on Sunday and Monday, causing no damage. No Gaza factions claimed responsibility for those attacks.

Israel has also said it is on alert for attempts by Gazan gunmen to slip into neighboring Egypt and attack it from there.

2011-12-23T15:51:00.001-08:00

Pro-life nurses win major court battle

Samantha Henry - Associated Press - 12/23/2011 3:40:00 PM

NEWARK, N.J. - Twelve nurses who sued one of the state's largest hospitals after claiming they were forced to assist in abortions over their religious and moral objections reached a deal Thursday with their employer in federal court.

Under the agreement, 12 nurses in the same-day surgery unit of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey can remain in their current positions and not be compelled to assist in any part of an abortion procedure.

The nurses must only help in a life-threatening emergency if no other non-objecting staff members are available and only until which time one can be brought in to relieve them, according to the agreement.

Fe Esperanza Racpan Vinoya, one of the plaintiffs who said she opposes abortion on religious grounds, said she was happy that the agreement meant she and her colleagues would not have to assist in any aspect of an abortion procedure. Despite the ruling specifying that the nurses wouldn't be discriminated against, Racpan Vinoya said she was still nervous they would be transferred, have their hours cut or otherwise be punished for having sued.

"I'm still scared about the part of them having four nurses brought in and we might become the surpluses," Racpan Vinoya said, referring to the hospital hiring four nurses who do not object to assisting with the procedure.

Matt Bowman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a coalition of Christian lawyers and organizations that represented the nurses, said they were satisfied with the agreement.

An attorney representing the hospital, Edward Deutsch, said his client was pleased the case was resolved.

"I think it's an appropriate resolution, and the hospital has been very accommodating," he said.

The hospital issued a statement saying the agreement addresses the best interests of the patients it serves, while respecting the beliefs of its nurses.

Attorney John Peirano, who also represented the hospital in the suit, said the hospital had a mission to treat all patients who come in, regardless of whether they share the nurses' views.

The ACLU, which was not party to the suit, said it was concerned about a growing number of similar cases around the country as what the organization sees as an effort to use religion to discriminate in a health care context.

"No one should ever have to worry about facing discrimination when they check into the hospital," said Brigitte Amiri, an attorney with the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project. "No woman should have to fear that medical staff will place ideology over duty or deny her care."

Bowman said his clients would never compromise their duty as nurses to care for patients or their oath to respond to medical emergencies.

The agreement was mediated by U.S. District Judge Jose Linares in Newark federal court. Linares said his understanding of the agreement was that the nurses would be allowed to remain in the unit and wouldn't be discriminated against because of their position on abortion, but he declined to rule on how the hospital had to staff its shifts, saying that was an issue governed by contract rules and subject to collective bargaining. Linares said he would retain jurisdiction over the case to rule on enforcement or any disputes that might arise.

Racpan Vinoya and two other nurse plaintiffs attended court Thursday. All but four nurses in their unit had signed on to the lawsuit filed Oct. 31 after they said they were notified in writing the previous month that the hospital's new policy would require same-day surgery unit nurses to assist in abortions.

The nurses claimed in the suit that the hospital was compelling them to undergo training that involved assisting in abortions and had indicated they could be subject to termination if they didn't comply. Racpan Vinoya and others said they had made their objections known to their supervisor and to hospital officials and their concerns were dismissed or ignored.

The hospital denied those claims, saying nurses were not compelled to participate, or even be in the room, during a procedure to which they objected on cultural, religious or ethical grounds.

Linares complimented both sides for reaching an agreement after several hours of discussions. He said it wasn't an easy case to resolve considering it revolved around a highly emotional issue and involved the complexities of the hospital's obligations to its patients.

2011-12-21T07:50:00.000-08:00

Hedge Funders Are Getting Stock Tips from Congress

Reuters

ALEXANDER ABAD-SANTOS700 ViewsDEC 20, 2011

Proving that insider trading in Congress can work both ways, The Wall Street Journal reports on a disturbing trend of hedge funds gaining valuable tips from lawmakers voting on and making multi-million dollar decisions. Sure, it doesn't seem like Congress can agree on much at the moment, but when decisions like the 2009 healthcare compromise was reached, it was the hedge funds that knew first--hours before the public announcement. "The news was potentially worth millions of dollars to the investors, though none would publicly divulge how they used the information," report The Wall Street Journal's Brody Mullins and Susan Pulliam. "They belong to a select group who pay for early, firsthand reports on Capitol Hill" who are, as one lawyer puts it, "buying information from members of Congress in a perfectly legal way." This "select group" of hedge funds get meetings with lawmakers and their aides through financial firms like JNK Securities who then gather commission on the subsequent deals it brokers. If that all sounds a bit shady, that's because it is. In October, The Journal reported on just how much (and it is plenty) hedge funds were willing to pay for Washington insider information. And just last month, we found out about (and were outraged) congresspersons getting rich off of business deals with their valuable information. With today's story of JNK's successful business model and lucrative hedge fund decisions--it seems like there are plenty of people making plenty of money off of that protected information. And even though there's a proposed measure to curb and possibly outlaw this type of information-exchanging, it's (unsurprisingly) been met with resistance:

Lawmakers defend the meetings. Republicans say they seek the views of hedge fund managers to help shape laws that spur investment.
Democrats say the conversations lead to better public policy because investors tell them about loopholes, inefficiencies or unseen consequences of existing laws.

The cruel irony being that our floundering economy is being run by people who are more than capable and quite comfortable playing the money-making game.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author ataabadsantos@theatlantic.com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Sources

Inside Capitol, Investor Access Yields Rich Tips, WSJ, WSJ

Topics: Economy, insider trading, honest graft

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The Heroes and Villains of 'Don't Ask' Repeal

2011-12-19T14:47:00.000-08:00

Rev. Franklin Graham: Mideast Furor Threatens US, Christians in Region

Sunday, 18 Dec 2011 08:51 AM

By Henry J. Reske and John Bachman

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The upheaval in the Middle East and the rise of fundamental Islamists threaten not only the security of the United States but also the millions of Christians who call the region home, the Rev. Franklin Graham tells Newsmax.

The Arab Spring toppled long-term despots in countries such as Libya and Tunisia, and a civil war is being waged in Syria between the Sunnis and the Alawites that could spread to Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Graham, son of the legendary evangelist the Rev. Billy Graham, said during an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV.

Story continues below the video.

The Rev. Franklin Graham contends that revolutions in countries such as Egypt, Syria, and Libya pose a threat to the security of the United States and to Christians living in the Middle East. In this exclusive Newsmax.TV video, the son of the legendary evangelist Billy Graham also says he fears Iran will use nuclear weapons against Israel.

The Muslim Brotherhood is moving into the power vacuum and wants to “establish Shariah law in every one of these countries and they will roll back the clock in the Middle East.”

“So it’s a threat and it’s a threat to the United States, a threat to our security because so much of our oil comes from the Middle East,” he said. “But For the Christians that are there — and there’s something like 13 million Christians inside of Egypt —their lives are at risk. Churches are being burned, Christians have been killed but it rarely makes the news in this country. So I fear for the church in the Middle East. I have many friends there, I have been working in the Middle East for years and I spoke to one of the pastors today from the Middle East he called me from northern Iraq very afraid as to the situation in their county.”

Graham’s comments reverberate even as Egyptian troops and protesters clashed again today in Cairo for the third straight day, pelting each other with rocks in skirmishes near parliament in the heart of the Egyptian capital. At least 10 protesters have been killed and 441 others wounded in the three days of violence, according to the Health Ministry. Activists say most of the 10 fatalities died of gunshot wounds.

Also today, about 30,000 Islamists in Pakistan staged a protest to condemn the United States and show support for their country's military. Pakistan's military was humiliated by the unilateral U.S. special forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town in May, facing unprecedented public criticism.

But many Pakistanis rallied behind the military after a Nov. 26 cross-border NATO air raid killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, and plunged already troubled ties with Washington to a low point.

Another threat in the region is Iran’s rush to acquire nuclear weapons, which some see as a prelude to fulfilling the biblical prophecy of Armageddon, said Graham, a noted evangelist in his own right and president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the international relief organization Samaritan’s Purse.

“They’ve already said that they’re going to use them,” he said. “If we don’t stop them then Israel will be forced to stop them. I’m afraid the Iranians are going to use their nuclear weapons against Israel when they have them. I believe it’s a real threat.”

© Newsmax. All rights reserved.

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2011-12-09T03:41:00.000-08:00

Three killed as violence across Israeli-Gaza border escalates

Violence across the Israeli-Gaza border escalated on Friday with Israeli air strikes killing at least three people and Palestinian militants firing rockets deep into southern Israel.

The latest round of fighting erupted on Thursday when an Israeli air strike targeted a car on a crowded Gaza street, killing two militants who Israel said were planning attacks against its civilians and soldiers.

Palestinian gunmen responded with a barrage of rockets fired deep into southern Israel, some landing near the city of Beersheba, causing no injuries.

Early on Friday, Palestinian medical officials said a second Israeli air strike hit a Hamas training camp in Gaza City, sending shrapnel flying into nearby houses, killing one civilian and wounding 13 others, mostly women and children.

A Hamas spokesman said the initial air strike was a crime and accused Israel of ratcheting up violence in the area.

"We hold the government of the Zionist occupation (Israel) fully responsible for this crime and for the new escalation," spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.

The Israeli military confirmed both air strikes had been carried out. It said the two men killed in the first strike had been planning an attack on Israeli civilians and soldiers along Israel's border with Egypt's Sinai peninsula.

"(They) were affiliated with a terrorist squad that intended to attack Israeli civilians and soldiers via the western border," an army statement said.

Hamas, an Islamist group sworn to Israel's destruction, has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

The army statement said one of the militants had been involved in planning a suicide bombing in the southern Israeli resort of Eilat in 2007 in which three Israeli civilians were killed.

Violence between Israel and Gaza militants had abated recently although on Wednesday Israeli troops killed one Palestinian gunman and wounded another in a cross-border raid, witnesses and hospital officials said.

2011-12-05T09:04:00.001-08:00

Iran says it shot down unmanned US drone

08:53 AM Dec 05, 2011

TEHRAN - Iran says it has shot down an unmanned United States spy plane that violated Iranian airspace along the country's eastern border.

An unidentified military official quoted by the official IRNA news agency warned of a strong and crushing response to any violations of the country's airspace by American drone aircraft.

"An advanced RQ-170 unmanned American spy plane was shot down by Iran's armed forces. It suffered minor damage and is now in possession of Iran's armed forces,'' IRNA quoted the official as saying.

No further details were published.

The US-led coalition in Afghanistan said in a statement the aircraft may be an American drone that its operators lost contact with last week while it was flying a mission over neighbouring western Afghanistan.

A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the classified nature of the incident, said the US had "absolutely no indication'' that the drone was shot down.

Iran is locked in a dispute with the US and its allies over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies the accusations, saying its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and is to generate electricity and produce isotopes to treat medical patients.

The type of aircraft Iran says it downed is made by Lockheed Martin and was reportedly used to keep watch on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan as the raid that killed him was taking place earlier this year.

The surveillance aircraft is equipped with stealth technology, but the US Air Force has not made public any specifics about the drone.

Iran said in January that two pilotless spy planes it had shot down over its airspace were operated by the US and offered to put them on public display. In July, Iranian military officials showed Russian experts several US drones they said were shot down in recent years.

Also in July, Iranian lawmaker Ali Aghazadeh Dafsari said Iran's Revolutionary Guard shot down an unmanned US spy plane that was trying to gather information on an underground uranium enrichment site.

Iran publicly confirmed for the first time in February 2005 that the US has been flying surveillance drones over its airspace to spy on its nuclear and military facilities. AP

2011-12-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

Israel rules out Iran strike - for now

From:AFP
December 02, 2011 8:40AM

Watch

EU pressures Iran over nuclear program

European ministers tighten sanctions against Iran, black listing another 180 officials and organisations.

0:00 / 2:41

ISRAELI Defence Minister Ehud Barak ruled out a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities "for the moment," in remarks to public radio, but said that the Jewish state would keep all options open.

"We have no intention of acting for the moment... We should not engage in war when it is not necessary, but there may come a time or another when we are forced to face tests," Barak said.

"Our position has not changed on three points: a nuclear Iran is unacceptable, we are determined to stop that, and all options are on the table," he added.

Israel and much of the international community fear that Iran's nuclear programme masks a drive for a weapons capability. Tehran denies any such ambition and says the programme is for peaceful civilian energy and medical purposes only.

Israel has pushed Washington and the EU for tough sanctions against Tehran, but warned that it would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, and that military action to stop the programme remained an option.

Barak said he was confident that military action against Iran would not be devastating for Israel.

"War is not a picnic, but if Israel is forced to act, we won't have 50,000, 5000 or even 500 dead, so long as people stay in their homes," he said, noting that rockets fired at Israel by Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War had not killed a single Israeli.

Asked about potential differences between the United States and Israel on tactics to stop Iranian nuclear development, Barak stressed that the Jewish state would ultimately take the decisions it thought best.

"It must be understood that Israel is sovereign. The government, the army and the security services are the only ones responsible for the security and the existence of Israel," he said.

Barak declined to comment on what was behind at least two explosions in Iranian cities in recent weeks, only one of which has been confirmed by Iranian authorities.

"Anything that sets back the Iranian nuclear programme, whether it is accidental or the product of other methods, is welcome," he said, refusing to say whether Israeli forces had any role in the incidents.

Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan reiterated his contention that Iran is sufficiently far from having nuclear weapons, and emphasised his objection to a military strike at this timepoint.

"The military option should be the last alternative," he said in an interview broadcast on Israel's private-run Channel 2. "All other alternatives should be realised before entering a conflict you know how will begin, but have no way of predicting all the aspects of its continuation."

In remarks made public immediately after stepping down as head of the Mossad in January, Dagan estimated Iran would not have a nuclear weapon before 2015.

Today evaluated that the world would have sufficient time to respond, if and when Tehran hits the final plateau of achieving nuclear military capability.

"The Iranians, to this point, have walked this route very carefully," Dagan said. "When they (Iran) break into the final stage" of developing a nuclear weapons, "they will enter a deep dispute with the international community, and therefore I think we will have sufficient advance notice."

"In this timetable, we will have enough time to reach an extreme decision of employing military force."

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, last month warned it had "credible" information that Iran was carrying out "activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device."

According to the report, dated November 8, Iran has produced 4922kg, nearly five tonnes, of uranium enriched to 3.5 per cent, as well as 73.7kg of uranium enriched to around 20 per cent.

On Monday, Brigadier General Itai Brun, head of research for Israeli military intelligence, told lawmakers he estimated that Iran was "using 6000 centrifuges regularly, out of 8000 installed."

"Until today, they have managed to accumulate approximately 50 tonnes of low enriched uranium, and a bit less than 100 kilos of 20 percent enriched uranium," he said.

Brun said Iran would need at least 220kg of 20 per cent enriched uranium if it decided on a drive for the much higher levels of enrichment necessary to produce a nuclear weapon.

Israel is widely reported to have the Middle East's sole but undeclared nuclear arsenal.

AFP

2011-11-20T16:46:00.000-08:00

Egypt protests: Death toll up in Cairo's Tahrir Square

The BBC's Helena Merriman says police were beating protesters - "about 20 or 30 of them I saw, covered in blood"

Egypt's Revolution

Thousands of Egyptian protesters remain in Cairo's Tahrir Square after two days of clashes in which at least 13 people were killed and hundreds injured.

On Sunday, police and troops made a violent attempt to evict the demonstrators, firing tear gas and beating them with truncheons.

However, the protesters returned less than an hour later, chanting slogans against Egypt's military rulers.

The European Union said it condemned the violence "in the strongest terms".

There were also clashes in other cities including Alexandria, Suez and Aswan.

A total of 11 people were reportedly killed on Sunday and two on Saturday, according to medical sources. Health officials say as many as 900 have been injured, including at least 40 security personnel.

The demonstrators, some wearing gas masks, say they fear Egypt's interim military rulers are trying to retain their grip on power.

The violence comes a week before the country's first parliamentary elections since President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in February.

Armoured vehicles

At the scene

Jon LeyneBBC Middle East correspondent, Cairo

The protesters are firmly back in control of Tahrir Square, and there are more here than ever before.

Clashes are continuing on the edges, and the injured are being brought through in ambulances all the time - but they're as determined as ever.

They've finally lost patience with the military rulers who say they're committed to the revolution and the transition to democracy, but the protesters don't believe it any more.

Many people here are now openly calling for the resignation of the head of the military council - Field Marshall Tantawi - and the end of the whole system of military rule.

The demands vary but I think the majority would like some kind of civilian council to take control of the transition to democracy.

People also differ on whether they want the parliamentary elections to go ahead if they can, which are due to start in eight days' time.

There's absolutely no sign of people going away. They're still arriving at the square and really digging in for a long, tough fight.

The European Union's foreign policy chiefCatherine Ashton called on the Egyptian authorities to cease violence against the protesters.

"I urge calm and restraint and condemn the use of violence in the strongest terms. There is no doubt that the transitional process is a difficult and challenging one," she said.

"I reiterate that the interim authorities and all parties concerned have the crucial task of listening to the people and protecting their democratic aspirations."

A second day of violence began on Sunday when stone-throwing protesters advanced from the square - focal point of February's uprising - towards the interior ministry.

Officers fired volleys of tear gas and drove the protesters back, before blocking the street leading to the ministry.

Armoured personnel carriers brought in reinforcements as the security forces tried to gain the upper hand.

Scores of soldiers and police poured into the square, beating protesters and dismantling a protest camp there.

But within an hour, protesters swarmed back into the square, usually one of Cairo's busiest traffic thoroughfares.

The BBC's Helena Merriman at the scene says the atmosphere is tense, with moments of calm punctuated by outbreaks of panic and running.

The edges of the square are thinning out but the road to the ministry of interior is full of protesters, she says.

In recent weeks protesters - mostly Islamists and young activists - have been holding demonstrations against a draft constitution that they say would allow the military to retain too much power after a new civilian government is elected.

They have repeatedly tried to gain a foothold in Tahrir Square again, but until this weekend they had always been removed quickly by the police.

"The violence [on Saturday] showed us that Mubarak is still in power," one protester, Ahmed Hani, told the Associated Press news agency.

Protester Magdy Mohamed Ali: "If they think that the army personnel can bring us down then they are in for surprise"

He said the leader of Egypt's military government, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, should resign.

"We have a single demand: the marshal must step down and be replaced by a civilian council," he said.

The latest violence is some of the worst in months between the Egyptian authorities and demonstrators.

Parliamentary elections are due to begin on 28 November and take three months.

Earlier in November, Egypt's military rulers produced a draft document setting out principles for a new constitution.

Under those guidelines, the military would be exempted from civilian oversight, as would its budget.

This has angered protesters who fear the gains they have made during the uprising could yet slip away as the military tries to retain some grip on power.

More Christian die in Egypt

2011-11-18T11:55:00.000-08:00

UPDATE 2-Clashes on Egypt Christian march injure 29

Thu Nov 17, 2011 6:50pm GMT

Print | Single Page

[-] Text [+]

* Priest urges marchers to disperse after clashes

* Many protesters start to leave (Updates injured, attack details)

CAIRO Nov 17 (Reuters) - Twenty-nine people were injured in Cairo on Thursday when residents clashed with a group of Christians marching through the capital to commemorate those who died in confrontations with the army on Oct. 9, state news agency MENA said.

The Coptic Christians were marching from Cairo's northern Shoubra suburb towards the landmark Tahrir Square in the city centre when the clashes broke out.

"The locals in the neighbourhood of Bulak attacked the group on their way to the square and threw stones at them," a security source told Reuters.

Another attack took place as the protesters were regrouping in Shoubra where residents and protesters threw stones, glass and Molotov cocktails at each other.

The marchers scattered after the attack. Riot police arrived and a priest asked the protesters to disperse, saying the army had sealed off the city centre near Tahrir and the march could not go ahead.

"We were attacked by the residents nearby ... And I saw two demonstrators injured," said Christian protester Rizk Samir.

MENA quoted a spokesman for the Ministry of Health as saying the injuries varied between bruises, minor cuts and fainting. Of the injured, 24 were released after receiving medical care.

At least 25 people were killed in Maspero on the night of Oct. 9 when Christian protesters clashed with the army.

It was the deadliest in a series of bloody sectarian skirmishes that have left more than 40 dead and thousands injured since a popular uprising overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 80 million people, have long complained of barriers to the construction of churches, court verdicts that favour Muslims and what they see as the growing influence of Islamists who were suppressed during Mubarak's 30-year rule. (Reporting by Tamim Elyan Writing by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Sophie Hares)

2011-11-14T03:29:00.001-08:00

Let's Occupy Wall Street
By: Major General Curry (Ret)(11/11/2011)

The news media portrays the Wall Street Occupiers as peaceful, well-meaning demonstrators who, like the Tea Partiers, have become disgruntled and frustrated watching rich corporate Americans get richer while they -- and the average American worker -- get poorer. One day the media will awaken and discover that for the most part the Occupiers do not share the Tea Party’s peaceful protest motivations. Rather, they are radical political fanatics who want to seize control of our American democracy. If they can do it peacefully and legally, so much the better. But if they have to seize power violently, then so be it. It reminds me of the college students who thought they were demonstrating against the Viet Nam War by expelling ROTC offices from Ivy League college campuses. If they didn’t know, certainly their professors knew that the military doesn’t set national policy. Any honest activist knows that the President and Capitol Hill lawmakers are the ones to put pressure on and demonstrate against, not the military, not campus ROTC staff. The demonstrations were a farce and charade, not unlike today’s Occupy movement which is supposed to be directed against Wall Street. What and specifically who is funding and stoking the politically charged maelstrom of the Occupiers? Can we get a hint by observing the actions of their demonstrators? Who and what type groups support them, and who is financing and organizing their rallies and demonstrations? SEIU, Soros, Labor Unions, the KKK and David Duke, labor unions, radical Muslims, Communists, neo-Nazis, the National Socialist Party, and an armed militia group calling itself the US Border Guard seem to be among their supporters. These are clearly identified as class warfare types and hate mongering extremists groups from which the White House and the Democrat Party seek approval while, at the same time, feigning disapproval of their actions. One wonders whether these organizations were what President Obama had in mind when he gave that speech in Colorado Springs on July 2, 2008 concerning the establishment of a Civilian National Security Force that was to be “larger and better funded” than the US Army? He said, “As president, I will expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 slots … and double the size of the Peace Corps … we’ll expand the USA Freedom Corps …” The only way for Obama to achieve expansion of his private national security force to eclipse in size and budget our existing standing army would be to slash the Army’s numbers and gut its budget. That may be what he is about with the secret super committee budget review process. Perhaps he anticipates that the committee will not produce budget cuts that will meet their assigned targets, or that the targets themselves are too small and will not get the job done. Not only does Obama seem to want the committee to fail, he seems determined to do all in his power to help it fail while washing his hands of the Department of Defense budget cuts which will automatically follow and usher in the destruction of the effectiveness of our armed forces. Plus, he will blame Congress and the Republican Party for any and all military failures. Then at some future time President Obama may drum up a requirement for a large military organization of some kind; but the force structure and budget will expand Obama’s private civilian national security force rather than fortify the Department of Defense. My guess is the civilian security force will have different loyalties than our current armed forces. Historically America’s military officers have taken oaths of allegiance to the constitution “… I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic …” But don’t be surprised if Obama’s civilian security force officers swear their oath of allegiance to him and not to America, much as Germany’s military forces swore allegiance to Hitler and not to the nation of Germany. I wonder, have Obama’s czars sworn allegiance to the Constitution? Harry Truman, our 33^rd President once said, “If we don’t have a proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody except the State.” With rights goes power. If the federal government has the right to do something then the American people have given it the power to do it and with that power goes the authority to make private citizens obey. When sworn in, President Obama’s primary goal was to consolidate his power over the American people. The easiest and fastest way to do that was to take control of the American people’s need for and right to medical care. By contrast, the American people’s primary goal was to find work to feed themselves and their families and pay their bills. The people’s need for jobs was in conflict with Obama’s determination to grow his personal political power. For an entire year the president made every effort possible to use the Democrat Party and Democrat controlled Congress to thwart the best interests of the American people. Instead of using the Presidency to rejuvenate the economy and grow jobs, he spent its power in political haggling over ObamaCare. Growing jobs doesn’t automatically give the president and government control over the lives of the nation’s people; but controlling the people’s medical care and using it to seize control over large chunks of American lives does. Our Founders insisted on equal justice under law, so much so that it led to fighting the Revolutionary War. They were opposed to secret, hidden agendas that favored a federal government, its bureaucrats, and elite, privileged classes of people. In direct opposition to the Founders concept Obama routinely sews discord, divisiveness, discontentment and racial conflict. For example, his Justice Department has a propensity to enforce the law when the case favors minorities, and to ignore enforcing the law if it is favorable to white males Sensible supporters of the Occupy Wall Street Movement have abandoned demonstrating and have gone back to the realities of life: namely family, work and country. More and more it seems that the remaining agitators have a sinister purpose. They appear to be radicalized, professional demonstrators with an anti-American bent and political agenda who capitalize on violence and exploit America’s citizens and democracy.

2011-11-11T03:26:00.000-08:00

Egypt’s Gas Pipeline to Israel, Jordan Hit by Explosions

November 11, 2011, 3:38 AM EST

(Updates with analyst’s comment in fourth paragraph.)By Ola Galal and Calev Ben-David

Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- A pipeline transporting Egyptian natural gas to Israel and Jordan was damaged by two explosions, forcing a halt in exports of the fuel in the seventh such attack since February, Egypt’s Oil Ministry said.

The flow of gas to Israel stopped at about 5 a.m. Jerusalem time, Maya Etzioni, a spokeswoman for Israel’s Ministry of National Infrastructures, said today by mobile phone. Shares in Ampal-American Israel Corp., which owns 12.5 percent of East Mediterranean Gas Co., the Israeli company importing Egyptian gas, dropped 6.6 percent to 1.507 shekels at the 4:30 p.m. close in Tel Aviv.

“A group of terrorists” set off the overnight blasts in the northern Sinai desert, causing a suspension of exports and interrupting some domestic supplies, the Egyptian ministry said in an e-mailed statement. The explosions underscore Egypt’s challenge in securing the pipeline and threaten to worsen its already soured ties with its eastern neighbor. The North African country, holder of the continent’s third-largest gas reserves, supplied Israel with about 40 percent of its gas needs before an attack in July on the same network.

“The continual pipeline bombings are going to make both Israel and Jordan think more seriously about diversifying their energy supplies, since the Egyptian gas is now clearly an unreliable source,” said Mark Heller, a research fellow in regional politics at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.

‘Terrible’ Shape

“Most of all, it hurts Egypt itself,” he said in a phone interview from Tel Aviv. “It’s in terrible economic shape, and a loss of gas revenue doesn’t help.”

Masked gunmen in two vehicles drove to the site of the blasts at about midnight, an hour before the first of the explosions at a facility in the Sinai town of Bir El Abd, Egypt’s official Middle East News Agency reported. A second blast occurred at an installation west of nearby El Arish, the capital of North Sinai province, the agency known as Mena reported, citing unidentified eyewitnesses.

Egyptian authorities closed valves on the pipeline to stop fuel from flowing after a fire broke out at the network near El Arish, Mena reported. No one was hurt in the fire, the Cairo- based agency said.

Officials are assessing damage from the attacks, the Oil Ministry said, without giving a date for a possible resumption in supplies.

February Attack

Egypt last suspended fuel exports to Israel after saboteurs blew up a pipeline facility on July 12. It restored gas flows to Israel and Jordan in October, Hassan al Mahdi, chairman of pipeline operator Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co., told reporters on Oct. 24. Gunmen first attacked the network Feb. 5.

Relations between Israel and Egypt have chilled since the January uprising that overthrew Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, straining a three-decade peace treaty between the countries. Egypt’s ruling military council declared a state of emergency to restore order after protesters in Cairo attacked the Israeli embassy on Sept. 9, forcing an evacuation of diplomatic personnel.

East Mediterranean Gas has filed a request for arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce seeking compensation from Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding for damages incurred as a result of contractual breaches, Ampal said on Oct. 9.

“Egypt’s going to have decide if it wants to establish control over Sinai, which means getting into a fight with Bedouin smugglers, Palestinians and radical Islamic elements,” said Heller, the research fellow. “This could be a serious problem for the government.”

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Egypt’s Gas Pipeline to Israel, Jordan Hit by Explosions

By Dr. Drew Bennett
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