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Messages - HUSS

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51
Politics & Religion / Re: Israel, and its neighbors
« on: June 05, 2009, 06:40:10 AM »
I think unfortunately there are a lot of western social experiments gone wrong.

You are right, the world cannot survive without fossil fuel.  Israel doesn't have
any, but the Muslims do...

However, I truly hope Israel would not "start tossing nukes"...


Thank you for your translation reference link; I definitely will read that one since it is published at my alma mater   :-)

I think you will be surprised that even with a very liberal school doing the translation the book is extremely violent and hostile towards non muslisms........ which is exactly how mohammed lived.

As for Israel not having oil and the muslims having it.............. i think your are making the assumption that with Israel gone the arabs will live in peace with us and act rationally.  Never in history have they done that, why do you feel they would now?  thats a dangerous bet.  It also makes us hypocrites should we abandon Israel as we are fighting two wars on the pretense of installing freedom.

52
Politics & Religion / Re: Israel, and its neighbors
« on: June 05, 2009, 05:55:24 AM »
JDN,
Please explain why you think America has right to tell  Israel what to do with their borders.
Why no calls for the freedom of Tibet or Kashmir first.  Tibetans and Kashmirians certainly deserve it more

I'll try...  :-)

When I was growing up, I was very lucky, my parents provided for me and loved me very much.  But occasionally,
I would rebel.  "I'm going to move out".  My father would look at me and say, "Fine, and how are you going to
pay for it?"  "What are you going to do?"  Now mind you, the situation was never so dreadful that I ever left, but
also, I considered his words.

We are like the "father" in this story.  Without our money, we give billions to Israel, without our weapons and protection, Israel
would cease to exist.  Yes, Israel is a very good friend, loved I think like my father loved me, but...  it is the way of
the world, if I keep taking your money and handouts, you have a price to pay.  And others will argue that America
has paid a huge price by supporting Israeli in dire times, yet I argue that is the right thing to do.  But in exchange...

But because we are the "father" in this story, one who loves his child, there is a reasonable expectation of obedience.

In contrast, Tibet and Kashmir for whom I am sympathetic receive little from us.  They are not one of our children
whom we support.  The world is full of good causes, each one deserving, but we must pick and choose for many reasons.
There are orphans in the world that I or America cannot help.

But occasionally, although there is love, in exchange, I think it is reasonable to expect compliance.  Or Israel can "go it alone".
They can "move out".  And I doubt if they would last much longer than I would have lasted if I have moved out in High School.



Kahsmir is another western social experiment gone wrong.  The land called pakistan used to be part of India.  As the the muslims in that area became more violent the british gave them a homeland and carved up india.  How is that working out???????????? 

As for Israel, the U.S needs them more then Israel needs the U.S.  Here is why, the western world cannot survive with out cheap fossil fuels (oil, gas).  Imagine now that the U.S throws Israel under the bus and war breaks out.  Israel is going to start tossing nukes around if it looks like they are going to lose.  If Iran gets thumped they may every well close down the straits of Hormuz, sink a few tankers and the next thing we know oil is at $200 a barrel and this current down turn becomes a pleasent memory.
Why would we throw Israel under the bus when we are fighting two war in the same region for the purpose of installing democracy?  do you think with israel gone hamas and hez will suddenly embrace democracy and act kindly towards the west? if you believe that i suggest you read up bit more on islam. it is not just a religion, its a complete political system that governs an individuals life in every aspect.  If you read the Koran through and look at what is happening in the west you will also realize that its imperialistic in nature and that they are slowly infiltrating western culture (CAIR is a good example, a group of convicted terrorists are still abel to recieve tax payer money).  Keep in mind, the crusades were reactionary, they did not begin until 1095 but parts of europe had been over run as early as 711.


Here is a translation that i read - http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/quran/

53
Politics & Religion / Re: Israel, and its neighbors
« on: June 03, 2009, 06:18:26 PM »
GM; your knowledge of the Israeli conflict/history is much (!) better than mine.  Rather I think
my understanding is equal only to the average American or European.

Could you, unbiased if possible,  :-)  explain to me why Israeli should not cease and desist
expanding settlements?  I am not looking for a fight; just understanding...

I would learn, and I am sure there are others like me who read but don't post here who
are curious.  It seems to me like a reasonable request.

Thank you.


A couple things off the top of my head;

Look into the Palestinians lineage, there is no such thing ethnically as a Palestinian.  They are simply Arab refugees.  Arafat, the most celebrated Palestinian of all time was Egyptian born.

Historically you can trace the Jews owner ship of the Temple mount back to the days of roman occupation.  Islam was not even created until the 600's

When Israel was re created in the 40's Jordan was also created, unlike Israel there is no mention of a nation known as Jordan in any history book prior to the 40's.  The kingdom/nation of Jordan was created as a home land for the Palestinians and was actually enlarged several times at the cost of Jewish land to appease the Arabs during the 40's.

54
Politics & Religion / Re: The Politics of Health Care
« on: June 02, 2009, 07:57:27 PM »
hahahahahahaha, i hope this hurts everyone who voted for him. I would love to witness the facial expressions of every single moron for voted for obama when they realize that not only did he lie to them but he is violating them 10X worse the then evil GWB did.

Obama said to be open to taxing health benefits

By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer Erica Werner, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jun 2, 7:43 pm ET
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is leaving the door open to taxing health care benefits, something he campaigned hard against while running for president. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., raised the issue with Obama during a private meeting Tuesday with the president and other Democratic senators and later reported the president's response: "It's on the table. It's an option."

The federal government would reap about $250 billion a year if it treated health care benefits given to employees like wages and taxed them.

Baucus and others are eyeing that money as they search for ways to pay for a costly health care overhaul that would extend coverage to 50 million Americans who are now uninsured. That could cost some $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

The president adamantly opposed health benefit taxes during the campaign, arguing they would undermine job-based coverage. But he's now indicating openness to that suggestion from Congress, even if he criticized Republican presidential rival John McCain for proposing a sweeping version of the same basic idea.

Obama has made some suggestions of his own for paying for a health care overhaul, including cuts to Medicare and limiting tax deductions wealthy people can take, but they've run into opposition from Congress. And, they only add up to about $630 billion over 10 years.

"The president made it clear during the campaign that he has serious concerns about taxing health care benefits," White House spokesman Reid Cherlin said in a statement about Tuesday's meeting.

"He stated again his belief that health reform can't wait another year, and that while all options should be considered, those options should include the revenue proposals that he included in his budget," Cherlin said. "He made it very clear that he prefers the approach he has already outlined."

Some experts think limiting the tax exclusion for health benefits is the only way to get the necessary money to pay for a sweeping health care overhaul. But there's opposition from organized labor and from many Democrats, including House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who said recently there was "no way" he would support the approach.

Baucus wants to look at limiting — but not entirely eliminating — the tax-free status of employer-provided health benefits. Obama is leaving the details of crafting a health care bill to Congress and used Tuesday's meeting to urge senators to swift action.

"This window between now and the August recess I think is going to be the make-or-break period," Obama said before the meeting was closed to reporters. "This is the time where we've got to get this running."

___

Associated Press writers Philip Elliott and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.


55
Politics & Religion / Re: Superb zinger by Israeli press secretary
« on: June 02, 2009, 07:18:36 PM »
Israeli Government Press Director Daniel Seamen reacted to this Obama administration statement by saying: “I have to admire the residents of Iroquois territory for assuming that they have a right to determine where Jews should live in Jerusalem.”


That has got to be the quote of the year.

56
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: June 02, 2009, 07:16:53 PM »
I think this year has been the straw that broke the camels back for my familys manufacturing firm.  We moved our office off shore and have sent over 1 million dollars worth of quotes to india, China and the Republic of Georgia this month alone.  I almost felt guilt when i found out that the work we pulled will probably cause a smallish machine shop to go under.......... If it doesnt have to be made in Canada or the U.S it will go off shore.  Im tierd of unions, taxes and people with an entitlement mentality.  Going forward im going to take care of me and mine, let it burn. 
After what Obama did to the bond holders of GM and Chrysler, hard working men in their 50's and 60's have litterally watched thier retirments be disolved and taken by the govt for themselves and the "worker".................. what the hell.

57
Politics & Religion / Re: Israel, and its neighbors
« on: June 02, 2009, 09:26:18 AM »
Obama says Iran's energy concerns legitimate

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LONDON -- President Barack Obama suggested that Iran may have some right to nuclear energy _ provided it proves by the end of the year that its aspirations are peaceful.

In a BBC interview broadcast Tuesday, he also restated plans to pursue direct diplomacy with Tehran to encourage it set aside any ambitions for nuclear weapons it might harbor.

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity. But the U.S. and other Western governments accuse Tehran of seeking atomic weapons.

"What I do believe is that Iran has legitimate energy concerns, legitimate aspirations," Obama said, adding that the international community also "has a very real interest" in preventing a nuclear arms race.

The president has indicated a willingness to seek deeper international sanctions against Tehran if it does not respond positively to U.S. attempts to open negotiations on its nuclear program. Obama has said Tehran has until the end of the year to show it wants to engage with Washington.

"Although I don't want to put artificial time tables on that process, we do want to make sure that, by the end of this year, we've actually seen a serious process move forward. And I think that we can measure whether or not the Iranians are serious," Obama said.

Obama's interview offered a preview of a speech he is to deliver in Egypt this week, saying he hoped the address would warm relations between Americans and Muslims abroad.

"What we want to do is open a dialogue," Obama told the BBC. "You know, there are misapprehensions about the West, on the part of the Muslim world. And, obviously, there are some big misapprehensions about the Muslim world when it comes to those of us in the West."

Obama leaves in the evening on a trip to Egypt and Saudi Arabia aimed at reaching out to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims. He is due to make his speech in Cairo on Thursday.

Obama sounded an optimistic note about making progress toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, although he offered no new ideas for how he might try to secure a freeze on new building of Israeli settlements. The United States has called for a freeze, but Israeli leaders have rejected that.

Asked what he would say during his visit about human rights abuses, including the detention of political prisoners in Egypt, Obama indicated no stern lecture would be forthcoming.

He said he hoped to deliver the message that democratic values are principles that "they can embrace and affirm."

Obama added that there is a danger "when the United States, or any country, thinks that we can simply impose these values on another country with a different history and a different culture."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...200947_pf.html

58
Politics & Religion / Re: Israel, and its neighbors
« on: May 27, 2009, 08:21:45 PM »
France denounces Netanyahu's Jerusalem 'forever' vow


French Foreign Ministry spokesman accuses PM of prejudicing outcome of Middle East peace process by declaring that city would forever be Israel's undivided capital. 'Jerusalem should, within the framework of a negotiated peace deal, become the capital of two states,' he says

AFP Published:  05.22.09, 16:21 / Israel News 




France accused Prime Minister Benjamin Neyanyahu on Friday of prejudicing the outcome of the Middle East peace process by declaring that Jerusalem would forever be Israel's undivided capital.

 

"The declaration made by the Israeli prime minister yesterday in Jerusalem prejudices the final status agreement," Foreign Ministry spokesman Frederic Desagneaux told reporters in Paris.

 

Netanyahu's Vow
 
PM: Jerusalem will always be ours / Ronen Medzini
 
State ceremony marking Jerusalem Day sees Netanyahu, President Peres vow capital will never again be divided. Abbas aide: Israeli occupation of east Jerusalem illegal
Full story
 
 
 
The international community doesn't recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the city's status is a stumbling block in negotiations with Palestinians, who want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state.

 

Desagneaux said the internationally sponsored "Middle East Road Map" to peace called on both parties to negotiate an agreement on Jerusalem.

 

Likud: France won't agree to divide Paris
Knesset Member Ofir Akunis (Likud) said in response to the French criticism that "the Israelis don't agree to divide Jerusalem, just like the French won't agree to divide Paris."


 

According to MK Akunis, "Our policy in every agreement is that Jerusalem will remain under Israel's sovereignty."


 

On Thursday, at a ceremony marking Jerusalem's unification in the 1967 Six Day War, Netanyahu said, "Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. It has always been, will remain so forever and will never be divided."

 

Reacting to the speech, the French spokesman took the opportunity to restate Paris' position on the future status of Jerusalem and to criticise Israel for allowing Jewish settlers to build on disputed land.


 

"In France's eyes, Jerusalem should, within the framework of a negotiated peace deal, become the capital of two states," he said, adding that President Nicolas Sarkozy had told Israeli lawmakers this in a speech last year.


 

"Actions such as the destruction of Palestinian homes or the transformation of Arab districts risk provoking an escalation in violence. They are unacceptable and contrary to international law," Desagneaux said.


 

 
 
   
 
"In broad terms, France condemns the ongoing settlement, including in East Jerusalem. We reiterate the need for a freeze on colonisation activities, including those linked to natural population growth," he added.


 

The previous Israeli government said it might agree to give up sovereignty on some Arab neighbourhoods in east Jerusalem, but Netanyahu has ruled this out and has refused to endorse the creation of a Palestinian state.

59
Politics & Religion / Re: Israel, and its neighbors
« on: May 27, 2009, 08:19:08 PM »
Why is obama marginalizing Israel??????????? he is going to force them to hit iran.

Obama to visit Saudi Arabia to discuss peace, Iran
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090527/pl_nm/us_obama_saudi_5

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama will meet Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in Riyadh next week to seek his support over the nuclear standoff with Iran and reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Obama will visit Riyadh on June 3 in a surprise addition to his scheduled three-day trip to Egypt, Germany and France, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, is a staunch U.S. ally in the region and potentially a key player in the drive for a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which Obama has declared a top foreign policy priority.

The Obama administration has embraced the 2002 Arab peace initiative, a proposal authored by Saudi Arabia that offered Israel normal ties with all Arab states in return for a full withdrawal from the lands it seized in the 1967 Middle East war, creation of a Palestinian state and a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees.

Gibbs dismissed the idea the Saudi stop was added to persuade Arab states to make conciliatory gestures to Israel.

"The president believes it's an important opportunity to discuss important business, like Middle East peace, but it's not born out of anything specific," he said.

Gibbs last week scotched speculation that Obama would use his much-anticipated speech to Muslims, which he is due to deliver in Egypt on June 4, to unveil a new Middle East peace initiative.

Obama has held talks with Jordan's King Abdullah and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent weeks as part of efforts to jumpstart stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace moves and will meet Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas at the White House on Thursday.

ANTI-IRAN ALLIANCE

The visit to Saudi Arabia comes as Obama is seeking to build an alliance of moderate Muslim nations to put pressure on Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, which Washington fears is a cover to build a nuclear bomb.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal called in March for Arabs to agree on how to tackle Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran insists is for electricity generation.

Obama's administration has been at pains to reassure Saudi Arabia that Washington's efforts to reach out diplomatically to Iran will not affect bilateral relations.

Saudi Arabia, which sees itself as the leader of mainstream Sunni Islam, fears the growing regional power of non-Arab, Shi'ite Iran, which backs Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamist factions such as Hamas and has considerable influence in neighboring Iraq.

The United States has raised the idea of sending Yemeni terrorism detainees held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, which Obama has said he will close by next January, to Saudi Arabia, as Riyadh has a program to rehabilitate militants.

Saudi Arabia is among the United States' top 15 trading partners. Last year, two-way trade was $67.3 billion, which equaled about 2 percent of total U.S. exports and imports.

Saudi Arabia exported $54.8 billion worth of oil and a few other products to the United States in 2008 and imported $12.5 billion of U.S. goods.

(Additional reporting by Doug Palmer in Washington and Ulf Laessing in Riyadh; Editing by John O'Callaghan)


60
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 27, 2009, 07:29:36 PM »
Geithner to DeMint: Bailouts may never end, no exit plans...(Video)

In 1994, 10 percent of American pigs lived out their brief lives in vast factory farms. Only seven years later, in 2001, 72 percent did. The percentage is even higher today.
It's now known the virus that caused the swine flu outbreak in Mexico is a direct descendant of one that was first identified on an industrial-scale pig-raising facility in North Carolina in 1998.

Human beings were hardly prey to any severe epidemic diseases at all until they started domesticating animals around 10,000 years ago. Hunter-and-gatherer groups of a 100 or less were a poor target for diseases that killed their hosts fast, for they would quickly run out of potential hosts and die off themselves.

The giant corporations that drove most small hog-breeders out of business in the United States are now active all over the world. They are the ideal environment to maximize new mutations among diseases.

Just like entering a war with no exit plan, government "involvement" in private enterprise will prove to be just as disastrous, if not more so.

In fact, this is truly nation changing/ending material. What other downturn in our history has seen such wholesale buying and propping of “private” enterprise? None, and thus we are setting sail on a path that has not be traveled before, one that already has changed our nation. The effects of which will be permanent, thus no exit plan required (LOL).

What Geithner describes here is NOT just a rolling over of funds, but if payback is received and given to the “general fund” (i.e. SPENT), and they continue to dole out the “headroom” amount up to the $700 billion cap, then that makes the $700 billion TARP A POTENTIALLY INFINITE SUM. That’s no roll-over he’s describing there Senator, wake the heck up!

http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2009/05/geithner-to-demint-bailouts-may-never.html

61
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 22, 2009, 02:38:47 PM »




U.S. Dollar No Longer Russia Primary Reserve Currency...

 

This is a big deal. Today’s action with falling equities, falling bond prices, and a falling dollar (with sharply rising gold prices in dollar terms) pretty much boxes Bernanke and little Timmy Geithner in.
The American way of life is about to change whether we like it or not.

Notice that no shots were fired, no one sent up a balloon saying “Russia no longer uses the dollar as a reserve currency!” No, it happened slowly and subtly. (ht Comrade)
Russia Dumps the U.S. Dollar for Euro as Reserve Currency

The US dollar is not Russia’s basic reserve currency anymore. The euro-based share of reserve assets of Russia’s Central Bank increased to the level of 47.5 percent as of January 1, 2009 and exceeded the investments in dollar assets, which made up 41.5 percent, The Vedomosti newspaper wrote.

The dollar has thus lost the status of the basic reserve currency for the Russian Central Bank, the annual report, which the bank provided to the State Duma, said.

In accordance with the report, about 47.5 percent of the currency assets of the Russian Central Bank were based on the euro, whereas the dollar-based assets made up 41.5 percent as of the beginning of the current year. The situation was totally different at the beginning of the previous year: 47 percent of investments were made in US dollars, while the euro investments were evaluated at 42 percent.

The dollar share had increased to 49 percent and remained so as of October 1. The euro share made up 40 percent. The rest of investments were based on the British pound, the Japanese yen and the Swiss frank.

The report also said that the reserve currency assets of the Russian Central Bank were cut by $56.6 billion. The losses mostly occurred at the end of the year, when the Central Bank was forced to conduct massive interventions to curb the run of traders who rushed to buy up foreign currencies. The currency assets of the Central Bank had grown to $537.6 billion by October 2008. Therefore, the index dropped by almost $133 billion within the recent three months.

The majority of Russian companies, banks and most of the Russian population started to purchase enormous amounts of foreign currencies at the end of 2008. The dollar gained 16 percent and the euro 13.5 percent over the fourth quarter. The demand on the US dollar was extremely high, and the Central Bank was forced to spend a big part of its dollar assets, experts say.

The change of the structure of the currency portfolio of the Bank of Russia has not affected the official peg of the dual currency basket, which includes $0.55 and 0.45 EUR.
The investments of the Bank of Russia in state securities of foreign issuers have been considerably increased, the report said. About a third of Russia’s international reserves are based on US Treasury bonds.

Russia became one of the largest creditors of the US administration last year, the US Department of the Treasury said. Russia increased its investments in the debt securities of the US Treasury from $32.7 billion as of December 2007 to $116.4 billion as of December 2008.

If that little development doesn’t bother you, then how about the possibility of the U.S. losing her AAA credit rating?:
Dollar Is Dirt, Treasuries Are Toast, AAA Is Gone

62
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 21, 2009, 01:07:45 PM »
Brazil Turns to China to Help Finance Oil Projects

SÃO PAULO -- Brazil's oil industry is turning to China for cash in the latest sign of how Beijing's clout is growing amid the global economic downturn.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was set to arrive in Beijing Monday to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is expected to unleash billions of dollars of credit to help Brazil exploit its massive oil reserves. Brazil will return the favor by guaranteeing oil shipments to Chinese companies.

The nations are being thrust together by the global financial crisis. Brazil's state-controlled oil giant, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, wants to spend $174 billion over the next five years to elevate Brazil into the major leagues of oil-producing nations. With international capital markets on life support, China is among the few remaining sources of cash.

Petrobras, as the company is known, is turning to China at a time when China's appetite for raw materials has lifted economies across commodity-rich Latin America, blunting the impact of the global downturn. In March, China passed the U.S. as Brazil's biggest trade partner.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124259318084927919.html#mod=todays_us_page_one

63
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 21, 2009, 01:06:54 PM »
Russia Sheds Dollars for Euros (Chart on page)

The euro's share in Russia's forex reserves, the world's third-largest, overtook that of the dollar last year as the country pressed on with a gradual diversification, the Central Bank's annual report showed.

The euro's share increased to 47.5 percent as of Jan. 1 from 42.4 percent a year ago, according to the report, which was submitted to the State Duma on Monday.

The dollar's share fell to 41.5 percent from 47 percent at the start of 2008 and 49 percent at the start of 2007.

As Brad points out:

It is often asserted that the dollar is the global reserve currency. It would be more accurate to say the dollar is the globe’s leading reserve currency.* The dollar is the dominant reserve currency in Northeast Asia. And the two big economies of Northeast Asia both happen to both hold far more reserves than either really needs. The dollar is also the reserve currency of the Gulf. And Latin America.**

But the dollar isn’t the dominant reserve currency along the periphery of the eurozone. Most European countries that aren’t part of the euro area now keep most of their reserves in euros. That makes sense. Most trade far more with Europe than the US – and some, especially in Eastern Europe, ultimately want to join the eurozone.

http://econompicdata.blogspot.com/2009/05/russia-sheds-dollars-for-euros.html

64
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 21, 2009, 01:05:27 PM »
Brazil and China eye plan to axe dollar

Brazil and China will work towards using their own currencies in trade transactions rather than the US dollar, according to Brazil’s central bank and aides to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president.
The move follows recent Chinese challenges to the status of the dollar as the world’s leading international currency.

Mr Lula da Silva, who is visiting Beijing this week, and Hu Jintao, China’s president, first discussed the idea of replacing the dollar with the renminbi and the real as trade currencies when they met at the G20 summit in London last month.

An official at Brazil’s central bank stressed that talks were at an early stage. He also said that what was under discussion was not a currency swap of the kind China recently agreed with Argentina and which the US had agreed with several countries, including Brazil.

“Currency swaps are not necessarily trade related,” the official said. “The funds can be drawn down for any use. What we are talking about now is Brazil paying for Chinese goods with reals and China paying for Brazilian goods with renminbi.”

Henrique Meirelles and Zhou Xiaochuan, governors of the two countries’ central banks, were expected to meet soon to discuss the matter, the official said.

Mr Zhou recently proposed replacing the US dollar as the world’s leading currency with a new international reserve currency, possibly in the form of special drawing rights (SDRs), a unit of account used by the International Monetary Fund.

In an essay posted on the People’s Bank of China’s website, Mr Zhou said the goal would be to create a reserve currency “that is disconnected from individual nations”.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/996b1af8-43ce-11de-a9be-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

65
Politics & Religion / Re: Israel, and its neighbors
« on: May 20, 2009, 01:11:48 PM »
We're in trouble


Obama seeks reconciliation with Muslim world, and Israel will pay the price

Eitan Haber Published:  05.20.09, 19:57 / Israel Opinion 




Now that Benjamin Netanyahu has visited Washington and the White House and is back home, we can sum up the current situation, through the rumor mill for the time being: We are in trouble.


 

As opposed to almost all American presidents in recent generations, Barack Obama views himself as one who is guiding his country and the free world towards a new history, far beyond what we can see. Obama wishes to shape new universal discourse, which seeks to replace the confrontation with the radical Muslim world emerging before our eyes in recent times. Obama leads a line of reconciliation vis-à-vis this hostile world, and the price – whether we'd like it or not – will be paid by the State of Israel.

 

Israel has already started paying. Very soon, Obama will arrive in Cairo, and there, in a speech to more than one billion Muslims worldwide, he will take the first step out of a million steps of reconciliation. Obama still believes, apparently, that the Pakistani nuclear bomb and the Iranian nuclear bomb and other bombs expected from this terrible and hostile world can be neutralized by appeasement and accommodation.

 

Obama wishes to separate what have become Siamese twins for generations now: The US and Israel. He doesn't like the photographs we have seen in the last dozens of years from places as far as Jakarta and Tripoli, where Israeli and American flags are burned together. Always together. Just like speeches in Tehran and in Karachi always refer to American-Zionist imperialism.

 

No more. To their credit, Netanyahu and Obama did not even try to hide the deep disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem. They placed everything on the table, and according to all the talk and indications, two days ago we saw in the US capital the prologue to the play: At this time, the orchestra is playing the opening tune. Soon we will see the appearance of the gun in the first act; the one that will fire in the last act.

 

Wishing to change history 
We must make no mistake about it, and who knows this better than Netanyahu: The words of praise and politeness are part of the well-known American hypocrisy, the one that explains to you in nice language what America wants. And America, at this stage, is distancing from Israel, and is not even trying to accommodate its positions to the ones presented by Jerusalem this week.

 

So that's it. The window of opportunity regarding the special longtime ties between Washington and Israel is starting to close down. It won't happen quickly or tomorrow, but we are witnessing the beginning of the process.

 

You want another indication? It is still hard to believe that an American president will soon visit Cairo without arriving in Israel. Only a relatively short while ago, White House officials would ask Israel whether it's possible, "if you don't mind," to hold a quick visit in Cairo in addition to the major visit in Jerusalem (and when the Israelis hinted this was undesirable, it didn't happen.) Such superpower will not be asking   
us any longer. It won't inform us in advance either.

 

Thus far, Obama looks and sounds like a president who wishes to change history and enter the annals of history. He may certainly consider a forced agreement (and there are rather broad camps in Israel that would welcome such deal.) He may envision the 57 leaders of Islamic countries on a special stage in the White House, and in the middle, amidst all the robes and suits, Barack Obama himself along with Bibi Netanyahu, and everyone will be smiling from ear to ear (with the possible exception of Netanyahu, but perhaps him too?)

66
Politics & Religion / Re: Israel, and its neighbors
« on: May 20, 2009, 01:09:26 PM »
http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/


OBAMA TO SAY IT IS TIME TO DIVIDE JERUSALEM: No, Mr. President, it’s not.
I’m horrified by reports this morning that in his June 4th speech in Cairo, President Obama will say it is time to divide Jerusalem and make the holy city the capital of a Palestinian state.

No, Mr. President, it is not.

Jerusalem is and should be the eternal, undivided capital of the Jewish people and the Jewish state. Dividing Jerusalem will not make peace. Rather, it would send a message to every Radical Islamic jihadist around the world that Israel is weak, that the Jews won’t even defend the sovereignty of their own capital, that there is “blood in the water,” and that it is time to strike Israel and wipe her off the map. Dividing Jerusalem would trigger an apocalyptic war in the Middle East the likes of which the region has never seen. Already, the Radicals believe Israel is doomed to destruction. Hearing that the American President is now ready to apply intense pressure against the Israelis to divide their capital will only embolden the Radicals and convince them further that Allah is on their side, the wind is at their back, and they will soon triumph over the Jews and Christians.

While I am not surprised by where the President is headed, I am horrified nonetheless. Right at the moment when the U.S. and Israel need to be working with Arab states in unity against the Iranian nuclear threat, this White House is systematically turning against Israel. Despite all the smiles and boilerplate rhetoric from senior administration officials over the last few days that Prime Minister Netanyahu has been in town — promising to stand with Israel and maintain her security — what the administration is actually advancing in terms of policy is dangerous and destabilizing. They are playing with fire, and they must be publicly and peaceably challenged and resisted.

I am committed to doing everything I possibly can to educate people — and particularly U.S. and Canadian evangelical Christians — to the threats facing Israel and the West due to Radical Islam, and to the biblical responsibility we have to show unconditional love and unwavering support to Israel and the Jewish people. We’ll use radio, TV, the internet, emails and other media to get the word out. But we can’t do it alone. We want and need your help.


One idea: let’s build an alliance of one million true friends of Israel — people who love Israel, are committed to blessing her in real and practical ways, are absolutely opposed to dividing Jerusalem, and will pray faithfully for the peace of Jerusalem and the protection of all the people of the epicenter. Currently, we have 100,000 subscribers to our Flash Traffic email updates who are committed to this cause. If each of us recruited just 10 new friends to sign up for Flash Traffic and be part of this alliance, we would be able to communicate new information, new projects, and new prayer requests to them instantly. We would be able to mobilize people for pro-Israel events. We would be able to mobilize people to write to President Obama and their Congressional leaders to stand with Israel, not against her. We would be able to work together to stockpile food, clothing, medical supplies and other aid in Israel ahead of the next war. We would be able to encourage one another with the knowledge that we are not alone in this important fight. And we can work with other like-minded organizations — including One Jerusalem, founded by my friend, Natan Sharansky — to defend the holy city and bless the people of Israel.


Let me be clear: I love the Israeli people. I also love the Palestinians. I want the Israelis to be able — by God’s grace — to live in safety, security and peace. At the same time, I want the Palestinians to be able to govern themselves and to live in autonomy and peace. But I strongly oppose dividing Jerusalem. I strongly oppose the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state that would endanger the very existence of Israel. I am not convinced that Mahmoud Abbas is a partner for peace. I know for certain that Hamas will never make peace; they are committed only to terror, bloodshed and the annihilation of Israel. What’s more, I submit that the last three “land for peace” offers that Israel has made to her neighbors — at Camp David in 2000 when Israel offered half of Jerusalem, 93% of the West Bank, and all of Gaza; in 2000 when Israel unilaterally withdrew from southern Lebanon; and in 2005 when Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza — have been absolute disasters for the Jewish State. All three initiatives triggered more war, not peace. They triggered waves of suicide bombers and tens of thousands of rockets, missiles and mortars against Israel. Why in the world would we think continuing down the same road with the same strategies will produce different and better results?

The Bible says in Zechariah 1:14-18, “So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.” Therefore thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”‘ Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”‘”

This is good news. The God of Israel will neither sleep nor slumber. He is jealous for Jerusalem. He will defend His country, His city, and His people. But He expects us to do our part. And He promises in Genesis 12:1-3 that if we bless Israel, He will bless us

67
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 19, 2009, 11:00:38 AM »
Bye-Bye Dollar? Brazil and China eye plan to axe dollar
(FT) Brazil and China will work towards using their own currencies in trade transactions rather than the US dollar, according to Brazil’s central bank and aides to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president.

The move follows recent Chinese challenges to the status of the dollar as the world’s leading international currency.

Mr Lula da Silva, who is visiting Beijing this week, and Hu Jintao, China’s president, first discussed the idea of replacing the dollar with the renminbi and the real as trade currencies when they met at the G20 summit in London last month.

An official at Brazil’s central bank stressed that talks were at an early stage. He also said that what was under discussion was not a currency swap of the kind China recently agreed with Argentina and which the US had agreed with several countries, including Brazil.

“Currency swaps are not necessarily trade related,” the official said. “The funds can be drawn down for any use. What we are talking about now is Brazil paying for Chinese goods with reals and China paying for Brazilian goods with renminbi.”

Henrique Meirelles and Zhou Xiaochuan, governors of the two countries’ central banks, were expected to meet soon to discuss the matter, the official said.

Mr Zhou recently proposed replacing the US dollar as the world’s leading currency with a new international reserve currency, possibly in the form of special drawing rights (SDRs), a unit of account used by the International Monetary Fund.

In September, Brazil and Argentina signed an agreement under which importers and exporters in the two countries may make and receive payments in pesos and reals, although they may also continue to use the US dollar if they prefer.

An aide to Mr Lula da Silva on his visit to Beijing said the political will to enact a similar deal with China was clearly present. “Something that would have been unthinkable 10 years ago is a real possibility today,” he said. “Strong currencies like the real and the renminbi are perfectly capable of being used as trade currencies, as is the case between Brazil and Argentina.”

Economists have argued that while the SDR plan is unfeasible now, bilateral deals between Beijing and its trading partners could act as pieces in a jigsaw designed to promote wider international use of the renminbi. Any move to make the renminbi more acceptable for international trade, or to help establish it as a regional reserve currency in Asia, could enhance China’s political clout around the world. full article and much more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/996b1af8-43ce-11de-a9be-00144feabdc0.html

68
Politics & Religion / Re: Energy Politics & Science
« on: May 19, 2009, 10:59:28 AM »
GPS system 'close to breakdown'Network of satellites could begin to fail as early as 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/may/19/gps-close-to-breakdown

It has become one of the staples of modern, hi-tech life: using satellite navigation tools built into your car or mobile phone to find your way from A to B. But experts have warned that the system may be close to breakdown.

US government officials are concerned that the quality of the Global Positioning System (GPS) could begin to deteriorate as early as next year, resulting in regular blackouts and failures – or even dishing out inaccurate directions to millions of people worldwide.

The warning centres on the network of GPS satellites that constantly orbit the planet and beam signals back to the ground that help pinpoint your position on the Earth's surface.

The satellites are overseen by the US Air Force, which has maintained the GPS network since the early 1990s. According to a study by the US government accountability office (GAO), mismanagement and a lack of investment means that some of the crucial GPS satellites could begin to fail as early as next year.

"It is uncertain whether the Air Force will be able to acquire new satellites in time to maintain current GPS service without interruption," said the report, presented to Congress. "If not, some military operations and some civilian users could be adversely affected."

The report says that Air Force officials have failed to execute the necessary steps to keep the system running smoothly.

Although it is currently spending nearly $2bn (£1.3bn) to bring the 20-year-old system up to date, the GAO – which is the equivalent of Britain's National Audit Office – says that delays and overspending are putting the entire system in jeopardy.

"In recent years, the Air Force has struggled to successfully build GPS satellites within cost and schedule goals," said the report. "It encountered significant technical problems … [and] struggled with a different contractor."

The first replacement GPS satellite was due to launch at the beginning of 2007, but has been delayed several times and is now scheduled to go into orbit in November this year – almost three years late.

The impact on ordinary users could be significant, with millions of satnav users potential victims of bad directions or failed services. There would also be similar side effects on the military, which uses GPS for mapping, reconnaissance and for tracking hostile targets.

Some suggest that it could also have an impact on the proliferation of so-called location applications on mobile handsets – just as applications on the iPhone and other GPS-enabled smartphones are starting to get more popular.

Tom Coates, the head of Yahoo's Fire Eagle system – which lets users share their location data from their mobile – said he was sceptical that US officials would let the system fall into total disrepair because it was important to so many people and companies.

"I'd be surprised if anyone in the US government was actually OK with letting it fail – it's too useful," he told the Guardian.

"It sounds like something that could be very serious in a whole range of areas if it were to actually happen. It probably wouldn't damage many locative services applications now, but potentially it would retard their development and mainstreaming if it were to come to pass."

The failings of GPS could also play into the hands of other countries – including opening the door to Galileo, the European-funded attempt to rival America's satellite navigation system, which is scheduled to start rolling out later next year.

Russia, India and China have developed their own satellite navigation technologies that are currently being expanded.

69
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Rants
« on: May 19, 2009, 10:30:43 AM »
"And on that gracious note, may I suggest we move on from this particular little discussion."

Like the best NHL hockey referees, they wait unitl the fighters are exhausted and then they break it up.

Anyone else bothered by the prospect of Carolina winning another Cup this year?????????  Even worse, not one Canadian team is in the running.  They are all american teams using Canadian mercenaries.............. oh well, atleast i have the Olympics to look forward to.

70
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 19, 2009, 05:41:45 AM »
Im curious to see how obama is going to fund health care..............



Here’s what’s going on:


In 2007 and 2008, government tax revenues averaged about $633.15 billion per quarter. For the first quarter of 2009, however, the numbers just in tell us that tax receipts totaled only about $442.39 billion -- a decline of 30%.
Looking to confirm the trend, we compared the data for April – the big kahuna of tax collection months – to the 2007-2008 average, and found that individual income taxes this year were down more than 40%. The situation is even worse for corporate income taxes, which were down a stunning 67%!
When you add in all revenue from all sources (including Social Security revenue, government fees, etc.), the fiscal year-to-date – October through April – revenue shortfall comes to 19%, vs. the 14.6% projected in Obama’s budget. If, however, the accelerating shortfall apparent year-to-date, and in April in particular, continues, the spread between projected and actual tax receipts will widen considerably.


... What are the implications of this tanking tax revenue?

For starters, it means the federal government deficit is going be as bad or worse than the $2.5 trillion Bud Conrad, chief economist of Casey Research, projected it to be last year.

If the shortfall in individual and corporate tax revenue persists -- and we expect it will -- then the deep hole the government is already digging for itself will be that much deeper. ...

Yet, the real fly in the ointment is that the actual borrowing by the Treasury is likely to be at least half a trillion dollars more than the deficit.

That’s because the Treasury is buying toxic paper (mortgage, credit card loans, etc.) and putting them on the books with a higher value than the market is willing to assign. While that makes the budget deficit appear smaller, it doesn’t negate the fact that the government still must borrow the money needed to buy the toxic paper in the first place. The additional revenue shortfall means they have to raise that much more money. Based on the struggle they had pushing the $14 billion in long-term notes at the latest auction, it becomes increasingly apparent that when push comes to shove, the only way the government is going to come up with the money needed to meet its aggressive spending is to print it up.


alternatively, they can force the capital markets for corporate bonds and equities to vomit out the requisite funding with an end to the short squeeze and a return of the fear trade. but it seems altogether too reasonable to say that the treasury's funding demands in support of wealth transfers and balance sheet expansion are getting far ahead of the kind of cash flow funding that can be provided by household and corporate deleveraging and saving. the result has been rising rates on the long end that -- with apologies to caroline baum -- may or may not be indicative of a positive yield curve signal.

71
Politics & Religion / Re: BO's latest move against Israel
« on: May 19, 2009, 05:23:00 AM »

 Instead, he agreed to this: "The Security Council supports the proposal of the Russian Federation to convene, in consultation with the Quartet and the parties, an international conference on the Middle East peace process in Moscow in 2009."

nice.  But its ok for Russia in invade the Republic of Georgia under the guise of protecting its citizens after its citizens provoked the conflict.  It was even nicer that the Russians allowed chechnians to come along on their "tour de murder".  Something the media left out in reporting on the invasion, the Georgians were killing Russians at a rate of 10 to 1.  The Georgians were fighting with out armor (as it had been pulled back into Tbilisi), and no air support.  Out of all the people i have ever done business with, i love the Georgians the most. 

I hope the Israelis save a couple nukes for Moscow when they finally start tossing them around.

72
Politics & Religion / Re: The Politics of Health Care
« on: May 18, 2009, 07:07:21 PM »
My opinion on this topic causes me to be flamed quite a bit here in Canada, but here it goes.  Universal health care should not exist period.  taxes should be lowered and people should be forced to buget.  But that is not going to happen.  The next best thing would see people who are fat, smoke or drink pay a massive sur charge for access to health care.  and before you say it, i have an older brother who is a drunk and one 6pak away from needing a liver transplant.  My thoughts are, if he cant afford to pay for his selfish life style why should i.  Have fun in the next life bro, hope the bar is closed on the other side.  Maybe im cold, but i have grown tierd of seeing selfish people cause others to suffer.

73
Politics & Religion / Re: The Politics of Health Care
« on: May 18, 2009, 07:02:39 PM »
So is this implying if we live healthier 75% of health care costs could go away?

What kind of a statement is this?

Has this guy ever heard of aging?

I don't know.  The more I read about opinions on what should be done the more I think no one has a clue.




You guys sure do have a lot of fat people in the U.S.  Im always disturbed by the amount of fat people riding around on scooters when i go to American walmarts.  I'll bet that if you got rid of obesity your health care costs would go down dramatically.

74
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Rants
« on: May 18, 2009, 10:34:06 AM »


Often, I find I learn more from a debate or disagreement than a love-in of
like minds always agreeing.  Give me the dissenting opinion anytime.



+1 It also helps to have an atmosphere where the development of new ideas is welcome.

75
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Rants
« on: May 17, 2009, 04:02:39 PM »



Huss
 :?
I conceded your point and acknowledged that you are right; we are a republic, not technically a democracy.
Then I "wasted keystrokes" and facts pointing out how we have evolved into a form of democracy
as well as being a republic.  And I commented that overall I think it is for the better.
Slavery and woman voting aside, do you really think we are better off?  How can you say that?  Western society is on the brink of out right collapse.


Quote
As for Chrysler, as far as I'm concerned they could/should have gone broke.  On another post I am the guy who supported the bond holders; remember?
Frankly, I think a few banks should have gone broke and into bankruptcy too.  And if you bought a house you can't afford, well why is that my problem?
And I too am concerned about the spending spree.
I agree, i dont think there should have been any bail outs at all.  Although i think the govt has no business being in business at all.



Quote
As a side note, it doesn't matter, your opinions are welcome, but are you an American citizen?  I ask, because you said, you guys are going broke faster than China.....
Or if you are a citizen, maybe you mean WE are going broke .... 

I live in Canada.  I as a very pro American Canadian am very frustrated with the way your govt is running things.  Your CIC is going to force us into bed with the Chinese in order to have a buyer for our oil and water.  I never thought i would say this but at this point i no longer care, as long as things pick up.


Quote
But I don't like the bailouts either...
We might disagree with a particular French video, but please don't paint me "liberal" in all matters.   I agree, WE are going broke and something needs to be done.
you may not be a liberal.......... but i think you under estimate the threat of islam and "democracy's" ability to fight off a group who wishes to vote out democracy.

76
Politics & Religion / Re: Interrogation methods
« on: May 17, 2009, 03:43:54 PM »
Now there's a good long term plan for peace...

 :-(



Tell that to Nick Berg.......... well actually you cant as he had his head sawn off. But at least you and your ilk can pat each other on the back and reasure each other that you are morally superior to the jihadis.

77
Politics & Religion / Re: Interrogation methods
« on: May 17, 2009, 02:35:25 PM »
Yep, maybe you are right, we too should send the body parts of women and children of any hostage takers family members or anyone
else for that matter who threaten America!

Now there's a good long term plan for peace...

 :-(



What is wrong with you?  i just gave you examples that resulted in prolonged periods of peace.  The circle jerk your suggesting is going to get a whole lot of people killed.

78
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Rants
« on: May 17, 2009, 02:30:11 PM »
A democracy or a republic?  

You are right; we were founded as a republic;
In most states only white men who owned a certain amount of property could vote. So, on the whole, the first federal government that met in 1789 was a republic with only a fig-leaf of democratic representation.
You always play the victim card when confronted with facts.  



Quote
The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment effectively extended the vote to all adult male citizens, including ex-slaves, by penalizing states that did not allow for universal male suffrage. The Fifteenth Amendment explicitly gave the right to vote to former slaves. After the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments did not extend suffrage to women, a vigorous campaign for the vote was launched by women, who received the vote through the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.
What does this have to do with people voting themselves entitlements and sharia?  nice little bunny trail...............




Quote
And I think we are better off allowing former slaves to vote, allowing women to vote, and allowing all adult male citizens to vote.  But maybe you don't?
your so petty.  After my whole post filled with fact this is all you have????????? your a waste of key strokes.


Quote
PS  Eloquent quote you left me with, but Alexander Tyler never wrote those words nor did he ever write a book or anything else regarding "The Fall of the Athenian Republic"
Thanks, I'll make sure to remember that for the next time i use that quote.  Again, you ignore the point of my mis quoted quote.  Your concept of democracy is what has allowed your CIC to become the CEO of an auto maker, broker a deal on what cars FIAT can build in exchange for their 35% stake in Chrysler and what salaries bank CEO's can have regardless of whether they took tarp money or not........... all to the applause of a cheering populace....... Just wait until he names himself health care czar.  you guys are going broke faster then china can sell off their U.S $ holdings. Enjoy the ride, your one of the few who deserve whats coming, atleast you got to vote for it eh?????

79
Politics & Religion / Re: Interrogation methods
« on: May 17, 2009, 12:39:51 PM »
Why do we need one?  Do you know how many terror attacks the Philippines suffered after the moro uprising?  probably the same amount Russia suffered during the 70's after Russian forces sent the body parts of hostage takers family members who were holding russians.  Like it or not, it is Arab/Muslims culture to respect strength.  Our leftist treat them kindly methods only encourage them. ie.  The situation in Iran.  Instead of secretly have Imadinijad whacked and the mullahs bombed into an unpleasent memory Obama offers "talks".  As you see below, it was well received.



In response to Barack Obama's "outstretched hand," as he expressed in his April 1, 2009 speech, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad emphasized that the West was weak, and could not force anything on Iran. He enumerated Iran's demands for dialogue with the U.S.; the demands included the withdrawal of Western forces, the destruction of the West's entire nuclear arsenal, and respect for Iran's right to its nuclear program.

The following are just a few of the excerpts from Ahmadinejad's speech:

"You yourselves know that you are today in a position of weakness. Your hands are empty and you can no longer promote your affairs from a position of strength."

"Anyone who talks about change must change his own behavior and policy."

"The fundamental step [must be] the collection and destruction of all [nuclear] arsenals in the world"

"If they [the US] ask for real change, they must withdraw all their military bases and respect the independence and the values of the nations."

"But today, with the grace of God, and thanks to Iran's national unity, the recommendations of Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei], and the following of his [path], nearly 7,000 centrifuges are spinning today at Natanz, mocking them."





So where do you draw the line?

80
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Rants
« on: May 17, 2009, 12:28:32 PM »

I also disagree with your comment, "when foreigners use our own laws against us is that democracy has no defense mechanism to stop
muslims from VOTING in people who will give us sharia and turn us against our allies."
It does not, and our "democracy is being used against us to curtail traditional norms that the North Americans founded their countries on



Quote
Our country was founded on immigration.  My family is from Norway and Germany.  And I happen to have friends from many
different backgrounds and ethnic groups.  You mentioned that the "crime being committed in "this" video (it is not "my" video"; maybe Doug's video) is that
most of the people in these videos shouldn't have been allowed into France in the first place."  So why were they?
Could it be that France needed workers?  Like we imported Chinese labor?  Immigration policies can often be directly traced to the economy;
no one cares when times are good, there are plenty of jobs, but racism raises its ugly head when the economy turns and there is unemployment.
Or could it be guilt over Algeria?  Like America for many years allowed Vietnamese to easily immigrate here? 
Or could it be France just had a generous heart like America truly does?
Generous?  Have you ever stopped to think that the reason the liberals coddle groups like CAIR and push for mass imigration is because they hate conservatives so much?????? the enemy of my enemy is my friend??? what makes me laugh is that the liberals who coddle groups like CAIR would be the first ones with their throats slit if ever sharia were instituted.  some how i just dont see mohammeed chumming around with anti gun types and gays.


Quote
In another post you commented,
"the answer is mass deportations and immigration reform.  A country accepting immigrants should look at applicants the same way a business interviews potential employees. Will they assimilate and fit into the culture?  Do they speak the language? do they offer a skill set that is in demand?  Will the country be a better place for having them?
If the answer is not yes to all of those questions they should be barred from entering."

I am against all illegal immigrants and agree that they should all (impossible) be escorted to the border (not sure if I agree they "should be set loose
into the sea").  But legal immigrants?  Many of whom have become citizens here and in France?  "Mass deportation? Why? Because they are of a different faith?
A different color?  They don't speak English well?  They have a brown eye?  No skill in demand; I mean God forbid if they are an auto factory worker.  I mean what is the litmus test? 
You said, "do they speak the language"?  Since when did that become a litmus test?
I doubt if many of our forefathers coming through Ellis Island could speak English.  You fall in love with a beautiful Italian girl while on vacation.  No English (you speak some Italian)
and she has no job skills.  So I guess marriage and bringing her home to America is out of the question?
The litmus test is, will the contribute to our take from society.  If they can not pay for themselves why should we let them in?  If you want to import an entire family from itally go ahead.  Just dont ask for tax payers to foot the bill.




Quote
Actually, it is not the easy to immigrate (legally) to the United States. And my point is, it's complicated.  Where do you draw the line.  Your Italian wife comes home with you.  Her kids from the previous marriage also come with her.  She misses her mom, so she comes too.  And her Dad.  Now they miss their sisters and brothers; they too want to visit and marry an American.  And truly adorable cousins.  Where do you say "No"?  And where is the line?  It is not easy...

But I object to your comment, when foreigners use our own laws against us is that democracy has no defense mechanism to stop
muslims from VOTING in people who will give us sharia and turn us against our allies."
Here is why i think you an apologist at best for muslims.  You can object all you want but the fact is it is happening.  When groups like the holy land foundation, CAIR, ISLAMVILLE etc.......... can be given tax payers money, court govt officials, be consulted on laws and operate openly what else can you say but immigrants are using our system against us.  CAIR which claims to be the voice of islam in america has no opposing group of muslims the way a child molester priet is run out of town by Christians. 
http://www.anti-cair-net.org/ - Have a look at this site, concrete proof that these people operate against us with our own laws and money.  After having almost ever foundign member tried and convicted in terror activities CAIR is still operating and recieving tax payer money.  France still has 751 zones that operate outisde of French law but still receive state benifits. so you can objest all you want, you can lobby for these people all they want but it doesnt change their goal.  End democracy and bring in sharia.



Quote
The bedrock of our democracy is the power of the vote.  Are you truly proposing that we deny immigrants who have become citizens the right to vote if you don't agree with their politics? Or religion?  That they should be denied their citizenship for not following YOUR politics and religion?  On this basis Jews too could have been deported in our history.  Be careful what you ask for, it may one day come back to bite you.


By the way, you do not live in a democracy.  You live in a republic.  The republic was founded in the hopes that people would be elected who were intelligent enough to keep the average joe from voting himself entitelements and the average mohammed from voting himself Keith Ellison's ( http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2006/10/015337.php ), men who will work to undermine the republic. I leave you with this...................


"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse (generous gifts) from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilization has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence. From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance, from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back into bondage."
 

Alexander Tyler circa 1787 re the
fall of the Athenian Republic.

81
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Rants
« on: May 17, 2009, 05:10:16 AM »
The crime being committed in your video is that most of the people in these videos shouldnt have been allowed into France in the first place.  Please do not portray these people as non violent mis understood youths.  Most of the time they are so violent and un appreciative of being given a chance to live in a civilized country that the police in France have been instructed to stay out of 751+ zones unless they are entering the area in a sizeable force.
If these are the people you want to throw your lot in with it speaks volumes to your character.  Something you freedom of speech at all cost types convieniently forget when foriegners use our own laws against us is that democracy has no defense mechanism to stop muslims from voting in people who will give us sharia and turn us against our allies.  These people deserve only one right, the right to be escorted to the border and set loose into the sea.

The 751 No-Go Zones of France
by Daniel Pipes
November 14, 2006
updated Sun, 16 Mar 2008

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2006/11/the-751-no-go-zones-of-france.html

 Print  Send  Comment  RSS Share:       

They go by the euphemistic term Zones Urbaines Sensibles, or Sensitive Urban Zones, with the even more antiseptic acronym ZUS, and there are 751 of them as of last count. They are convienently listed on one long webpage, complete with street demarcations and map delineations.

What are they? Those places in France that the French state does not control. They range from two zones in the medieval town of Carcassone to twelve in the heavily Muslim town of Marseilles, with hardly a town in France lacking in its ZUS. The ZUS came into existence in late 1996 and according to a 2004 estimate, nearly 5 million people live in them.

Comment: A more precise name for these zones would be Dar al-Islam, the place where Muslims rule. (November 14, 2006)

Nov. 28, 2006 update: For an insight into how bad things are, the police in Lyons demonstrated on Nov. 9, denouncing "violence against the forces of order." Things have reached a pretty sad state when the police have to demonstrate in the streets against the criminals.

Jan. 5, 2008 update: In a remarkable statement, Michael Nazir-Ali, the Pakistani-born bishop of Rochester, writes in the Daily Telegraph about the situation in Great Britain:

there has been a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism. One of the results of this has been to further alienate the young from the nation in which they were growing up and also to turn already separate communities into "no-go" areas where adherence to this ideology has become a mark of acceptability. Those of a different faith or race may find it difficult to live or work there because of hostility to them.

Jan. 16, 2008 update: Paul Belien of Brussels Journal provides an update on the ZUS, connecting them to organized crime in a way that helps explain police reluctance to intervene:

In May [2007], the French voters elected Mr. [Nicolas] Sarkozy as president because he had promised to restore the authority of the Republic over France's 751 no-go areas, the so-called zones urbaines sensibles (ZUS, sensitive urban areas), where 5 million people - 8 percent of the population - live. During his first months in office he has been too busy with other activities, such as selling nuclear plants to Libya and getting divorced. While the French media publish nude pictures of the future (third) Mrs. Sarkozy, the situation in the ZUS has remained as "sensitive" as before.

People get mugged, even murdered, in the ZUS, but the media prefer not to write about it. When large-scale rioting erupts and officers and firemen are attacked, the behavior of the thugs is condoned with references to their "poverty" and to the "racism" of the indigenous French. The French media never devote their attention to the bleak situation of intimidation and lawlessness in which 8 percent of the population, including many poor indigenous French, are forced to live. Muslim racism toward the "infidels" is never mentioned.

Xavier Raufer, a former French intelligence officer who heads the department on organized crime and terrorism at the Institute of Criminology of the University of Paris II, thinks that organized crime has a lot to do with the indifference of the French establishment.

The ZUS are centers of drug trafficking. According to a recent report of the French government's Interdepartmental Commission to Combat Drug Traffic and Addiction (MILDT) 550,000 people in France consume cannabis on a daily basis and 1.2 million on a regular basis. The annual cannabis consumption amounts to 208 tons for a market value of 832 million euros ($1.2 billion in U.S. dollars). MILDT estimates that there are between 6,000 and 13,000 small "entrepreneurs" and between 700 and 1,400 wholesalers who make a living out of dealing cannabis. The wholesalers earn up to 550,000 euros ($820,000) per year. Since they operate from within the ZUS the drug dealers are beyond the reach of the French authorities.

The ZUS exist not only because Muslims wish to live in their own areas according to their own culture and their own Shariah laws, but also because organized crime wants to operate without the judicial and fiscal interference of the French state. In France, Shariah law and mafia rule have become almost identical.

Mar. 8, 2008 update: Britain has "ethnic" no-go areas for military personnel in uniform, the Times (London) reports today at "Military uniforms in public ‘risk offending minorities'."

Certain areas in Britain will still have to remain off-limits for servicemen and women in military gear, despite the Government's desire for a nationwide uniform free-for-all, senior RAF sources acknowledged yesterday. … one senior air force source said that military commanders had to be aware of potential problems of personnel wearing combat and other military clothes in the street. "We're aware of the sensitivities, for example, in some ethnic minority communities which is why we need to have a dialogue with local authorities and police if we don't want to cause a problem."

Mar. 16, 2008 update: John Cornwell, a leading historian and commentator on religion, is generally skeptical of Nazir-Ali's no-go areas but finds that if anyplace fits the profile, it's Bury Park in Luton:

Luton, like other enclaves, has experienced a spate of incidents that look all too like attempts to make Bury Park a no-go area to non-Muslims. Between November of last year and last month there were 18 attacks – all registered by the police – on five non-Muslim homes in the area. One couple, Mr and Mrs Harrop, white residents in their eighties, have had bricks hurled through their windows. The home of Mrs Palmer, a widow of West Indian origin, aged 70, has been attacked four times; on one occasion a metal beer keg crashed through her bay window while she was watching TV.

Such attacks are not typical of the activities of the sort of radicals who preach a global Islamic state, or potential terrorists, who, according to one of my MI5 informants, merge into a background of "innocent normalcy" till the last minute. DCI Ian Middleton of Bedfordshire police says: "It's the perception of the victims that their Muslim neighbours are to blame, and we have to respect that. But we have our doubts." Middleton suspects, as does Margaret Moran, MP for Luton South, that the attacks could be the work of small groups of white or Muslim extremists, stirring up racial and inter-religious hatred for its own sake.

I was to come across comparable "no-go" incidents in other parts of Britain, such as threats against Muslim converts to Christianity, and attacks on visiting social workers and Salvation Army facilities.

July 28, 2008 update: For information on the German case, see Kristian Frigelj, "Unter Feinden," Die Welt. The teaser explains that "In many German urban areas, the police hardly dare enter because they are immediately assaulted." July 29, 2008 update: For a translation of this article, see "In Enemy Territory."

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2006/11/the-751-no-go-zones-of-france.html


**The Simon Wiesenthal Center would disagree, it seems.**

With no offense meant, I think the Simon Wiesenthal Centre is a bit biased.  I suppose they
can take "legal action" and file a civil suit; but then anyone can sue anyone for anything.  Let's see if they win.....

As for criminal action (that is the issue here) all the flyers stickers and list of products were "submitted" to the
prosecutor and a complaint "registered" based upon a law written in 1881.  Want to bet that the prosecutor files that complaint in his circular file under his desk?
And do you really think a Judge in France will support that complaint?  And stop the boycott?  And arrest the "peaceful" protestors?
(as for the ones doing firebombing etc. they should be arrested, but the ones in this video were peaceful)

And remember, there is no complaint from the store owners?  Therefore, I doubt if anyone will be arrested and I doubt if the boycott will be stopped;
wrong or right, you know that too.  Sorry, no criminal crime.  I think you are letting your emotions overwhelm your logic.

Please post again when the protestors in this video have been arrested; in the interim, ... well I think we will all die of old age first.  :-)




82
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Rants
« on: May 16, 2009, 11:39:25 AM »
doesnt change the fact that the video would have been improved had an out of control cement truck had made an entrance.

GM; while I thought/hoped we were moving on...




10. Generally, NO. Privately owned shopping malls are not considered to be public forum areas (like streets, sidewalks and public parks are) for purposes of 1st Amendment activity. People may have the right to protest outside the mall on public property, but you can keep demonstrators out of privately owned parking areas and the mall interior completely, if owners of the mall don't want people protesting there.
[

ERGO -  IF the owners of the mall does not object, people cannot be kept out of the mall and demonstrations are allowed.

In this instance, the owner did not call the police nor did the owner seem to object, therefore again I repeat, NO CRIME...






83
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 16, 2009, 07:19:44 AM »
The next time someone trys to say Bush spent us into this mess, show them this chart.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dZJ6SFB1ecE/SgnKZ_PeHYI/AAAAAAAABKM/FwuVV0PNQYk/s1600-h/Receipts+and+Outlays

84
Politics & Religion / Re: Afghanistan-Pakistan
« on: May 16, 2009, 07:04:50 AM »


(CNN) -- A Vietnam War veteran killed in an Iraq roadside bombing this week has become the oldest American service member to be killed in either Iraq or Afghan combat, the Pentagon has confirmed.

 Maj. Steven Hutchison -- a 60-year-old soldier from Scottsdale, Arizona -- died Sunday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra after a bomb went off near his vehicle in the region.

Hutchison spanned two war eras. He enlisted in the Army at 19 and served in Vietnam, according to a news report on CNN affiliate KNXV-TV.

Hutchison wanted to serve again after the September 11 attacks, but his wife opposed that.

His wife died of breast cancer in 2006, and Hutchison was "devastated," his brother Richard Hutchison told KNXV.

Steve Hutchison jogged, got into great physical shape and returned to Army active duty at age 57 in Afghanistan and then Iraq.


He had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

"He's been a soldier his whole life," Richard Hutchison said

85


An article from CNN highligting the fact that the state department can't afford to pay local staff in foreing US embassies a competitive salary anymore.  How will Obama keep the west safe if he is cutting back on all the things that protect us?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/13/state.employees.pay/index.html

86
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 16, 2009, 06:56:49 AM »
Out of curiosity, how will Obama pay for his new social projects?

Government Receipts Down 34% Year over Year (Chart)

The U.S. reported the first budget deficit for April in 26 years, recording a shortfall in the month that usually sees a jump in individual tax payments before the Internal Revenue Service’s mid-month deadline.
“When the government can’t post a surplus in April, you know things are dire,” said Richard Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research Corp. in New York. “It’s going to take a very long time until we see anything close to a balanced budget.”
Stripping out receipts ONLY, we see a whopping 34% decline from April 2008.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8rpY5fQK-UQ/Sgowj1JEx1I/AAAAAAAAGuA/4EkvVCapNpI/s1600-h/receipt.png

87
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 16, 2009, 06:53:36 AM »
Japanese opposition would avoid U.S. dollar bonds if elected

It is not just the Chinese making noises about the reliability of the United States as a debtor. Now, Japanese politicians are doing it too. In fact, the Democratic Party of Japan (which is not in power) have said they would not buy U.S. bonds if elected. An excerpt from a BBC story covering these comments reads as follows:
Japan’s opposition party says it would refuse to buy American government bonds denominated in US dollars, if elected.

The chief finance spokesman of the Democratic Party of Japan, Masaharu Nakagawa, told the BBC he was worried about the future value of the dollar.

Japan has been a major buyer of US government bonds, helping the US finance its Federal budget deficits.

But, he added, it would continue to buy bonds only if they were denominated in yen - the so-called samurai bonds.

“If it’s [in] yen, it’s going to be all right,” Mr Nakagawa said in an interview with the BBC World Service.

“We propose that we would buy [the US bonds], but it’s yen, not dollar.”

However observers say that, while the move would be a remarkable policy shift, it was unlikely that Mr Nakagawa’s party will win the forthcoming election, due before mid-September, despite the unpopularity of the ruling Liberal party.

While the Democratic Party is unlikely to gain sway over the electorate in Japan, their comments do reflect a growing unease with the United States’ deficit spending. With dissatisfied noises coming from America’s two largest creditors, the Obama Administration’s policy options for continued reflation appear more limited. In essence, America can inflate and deficit spend at its own risk. Unfortunately, there are not very many other policy options available.

http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2009/05/japanese-opposition-would-avoid-us-dollar-bonds-if-elected.html

88
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 16, 2009, 06:52:15 AM »
RealtyTrac: Record Foreclosure Activity in April

From RealtyTrac: Foreclosure Activity Remains at Record Levels in April
RealtyTrac ... today released its April 2009 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report(TM), which shows foreclosure filings - default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions - were reported on 342,038 U.S. properties during the month, an increase of less than 1 percent from the previous month and an increase of 32 percent from April 2008. The report also shows that one in every 374 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in April, the highest monthly foreclosure rate ever posted since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in January 2005.

"Total foreclosure activity in April ended up slightly above the previous month, once again hitting a record-high level," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "Much of this activity is at the initial stages of foreclosure - the default and auction stages - while bank repossessions, or REOs, were down on a monthly and annual basis to their lowest level since March 2008. This suggests that many lenders and servicers are beginning foreclosure proceedings on delinquent loans that had been delayed by legislative and industry moratoria. It's likely that we'll see a corresponding spike in REOs as these loans move through the foreclosure process over the next few months."
emphasis added

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/05/realtytrac-record-foreclosure-activity.html

89
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 16, 2009, 06:50:51 AM »
China's yuan 'set to usurp US dollar' as world's reserve currency

Professor Roubini, of New York University's Stern business school, believes that while such a major change is some way off, the Chinese government is laying the ground for the yuan's ascendance.
Known as "Dr Doom" for his negative stance, Prof Roubini argues that China is better placed than the US to provide a reserve currency for the 21st century because it has a large current account surplus, focused government and few of the economic worries the US faces.

In a column in the New York Times, Prof Roubini warns that with the proposal for a new international reserve currency via the International Monetary Fund, Beijing has already begun to take steps to usurp the greenback.
China will soon want to see the yuan included in the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights "basket", he warns, as well as seeing it "used as a means of payment in bilateral trade."

Prof Roubini's warning followed the US government's latest economic data that showed producer prices in April experienced their biggest year-on-year drop since 1950, falling 3.7pc.

The number of Americans claiming unemployment benefit for the first time rose by 32,000 to 637,000 in the week to May 9. The increase meant the total number of people claiming benefits stood at to 6.56m, a record high for the 15th consecutive week in a row.

But neither the gloomy data, nor Prof Roubini's verdict on the greenback's future, held back the markets. The Dow Jones traded up 59.89 at 8344.78 in lunchtime trading.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5325805/Chinas-yuan-set-to-usurp-US-dollar-as-worlds-reserve-currency.html

90
Politics & Religion / Re: I guess AIPAC missed this....
« on: May 16, 2009, 06:46:49 AM »
hahahhaha, it doesnt matter. Israel will never give them up and the way obama is spending, the U.S will be irrelevant internationally in a matter of years. China is already doing half their transactions in their own currency.  Israel needs to be focussed on getting cozy with China now.  With their new off shore gas fields it might be possible. 


http://hotair.com/archives/2009/05/06/obama-to-force-israel-to-give-up-nukes/

Obama to force Israel to give up nukes?
POSTED AT 9:29 AM ON MAY 6, 2009 BY ED MORRISSEY   


The Washington Times reports that Barack Obama may counter demands from Israel to confront Iran over their nuclear program by confronting Israel over theirs.  Eli Lake has the exclusive on the Obama administration’s strategy to force Israel under the umbrella of the non-proliferation treaty, apparently as a condition to getting Iran to surrender their nukes.  The effort will include India and Pakistan, and comes from a 2006 Saudi peace plan that would leave Israel at the mercy of the armies surrounding the state:

President Obama’s efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons threaten to expose and derail a 40-year-old secret U.S. agreement to shield Israel’s nuclear weapons from international scrutiny, former and current U.S. and Israeli officials and nuclear specialists say.

The issue will likely come to a head when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Mr. Obama on May 18 in Washington. Mr. Netanyahu is expected to seek assurances from Mr. Obama that he will uphold the U.S. commitment and will not trade Israeli nuclear concessions for Iranian ones.

Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller, speaking Tuesday at a U.N. meeting on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), said Israel should join the treaty, which would require Israel to declare and relinquish its nuclear arsenal.

Gottemoeller has a track record of demanding Israeli disarmament:

However, Ms. Gottemoeller endorsed the concept of a nuclear-free Middle East in a 2005 paper that she co-authored, “Universal Compliance: A Strategy for Nuclear Security.”

“Instead of defensively trying to ignore Israels nuclear status, the United States and Israel should proactively call for regional dialogue to specify the conditions necessary to achieve a zone free of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons,” she wrote.

The paper recommends that Israel take steps to disarm in exchange for its neighbors getting rid of chemical and biological weapons programs as well as Iran forgoing uranium enrichment.

The Obama administration appointed Gottemoeller, fully cognizant of her thinking on this issue. One has to assume that her appointment to the senior position at State constitutes an endorsement of those positions.  It wouldn’t be the most radical thinking about Israel from this administration; Samantha Powers, who works between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Ambassador Susan Rice, once called for a Western occupation of Israel and forced disarmament of their entire army.

Gottemoeller’s speech had to have been cleared by the Obama administration, and so appears to represent their foreign-policy position.  The Bush administration and its predecessors handled the situation more tactfully, supporting a “nuclear-free Middle East” without naming names.  Why?  The position of Israel in the Middle East is unique.  They are not just simply another nation among many.  They had been the one successful continuous democracy in that region, save Turkey, and quite obviously surrounded by nations explicitly threatening to annihilate them.  Israel had to develop a deterrent that would keep a nation of 5 million people alive among 100 million enemies.

Over the years, some of those neighbors have moderated their stance somewhat towards Israel; Egypt and Jordan have diplomatic relations with Israel, but in Egypt’s case only because Washington pays them to do it.  None of the rest of the nations in that region even recognize Israel’s existence, and two of them — Syria and Iran — have a long-running proxy war of terror running against Israel.  Under those conditions, Israel can be forgiven for thinking that a deterrent is still a damned good idea.

Besides, the Iranian nuclear program threatens the US as well.  We want to stop Iran from building nukes to keep them out of the hands of terrorists, and not just those aimed at Israel.  They don’t call us the Great Satan out of respect, after all, and Iranian leadership has been just as annihilationist towards America as it has been towards Israel.  Instead of disarming our allies, maybe we should just concentrate on disarming our enemies.

91
Politics & Religion / Re: Islam in Europe
« on: May 16, 2009, 06:40:54 AM »
Can't you guys just skim past posts by posters you don't like?
hahahahaha, this thread is turning into a train wreck that you know you should pass over but just cant look away.

92
Politics & Religion / Re: Funny, you don't look Jewish....
« on: May 15, 2009, 06:55:24 PM »
Pigs Must Die, Because They Are Descended from the Jews
By: Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook
Palestinian Media Watch | Friday, May 15, 2009


All pigs alive today are descendants of the Jews who were turned into pigs by Allah, according to a senior Egyptian religious leader. Since all pigs are descendants of Jews, it is obligatory to kill all pigs, says Sheikh Ahmed Ali Othman. 

Culturally these people are retarded and were it not for oil revenue they would still be living in mud huts herding goats and camels.

i give you exhibit A;

More people are killed by Islamists each year than in all 350 years of the Spanish Inquisition combined. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition
 
Islamic terrorists murder more people everyday than the Ku Klux Klan has in the last 50 years. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/shipp/lynchingyear.html

More civilians were killed by Muslim extremists in two hours on September 11th than in the 36 years of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/violence/death95w.htm

19 Muslim hijackers killed more innocents in two hours on September 11th than the number of American criminals executed in the last 65 years. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ESPYdate.pdf

93
Politics & Religion / Re: Islam in Europe
« on: May 14, 2009, 11:28:05 AM »
We also all agreed that the situation in Europe's immigrant ghettos is deplorable.  And the answers elusive.  And then we gave up and went on to discussing the




the answer is mass deportations and immigration reform.  A country accepting immigrants should look at applicants the same way a business interviews potential employees. Will they assimilate and fit into the culture?  Do they speak the language? do they offer a skill set that is in demand?  Will the country be a better place for having them?
If the answer is not yes to all of those questions they should be barred from entering.

94
Politics & Religion / Re: Islam in Europe
« on: May 14, 2009, 07:50:57 AM »
A controversial Muslim programme-maker has been appointed as the BBC's new head of religious broadcasting.
 
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 10:26PM BST 11 May 2009

Aaqil Ahmed will move to the corporation from Channel Four, where he upset Roman Catholic priests by commissioning documentaries that appeared to contain a pro-Islam bias.

His appointment will also raise fears at the top levels of the Church of England, which has expressed its concerns over the BBC's treatment of religion and warned that it must not ignore its Christian audience.



Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has met with Mark Thompson, the BBC's director-general in March to challenge him over the corporation's religious broadcasting.

Senior bishops have also written to Mr Thompson to question its commitment to Britain's Christian audience.

Leading church figures suspect that the BBC is giving preferential treatment to minority faiths, with a Muslim now in charge of its programming on television and a Sikh producing Songs of Praise, its flagship Christian show.

Christina Rees, a member of the Archbishops' Council, has warned: " The vast majority of the population identifies itself as Christian and as the established Church in England we would be negligent not to take an active concern in the changes happening with the BBC's religion and ethics department."

Rt Rev Nigel Mcculloch, Bishop of Manchester, said yesterday that Mr Ahmed's appointment came "at a time when the BBC's coverage of religion has caused some disquiet".

He said: "The Church of England will be watching how the future of religion and ethics develops. We wish him well in this very important post."

Mr Ahmed is understood to have impressed BBC executives by commissioning a series on Christianity that featured high-profile names, including Cherie Blair and Michael Portillo.

However, the series, Christianity, A History, was criticised by Church figures for trivialising the religion.

Furthermore, Channel 4 was accused of being biased towards Islam and failing to show enough respect to Christianity under Mr Ahmed, who was head of religious broadcasting.

Last summer, the channel screened a week of special programmes on Islam including a feature-length documentary on the Qu'ran, and a series of interviews with Muslims around the world talking about their beliefs.

Yet the main Christian documentary broadcast for Easter that year, called The Secrets of the 12 Disciples, cast doubt on the validity of the Pope.

It argued that St Peter died in Palestine, not in Rome, as the Church has always taught and as he was not the first Pope those elected following him would not have been true successors.

Mr Ahmed's appointment follows claims by Mr Thompson that Islam should be treated more sensitively by the media than Christianity.

"There's no reason why any religion should be immune from discussion, but I don't want to say that all religions are the same," he said.

"To be a minority I think puts a slightly different outlook on it."

Mr Ahmed will split the role of overseeing religious broadcasting with, Christine Morgan, who has been promoted to head of Religion Radio.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5309777/Controversial-Muslim-programme-maker-to-be-head-of-BBC-religion.html


95
Politics & Religion / Re: Islam in Islamic Countries:
« on: May 14, 2009, 04:55:57 AM »
Turkey: Ankara's "General Directorate for Foundations" appropriates Orthodox church properties for gaming halls, other uses
Islamic Tolerance Alert: Would they turn mosque property into a gaming hall? No. "Bartholomew I appeals to the European Court in Strasbourg against Ankara," by Nat da Polis for Asia News, May 13:

Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I has announced his intention to appeal to the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg over violations against the Orthodox community and its foundations, unjustly expropriated of lands and buildings by Ankara’s Direction for Religious Foundations.
Formally known as the General Directorate for Foundations, which regulates non-Muslim religious activity.

Speaking to faithful in St Georges’ Parish, close to the Byzantine walls of Istanbul, the Patriarch affirmed that the decision to go to the Strasbourg court was made by the Synod.
“We have and you have come here - he said - to celebrate this religious ceremony in a parish that is facing many difficulties. Unfortunately it is not alone. The problem is that this parish and its community, as is the case with many other s of the Church of Constantinople, have been abusively declared mazbut (occupied) by the Direction for Religious Foundations. This means that we cannot claim any rights to the management of the properties of this community, nor proceed with the election of its administrative board. As a result of this we have no right to manage that which was left to us by our forefathers. The only thing we are allowed to carry out in these places are religious functions. Unfortunately this is fate of this parish and many other parishes of the Church of Constantinople”.
“In the court yard of this parish – the Patriarch continued – the building which housed the community’s school still exists. It unfortunately has been transformed into a gaming hall and its management has been ceded by the authorities to a private individual, who in turn compensated them with rent”.
“In an attempt to put an end to these injustices which we are being subjected to –added Bartholomew I – the Synod has reached a decision; to appeal firstly to the State Judiciary of Turkey, then, if all else should fail to the European Court in Strasbourg, following the example of the orphanage on Prince Buyukada Island, in the hopes that in this case too, justice will be done”. (ref. AsiaNews.it, 29/11/2007 The Supreme Court in Strasburg allows Patriarchs’ appeal for Buyukada orphanage).
“We do not want – he concluded – special treatment, but neither can we allow our rights to be trampled on or our identity and the cultural heritage entrusted us by our forefathers be erased”.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/026100.php

96
Denounce Muslim group, UC Irvine chancellor urged
May 12, 2009

NEW YORK (JTA) -- Nearly 2,700 people have signed an online petition encouraging a California university chancellor to publicly condemn an annual Muslim student event.

The document urges University of California, Irvine's Michael Drake to denounce the Muslim Student Union's "Israel: The Politics of Genocide" event, which began May 5 and runs through May 21.

"As an American, you have the right to speak out and explicitly denounce anti-Semitism, especially when it occurs on your campus," the petition reads. "As an educational leader, you have the moral obligation to speak out."

The petition also calls on Drake to condemn the Muslim group as a whole, alleging that it consistently violates a campus pledge to create "a learning climate free from expressions of bigotry."

The Irvine campus has been a hotbed of pro-Palestinian activism, and Drake himself has drawn fire in the past from some Jewish groups who have urged him to publicly denounce activity that is said to cross the line into anti-Semitism. Drake thus far has declined to denounce specific activities, speaking out only against hate speech in general.

The two-week program features lectures from noted Palestinian activists such as British Parliament member George Galloway and former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, among other events, according to the Orange County Weekly.

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/05/12/1005098/petitiion-calls-on-irvine-chancellor-to-denounce-muslim-group

97
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 13, 2009, 05:28:56 PM »

98
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 13, 2009, 05:06:05 PM »
The new new money

It's official: The government in Beijing has announced that the Yuan can now be used in international trade. Their mouthpiece for this occasion was the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a private entity, which made the announcement on their behalf. By the end of this year, it is expected that fully 50% of all transactions with Hong Kong will be denominated in the Yuan. In turn, Hong Kong re-exports 90% of its Chinese imports. Importer #1 is the European Union; importer #2 is the United States. Some of these countries may soon find themselves hard-pressed to earn enough Yuan to continue importing Chinese-made products.

This is only the next small step in Beijing's "policy of small steps." Already the Chinese government has ramped down its purchases of US Treasury paper, forcing the Federal Reserve to step in as the buyer of last resort. The IOU, with which the US has inundated the world, is now becoming the I-owe-me - which is not quite as impressive to those who are considering selling products to the US on credit. Instead of the funny paper, the Chinese government has started to buy up gold on the international market. The Yuan has long been in de facto use in Hong Kong, Sigapore, Kuala Lumpur, and other countries in the region, in preference to the US Dollar. In several countries it is already possible to have Yuan-denominated savings and checking accounts; in Hong Kong alone such accounts are set to exceed US$100 billion by the end of this year.

The United States and Europe have recently demonstrated their unwillingness to grant other countries a greater say in the IMF and the other organizations that govern international finance. Now Beijing can turn this combination of weakness and recalcitrance to its advantage, by quickly creating a wide coalition of countries that wish to isolate themselves from the financially untrustworthy regions of Europe and America. This is but one of many developments that those who are predicting economic recovery in the US sometime next year have chosen to ignore, but it may turn out to be one of the more important ones.

What do these major shifts in international finance portend for us mere private citizens? The implication is simple: if you think that you still have some money, let's hope that you don't mean that you have something or other denominated in the US Dollar. Or that you just wrote yourself an I-owe-me.

http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-new-money.html

99
Politics & Religion / Re: Anti-semitism & Jews
« on: May 12, 2009, 05:23:51 AM »
I some times wonder if the liberals that attack israel do so out of the fear of the unknown and not an actual racist hate of the Jews.  Israel is a civilized nation whose people are rational and respond in a logical predictable way.  where as muslims are know for blowing themselves up, flying planes into buildings and using aid money to buy ammo instead of feeding a starving population.  I think even the liberals realize that both parties can not co exist and therefore one side must make major concessions leading to their demise.  As most liberals follow the flow and are renown for their appeasement of tyrants they rationalize that it can not be the muslims who make the concessions because concessions leading to real peace with muslims can only be made after a massive humiliating defeat ie moro uprising, barbarry pirates.......... etc..... . such a defeat will require hardship, blood sweat and tears which their soft bodies and smooth manicured hands are not made for.  They cant send the rest of us as they often feel guilt about being lessor human beings and end up protesting ie. code pink and the rest of the anti war wankers..........

anyways, just thought i would throw this out there.

100
Politics & Religion / Re: Political Economics
« on: May 12, 2009, 05:06:41 AM »
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/05/11/cbo-2009-deficit-50-greater-than-expected/

What could possibly go wrong???

correct me if im wrong, but the chart indicates the U.S will be over 10 trillion in the hole at the end of 10 years.  A couple questions;
1- the current numbers are based on recovery starting this year which gives the govt increasing tax revenue.  Most say recovery this year or even next year is unlikely.  How do those numbers look if the slide continues.
2- Based on the "borrowing .50 of every dollar spent".  who is going to lend the U.S 5 trillion additional dollar? considering the fed is buy u.s govt debt right now..............
3- what will happen to the U.S dollar if it is replaced as the reserve currency? what will this do to their buget projections.  The IMF is already issuing reserve notes that are not linked to the U.S dollar.


I have a feeling the that chart is the best case senario and that any of the above will cause escalating layoffs and job loss which will result in further borrowing for social programs, which will result in the printing of money, which will result in inflation.

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