by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 29, 2009
Austin, TX (LifeNews.com) -- When the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision that allowed virtually unlimited abortions, pro-life advocates said it would lead to a slippery slope. In Texas, legislators could slide down that slope when they vote on a bill that would lower the penalty for some mothers who engage in infanticide.
HB 3318 would reduce the crime of infanticide from capital murder to a state jail felony and the measure could receive a vote soon in the Texas House of Representatives.
The bill is now eligible to be scheduled on the House calendar since the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee recently approved it.
Jonathan Saenz, director of legislative affairs at Free Market Foundation, who testified against the bill during the committee hearing, told LifeNews.com that Texans need to contact their lawmakers to oppose HB 3318.
“We already have incomplete protection for unborn children, and the assault, under this bill, will now extend to babies once they're born by giving them less protection,” he said.
“We strongly oppose this bill and urge the Texas House leadership, both Republican and Democrat, to publicly condemn this outrageous legislation and stop it in its tracks," Saenz added.
LINK
Thursday, April 30, 2009
BARACK OBAMA: PAKISTAN'S NUKES NO THREAT
By CHARLES HURT Post Correspondent
Last updated: 7:18 am
April 30, 2009
Posted: 12:51 am
April 30, 2009
WASHINGTON -- President Obama said last night he's confident Pakistan's nuclear arsenal will not fall into the hands of enemies or terrorists because that country's army understands how dangerous that would be.
"I'm confident that we can make sure that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is secure," he said in his third prime-time press conference last night. "Primarily, initially, because the Pakistani army, I think, recognizes the hazards of those weapons falling into the wrong hands."
Taliban forces -- aided by elements of Afghan forces, as well as al Qaeda -- have come within about 50 miles of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, in recent days, threatening a critical US ally that possesses as many as 100 nuclear weapons.
LINK
Last updated: 7:18 am
April 30, 2009
Posted: 12:51 am
April 30, 2009
WASHINGTON -- President Obama said last night he's confident Pakistan's nuclear arsenal will not fall into the hands of enemies or terrorists because that country's army understands how dangerous that would be.
"I'm confident that we can make sure that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is secure," he said in his third prime-time press conference last night. "Primarily, initially, because the Pakistani army, I think, recognizes the hazards of those weapons falling into the wrong hands."
Taliban forces -- aided by elements of Afghan forces, as well as al Qaeda -- have come within about 50 miles of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, in recent days, threatening a critical US ally that possesses as many as 100 nuclear weapons.
LINK
Family of slain Jewish man leaves Paris trial
From the AP
PARIS – The family of a Jewish man tortured and killed in 2006 walked out of a tense Paris trial Thursday in anger over comments by the man accused of murdering him, the family's lawyer said.
Twenty-seven young people are on trial in the case, which drew nationwide attention and raised concerns about anti-Semitism. The victim's family says Ilan Halimi was killed because he was Jewish.
The group's suspected ringleader, Youssouf Fofana, said he had friends in the court "to take pictures to identify people. Some thought he was alluding to the jurors, saying he had the means to put a price on their heads," said Francis Szpiner, lawyer for the Halimi family.
The family was angry that the judge refused to quiet Fofana, and decided to leave the courtroom. The Halimis' lawyers joined them in the walkout.
"We will reflect on whether we plan to participate in this trial or not," Szpiner said.
The proceedings are closed to the public because two of the suspects were minors at the time of Halimi's killing, and officials could not confirm the details of Fofana's comments.
Halimi, 23, was found naked, handcuffed and covered with burn marks near railroad tracks in the Essonne region south of Paris on Feb. 13, 2006. He died en route to the hospital after being held captive for more than three weeks.
LINK
PARIS – The family of a Jewish man tortured and killed in 2006 walked out of a tense Paris trial Thursday in anger over comments by the man accused of murdering him, the family's lawyer said.
Twenty-seven young people are on trial in the case, which drew nationwide attention and raised concerns about anti-Semitism. The victim's family says Ilan Halimi was killed because he was Jewish.
The group's suspected ringleader, Youssouf Fofana, said he had friends in the court "to take pictures to identify people. Some thought he was alluding to the jurors, saying he had the means to put a price on their heads," said Francis Szpiner, lawyer for the Halimi family.
The family was angry that the judge refused to quiet Fofana, and decided to leave the courtroom. The Halimis' lawyers joined them in the walkout.
"We will reflect on whether we plan to participate in this trial or not," Szpiner said.
The proceedings are closed to the public because two of the suspects were minors at the time of Halimi's killing, and officials could not confirm the details of Fofana's comments.
Halimi, 23, was found naked, handcuffed and covered with burn marks near railroad tracks in the Essonne region south of Paris on Feb. 13, 2006. He died en route to the hospital after being held captive for more than three weeks.
LINK
Toddler who died of swine flu visited Houston mall
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press Writers © 2009 The Associated Press
April 30, 2009, 3:14PM
McALLEN, Texas — A Mexico City toddler who became the first swine-flu death on U.S. soil spent a day shopping at a huge indoor mall in Houston one day before he began to show symptoms.
Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, who spoke with an aunt of the boy in Brownsville who made the Houston trip, said they spent three nights in Houston just before he fell ill and was hospitalized in Brownsville.
The hospital, city and health officials on Wednesday said the 23-month old boy had traveled from Mexico City to Brownsville, where he became sick. When the hospital in Brownsville, a city of 140,000, could no longer care for him, he was medically transported to Texas Children's Hospital. They said he had had no outside contact in Houston. The family has shown no symptoms.
Calls seeking comment from Texas Children's Hospital were not immediately returned.
Dr. Susan Fisher-Hoch, a professor of epidemiology at The University of Texas School of Public Health in Brownsville, said that those infected can secrete the virus through their saliva 24 hours before they display symptoms.
The toddler then could have been infectious while he was in Brownsville the first time and was probably infectious while in Houston, said Fisher-Hoch, who was former deputy branch chief at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's Special Pathogens Laboratory. Still, the toddler would not have likely transmitted the virus to many people at the mall, she said.
Kathy Barton, spokeswoman for the Houston Health and Human Services Department, said the city's epidemiologist would try to re-interview the family, but that the family didn't mention the first trip to Houston. Barton said the a large mall would also not be very conducive to transmitting the virus by a toddler who was likely in a stroller, she said.
LINK
April 30, 2009, 3:14PM
McALLEN, Texas — A Mexico City toddler who became the first swine-flu death on U.S. soil spent a day shopping at a huge indoor mall in Houston one day before he began to show symptoms.
Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, who spoke with an aunt of the boy in Brownsville who made the Houston trip, said they spent three nights in Houston just before he fell ill and was hospitalized in Brownsville.
The hospital, city and health officials on Wednesday said the 23-month old boy had traveled from Mexico City to Brownsville, where he became sick. When the hospital in Brownsville, a city of 140,000, could no longer care for him, he was medically transported to Texas Children's Hospital. They said he had had no outside contact in Houston. The family has shown no symptoms.
Calls seeking comment from Texas Children's Hospital were not immediately returned.
Dr. Susan Fisher-Hoch, a professor of epidemiology at The University of Texas School of Public Health in Brownsville, said that those infected can secrete the virus through their saliva 24 hours before they display symptoms.
The toddler then could have been infectious while he was in Brownsville the first time and was probably infectious while in Houston, said Fisher-Hoch, who was former deputy branch chief at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's Special Pathogens Laboratory. Still, the toddler would not have likely transmitted the virus to many people at the mall, she said.
Kathy Barton, spokeswoman for the Houston Health and Human Services Department, said the city's epidemiologist would try to re-interview the family, but that the family didn't mention the first trip to Houston. Barton said the a large mall would also not be very conducive to transmitting the virus by a toddler who was likely in a stroller, she said.
LINK
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
WHO: Influenza A/H1N1 Pandemic 'Imminent'
WASHINGTON, DC -- 29 April 2009 -- Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the pandemic alert level from 4 to 5, signaling an influenza A/H1N1 pandemic is imminent. The move prompts countries around the world to start implementing their national pandemic plans. Alert level 6 indicates a global pandemic.
In the United States, sustained human-to-human transmission is clear as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report additional confirmed infections, hospitalisations, and the country's first fatality from the outbreak - a 24-month-old Mexican child . Richard Besser, MD, acting director of the CDC, confirmed 10 US states are now affected:
New York: 51
Texas: 16
California: 14
Kansas: 2
Massachusetts: 2
Michigan: 2
Arizona: 1
Indiana: 1
Nevada: 1
Ohio: 1
TOTAL: 91
CDC says that the more recent illnesses and the reported death in Texas suggest that a pattern of more severe illness associated with this virus may be emerging in the United States. Most people will not have immunity to this new virus and, as it continues to spread, more cases, more hospitalisations, and more deaths are expected in the coming days and weeks.
LINK
In the United States, sustained human-to-human transmission is clear as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report additional confirmed infections, hospitalisations, and the country's first fatality from the outbreak - a 24-month-old Mexican child . Richard Besser, MD, acting director of the CDC, confirmed 10 US states are now affected:
New York: 51
Texas: 16
California: 14
Kansas: 2
Massachusetts: 2
Michigan: 2
Arizona: 1
Indiana: 1
Nevada: 1
Ohio: 1
TOTAL: 91
CDC says that the more recent illnesses and the reported death in Texas suggest that a pattern of more severe illness associated with this virus may be emerging in the United States. Most people will not have immunity to this new virus and, as it continues to spread, more cases, more hospitalisations, and more deaths are expected in the coming days and weeks.
LINK
Could Swine Flu Be the Next Spanish Influenza?
April 28, 2009 07:40 PM
by Cara McDonough
Forget the swine flu outbreak of 1976. Today’s outbreak may turn out to be more like the 1918 Spanish influenza epidemic, which started off mild then reemerged to kill millions.
Swine Flu Eerily Similar to Spanish Influenza
Swine flu continues to affect Mexico, the United States and other countries around the world. The outbreak has confounded experts who wonder how the flu is spreading and what it will do next.
One possibility is that the flu could behave like the 1918 Spanish influenza—a terrifying prospect as estimates put the death toll from that flu strain at anywhere from 20 to 50 million, or more.
There are striking similarities between the two outbreaks. Swine flu, like the 1918 pandemic, began in the spring. Both outbreaks have also mostly been reported in healthy adults; the elderly and the very young, usually the hardest hit by the flu, have not been significantly affected.
LINK
by Cara McDonough
Forget the swine flu outbreak of 1976. Today’s outbreak may turn out to be more like the 1918 Spanish influenza epidemic, which started off mild then reemerged to kill millions.
Swine Flu Eerily Similar to Spanish Influenza
Swine flu continues to affect Mexico, the United States and other countries around the world. The outbreak has confounded experts who wonder how the flu is spreading and what it will do next.
One possibility is that the flu could behave like the 1918 Spanish influenza—a terrifying prospect as estimates put the death toll from that flu strain at anywhere from 20 to 50 million, or more.
There are striking similarities between the two outbreaks. Swine flu, like the 1918 pandemic, began in the spring. Both outbreaks have also mostly been reported in healthy adults; the elderly and the very young, usually the hardest hit by the flu, have not been significantly affected.
LINK
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Napolitano: We Don't Need Strong Borders Against Flu
Newsmax.com
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 8:55 AM
The Obama administration on Tuesday staunchly defended its "passive surveillance" policy on the emerging swine flu threat, saying that its measured, cautious border monitoring makes sense.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared that more draconian enforcement steps are not yet necessary, even as she acknowledged that officials "anticipate confirmed cases in more states." She reiterated President Barack Obama's stance that people are justifiably concerned but need not be alarmed by it.
Some 50 swine flu infections have been identified so far in the United States, but no deaths. In contrast, there have been over 150 deaths in neighboring Mexico, and Asian countries deployed thermal sensors at airports to screen passengers from North America for signs of fever.
Napolitano assured network interviewers of a "very broad multi-agency federal response" and said that she and a number of Cabinet members had met into the night Monday to discuss strategy. She also the administration wouldn't wait for a World Health Organization declaration of a pandemic to deliver a pandemic-like response.
LINK
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 8:55 AM
The Obama administration on Tuesday staunchly defended its "passive surveillance" policy on the emerging swine flu threat, saying that its measured, cautious border monitoring makes sense.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared that more draconian enforcement steps are not yet necessary, even as she acknowledged that officials "anticipate confirmed cases in more states." She reiterated President Barack Obama's stance that people are justifiably concerned but need not be alarmed by it.
Some 50 swine flu infections have been identified so far in the United States, but no deaths. In contrast, there have been over 150 deaths in neighboring Mexico, and Asian countries deployed thermal sensors at airports to screen passengers from North America for signs of fever.
Napolitano assured network interviewers of a "very broad multi-agency federal response" and said that she and a number of Cabinet members had met into the night Monday to discuss strategy. She also the administration wouldn't wait for a World Health Organization declaration of a pandemic to deliver a pandemic-like response.
LINK
The Senator and the Unicorn
How Arlen Specter helped a murderer skip bail.
By John J. Miller
National Political Reporter
Long before he became one of the most liberal Republicans in the Senate — and the target of Congressman Pat Toomey's GOP primary challenge — Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania demonstrated a knack for notoriety. In 1964, as a member of the Warren Commission, he invented the "single-bullet theory" to explain how Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President Kennedy. Conspiracy junkies have obsessed over him ever since. (In Oliver Stone's movie JFK, Kevin Costner's character labels Specter "an ambitious junior counselor" behind "one of the grossest lies ever forced on the American people.")
Between serving on the Warren Commission and becoming a senator, Specter was twice elected district attorney in Philadelphia, where he earned a tough-on-crime reputation. His most famous case, however, came in 1979, when he was in private practice and thinking about running for the Senate. A man named Ira Einhorn, better known as the "Unicorn," had been arrested for the murder of his girlfriend; she had been missing for a year and a half when police found her mummified corpse squeezed into a trunk hidden in Einhorn's closet.
Einhorn was a celebrated leftist and is credited with helping found Earth Day. He also had strong ties to Philadelphia elites — a group of people Specter was cultivating for his prospective Senate campaign when he agreed to become Einhorn's lawyer.
At an arraignment, the government demanded a $100,000 bail for Einhorn. Before Judge William Marutani, Specter called this "excessively excessive" and insisted on a reduced figure. Marutani wondered if Einhorn might "split for parts unknown." He mentioned Norway as a possible destination. "I have to disagree with your last statement," replied Specter. "Anybody is as likely to go to Norway as anybody else." Through the future senator's efforts, Einhorn's bail was dropped to $40,000. The accused man only had to put out ten percent of it in cash to secure his release.
LINK
By John J. Miller
National Political Reporter
Long before he became one of the most liberal Republicans in the Senate — and the target of Congressman Pat Toomey's GOP primary challenge — Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania demonstrated a knack for notoriety. In 1964, as a member of the Warren Commission, he invented the "single-bullet theory" to explain how Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President Kennedy. Conspiracy junkies have obsessed over him ever since. (In Oliver Stone's movie JFK, Kevin Costner's character labels Specter "an ambitious junior counselor" behind "one of the grossest lies ever forced on the American people.")
Between serving on the Warren Commission and becoming a senator, Specter was twice elected district attorney in Philadelphia, where he earned a tough-on-crime reputation. His most famous case, however, came in 1979, when he was in private practice and thinking about running for the Senate. A man named Ira Einhorn, better known as the "Unicorn," had been arrested for the murder of his girlfriend; she had been missing for a year and a half when police found her mummified corpse squeezed into a trunk hidden in Einhorn's closet.
Einhorn was a celebrated leftist and is credited with helping found Earth Day. He also had strong ties to Philadelphia elites — a group of people Specter was cultivating for his prospective Senate campaign when he agreed to become Einhorn's lawyer.
At an arraignment, the government demanded a $100,000 bail for Einhorn. Before Judge William Marutani, Specter called this "excessively excessive" and insisted on a reduced figure. Marutani wondered if Einhorn might "split for parts unknown." He mentioned Norway as a possible destination. "I have to disagree with your last statement," replied Specter. "Anybody is as likely to go to Norway as anybody else." Through the future senator's efforts, Einhorn's bail was dropped to $40,000. The accused man only had to put out ten percent of it in cash to secure his release.
LINK
Mexican Schools Shut as Epidemic Hits 'Critical' Point
By Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
MEXICO CITY, April 27 -- Mexican officials outlined a steadily deteriorating situation Monday with the suspected death toll from swine flu rising to 149 people, prompting a decision to shut down all schools nationwide for more than a week and vastly limit public gatherings in the country that has been at the center of the international crisis. "We are in the most critical moment of this epidemic, and the number of cases, unfortunately, will continue increasing," Health Secretary José Ángel Córdova said at a news conference. "We will reinforce preventative measures and pay the necessary attention to contain it."
LINK
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
MEXICO CITY, April 27 -- Mexican officials outlined a steadily deteriorating situation Monday with the suspected death toll from swine flu rising to 149 people, prompting a decision to shut down all schools nationwide for more than a week and vastly limit public gatherings in the country that has been at the center of the international crisis. "We are in the most critical moment of this epidemic, and the number of cases, unfortunately, will continue increasing," Health Secretary José Ángel Córdova said at a news conference. "We will reinforce preventative measures and pay the necessary attention to contain it."
LINK
Swine death toll and threat level rises
PM - Tuesday, 28 April , 2009 18:14:00
Reporter: David Mark
MARK COLVIN: More than 150 people are now known to have died in the Mexican swine flu outbreak. The World Health Organization has reacted to the threat posed by the disease by lifting the level of the influenza pandemic alert from three to four.
The disease is spreading with confirmed cases in four countries and suspected cases in 11.
David Mark reports.
DAVID MARK: The swine flu outbreak is not a pandemic - yet. The World Health Organization has lifted its pandemic threat alert level from three to four. It's a six-step scale with six meaning a global pandemic so stage four means a pandemic is likely but not inevitable.
Professor Dominic Dwyer is a medical virologist at Westmead Hospital and a member of the national influenza advisory group.
DOMINIC DWYER: I think it is significant. It is recognition that there is definite transmission from person to person in Mexico and that there has been transmission of cases to other parts of the world. So I think the WHO are reflecting the real activity.
DAVID MARK: The swine flu death toll is at more than 150 in Mexico and the disease is also spreading in other countries. In the United States 44 people have the disease. There are six in Canada and now there are confirmed cases outside the Americas, in Spain and Scotland.
No cases have been confirmed in Australia although health authorities are still monitoring 43 people who may have the disease.
The Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
KEVIN RUDD: This is a serious international concern for public health and therefore we share that concern with other governments around the world, which is why the Australian Health Protection Committee has been actively monitoring developments around the world and providing the Australian Government with advice as to the necessary sequence of actions to take here.
DAVID MARK: Australia has started throwing up the barriers. From last night pilots flying in from the Americas have had to report on the health of their passengers. Even so the Greens leader Senator Bob Brown says the Government should be doing more.
BOB BROWN: We need the information coming out from Government. It's coming out slowly, but I think they ought to have been faster with the, for example, checks on planes. They could have been a couple of days faster with that. And I think they should be a little faster in informing the public about what measures to be taken.
DAVID MARK: And there are some who believe trying to stop the swine flu from coming to Australia will be virtually impossible.
-----
LINK
Reporter: David Mark
MARK COLVIN: More than 150 people are now known to have died in the Mexican swine flu outbreak. The World Health Organization has reacted to the threat posed by the disease by lifting the level of the influenza pandemic alert from three to four.
The disease is spreading with confirmed cases in four countries and suspected cases in 11.
David Mark reports.
DAVID MARK: The swine flu outbreak is not a pandemic - yet. The World Health Organization has lifted its pandemic threat alert level from three to four. It's a six-step scale with six meaning a global pandemic so stage four means a pandemic is likely but not inevitable.
Professor Dominic Dwyer is a medical virologist at Westmead Hospital and a member of the national influenza advisory group.
DOMINIC DWYER: I think it is significant. It is recognition that there is definite transmission from person to person in Mexico and that there has been transmission of cases to other parts of the world. So I think the WHO are reflecting the real activity.
DAVID MARK: The swine flu death toll is at more than 150 in Mexico and the disease is also spreading in other countries. In the United States 44 people have the disease. There are six in Canada and now there are confirmed cases outside the Americas, in Spain and Scotland.
No cases have been confirmed in Australia although health authorities are still monitoring 43 people who may have the disease.
The Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
KEVIN RUDD: This is a serious international concern for public health and therefore we share that concern with other governments around the world, which is why the Australian Health Protection Committee has been actively monitoring developments around the world and providing the Australian Government with advice as to the necessary sequence of actions to take here.
DAVID MARK: Australia has started throwing up the barriers. From last night pilots flying in from the Americas have had to report on the health of their passengers. Even so the Greens leader Senator Bob Brown says the Government should be doing more.
BOB BROWN: We need the information coming out from Government. It's coming out slowly, but I think they ought to have been faster with the, for example, checks on planes. They could have been a couple of days faster with that. And I think they should be a little faster in informing the public about what measures to be taken.
DAVID MARK: And there are some who believe trying to stop the swine flu from coming to Australia will be virtually impossible.
-----
LINK
Flu vaccine won’t protect against swine flu
28 APRIL 2009
Flu vaccine won’t protect against swine flu
Amanda Cameron
acameron@nzdoctor.co.nz
Daily news: This year's winter flu vaccine probably won't protect against swine flu
This year’s flu vaccine probably won’t protect against swine flu, experts say.
As the World Health Organization ramps up its pandemic response status, New Zealand’s director of public health Mark Jacobs says there is no evidence this season’s influenza vaccine will provide any immunity against swine influenza.
The vaccine contains an influenza A/H1N1 strain, but current information suggests there is very little if any cross immunity between this and the swine influenza A/H1N1 strain that is suspected of killing at least 149 people in Mexico, according to Andrew Easton from the UK’s University of Warwick, in a background media briefing for science reporters.
LINK
Flu vaccine won’t protect against swine flu
Amanda Cameron
acameron@nzdoctor.co.nz
Daily news: This year's winter flu vaccine probably won't protect against swine flu
This year’s flu vaccine probably won’t protect against swine flu, experts say.
As the World Health Organization ramps up its pandemic response status, New Zealand’s director of public health Mark Jacobs says there is no evidence this season’s influenza vaccine will provide any immunity against swine influenza.
The vaccine contains an influenza A/H1N1 strain, but current information suggests there is very little if any cross immunity between this and the swine influenza A/H1N1 strain that is suspected of killing at least 149 people in Mexico, according to Andrew Easton from the UK’s University of Warwick, in a background media briefing for science reporters.
LINK
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Judiciary Committee greenlights 'hate crimes'
Members refuse to protect Christian pastors from charges
ALL IN THE NAME OF TOLERANCE
Posted: April 23, 2009
5:07 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
Members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee today rejected an opportunity to protect Christian pastors who preach the biblical condemnation of homosexuality and approved on a 15-12 vote a "hate crimes" bill that supporters admit could be used to bring charges against religious leaders.
The bill, H.R. 1913, now will be considered by the full House of Representatives.
The committee rejected a number of amendments offered by several members seeking to protect religious liberty, to protect the unborn, to protect against violence by illegal aliens, and to clarify the bill's meanings of "gender identity" and "sexual orientation."
One of the rejected proposals was offered by Rep. Louis Gohmert, R-Texas, who sought to ensure ministers could not be prosecuted for abetting a "hate crime" simply because they preach from the Bible or another religious book.
When a nearly identical plan was developed in the last Congress, Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., admitted during a hearing on the bill it could be used to prosecute pastors merely for preaching under the premise that they could be "inducing" violence in someone.
LINK
ALL IN THE NAME OF TOLERANCEPosted: April 23, 2009
5:07 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
Members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee today rejected an opportunity to protect Christian pastors who preach the biblical condemnation of homosexuality and approved on a 15-12 vote a "hate crimes" bill that supporters admit could be used to bring charges against religious leaders.
The bill, H.R. 1913, now will be considered by the full House of Representatives.
The committee rejected a number of amendments offered by several members seeking to protect religious liberty, to protect the unborn, to protect against violence by illegal aliens, and to clarify the bill's meanings of "gender identity" and "sexual orientation."
One of the rejected proposals was offered by Rep. Louis Gohmert, R-Texas, who sought to ensure ministers could not be prosecuted for abetting a "hate crime" simply because they preach from the Bible or another religious book.
When a nearly identical plan was developed in the last Congress, Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., admitted during a hearing on the bill it could be used to prosecute pastors merely for preaching under the premise that they could be "inducing" violence in someone.
LINK
Saturday, April 25, 2009
BHO May Cancel White House's Observance of National Day of Prayer
President Harry Truman signed this special day into law back in 1952. Reagan designated the first Thursday of May as the official National Day of Prayer. George W. Bush brought the observance to the East Room of the White House.
BHO seems to have other plans for the National Day of Prayer.
From this article in the Washington Post:
I do wonder if BHO will have some kind of "interfaithing" National Day of Prayer, featuring an imam. Time will tell - provided the media will report the story.
BHO seems to have other plans for the National Day of Prayer.
From this article in the Washington Post:
Every year since 2001, then-President George W. Bush's calendar had been cleared on the first Thursday in May to mark the National Day of Prayer in the White House East Room with prominent evangelicals.Focus on the Family, previously prominent at the East Room observances of the day, will move to Capitol Hill that morning. Apparently Focus on the Family is not welcome at the BHO White House - or so the silence from the White House so indicates.
Now the Obama White House is facing questions of inside-the-Beltway etiquette: Should President Obama maintain the open door to conservative critics like James and Shirley Dobson, and if so, should they accept?
Or, will the White House have an official observance at all?
With those questions unanswered less than two weeks before the annual observance, the National Day of Prayer Task Force, headed by Shirley Dobson, is moving ahead with other plans.
"We're not the coordinators of that event," said Brian Toon, vice chairman of the task force. "That's controlled completely by the White House. We have been honored to be guests at the event in the past, but we have not heard a peep from them."
In years past, Toon said, a White House liaison had contacted the ministry at least a month in advance to ask about its participation in the White House events, which featured music, Scripture readings and remarks by the president and Shirley Dobson....
I do wonder if BHO will have some kind of "interfaithing" National Day of Prayer, featuring an imam. Time will tell - provided the media will report the story.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Mexico Links Sickness, Deaths to Swine Flu
Friday, April 24, 2009
Print ShareThisMexico City closed schools across the metropolis of 20 million Friday after at least 16 people died and more than 900 others fall ill from what health officials suspect is a new strain of swine flu. World health officials worried that it could mark the start of a flu pandemic.
The World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland said at least 57 have died in the outbreak, although it wasn't yet clear if this larger number of deaths was due to swine flu.
"We are very, very concerned," said Thomas Abraham, a spokesman for the agency. "We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human." If international spread is confirmed, that meets WHO's criteria for raising the pandemic alert level, he added.
Abraham said WHO on Friday raised their internal alert system, allowing them to divert more money and personnel to dealing with the outbreak. "It's all hands on deck at the moment." Abraham said.
Mexico's Health Secretary, Jose Cordova, said only 16 of the deaths have been confirmed to have been caused by the new strain, through testing at the government's laboratories. Samples from 44 other people who died were still being tested. The health department put the total number of people sickened at around 943 nationwide.
Cordova said samples were sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, to determine whether it's the same virus infecting seven people in Texas and California. As of now, tests show the flu is a "new, different strain ... that originally came from pigs."
"We certainly have 60 deaths that we can't be sure are from the same virus, but it is probable," Cordova told MVS radio in Mexico City.
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LINK
Print ShareThisMexico City closed schools across the metropolis of 20 million Friday after at least 16 people died and more than 900 others fall ill from what health officials suspect is a new strain of swine flu. World health officials worried that it could mark the start of a flu pandemic.
The World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland said at least 57 have died in the outbreak, although it wasn't yet clear if this larger number of deaths was due to swine flu.
"We are very, very concerned," said Thomas Abraham, a spokesman for the agency. "We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human." If international spread is confirmed, that meets WHO's criteria for raising the pandemic alert level, he added.
Abraham said WHO on Friday raised their internal alert system, allowing them to divert more money and personnel to dealing with the outbreak. "It's all hands on deck at the moment." Abraham said.
Mexico's Health Secretary, Jose Cordova, said only 16 of the deaths have been confirmed to have been caused by the new strain, through testing at the government's laboratories. Samples from 44 other people who died were still being tested. The health department put the total number of people sickened at around 943 nationwide.
Cordova said samples were sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, to determine whether it's the same virus infecting seven people in Texas and California. As of now, tests show the flu is a "new, different strain ... that originally came from pigs."
"We certainly have 60 deaths that we can't be sure are from the same virus, but it is probable," Cordova told MVS radio in Mexico City.
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LINK
U.S. plans to accept several Chinese Muslims from Guantanamo
The Uighurs would be the first detainees from the prison to settle in America. Challenges are expected from China and within the U.S.
By Julian E. Barnes
April 24, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration is preparing to admit into the United States as many as seven Chinese Muslims who have been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay in the first release of any of the detainees into this country, according to current and former U.S. officials.
Their release is seen as a crucial step to plans, announced by President Obama during his first week in office, to close the prison and relocate the detainees. Administration officials also believe that settling some of them in American communities will set an example, helping to persuade other nations to accept Guantanamo detainees too.
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LINK
By Julian E. Barnes
April 24, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration is preparing to admit into the United States as many as seven Chinese Muslims who have been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay in the first release of any of the detainees into this country, according to current and former U.S. officials.
Their release is seen as a crucial step to plans, announced by President Obama during his first week in office, to close the prison and relocate the detainees. Administration officials also believe that settling some of them in American communities will set an example, helping to persuade other nations to accept Guantanamo detainees too.
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LINK
Report: Democrats Refuse to Allow Skeptic to Testify Alongside Gore At Congressional Hearing
By Marc Morano
'House Democrats don't want Gore humiliated'
Climate Depot Exclusive - Updated
Washington, DC -- UK's Lord Christopher Monckton, a former science advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, claimed House Democrats have refused to allow him to appear alongside former Vice President Al Gore at a high profile global warming hearing on Friday April 24, 2009 at 10am in Washington. Monckton told Climate Depot that the Democrats rescinded his scheduled joint appearance at the House Energy and Commerce hearing on Friday. Monckton said he was informed that he would not be allowed to testify alongside Gore when his plane landed from England Thursday afternoon.
“The House Democrats don't want Gore humiliated, so they slammed the door of the Capitol in my face,” Monckton told Climate Depot in an exclusive interview. “They are cowards.”
According to Monckton, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Energy & Commerce Committee, had invited him to go head to head with Gore and testify at the hearing on Capitol Hill Friday. But Monckton now says that when his airplane from London landed in the U.S. on Thursday, he was informed that the former Vice-President had “chickened out” and there would be no joint appearance. Gore is scheduled to testify on Friday to the Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment's fourth day of hearings on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. The hearing will be held in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
According to Monckton, House Democrats told the Republican committee staff earlier this week that they would be putting forward an unnamed 'celebrity' as their star witness Friday at a multi-panel climate hearing examining the House global warming bill. The "celebrity" witness turned out to be Gore. Monckton said the GOP replied they would respond to the Democrats' "celebrity" with an unnamed "celebrity" of their own. But Monckton claims that when the Democrats were told who the GOP witness would be, they refused to allow him to testify alongside Gore.
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LINK
'House Democrats don't want Gore humiliated'
Climate Depot Exclusive - Updated
Washington, DC -- UK's Lord Christopher Monckton, a former science advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, claimed House Democrats have refused to allow him to appear alongside former Vice President Al Gore at a high profile global warming hearing on Friday April 24, 2009 at 10am in Washington. Monckton told Climate Depot that the Democrats rescinded his scheduled joint appearance at the House Energy and Commerce hearing on Friday. Monckton said he was informed that he would not be allowed to testify alongside Gore when his plane landed from England Thursday afternoon.
“The House Democrats don't want Gore humiliated, so they slammed the door of the Capitol in my face,” Monckton told Climate Depot in an exclusive interview. “They are cowards.”
According to Monckton, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Energy & Commerce Committee, had invited him to go head to head with Gore and testify at the hearing on Capitol Hill Friday. But Monckton now says that when his airplane from London landed in the U.S. on Thursday, he was informed that the former Vice-President had “chickened out” and there would be no joint appearance. Gore is scheduled to testify on Friday to the Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment's fourth day of hearings on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. The hearing will be held in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
According to Monckton, House Democrats told the Republican committee staff earlier this week that they would be putting forward an unnamed 'celebrity' as their star witness Friday at a multi-panel climate hearing examining the House global warming bill. The "celebrity" witness turned out to be Gore. Monckton said the GOP replied they would respond to the Democrats' "celebrity" with an unnamed "celebrity" of their own. But Monckton claims that when the Democrats were told who the GOP witness would be, they refused to allow him to testify alongside Gore.
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LINK
Obama's Torture Policy for the Unborn
By George Neumayr on 4.23.09 @ 6:07AM
If achieving world peace required torturing a single baby, asks a character in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, would it be worth it?
"Imagine that you are creating a fabric of human destiny with the object of making men happy in the end, giving them peace and rest at last, but that it was essential and inevitable to torture to death only one tiny creature -- that baby beating its breast with its fist, for instance -- and to found that edifice on its unavenged tears, would you consent to be the architect on those conditions? Tell me, and tell the truth."
The liberalism that Barack Obama seeks to complete answers Dostoyevsky's question with an emphatic yes. What is Obama's abortion-on-demand-forever policy but the building of a modern American way of life upon the graves of tortured babies? And not just the unavenged tears of one baby but millions of them.
This week, however, Obama did avenge the tears of terrorists. World peace, he said, isn't worth theirs. He lectured the CIA that "What makes the United States special and what makes you special is precisely the fact that we are willing to uphold our values and ideals even when it's hard."
Obama's prim pontifications about America's "values and ideals" inspired Chris Matthews and Jack Cafferty, among other deep and careful thinkers, to mull over the question: If torturing terrorists works -- as the Obama administration had to admit grudgingly this week -- is it okay? No, of course not, the chattering class proudly concluded.
One wonders why. What do they care? Having already accepted abortion and euthanasia -- which are nothing more than the expedient killing of the unborn and the elderly -- why should the expedient torture of terrorists, a lesser evil, trouble them? Oh, that's right: the terrorists are guilty and the guilty under the ministrations of modern liberalism never suffer. Pain in modern life is for the innocent.
LINK
UN torture envoy: US must prosecute Bush lawyers
By VERONIKA OLEKSYN – 15 minutes ago
VIENNA (AP) — The U.S. is obligated by a United Nations convention to prosecute Bush administration lawyers who allegedly drafted policies that approved the use of harsh interrogation tactics against terrorism suspects, the U.N.'s top anti-torture envoy said Friday.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama left the door open to prosecuting Bush administration officials who devised the legal authority for gruesome terror-suspect interrogations. He had previously absolved CIA officers from prosecution.
Manfred Nowak, who serves as a U.N. special rapporteur in Geneva, said Washington is obligated under the U.N. Convention against Torture to prosecute U.S. Justice Department officials who wrote memos that defined torture in the narrowest way in order to justify and legitimize it, and who assured CIA officials that their use of questionable tactics was legal.
"That's exactly what I call complicity or participation" to torture as defined by the convention, Nowak said at a news conference. "At that time, every reasonable person would know that waterboarding, for instance, is torture."
Nowak, an Austrian law professor, said it was up to U.S. courts and prosecutors to prove that the memos were written with the intention to incite torture.
Nowak and other experts said that a failure to investigate and prosecute when there was evidence of torture left those responsible vulnerable to prosecutorial action abroad.
"If it should turn out ... that the (U.S.) government and its authorities are not willing to prosecute those where we have enough evidence that they instigated or committed torture, then there is also an obligation on all other 145 states" party to the convention to exercise universal jurisdiction, Nowak said.
LINK
VIENNA (AP) — The U.S. is obligated by a United Nations convention to prosecute Bush administration lawyers who allegedly drafted policies that approved the use of harsh interrogation tactics against terrorism suspects, the U.N.'s top anti-torture envoy said Friday.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama left the door open to prosecuting Bush administration officials who devised the legal authority for gruesome terror-suspect interrogations. He had previously absolved CIA officers from prosecution.
Manfred Nowak, who serves as a U.N. special rapporteur in Geneva, said Washington is obligated under the U.N. Convention against Torture to prosecute U.S. Justice Department officials who wrote memos that defined torture in the narrowest way in order to justify and legitimize it, and who assured CIA officials that their use of questionable tactics was legal.
"That's exactly what I call complicity or participation" to torture as defined by the convention, Nowak said at a news conference. "At that time, every reasonable person would know that waterboarding, for instance, is torture."
Nowak, an Austrian law professor, said it was up to U.S. courts and prosecutors to prove that the memos were written with the intention to incite torture.
Nowak and other experts said that a failure to investigate and prosecute when there was evidence of torture left those responsible vulnerable to prosecutorial action abroad.
"If it should turn out ... that the (U.S.) government and its authorities are not willing to prosecute those where we have enough evidence that they instigated or committed torture, then there is also an obligation on all other 145 states" party to the convention to exercise universal jurisdiction, Nowak said.
LINK
Were FBI agents at 'TEA parties'?
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 4/22/2009 6:55:00 AM
An intelligence expert says an FBI source tells him that the Bureau spied on Americans who took part in "TEA party" rallies last week.
The Northeast Intelligence Network and Canada Free Press report a single-page confidential directive issued by FBI headquarters in Washington, DC, was sent to each of the 56 field offices located across the United States on or about March 23. Those directives reportedly instructed the special agents in charge of those offices to verify the date, time, and location of each TEA Party ("Taxed Enough Already") within their region and supply that information to FBI headquarters in Washington.
Northeast Intelligence Network director Doug Hagmann says his FBI source alleges that a second directive, issued on or about April 6, instructed each special agent in charge to coordinate and conduct covert video surveillance and data collection of the participants of the TEA parties. Most of those gatherings occurred on April 15 -- "Tax Day."
Hagmann says the government's portrayal of "constitutionalists and patriots" as right-wing extremists and domestic terrorists has been occurring for the last two decades.
LINK
An intelligence expert says an FBI source tells him that the Bureau spied on Americans who took part in "TEA party" rallies last week.
The Northeast Intelligence Network and Canada Free Press report a single-page confidential directive issued by FBI headquarters in Washington, DC, was sent to each of the 56 field offices located across the United States on or about March 23. Those directives reportedly instructed the special agents in charge of those offices to verify the date, time, and location of each TEA Party ("Taxed Enough Already") within their region and supply that information to FBI headquarters in Washington.
Northeast Intelligence Network director Doug Hagmann says his FBI source alleges that a second directive, issued on or about April 6, instructed each special agent in charge to coordinate and conduct covert video surveillance and data collection of the participants of the TEA parties. Most of those gatherings occurred on April 15 -- "Tax Day."
Hagmann says the government's portrayal of "constitutionalists and patriots" as right-wing extremists and domestic terrorists has been occurring for the last two decades.
LINK
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Obama Opens the Door to Prosecution of Interrogation Memo Authors
The Washington Post
President Obama addressed questions today about prosecuting the authors of Bush Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memos on enhanced interrogation techniques during a media availability with King Abdullah II of Jordan:
Q: I want to ask you about the interrogation memos that you released last week; two questions. You were clear about not wanting to prosecute those who carried out the instructions under this legal advice. Can you be that clear about those who devised the policy? And then quickly on a second matter, how do you feel about investigations, whether special -- a special commission or something of that nature on the Hill to go back and really look at the issue?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the -- look, as I said before, this has been a difficult chapter in our history, and one of the tougher decisions that I've had to make as president. On the one hand, we have very real enemies out there. And we rely on some very courageous people, not just in our military but also in the Central Intelligence Agency, to help protect the American people. And they have to make some very difficult decisions because, as I mentioned yesterday, they are confronted with an enemy that doesn't have scruples, that isn't constrained by constitutions, aren't constrained by legal niceties.
LINK
President Obama addressed questions today about prosecuting the authors of Bush Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memos on enhanced interrogation techniques during a media availability with King Abdullah II of Jordan:
Q: I want to ask you about the interrogation memos that you released last week; two questions. You were clear about not wanting to prosecute those who carried out the instructions under this legal advice. Can you be that clear about those who devised the policy? And then quickly on a second matter, how do you feel about investigations, whether special -- a special commission or something of that nature on the Hill to go back and really look at the issue?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the -- look, as I said before, this has been a difficult chapter in our history, and one of the tougher decisions that I've had to make as president. On the one hand, we have very real enemies out there. And we rely on some very courageous people, not just in our military but also in the Central Intelligence Agency, to help protect the American people. And they have to make some very difficult decisions because, as I mentioned yesterday, they are confronted with an enemy that doesn't have scruples, that isn't constrained by constitutions, aren't constrained by legal niceties.
LINK
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Resurrection Sunday
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God...
(Job 19:25-26a)
And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die....
(John 11:25-26a)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
This Week On Blog Talk Radio
Listen to The Gathering Storm Radio Show, which WC and I cohost. The show broadcasts live every Friday beginning at noon, Pacific Time.The call-in number is (646) 915-9870.
Callers welcome!
Our guest today for the full hour is Raymond Ibrahim, associate director of the Middle East Forum. He also writes regularly for Jihad Watch.
Raymond Ibrahim is a historian and writer on the Middle East and Islam, and the author of The Al-Qaeda Reader (2007), which exposes al-Qaeda's ultimate motives by showings the striking differences between statements published in English for Westerners and those in Arabic for Muslims...Al-Qaeda stresses Islam's compulsory demand for "offensive jihad," that is, not because Islam is "under attack," as they claim in messages to the West, but simply to offer the world the three sacred choices: accept Islam, live in total submission to Islamic overlords as marginal citizens of an Islamic state, or die. Read more about Mr. Ibrahim HERE and HERE.
Listen to the April 10, 2009 edition of The Gathering Storm Radio Show, live or later, by CLICKING HERE.
UPCOMING SHOWS:
April 17: Allan Goldstein
April 24: Timothy Birdnow
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
US TERROR TEENS: IT'S FIGHT & DIE
From The New York Post
By MAUREEN CALLAHAN and ANDY SOLTIS
Two young Americans revealed that they joined an al Qaeda-linked group in war-torn Somalia so they could die fighting in a Muslim holy war, it was reported yesterday.
The two men are believed to be among the more than 20 young Somali-Americans who vanished from the Minneapolis area and three other states to join a training camp of the terrorist al-Shabab organization.
The two, who used the names Abu-Muslim and Abu Yaxye, spoke out for the first time at a bizarre "press conference" in Somalia on Sunday, Fox News reported.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST
By MAUREEN CALLAHAN and ANDY SOLTIS
Two young Americans revealed that they joined an al Qaeda-linked group in war-torn Somalia so they could die fighting in a Muslim holy war, it was reported yesterday.
The two men are believed to be among the more than 20 young Somali-Americans who vanished from the Minneapolis area and three other states to join a training camp of the terrorist al-Shabab organization.
The two, who used the names Abu-Muslim and Abu Yaxye, spoke out for the first time at a bizarre "press conference" in Somalia on Sunday, Fox News reported.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST
Obama ends Europe trip with tour of Istanbul mosque
BreitBart.com
US President Barack Obama visited a landmark mosque in Istanbul on Tuesday, following strong messages of US reconciliation with the Islamic world on his maiden trip to a mainly Muslim country.
Taking off his shoes as tradition requires, Obama stepped into the 17th-century Sultanahmet Mosque in the ancient heart of Istanbul, accompanied by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid tight security in the area.
Two Muslim preachers guided Obama inside the grandiose edifice -- better known as the Blue Mosque for its blue tileworks -- and the president smiled when they showed him a dome scripture mentioning the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein, Obama's middle name, Anatolia news agency reported.
In a major speech at the Turkish parliament in Ankara Monday, Obama declared that the United States "is not and never will be at war with Islam" and called Turkey a "critical ally," earning himself much praise in a country where his predecessor left the US image in tatters.
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CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST
US President Barack Obama visited a landmark mosque in Istanbul on Tuesday, following strong messages of US reconciliation with the Islamic world on his maiden trip to a mainly Muslim country.
Taking off his shoes as tradition requires, Obama stepped into the 17th-century Sultanahmet Mosque in the ancient heart of Istanbul, accompanied by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid tight security in the area.
Two Muslim preachers guided Obama inside the grandiose edifice -- better known as the Blue Mosque for its blue tileworks -- and the president smiled when they showed him a dome scripture mentioning the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein, Obama's middle name, Anatolia news agency reported.
In a major speech at the Turkish parliament in Ankara Monday, Obama declared that the United States "is not and never will be at war with Islam" and called Turkey a "critical ally," earning himself much praise in a country where his predecessor left the US image in tatters.
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CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST
CAIR Crows Over BHO
First thing on this morning's news, before I had even gotten down my first cup of coffee, one of the local news channels here welcomed CAIR's co-founder and Director Nihad Awad for a smarmy interview, in which the news anchor appeared thrilled to be graced with the presence of one of those Moslems to whom BHO has reached out at least three times since taking office last January 20 — most recently, yesterday in Turkey.
In this morning's interview, according to Nihad Awad, who participated in a 1993 Hamas meeting in the United States — a fact apparently unknown by the interviewer — BHO is an American President who understands the following: "American Muslims have suffered tremendously since 9/11." Perennial victimhood in the typical style of CAIR, and the news anchor nodded both solemnly and eagerly in agreement as she sucked down the Kool-aid in huge gulps.
I, on the other hand, nearly choked on my coffee....
Read the rest at Always On Watch.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Obama to call for nuclear-free world
By Caren Bohan and Jan Lopatka
PRAGUE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will call for the elimination of all nuclear weapons across the globe, in remarks on Sunday he hopes will lend credibility to his message in atomic disputes with Iran and North Korea.
Visiting Prague during an eight-day visit to Europe, Obama plans to deliver what his aides have billed as a major speech on weapons proliferation.
Obama, who is making his debut on the world stage, said in Strasbourg, France on Friday that he would lay out an agenda to secure the world's loose nuclear materials and halt the spread of illicit weapons.
He added that he wanted to offer an agenda "to seek the goal of a world without nuclear weapons."
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CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST
Iowa Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage
By AMY LORENTZEN, Associated Press Writer Amy Lorentzen, Associated Press Writer – Fri Apr 3, 6:05 pm ET
DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa's Supreme Court legalized gay marriage Friday in a unanimous and emphatic decision that makes Iowa the third state — and first in the nation's heartland — to allow same-sex couples to wed.
Iowa joins only Massachusetts and Connecticut in permitting same-sex marriage. For six months last year, California's high court allowed gay marriage before voters banned it in November.
The Iowa justices upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a state law restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman.
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Click Here to read the rest
DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa's Supreme Court legalized gay marriage Friday in a unanimous and emphatic decision that makes Iowa the third state — and first in the nation's heartland — to allow same-sex couples to wed.
Iowa joins only Massachusetts and Connecticut in permitting same-sex marriage. For six months last year, California's high court allowed gay marriage before voters banned it in November.
The Iowa justices upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a state law restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman.
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Click Here to read the rest
Vt. lawmakers give OK to gay marriage
USA TODAY
Staff and wire reports
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont's House of Representatives gave preliminary approval Thursday night to a historic same-sex marriage bill, setting up a showdown with Gov. Jim Douglas.
After nearly four hours of passionate debate from supporters and opponents of the measure, the House approved the bill by a vote of 95-52 shortly after 9 p.m.
The legislation, S.115, would give same-sex couples the right to marry in Vermont.
The bill will be brought up again in the House on Friday for final approval. Then it must return to the state Senate, where changes to language must be approved. Should the Senate OK those changes, the bill will head to Douglas desk — and a promised veto.
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Click Here to read the rest
Staff and wire reports
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont's House of Representatives gave preliminary approval Thursday night to a historic same-sex marriage bill, setting up a showdown with Gov. Jim Douglas.
After nearly four hours of passionate debate from supporters and opponents of the measure, the House approved the bill by a vote of 95-52 shortly after 9 p.m.
The legislation, S.115, would give same-sex couples the right to marry in Vermont.
The bill will be brought up again in the House on Friday for final approval. Then it must return to the state Senate, where changes to language must be approved. Should the Senate OK those changes, the bill will head to Douglas desk — and a promised veto.
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Click Here to read the rest
U.S. News' Bonnie Erbe Argues Abortion is a 'Good Decision' in a Recession
By Colleen Raezler
April 2, 2009 - 11:06 ET
Get an abortion.
In her April 1 blog post, Bonnie Erbe, contributing editor to U.S. News and World Report and host of PBS' "To the Contrary," gave that advice to pregnant moms who are wondering how to raise a child on a strained budget.
It wasn't a tasteless April Fool's Day joke. She's serious.
Erbe keyed her argument around the situation of an unwed, pregnant mother of three who walked an hour to a medical center to abort her wanted pregnancy after her boyfriend lost his job. This mother was featured in a March 25 Associated Press article about the increased demand for contraception and abortions in these uncertain economic times. She called the mother's choice "a good decision."
In Erbe's world, it is "sad" the woman had to walk to the center because she didn't have the bus fare, "terrible that her boyfriend lost his job," and "heart-wrenching that she fell to tears in the doctor's office." As for the abortion itself, she wrote:
But in the long run, can we not agree that an unwed couple's decision not to bring a fourth child into the world when they are having trouble feeding themselves and three children is no tragedy? It's actually a fact-based, rational decision that in the end benefits the three children they already have and society as well.
The decision benefits society in two ways. It allows the couple to focus more time, energy and resources on their three children, giving each child a better life and a better chance of growing up to contribute to society. It also lessens the chance the family will have to rely on scarce public resources (food stamps, TANF) to raise their children.
Considering the source, this shouldn't be shocking. Remember, Erbe is also the person who back in 1995 compared partial-birth abortion to the "production of veal." She stated on the November 3, 1995, PBS "To the Contrary:"
But aren't most medical procedures, when you describe them in detail, pretty disgusting? Isn't, for example, the production of veal, when you describe it in detail, and how people eat meat, when they crunch down on the flesh of living beings, formerly living beings with their teeth. Isn't that pretty gruesome, too?
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Click Here to read the rest
April 2, 2009 - 11:06 ET
Get an abortion.
In her April 1 blog post, Bonnie Erbe, contributing editor to U.S. News and World Report and host of PBS' "To the Contrary," gave that advice to pregnant moms who are wondering how to raise a child on a strained budget.
It wasn't a tasteless April Fool's Day joke. She's serious.
Erbe keyed her argument around the situation of an unwed, pregnant mother of three who walked an hour to a medical center to abort her wanted pregnancy after her boyfriend lost his job. This mother was featured in a March 25 Associated Press article about the increased demand for contraception and abortions in these uncertain economic times. She called the mother's choice "a good decision."
In Erbe's world, it is "sad" the woman had to walk to the center because she didn't have the bus fare, "terrible that her boyfriend lost his job," and "heart-wrenching that she fell to tears in the doctor's office." As for the abortion itself, she wrote:
But in the long run, can we not agree that an unwed couple's decision not to bring a fourth child into the world when they are having trouble feeding themselves and three children is no tragedy? It's actually a fact-based, rational decision that in the end benefits the three children they already have and society as well.
The decision benefits society in two ways. It allows the couple to focus more time, energy and resources on their three children, giving each child a better life and a better chance of growing up to contribute to society. It also lessens the chance the family will have to rely on scarce public resources (food stamps, TANF) to raise their children.
Considering the source, this shouldn't be shocking. Remember, Erbe is also the person who back in 1995 compared partial-birth abortion to the "production of veal." She stated on the November 3, 1995, PBS "To the Contrary:"
But aren't most medical procedures, when you describe them in detail, pretty disgusting? Isn't, for example, the production of veal, when you describe it in detail, and how people eat meat, when they crunch down on the flesh of living beings, formerly living beings with their teeth. Isn't that pretty gruesome, too?
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Click Here to read the rest
BHO Submits To Saudi
(Hat tip to Mark Alexander for the video A Tale of Two Bows)
Think of how the ummah, particularly those of Wahhabist persuasion, will interpret this as the leader of the Great Satan, America, submitting to the supremacism of Islam and Allah:
Reliapundit of THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS says:
Think of how the ummah, particularly those of Wahhabist persuasion, will interpret this as the leader of the Great Satan, America, submitting to the supremacism of Islam and Allah:
Reliapundit of THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS says:
BY BOWING DOWN TO MUSLIM KING, OBAMA HAS COMMITTED AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSEMeanwhile, we have this in the Washington Post:
Obama Still a Muslim to SomeAll the symbolism of the two bows will be lost on them, of course: "They like the guy."
During the 2008 presidential campaign, one in 10 Americans believed that President Barack Obama is a Muslim. According to a new poll from the Pew Center for People and the Press, one in 10 Americans still believe it.
Despite Obama's frequent references to his Christian faith, just as many people incorrectly identify him as a Muslim now as did during the presidential campaign. What's interesting is that while most of those oppose him politically, a portion don't hold it against him. They like the guy, they voted for him -- and they think he's a Muslim....
Friday, April 3, 2009
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