North Korea vows to go ahead with planned rocket launch
[FoxNews.com]
Associated Press
Published March 18, 2012
Dec. 24, 2011: Kim Jong Un, center, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s youngest known son and successor, with military officials, stand in front of his father’s body displayed in a glass coffin, not in photo, at Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea.
PYONGYANG – North Korea says it will go ahead with plans to launch an observation satellite into space and that criticism of it is provocative.
North Korea said Friday it would launch the satellite on a rocket next month. The U.S., South Korea and Japan condemn the plan as a disguised test of military missiles because the same type of rocket is used to launch long-range missiles.
Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday such criticism is a “sinister” provocation by “hostile forces.” It says North Korea has a right to peaceful development in space. The North says the hostile forces are “sadly mistaken” if they think it will cancel the launch plans.
What’s At Stake in Michigan?
[RedState.com]
Posted by Dan McLaughlin (Diary)
Monday, February 27th at 2:17 PM EST
Here’s why tomorrow’s Michigan primary is so important: it’s about establishment confidence in Mitt Romney and the last outside chance of getting another entrant in the race.
There are, as I’ve noted previously, a number of different types of “establishment” vs “grassroots” divides in the GOP, but you don’t have to have any particular definition of ‘establishment’ to recognize that Romney’s candidacy leans heavily on the support he draws from traditional ‘establishment’ or ‘insider’ sources: money from big-dollar fundraisers, endorsements from big-name elected officials, and covering fire from right-leaning journalists at major mainstream publications and conservative journals. Romney has depended, time and again, on his ability to get out of trouble by having the resources to go more negative than whatever opponent he’s targeting: more money to dump on negative ads and a bigger chorus of voices amplifying those attacks.
Aside from Mormon support – which is somewhat sui generis to Romney – some of Romney’s structural support comes from people who know him personally or identify with him as a fellow wealthy businessman; some comes from people who fear running a bold-colors conservative; and some comes from those who, whether or not they’d support a conservative in theory, fear Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich as electoral liabilities, Santorum for his overly outspoken social conservatism, Newt for his long train of baggage. (It’s obviously Santorum represents a serious threat to Romney at present.)
Iran court convicts Christian pastor convert to death
[FoxNews.com]
By Lisa Daftari
Published February 22, 2012
An undated photograph circulated by religious rights organizations shows Youcef Nadarkhani and his family.
A trial court in Iran has issued its final verdict, ordering a Christian pastor to be put to death for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, according to sources close to the pastor and his legal team.
Supporters fear Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested over two years ago on charges of apostasy, may now be executed at any time without prior warning, as death sentences in Iran may be carried out immediately or dragged out for years.
It is unclear whether Nadarkhani can appeal the execution order.
“The world needs to stand up and say that a man cannot be put to death because of his faith,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).
How a Republican President can undo everything Obama’s done [Reader Post]
[FloppingAces.net]
Barack Obama has made it easy. As they say at Nike
Barack Obama has hinted at becoming a dictator
“As I mentioned when I was at La Raza a few weeks back, I wish I had a magic wand and could make this all happen on my own,” Obama told a meeting of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “There are times where — until Nancy Pelosi is speaker again — I’d like to work my way around Congress.”
He thinks he has an obligation to take action without Congress
then I have an obligation as President to do what I can without them.
It’s official. We now have a dictator.
Bellwether: Santorum blows past Gingrich in Pennsylvania, now leads Romney by one
[HotAir.com]
posted at 8:37 pm on February 9, 2012 by Allahpundit
I know what you’re thinking. “Who cares, AP? It’s his home state and their primary isn’t until the last week of April.” True. Pennsylvania might not matter much. But these numbers are important right now because they might — might — give us a window into how the race is going next door in Ohio, one of the key states voting on March 6, a.k.a. Super Tuesday.Ohio could matter a lot.
The statewide poll of 500 Republicans showed Santorum’s support more than doubled from 14 percent six weeks ago to 30 percent, putting him in a statistical dead heat with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who increased his support to 29 percent from 18 percent. Santorum’s gain was former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s loss, as his numbers here plunged from 35 percent to 13 percent…
James Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling and Research, which conducted the poll, said Santorum’s growing strength among Republicans suggests conservatives are tuning in to the race.
“Rick speaks their language. They believe he’s the real deal, but they seem to draw the line when it comes to moving on to the fall,” Lee said. “They don’t seem to think he’s electable. That’s the real conundrum he’s in: How does he persuade mainstream voters he’s the guy who can win in November?” [Yes!]
Israeli Facilities in U.S., Worldwide on High Alert Against Iran
[Newsmax.com]
Friday, 03 Feb 2012 04:10 PM
By Newsmax Wires
Israeli facilities worldwide are on high alert against an attack from Iran, according to an internal security document obtained by ABC News.
“We predict that the threat on our sites around the world will increase … on both our guarded sites and ‘soft’ sites,” read a letter by the head of security for the Consul General for the Mid-Atlantic States, ABC News reported. Guarded sites are government facilities like embassies and consulates; “soft sites” are Jewish synagogues, schools and community centers.
Police and intelligence officials in U.S. and Canadian cities — including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Toronto — have increased patrols at Israeli government locations and Jewish institutions, ABC News reported.
The United States and Israel, meanwhile, are publicly disagreeing over timing for a potential attack on Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons, Bloomberg News reported.
“There’s a growing concern — more than a concern — that the Israelis, in order to protect themselves, might launch a strike without approval, warning or even foreknowledge,” Aaron David Miller, a former Mideast peace negotiator in the Clinton administration, said Friday.
US Intel Chief: Iran Ready to Strike America In Terror Attacks
[TheBlaze.com]
- Posted on January 31, 2012 at 10:56am by
Buck Sexton
The U.S. intelligence community believes that Iran is prepared to launch terrorist attacks inside the United States in response to perceived threats from America and its allies, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate Tuesday morning in an open hearing.
In prepared testimony given to the U.S. Select Committee on Intelligence, Clapper stated than an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the United States shows a shift in Tehran’s strategy towards a willingness to plot and conduct attacks within the U.S.
Director Clapper said, according to the Washington Post, that Iran’s disrupted alleged assassination plot:
“shows that some Iranian officials — probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime.”
Clapper added that “We are also concerned about Iranian plotting against U.S. or allied interests overseas.”
The spy chief’s concerns come amidst increased saber rattling from Iran with regard to the Strait of Hormuz, and tightening U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing the Iranian nuclear program.
Clapper’s testimony regarding the threat from Iran was delivered as part of the U.S. intelligence community’s annual overview of the primary national security challenges facing the United States. His testimony also singled out cyber-related threats, and the weakened but persistent threat Al Qaeda and its affiliates pose to the U.S. (TheBlaze.com)
GEORGE SOROS SAYS OCCUPY WALL STREET MOVEMENT WILL TURN VIOLENT [Spooky Dude]
[LibertyNewsOneline.com]
Aaron Klein – WorldNetDaily – Posted January 26, 2012
Billionaire George Soros is predicting protests by Occupy Wall Street will turn violent, while warning the U.S. financial system may collapse.
In an interview with Newsweek writer John Arlidge, Soros reportedly said riots on the streets of American cities are inevitable.
“‘Yes, yes, yes,’ he says, almost gleefully,” when asked about the prospect of Occupy turning violent, writes Arlidge.
Soros claimed the riots will “be an excuse for cracking down and using strong-arm tactics to maintain law and order, which, carried to an extreme, could bring about a repressive political system, a society where individual liberty is much more constrained, which would be a break with the tradition of the United States.”
“At times like these, survival is the most important thing,” Soros continued.
“I am not here to cheer you up. The situation is about as serious and difficult as I’ve experienced in my career,” Soros said. [Remember, Soros thinks he's god!]
Final SC Poll: Gingrich 37, Romney 28, Santorum 16, Paul 14; 77% Have Unfavorable View of Media
[CNSNews.com]
Former Sen. Rick Santorum, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at a presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Jan. 16, 2012. (AP Photo)(CNSNews.com) – A poll of 1,540 likely South Carolina Republican primary voters completed on Friday night had former House Speaker Newt Gingrich leading former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 37 percent to 28 percent. The poll put former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania in third with 16 percent, and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas in fourth with 14 percent of the vote.
The poll was conducted Jan 18-20 by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic polling company based in Raleigh, N.C. It was done through automated telephone calls.
In just the polling done on Friday night, Gingrich actually led Romney, 40 percent to 26 percent.
Many are the Armies of Darkness [Reader Post]
In August 2011 the U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) held annual war games.
Below my hotel window on Yongsan army base, cabbies salute the dusk with glowing cigarettes. Their mismatched plaids make them perfect extras for a Caddyshack remake; not at all far-fetched in this golf crazed country. Above, Namsan Hill fills a quarter of the horizon, and Seoul Tower looks like a space age, aqua-blue flag stick on the back of a monstrous, terraced green. It’s a rare night without smog, so I walk the course.
It’s a brisk 45 minutes to the top. Dodging busloads of Japanese and Chinese women who come to Seoul to shop, I make it to the base of the tower.
From the observation deck looking west, the skyline undulates as if floating on frozen swells destined to never crest. To the south, apartments line the north bank of the Han River; a kilometer wide ribbon of fast water that bisects a city of twelve million souls, and a formidable obstacle to north-south movement, were it not for its twenty-seven bridges.
Mitt Romney, the Value-Added Tax, and America’s European Future
[BigGovernment.com]
Posted Jan 4th 2012 at 7:03 am
by Dan Mitchell
My Iowa caucus predictions from yesterday were hopelessly wrong, probably because I was picking with my heart rather than my head. As I noted a couple of weeks ago, Mitt Romney’s openness to a value-added tax makes him a dangerously flawed candidate, and I hoped Iowa voters shared my concern.
In a column for today’s Wall Street Journal, I elaborated on those concerns, explaining why a VAT is bad fiscal policy. I had three main points. First, I noted that the big spenders need a VAT in order to achieve a European-sized welfare state in America.
… the left needs a VAT. It is the only realistic way to collect the huge amount of revenue that will be necessary to finance the mountainous benefits promised by our entitlement programs. Which is exactly what happened in Europe, where welfare-state policies only became feasible after VATs were adopted, beginning in the late 1960s.
Second, I explained that the left favors this giant tax on the middle class because they want more money and soak-the-rich taxes don’t generate much revenue.
Santorum Trains Yet Another MSM Journalist on Obama’s Appeasement: NBC’s David Gregory
Posted by Joel B. Pollak
January 1, 2012 at 11:52 am
[Editor: CWNews endorses Senator Rick Santorum as a favorite candidate for the Iowa Caucuses. God bless America!]
Last month, Sen. Rick Santorum schooled CNN’s Candy Crowley on the subject of President Barack Obama’s appeasement of America’s enemies. Sunday, on NBC’s Meet the Press, it was David Gregory’s turn.
Like Crowley, Gregory attempted to “fact-check” Santorum by arguing that it could not possibly be “accurate” or “objective” to describe Obama’s foreign policy as “appeasement.”
In particular, he challenged Santorum to distinguish Obama’s policy on Iran from that of his predecessor, George W. Bush. (For several years, Democrats have tried to defend Obama by pointing out that the Bush administration refused to approve military strikes, either by the U.S. or by Israel.)
Santorum, as usual, delivered the facts on demand:
http://www.mrctv.org/embed/108755
Santorum pointed out that Obama failed to support Iran’s democracy movement–and later added that Obama cut funding to pro-democracy programs that Bush had supported. He noted that Obama has given tacit support to Islamist political parties in Egypt and other Arab countries that oppose America and our allies.
Panetta Says Drone Campaign Over Iran Will Continue
[FoxNews.com]
By Justin Fishel & Jennifer Griffin
Published December 13, 2011
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in an exclusive interview with Fox News, said that the stealth drone campaign along the Iran-Afghanistan border will “absolutely” continue despite the loss of a valuable and sophisticated drone to Iran.The mysterious loss of the RQ-170 Sentinel drone has revealed not only that the U.S. was spying on Iran, but also that the program was being run from Shindad Air Base in western Afghanistan.
Panetta would not comment directly on what that drone was doing over Iran, but he said the U.S. military has no plans to halt the drone operation out of western Afghanistan.
“Those operations have to be protected in order to do the job and the mission that they’re involved with,” he said.
When asked if he would continue those missions as they have been conducted out of Afghanistan, he responded with one word: “Absolutely.”
See the Top 5 Moments From the EAS System’s Failed National Test
[TheBlaze.com]
- Posted on November 10, 2011 at 11:46am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
On Wednesday, we reported that the national Emergency Alert System test was far from a success. There were problems reported all across the country, from garbled messages to even pop singer Lady Gaga playing on some sets. Well now, thanks to Clip Syndicate and YouTube, we have the top five moments from the failed test. The first four are in the initial video below, while Lady Gaga belting out her tune is in the latter video.
Here’s how Clip Syndicate describes its compilation:
Snippets of Emergency Alert System test as it appeared on television in Montana, San Francisco, New York and Denver. One news anchor quipped that the audio-less test didn’t seem to work correctly. A Critical Mention sampling of stations failed to detect Lady Gaga in the background audio, but there was plenty of static and distortion.
And here is the now-infamous DirecTV flub where Lady Gaga was broadcast:
(more…)
Large Solar Flares Among Threats To Power Grid
[PersonalLiberty.com]
October 17, 2011 by David Morris
Two major threats have the ability to partially or completely destroy the power grid: electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
You might remember Saddam Hussein threatening to use chemical weapons against both the United States and Israel during the first and second Gulf wars.
You might also remember that we responded to the threat by promising to “respond with overwhelming force and extract a very high price should he be foolish enough to use chemical weapons on United States forces.”
Many people thought that this meant dropping a nuke on Iraq. While that was definitely a possibility, it’s much more likely that our response would have been for us to use an EMP caused by detonating a nuclear bomb 100 miles to 300 miles above the Earth’s surface.
Europe’s Moral Decadence Fuels Spread of Islamic Fundamentalism
[PajamasMedia.com]
The left has done its job well: Norwegian reporters, for fear of being accused of Islamophobia, are now actually loath to remind readers that there is such a thing as Islamic terrorism.
September 19, 2011 – 11:48 am – by Bruce Bawer
On September 15, PJMedia ran a piece by me about the famous Muhammed cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who a couple of days earlier was scheduled to have taken part in a press conference in Oslo, Norway, to celebrate the publication of a new children’s book for which he had drawn the illustrations. Instead of attending the conference, however, Westergaard rushed back to his native Denmark the day before. The reason originally given for his cancellation was that he had taken ill; but it then emerged that there had been concerns about his safety, and that the report of illness was a cover story. Reports were inconsistent: while the Norwegian security police, the PST, claimed that Westergaard himself had made the decision to return to Denmark, Geirr Lystrup, author of the book for which he had done the illustrations, said that the PST had made the call. Meanwhile the nature of the threat that had led to Westergaard’s departure remained murky.
Al Qaeda in Yemen Taking Advantage of ‘Arab Spring’ Fallout
[FoxNews.com]
Published September 14, 2011
Al Qaeda in Yemen is focused on attacks outside of the region, and as the Arab Spring unfolded across the Middle East the terror network’s most active and lethal affiliate took advantage of the political instability to further expand its operations in Yemen, senior Pentagon officials say.
“We are more concerned today than we were in December 2009,” a defense official said, referring to the failed underwear bomb attack by the Al Qaeda affiliate on Christmas Day.
The group, also known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula or AQAP, has found a way to pursue both its regional goals of establishing an Islamic state along with its external operations. “They are not seen as mutually exclusive,” the defense official added.
9/11 Message: New Al Qaeda Leader Calls on “Muslim brothers everywhere” for US Attacks
AtlasShrugs.com
Monday, August 15, 2011
Another influential misunderstander of Islam. Does anyone else find it curious that the most devout and pious Muslims are all misunderstanding Islam in exactly the same way, reading the exact same words for over 1,400 years?
9/11 Message? New Al Qaeda Leader Calls for US Attacks ABC News, August 15, 2011In a video released three weeks before the 9/11 anniversary, new al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri urges followers to continue to target the United States.
Dressed in white, with his automatic weapon leaning against his left side, Zawahiri urges “Muslim brothers everywhere” to pursue America in the 12-minute video.
“America today is staggering,” said Zawahiri. “Hunt her down wherever you may encounter her. Hunt her down to cut what is left of her corruption’s tail.”
Zawahiri took over leadership of al Qaeda following the May 2 U.S. raid which killed bin Laden in Pakistan.
“Pursue America, which killed the ‘Imam of the Mujahedeen’ and threw his body into the sea, and then captured his women and sons,” said Zawahiri. “Hunt her down until history says that a murderous country spread corruption in the earth so God sent his faithful to her to make an example out of her.”
Posted by Pamela Geller on Monday, August 15, 2011 at 08:00 PM
Wrap-up from Waterloo: Perry embraced, Bachmann falls a little flat
posted at 9:30 pm on August 14, 2011 by Ed Morrissey
Governor Rick Perry, Rep. Michele Bachmann, and former Senator Rick Santorum met in Waterloo, Iowa this evening to woo Blackhawk County Republicans and fight for national attention. The media wondered whether Iowans would forgive Perry for snubbing the Ames straw poll and whether Bachmann could build on her win yesterday in the event. And while some questions were answered, others will start arising from the performances.
Perry made a good start with a friendly crowd. He used a mobile, dynamic style and emphasized the commonalities between the agricultural states of Texas and Iowa. Perry spoke of the difficult farming life and his formative years in small-town Texas, as well as spending a surprising amount of time talking about his military experience. At one point, he got a rousing cheer from the crowd when he pledged to make the presidency regain the respect of men and women in uniform. Perry also talked about jobs, and how his record shows that he can fix what’s ailing the nation. The crowd reacted with enthusiasm, interrupting Perry a number of times with applause and cheers.
A New Front in the Google Wars?
BigGovernment.com
Posted Aug 11th 2011 at 5:06 pm
by Mike Flynn
I’m told the below ad is going wide tomorrow. That in itself is interesting. Google is already a power-house on the Internet and, in recent years, has become inextricably intertwined with the Obama Administration. They collect and retain silly-amounts of data on all of us. We know they leverage this data for ad sales, but what else could or would they use this data for?
Lemonade from FairSearch.org on Vimeo.
I have no idea who is actually behind this ad. But, considering that Google is apparently moving into almost everyone’s on-line business, there is no doubt a long line of possible suspects.
More interesting to me has been recent fall-out to a series of articles published at BigGovernment.com that have been critical of Google. Each of the articles has been based on very tangible problems with Google’s business practices. So far, so normal on how we criticize government, corporations or special interests. But, we’ve experienced serious push-back from many of our colleagues in the blogsphere. My hunch is that they are worried that any criticism of Google could negatively impact their results on search engines. Google might be leveraging their market-dominant position to cool criticism.
Which, in itself, is a different, and possibly more important, story. As they say, stay tuned.
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Obama Administration Urged to Rethink Syria Strategy Amid Bloodshed
FoxNews.com
Published August 01, 2011
AP – A citizen journalism image made July 22 on a mobile phone and provided by Shaam News Network shows Syrian anti-regime protesters gather during a rally in al-Assy square in the western city of Hama, Syria.
The Obama administration is under pressure to rethink its approach to Syria, as President Bashar Assad’s forces mow down protesters in one of the bloodiest confrontations since the spring.
President Obama’s immediate response to the crackdown Sunday that left dozens dead was a “strongly worded” statement that condemned the killings. The president said he was “appalled” by the “horrifying” reports out of the restive city of Hama, calling Assad “incapable” of addressing the legitimate grievances of his people and vowing to increase pressure.
Setting Up A Food Storage Pantry
PersonalLiberty.com
July 18, 2011 by Peggy Layton
I strongly suggest you find a place in your home or on your property somewhere — either in a basement, spare bedroom, closet, junk room, under the stairway, heated garage, out building or root cellar — and turn it into your own home grocery store and pharmacy. Somehow, get shelves in there: Build them, have them built or buy them pre-built. The room needs to be well insulated so it doesn’t freeze in the winter or overheat in the summer.
My pantry is located in the utility room next to my kitchen. I had about 2 feet of wasted space between the door and the wall, so I had two sets of rolling shelves built to fit in the space. They pull out and can be loaded from the back so the cans roll down and get rotated before their expiration date. This is where I keep the food that our family uses on a daily basis. These rolling shelves hold case goods that I purchase when the grocery stores have case lot sales and other items that we use on a regular basis. (see photo below)
Here we go: Schumer says Dems are discussing whether WH can ignore the debt ceiling
HotAir.com
posted at 6:17 pm on July 1, 2011 by Allahpundit
Last week it was a theory being kicked around on left-wing websites, today it’s evidently the nuclear option in the White House’s arsenal of debt-ceiling weapons. Go figure.
Congress has raised the debt ceiling no fewer than 74 times in the past 50 years, but now, conveniently, it turns out the president’s inherent power under the Fourteenth Amendment may mean it was up to him all along. Again, go figure.
On a conference call with reporters Friday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) acknowledged that President Obama may not need Congressional authorization to avoid a default on the national debt. But he noted, too, that the Constitutional debate on this question isn’t ripe enough yet for Obama to take an end run around Congress, even if Republicans refuse to increase the national borrowing limit.
Hamas is Behind the Jihad Warship “Flotilla”
AtlasShrugs.com
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Even the leftist tools exploited by Islamic jihad can see it is what it is. Considering how blinded they are by their own delusion, this is pretty remarkable.
This is the real “freedom flotilla.” We call on all free nations, free peoples, to support the Freedom from Jihad flotilla with boats, ships, funding, security and will. There should be a navy of Freedom from Jihad flotillas.
The Hamas flotilla is an act of war and should be condemned internationally. Is it any surprise that the Ground Zero mosque radical imam Rauf was a prominent member of the organization that financed the first jihad flotilla?
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