http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/07/bin-laden-son-in-law-charged-in-ny-court/1970563/?morestories=obinsite WASHINGTON — The son-in-law of former al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, described by U.S. officials as a figure akin to a mob family “consigliere,” is in U.S. custody and has been charged in a conspiracy to kill Americans, according to federal court papers unsealed late Thursday. Sulaiman Abu Ghayth, who served as the strident […]
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/03/chavez_to_be_embalmed_displayed_in_museum.html
What is it about socialists that they feel the need to stuff their heroes and put them on display like a relic of the true cross or something?
VOA:
Venezuela’s Vice President Nicolas Maduro has announced that the late President Hugo Chavez will be embalmed and his body displayed forever in a Caracas military museum.
Mr. Maduro compared the late president to other revolutionary leaders whose bodies also have been preserved, including Russia’s Lenin and China’s Mao. He said President Chavez will lie in state for seven more days to give more Venezuelans the chance to pay their respect.President Chavez will be honored at a state funeral Friday, attended by 30 heads of state. The United States is sending a diplomatic delegation.
Thousands of grieving Venezuelans waited for as long as 10 hours to look at Mr. Chavez’s body in Caracas.Mr. Maduro will be formally sworn in as acting president late Friday. He will likely face off in elections to be called within 30 days against opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who lost to Mr. Chavez in the October presidential polls.
Lenin has been on display since 1924 – a feat of embalming that is recognized as one of the finest in history. But Hugo’s mortal remains being displayed in a museum? Somehow, I don’t think that arrangement is going to last as long as the one for Lenin. Perhaps the next president, if he’s in opposition to the Chavistas, will close the display down and bury him. This sort of veneration is silly – especially in a country that purports to want to live up to democratic ideals.
JUNE 2009 Honduras Defends Its Democracy Fidel Castro and Hillary Clinton object. Mary Anastasia O’Grady
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124623220955866301.html
Hugo Chávez’s coalition-building efforts suffered a setback yesterday when the Honduran military sent its president packing for abusing the nation’s constitution.
It seems that President Mel Zelaya miscalculated when he tried to emulate the success of his good friend Hugo in reshaping the Honduran Constitution to his liking.
But Honduras is not out of the Venezuelan woods yet. Yesterday the Central American country was being pressured to restore the authoritarian Mr. Zelaya by the likes of Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega, Hillary Clinton and, of course, Hugo himself. The Organization of American States, having ignored Mr. Zelaya’s abuses, also wants him back in power. It will be a miracle if Honduran patriots can hold their ground.
That Mr. Zelaya acted as if he were above the law, there is no doubt. While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite, the power to open that door does not lie with the president. A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress.
But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chávez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela. The Supreme Court ruled his referendum unconstitutional, and it instructed the military not to carry out the logistics of the vote as it normally would do.
The top military commander, Gen. Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, told the president that he would have to comply. Mr. Zelaya promptly fired him. The Supreme Court ordered him reinstated. Mr. Zelaya refused.
Calculating that some critical mass of Hondurans would take his side, the president decided he would run the referendum himself. So on Thursday he led a mob that broke into the military installation where the ballots from Venezuela were being stored and then had his supporters distribute them in defiance of the Supreme Court’s order.
The attorney general had already made clear that the referendum was illegal, and he further announced that he would prosecute anyone involved in carrying it out. Yesterday, Mr. Zelaya was arrested by the military and is now in exile in Costa Rica.
It remains to be seen what Mr. Zelaya’s next move will be. It’s not surprising that chavistas throughout the region are claiming that he was victim of a military coup. They want to hide the fact that the military was acting on a court order to defend the rule of law and the constitution, and that the Congress asserted itself for that purpose, too.
Mrs. Clinton has piled on as well. Yesterday she accused Honduras of violating “the precepts of the Interamerican Democratic Charter” and said it “should be condemned by all.” Fidel Castro did just that. Mr. Chávez pledged to overthrow the new government.
Honduras is fighting back by strictly following the constitution. The Honduran Congress met in emergency session yesterday and designated its president as the interim executive as stipulated in Honduran law. It also said that presidential elections set for November will go forward. The Supreme Court later said that the military acted on its orders. It also said that when Mr. Zelaya realized that he was going to be prosecuted for his illegal behavior, he agreed to an offer to resign in exchange for safe passage out of the country. Mr. Zelaya denies it.
Many Hondurans are going to be celebrating Mr. Zelaya’s foreign excursion. Street protests against his heavy-handed tactics had already begun last week. On Friday a large number of military reservists took their turn. “We won’t go backwards,” one sign said. “We want to live in peace, freedom and development.”
Besides opposition from the Congress, the Supreme Court, the electoral tribunal and the attorney general, the president had also become persona non grata with the Catholic Church and numerous evangelical church leaders. On Thursday evening his own party in Congress sponsored a resolution to investigate whether he is mentally unfit to remain in office.
For Hondurans who still remember military dictatorship, Mr. Zelaya also has another strike against him: He keeps rotten company. Earlier this month he hosted an OAS general assembly and led the effort, along side OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza, to bring Cuba back into the supposedly democratic organization.
The OAS response is no surprise. Former Argentine Ambassador to the U.N. Emilio Cárdenas told me on Saturday that he was concerned that “the OAS under Insulza has not taken seriously the so-called ‘democratic charter.’ It seems to believe that only military ‘coups’ can challenge democracy. The truth is that democracy can be challenged from within, as the experiences of Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and now Honduras, prove.” A less-kind interpretation of Mr. Insulza’s judgment is that he doesn’t mind the Chávez-style coup.
The struggle against chavismo has never been about left-right politics. It is about defending the independence of institutions that keep presidents from becoming dictators. This crisis clearly delineates the problem. In failing to come to the aid of checks and balances, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Insulza expose their true colors.
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/hugo-chavez-latin-america-has-chosen-rage-over-progress?f=puball We can already see the beginnings of an Eva Perón-style death cult. Latin Americans love a martyr, and Hugo Chávez’s early death has sparked bizarre conspiracy theories about CIA plots and biological weapons. Angry, histrionic and megalomaniac, the comandante was none the less popular to the end. There is an old Venezuelan saying that […]
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/new-yorks-sustainability-plan-aka-agenda-21?f=puball “Agenda 21” was first introduced to the world at the 1992 UN-sponsored “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro. It addresses virtually every facet of human life and describes in great detail how the concept of “sustainable development” should be implemented at every level of government. “Agenda 21 proposes an array of actions which are […]
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/coptic-christians-disappointed-with-obama-and-kerrys-us-foreign-aid-to-morsi?f=puball
An important press release from Coptic Solidarity:
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2013 — Secretary Kerry met with Egyptian President Morsi last week, announcing that the US will give Egypt $250 million in aid. While applauding continuing economic support to the suffering people of Egypt, Coptic Solidarity expressed deep concern that US foreign assistance be used to bolster a Muslim Brotherhood-led government, which has actively undermined the civil rights of millions of its citizens.
Additionally, further US aid is promised to Egypt conditioned on reforms. Benchmarks to measure and monitor these achievements and reforms remain unclear.
Coptic Solidarity President, Adel Guindy, responded to this news saying, “Coptic Solidarity urges Secretary Kerry to responsibly distribute foreign aid, tying money to measurable benchmarks seeking to strengthen democratic institutions and the rule of law, improve human rights, and ensure equal citizenship for all Egyptians.”
Religious minorities such as Coptic Christians have faced increasing discrimination since Morsi came to power. The Sharia based Constitution favors Sunni Muslims and all Egyptian law is subject to this interpretation. The “blasphemy” laws are effectively used to terrorize the Copts and liberal media and the new “Civil Associations and Institutions Act” will severely restrict the ability of NGOs to form and operate within Egypt, further limiting the ability of religious minorities and opposition forces to coordinate and mobilize.
http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/103221/ed-miliband-im-a-zionist-and-oppose-boycotts-israel
BUT HE HAS THE USUAL CAVILS: “….UNDERSTAND THE ANGER AND DISMAY ABOUT SETTLEMENTS”…I WOULD ASK HIM WHICH “SETTLEMENTS” THAT THE PALARABS HATE EQUALLY…..ARIEL OR TEL AVIV AND HAIFA?RSK
Ed Miliband has pledged to protect Jewish customs including brit milah and shechita if he becomes Prime Minister.
Speaking at a Board of Deputies event the Labour leader said he was opposed to boycotts of Israel and warned of the need to be “ever-vigilant”against antisemitism.
Asked whether he would work to ensure religious slaughter and circumcision practices could continue in Britain, Mr Miliband said: “Yes, these are important traditions. The kosher issue has recently been brought to my attention. Ways of life must be preserved.”
He added: “I take antisemitism very seriously. Any kind of delegitimisation of Israel is something we should call out for what it is and not tolerate it.
“I think the boycotts of Israel are totally wrong. We should have no tolerance for boycotts. I would say that to any trade union leaders.”
But Mr Miliband warned the audience that while he was opposed to anti-Israel activities in this country, people must “understand the anger and dismay about settlements”.
http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/13233/malm_prosecutor_attack_on_jewish_center_no_hate_crime
Authorities in the Swedish city of Malmö have dropped an investigation into the vandalism of a Jewish center, saying it was probably a “derailed prank” rather than a hate crime.
Unknown vandals threw rocks and a firecracker at the Jewish community building last September, breaking a window in the entrance door. No one was injured, but the incident raised concerns about an anti-Semitic motive in a city where some Jews say they have been harassed by Muslim immigrants.
Police said the perpetrators could not be identified, but Prosecutor Hans Harding on Wednesday said the investigation pointed to “a derailed prank by a group of friends seeking attention.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324128504578344534093602790.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion Since 2002, total federal spending has increased nearly 89% while median household income has dropped 5%. Now that budget sequestration is under way, it looks less like the fiscal apocalypse that had been predicted and more like a long-overdue intervention with politicians who are addicted to borrowing and spending. I agree with President Obama […]
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/2878/a_nuclear_train_without_brakes
Wahied Wahdat-Hagh is a Fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy
Some years ago now, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, “Our nuclear train has no brakes.” Some people laughed about it; some were concerned; and some still are.
It is not clear whether Yukiya Amano, chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog (International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA), falls strictly in the latter category, although he did this week demand access to Iran’s Parchin military site. “Without further delay”, he added.
As was to be expected, the demand was rejected, keeping the military base, which is possibly used for the development of nuclear weapons, shrouded in mystery. What is more, Olli Heinonen, Deputy Director-General for Safeguards at the IAEA can’t rule out the possibility that Iran has further secret sites.
At the same time, Fereidun Abbasi, director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, announced that Iran has built, and will install, centrifuges of a new generation in its nuclear plants.
It should be recalled that Ali Khamenei, the “leader” of Iran, ultimately makes the decisions over the nuclear programme, and not the nuclear negotiators – though they can give an indication of the leadership’s thinking. But as well as keeping tabs on Iran’s nuclear scientists, sometimes it is worth keeping an eye on the Friday preachers when looking to determine the final destination of Iran’s ‘nuclear train’.
The Friday prayers in the “Islamic Republic Iran” are in many ways a form of propaganda; a chance for preachers to propagate the policies of the dictatorship in the name of religion and revolution. But on March 1st, the propaganda reached a new dimension: a nuclear dimension.
Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi delivered a “sermon” and stressed that “Iran will never go one step back from its obvious nuclear rights.” He added: “The percentage of our enrichment is nobody’s business,” reported Farsnews.
Sedighi said: “The talks between Mr Jalili and 5+1 have shown that the positions of Iran are consistent and unwavering.” He confirmed, however, that this time the “5+1 positions were more realistic than in the past.”
Then he said: “But some news agencies have told nonsense that Iran had agreed to stop the 20 percent enrichment. This talk is without any basis. The Iranian nation is nuclear.” Iran would enrich Uranium according to its needs and “is not afraid of any power.”
