American Politics: THANKS OBAMA

[ccangelopearl1362]

Reuters: Under Obama, coal country fights for its way of life
Hill Hillicon Valley: Jennifer Martinez: House Republicans place priority on immigration fix for high-skilled workers

Call a new alert for this one. While coal workers, possibly including clean coal workers, figure out how they can outmaneuver President Barack Obama, Virginia Representative Bob Goodlatte wants to review efforts to fast-track visas for immigrants with more expertise in informational capitalism. Natural gas exploration has progressed alongside declining demand for coal-based electricity, but environmentalists have more actively opposed any additional facilities for coal refinement. Murray Energy Corporation is among the companies concerned about an end to coal’s overall viability, with regulations flowing right out of the Environmental Protection Agency against new coal generators. Appalachia has seen wealth and development erupt from coal operations, but few seem to imagine any lifestyle more dangerous. For their part, the coal workers are happy about themselves and the materials that they provide to their communities, and at least some could take up mechanization to streamline their production. I would imagine that Republicans and Democrats alike could want to find ways to link their concerns with those of incoming energy entrepreneurs, so my guess would be that these fast-tracked processes would be the other most viable step to take through legislation. If some new refugees were included in these high-skilled immigrants, well, the implications involving any instability in said refugees’ originating countries wouldn’t need much explanation. Their health could be a different factor altogether.:

Daily Caller: Caroline May: Pathway to citizenship may increase ObamaCare cost $300 billion
Hill HealthWatch: Elise Viebeck: Pa. governor rejects Medicaid expansion

The Senate Budget Committee has calculations of a total of $300 billion for provisions dealing with health care eligibility for illegal immigrants, assuming that a different provision capping the actual amount of money on exchange subsidies gets sidelined. Even keeping that provision could cut $1,100 of annual benefits from Americans getting the ObamaCare benefits through the exchanges. The Budget Committee staffers used estimates from the Congressional Budget Office of at least seven million illegal immigrants without health insurance, of whom around 85% could qualify for said benefits, assuming that said exchanges remain the same. Some states could go for that path, including Pennsylvania. Health care reform could give Pennsylvanians and Ohioans room to gather similar information, such as health concerns for coal workers and persecuted refugees, and the boosts for the American health care market would be steady. The urgency present outside this country could push Republicans and Democrats alike to act even more rapidly than they could already suspect.:

Fox News Channel: American Christian Fears Supporters Have Given Up on Freeing Him from Iranian Jail
Ahram: Al-Azhar Imam tells Ahmadinejad not to interfere in Gulf

I suppose it’s telling that my first instinct upon reading that update was to wonder whether or not Pastor Saeed Abedini was already dead from several bullets fired by some random death squad picked by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards after that death sentence for the man last week. The American Center for Law and Justice has a warning that officials at Evin Prison are attempting to brainwash him, alongside the torture they’ve used against him. There may very well be more Christians inside Iran than we know, but Saeed Abedini might’ve done less than the Iranians – including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – believe or are letting on to the rest of the world. The Salafis at Al-Azhar University could demand more purity in their direction, and if Iran’s clerics and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards washed their hands of any part in the pastor’s plight by letting him go, then they’d simply up that campaign. Either way, religious freedom would suffer another series of blows, and Iran and Egypt would each be that much further along into the abyss.

 

[WizardTrubbish]

His base isn't liberal either.

This is basically your argument at this point. Obama isn't a liberal, yet he's pursuing a liberal agenda (which he isn't) in order to rally his "liberal" base (which aren't liberal). In short, Obama is pursuing policies he doesn't like or want. Ok. Cool.

If his base isn't liberal, than he has no base.

 

[Snorunt conservationist]

If his base isn't liberal, than he has no base.

That doesn't make any sense.

 

[miles0624]

Alright. Come back with an actual link to this information, and we'll be more likely to believe it.

Here is a good sight that calculates our debt.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

The national debt we have is top right. Our Assests are down at the bottom.



Now to what I stated about individual countries. It appears I was wrong on some accounts. Brasil has paid some debt while china got worse.

China owes money to the U.S. and investors.

http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/2012/06/06/guess-who-owes-us-a-trillion-bucks/
Now, last time I saw it, it was 600 billion and not as much as this article would lead one to believe. Yet, if either the U.S. or China did this, it would start a trickle down effect.

Plus it would then start the fight of whether China should pay back the bonds owed to us. (Not the current one stated above). But the actual one from the previous regime, which many Americans would incite, seeing as how both Fox and CNN agree on this.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/08/26/its-time-for-china-to-pay-its-debts-to-united-states/

and regular people such as

http://americanbondholdersfoundation.com/

they also mentioned money owed to citizens, but we are only discussing governments.

Now, I am not condoning the Chinese approach or saying we should do it, but that would cause the infinite loophole. (Thus, showing I am not stating an opinion, as you guys should know by now.)



Also, at one of the sources above, you will see that Brasil and the U.S have both dropped considerably in debt to each other. Brasil only owning 128 billion in U.S. debt, and the U.S owning 60 billion of theirs.

Also, this was something I was looking for.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15748696

Gives you a great example of how we owe money but are owed money.

We owe the U.k. 836 billion euros, yet they owe us 578 billion euros. So on and so forth. Yes, we are the biggest borrowers of most aid, but there are other countries(Greece, Ireland, Italy, Etc.) that only owe us money. Also, take into account that 70% of our aid comes from developing countries and then you see the big picture.

Again, no bias, no made up information. Everything I stated was fact.

Edit: Also, if you look closely, you can see our defense, interst, and income secruity debt shrinking while the other three are growing.

Edit 2: Last thing and I'll see you guys late. Pay attention to the risk factors as well to see what I meant in the first post. For example, even though we have significant more debt than France, we are a lower risk factor, and even though. In the revolving door a debt, the actual number doesn't matter, otherwise Japan (Highest Government debt to GDP in the world,) and the U.K. (the third highest Foreign debt to GDB in the word. Ireland is first if you want to see with China being in the second and) would be the highest risk factors. I'll find data for the U.S. for you, but for the high powered countries (which are the only ones that are being compared) I believe I remember them being 7 and 12th respectively. This I don't know, and I'll get back to you on.

 

[BJPalmer85]

Does anyone know whether Obama is going to do something to lower student loans? I know it was low and he let it go up but I swear I read something a little while ago that said he was going to try and pass something to significantly drop them again.

B

 

[miles0624]

Does anyone know whether Obama is going to do something to lower student loans? I know it was low and he let it go up but I swear I read something a little while ago that said he was going to try and pass something to significantly drop them again.

B

http://www.careonecredit.com/knowledge/obama-plan-will-help-families-address-student-loan-debt-.aspx

There you go. However, here are somethings you should know,

1. The governtment already offered loan forgivness services for public workers. One example, say you were an attorney and graduated with no job and 250k in debt. You could work as a public defendant for five years and have you loans removed. Even though it is knowledge readily avilavble, alot of people don't take up on it. As far as I know, this is avilable for Lawyers, Doctors, some PHDs (history and Social Justice I know definately). Now, this may address undergrad, which I don't know anything about, but Grad students can get a lot of breaks.

I agree with the know befor you owe thing. If you are willing to take the loan, be willing to pay it back. Everyone should know by now that education doesn't come free. It is a gamble. Just because you got a degree in are doesn't mean you are granteed a job. If you want to learn, than go for it, but it is always a risk.

 

[BJPalmer85]

http://www.careonecredit.com/knowledge/obama-plan-will-help-families-address-student-loan-debt-.aspx

There you go. However, here are somethings you should know,

1. The governtment already offered loan forgivness services for public workers. One example, say you were an attorney and graduated with no job and 250k in debt. You could work as a public defendant for five years and have you loans removed. Even though it is knowledge readily avilavble, alot of people don't take up on it. As far as I know, this is avilable for Lawyers, Doctors, some PHDs (history and Social Justice I know definately). Now, this may address undergrad, which I don't know anything about, but Grad students can get a lot of breaks.

I agree with the know befor you owe thing. If you are willing to take the loan, be willing to pay it back. Everyone should know by now that education doesn't come free. It is a gamble. Just because you got a degree in are doesn't mean you are granteed a job. If you want to learn, than go for it, but it is always a risk.

Thanks! Grad school may be an option but right know I am just getting my double bachelors. I am not interested in debt forgiveness (though it sounds nice) i stand a chance to make more money and have better opportunities away from public workers. I can pay the money back I was just interested if interest rates would go back down to 3.5% (guess) or lower instead of the 7% (guess) that it is now.

B

 

[The Admiral]

Thanks! Grad school may be an option but right know I am just getting my double bachelors. I am not interested in debt forgiveness (though it sounds nice) i stand a chance to make more money and have better opportunities away from public workers. I can pay the money back I was just interested if interest rates would go back down to 3.5% (guess) or lower instead of the 7% (guess) that it is now.

B

I think that full debt forgiveness is completely infeasible, as nice as it sounds. I think minor student debt relief would be a lot more doable, and probably more reasonable. However, I doubt anything like that is gonna be anywhere near the table for a while.

 

[ccangelopearl1362]

National (Abu Dhabi): Kuwait’s opposition to escalate protests after former MPs jailed for insulting emir
Reuters: Tunisian government out after critic’s killing causes fury

Thus does Tunisia become the latest country engulfed in turmoil, and I definitely wouldn’t want to be in either incoming Organization for Islamic Cooperation Secretary-General Iyad Madani, Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie, Al-Azhar University Grand Imam Muhammad Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Kuwaiti Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, or Syrian National Coalition leader Moaz Al-Khatib’s shoes right about now. Three former legislators received three years in jail for supposedly undermining that ruling figure’s reputation, but they had yet to be hauled off. For the protesters’ part, they’re willing to deny any intimidation from the House of Sabah by turning out in the streets, and they want to either get the ruling family to fix the problems according to the current system or overthrow it completely and thus start anew. They could get some help from the people of Tunisia after the assassination of one Chokri Belaid, who led the Party of Democratic Patriots. His assassin fled via motorcycle the second the deed was done, and hours passed before crowds inundated the streets. The Nahda Movement, led by another Muslim Brotherhood operative named Rashid Ghannushi, saw its officials quit their positions next to President Moncef Marzouki, who had to fly back to Tunis immediately after an appearance at the European Parliament. That new operative supported Hezbollah and Saddam Hussein alike and is now denying involvement in this murder, but judging from some of the Twitter reactions, Sharia supremacists could be out of time already, even ones further east.:

Ahram: OIC chief: We need Shia-Sunni dialogue
Fox News Channel: Nearly 800,000 Refugees Flee Fighting in Syria, US Officials Say

Whoever was behind Chokri Belaid’s assassination might have picked a perfect opportunity to start unnerving other high-ranking leaders at the Organization for Islamic Cooperation’s summit, particularly outgoing Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. He needn’t have worried about that reprimand for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but Sunnis and Shiites from Basra to Aleppo will have countless incentives to continue their rift. Those Syrian refugees could have already given up on their country, and the heartbreak for State Department officials on the ground would be all too plain to witness. Children are huddling together to stay warm when the temperatures are frigid, while parents with missing children have cell phone images every day. Five water facilities have gained access to chlorine tests, enabling clean water to reach almost “10 million people over the next three months”. Either Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad or any Alawite leaders could attempt to… bypass these humanitarian checkpoints, but in any case, the United Nations officials on the ground should be certain to maintain them as long as they can before any contingency plans that they’ll have needed this whole time go into effect. The Salafi sympathizers in Syria can only work to drive them out with a Sharia statelet of their own, and that’ll be it for any proponents of religious liberty, whether quiet or open.:

British Broadcasting Corporation: Denmark shooting: Gunman targets Islam critic Hedegaard
Voice of the Copts: Ashraf Ramelah: Request Holy See Investigation

The International Free Press Society is a group supporting free media, and some random individual targeted Lars Hedegaard with what turned out to be a jammed gun. Denmark was the country with the newspaper that published those cartoons mocking Muhammad seven years ago at this time, one major step in Islam’s cultural nullification. Someone got the idea to attempt to fine the writer for insults against Islam, but the Supreme Court of Denmark threw that idea out the window. Other Muslims in and near Copenhagen could rally behind this mystery gunman if they haven’t done so already, pushing Scandinavia closer to the Anglosphere, Poland, and Estonia, among other entities across Europe. A similar sequence of events could progress as Voice of the Copts highlights a different First Amendment abdication at the Diocese of Worcester. Bishop Robert Joseph McManus had an appearance scheduled for Robert Spencer, the first seriously open critic of the concept of “Islamophobia” that I recall. However, a leading activist at the Islamic Council of New England – which apparently underwent a coup by Muslim American Society, read Muslim Brotherhood, operatives in Boston some years ago – intervened to get the clerics there to cancel the invitation. Voice of the Copts is calling on the Holy See to counter the disinformation sent out by Islamic clerics by opening and maintaining freedom of critical thought everywhere, citing the silence of higher-ranking Roman Catholic and Coptic Orthodox officials inside this country about the persecution of Christians in Islam’s areas, which, if anything, could be an understatement. As these Christians flee altogether, they will take their entrepreneurship with them, which could nullify efforts by others to advance along similar lines and further push them away from modernization.:

Fox News Latino: Silicon Valley Company Hires Mexican Workers, Pays Them in Pesos
New York Times: U.S. Stepped In to Halt General’s Rise

Talk about an unwanted mix. Bloom Energy, which specializes in clean solid oxide fuel cells, used pesos as the mode of payment for the Mexican workers that it hired. They welded and refurbished for that company, and the total penalty goes to just over $38,000 plus regular reports on pay practices. Bloom Energy transferred the salary payments directly into bank accounts in Mexico and included daily provisions of $50 for food needs. Those workers might very well have had it easy when contrasted with General Moises Garcia Ochoa because the Defense Department suspected him of misuse of surveillance supplies and embezzlement from a contract for said equipment worth millions. The Institutional Revolutionary Party has focused on programs for continued development, attempting to shed its reputation for striking deals with drug cartels until 2000. For the military officer’s part, he also rescinded a request for American assistance with some military helicopters when we asked about business, flight, and fuel records, according to the recollections of two officials. As it happens, we already have drones helping patrol Mexican airspace and operations against money launderers down there, so it might be safe to assume that we’re keeping an eye on any other unwanted activity across this region. American and Mexican officials could need a few pointers from additional sources on securing the drones, among other factors in our military modernization.:

American Broadcasting Company News: Brennan Interrupted by Protesters, Defends Drone Strikes at Hearing

I guess it’ll be all that John Brennan can do in the face of these continued protests against our new drones. The protesters from Code Pink attempted to interrupt this congressional hearing, with one holding up hands supposedly drenched in blood and another holding up a sign saying, “Brennan = Drone Killing”. He argues that classified numbers could support a “public case for drone strikes”, while transparency should be in place when they actually happen. He also expressed disgust at waterboarding, among other concerns addressed by the senators at this hearing. The irony for President Barack Obama might be quite stark should this nomination succeed.

 

[BJPalmer85]

I think that full debt forgiveness is completely infeasible, as nice as it sounds. I think minor student debt relief would be a lot more doable, and probably more reasonable. However, I doubt anything like that is gonna be anywhere near the table for a while.

I agree with you completely.

I still think its a shame that the interest rate went up. 7% is higher than both my home loan and car loan interest rates combined.

B

 

[BigLutz]

Just curious but where is the liberal outrage? I remember years ago this board being filled with leftists who were shaking their fists at Bush for "Spying" on them and their phone calls, that Bush should go to jail for breaching their privacy, and that Bush was a war criminal for waterboarding. And then now the White Paper comes out that Obama has granted himself the ability to circumvent due process and kill any American he believes is engaging in treason. Now killing a American seems to be a FAR worse crime than waterboarding someone. But I do not see anyone stepping up and attacking Obama for his "war crimes"

 

[ccangelopearl1362]

Federal Bureau of Investigation: Federal Agents Arrest Man After He Attempts to Bomb Bank in Oakland

Sheesh. I guess President Barack Obama and California Republicans and Democrats will be even busier now that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has this new alert. Matthew Llaneza was caught attempting to bomb a bank just across Interstate 80 from San Francisco, and the agents tracking him first made contact with him a little over two months ago. He wanted to support and train Taliban operatives in Afghanistan, and to prove himself, he proposed an attack against a bank. The format I consider the most striking part of this arrest: Llaneza wanted to set up the attack “to make it appear that the responsible party was an umbrella organization for a loose collection of anti-government militias and their sympathizers”, with his stated goal being “to trigger a governmental crackdown, which he expected would trigger a right-wing counter-response against the government followed by, he hoped, civil war”. The attack was timed to occur last night, but thankfully, the bomb had already been rendered inoperable. I’m certain that the Taliban would at least consider applauding his struggle against us, and had Llaneza succeeded, well, the divisions would explain themselves. It might not take much else for other countries to experience similar escalations.:

Irrawaddy: William Boot: Neighbors’ Business Plans Stall at Burma’s Borders
Diplomat: Steve Finch: Despite Crackdown on Dissent, Can Vietnam Reform?

Oh, boy. The ongoing instability among Burma’s ethnic groups has its neighbors nervous about finalization of investment deals, from bridges to offshore natural gas. “Many planned economic projects” have ground to a halt, such as the modernization of Sittwe Port and that superhighway between India and Thailand, and even face-to-face discussions between Burmese President Thein Sein and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra have failed to generate the wanted momentum. As it is, most of those armed ethnic groups, such as the United Wa State Army and the Kachin Independence Army, “occupy border regions”, and the “murky” system of regulations under the Burmese military commanders’ old regime made China the only prosperous country within it. Burma is going to need investments in functional electricity and long-range communications, rules for land tenure and foreign exchange, and specialized teams for administrative projects. Vietnam could have similar problems, in addition to these crackdowns. Intellectuals and church leaders have joined forces with former and current officials from the Vietnamese Communist Party in calling for constitutional revisions that allow elections among multiple parties and define and separate executive, legislative, and judicial powers. Bad regulations risk more ridicule from the general populace, so President Truong Tan Sang will need “meaningful” and “tangible” reforms to accompany the proposed revisions, most likely during their scheduled ratification this upcoming October. Interestingly, it’s Burma’s recent journey of reform that has made the corruption inside the Vietnamese Communist Party more visible, and I’m certain that Indian and Israeli executives would be eager to persuade their Vietnamese counterparts just why corruption makes them untrustworthy. Public participation in these revisions has been encouraged at the highest levels, so in a way, the genie of freedom is, so to speak, out of the bottle, lamp, or whatever device was used. These party leaders could welcome advice from us in this country, and Congress might be even closer to implementing several initiatives on its own toward this end.:

Daily Caller: Charles Johnson: Menendez donor leveraged ‘Occupy’ movement to take aim at Bank of America
Roll Call: Tea Party Changes Tack to Hit McConnell
US News and World Report: Rebekah Metzler: Marco Rubio, Rand Paul Strike Out to Rebrand Their Party

Whoever’s investigating Dr. Salomon Melgen might notice quite a round of collusion, if the major companies in question are to be examined more closely. He worked with those Occupy Wall Street protesters back in the fall of 2011 against Bank of America, but his efforts ended up confined to Miami. Of course, even earlier, in 2010, he and his team launched a campaign to “warn foreign investors” that their money would be in danger as long as it remained inside this country, and his family has donated to now-former Senator Christopher Dodd, once involved with banking regulations, as well as securities and investment. I suppose the Tea Partiers will be ever more alert leading to this new speech out of the President of America this upcoming Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner have a bridge for motorists directly between their respective states, but the former wasn’t able to come up with necessary money to upgrade the bridge. Barack Obama went to that bridge to “pressure Republicans to back more infrastructure spending”… to no avail, and now, Tea Party activists face skepticism from Senator Rand Paul, also based in Kentucky. Ironically, the current earmark ban has rendered McConnell, among other politicians known for bringing money back to their constituencies, much less able to maintain that approach, and for Paul’s part, he could encourage alternate channels for transportation expenses to further upgrade this country. He and Florida Senator Marco Rubio are planning to respond to this speech with points about expanded appeal, presumably with reflections on basic Republican principles. While Paul worries about congressional irrelevance in foreign policy, Rubio had a bit of a fun exchange involving things like climate change. I guess the wheels in Washington, D.C.’s circles will start turning more quickly in the coming days, but somehow, I find myself less worried and more refreshed about these and other trends than other political and cultural junkies could be.

 

[7 tyranitars]

Just curious but where is the liberal outrage? I remember years ago this board being filled with leftists who were shaking their fists at Bush for "Spying" on them and their phone calls, that Bush should go to jail for breaching their privacy, and that Bush was a war criminal for waterboarding. And then now the White Paper comes out that Obama has granted himself the ability to circumvent due process and kill any American he believes is engaging in treason. Now killing a American seems to be a FAR worse crime than waterboarding someone. But I do not see anyone stepping up and attacking Obama for his "war crimes"

Because I find funny Americans are upset about this, he can kill non americans and they are okay with it, but if he kills an american they suddenly get angry. Load of bs in my eyes, if they stop seeing themselves as superious then I might have an "outrage" about this. Before that, only fair he can also kill americans without progress right?

 

[BigLutz]

Because I find funny Americans are upset about this, he can kill non americans and they are okay with it, but if he kills an american they suddenly get angry. Load of bs in my eyes, if they stop seeing themselves as superious then I might have an "outrage" about this. Before that, only fair he can also kill americans without progress right?

Difference is non Americans do not have rights to a trial under the constitution, there is nothing superior about that, it is merely the fact that he is ignoring the rights his own citizens have.

 

[7 tyranitars]

Difference is non Americans do not have rights to a trial under the constitution, there is nothing superior about that, it is merely the fact that he is ignoring the rights his own citizens have.

Yeah I get that, and I find that hypocritical. I am sorry but I am not gonna care about americans dieing without a trial when someone from another can be killed by your government without people there making a big fuss about it.

 

[Lion Demon]

I'd have Barack changing the US against Mitt anyday! Speaking from a UK perspective, Barack would me more internationally cooperate & understanding!

 

[BigLutz]

I'd have Barack changing the US against Mitt anyday! Speaking from a UK perspective, Barack would me more internationally cooperate & understanding!

That is kind of ironic seeing how Obama has shown so much contempt for the UK that one could say he is the most anti British President we have had in decades

 

[ccangelopearl1362]

Unfortunately, that assumes that the countries of the world – some of whom I’ve mentioned and emphasized within this thread – will even be able to survive our brand of modernization. The very people whom Senators Rand Paul and Marco Rubio and their comrades are attempting to reach could reject their explanations for that reason, and that’d be it because envy and resentment would be all that such individuals and groups would have left. Sympathizers to the Tea Party and the Republican Party establishment, so to speak, could thus start hunkering down, and energy and information companies and any remaining American Christian leaders could share concerns as President Barack Obama’s newest State of the Union draws nearer, inside or outside this country. Indeed, one of those aforementioned countries already looks to be well on its way to escalating instability from Islam.:

Jamestown Foundation: Mairbek Vatchagaev: Is the Caucasus Emirate Encroaching on the Volga Region?
Jamestown Foundation: Paul Goble: Moscow Patriarchate Expands Missionary Work among Non-Russians, Setting the Stage for Conflicts with Muslim Nations

The Caucasus Emirate, an ally of Al-Qaeda, has dispatched agents to expand operations along the Volga River, heading close to Moscow, and officials gained approval from Russian President Vladimir Putin to host a conference to counter the popularity of some Sharia theologians from the North Caucasus. Among the attendees was one Farid Salman Haydarov, who leads the Ulema Council of the Russian Association of Islamic Accord… and concluded that as the Salafis gained more influence, the Chechens oriented themselves toward jihad. That said, they’re not the only ones. Someone from Russia’s Far East fought alongside the Chechens, which could and should merit further study. Interestingly, these experts recommended the deconstruction of the Salafis’ doctrines, and the Moscow Patriarchate could help them do just that. Kirill I wants to expand missionary work in Russia’s northernmost areas, closest to the North Pole, because the populace there has resisted Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Islamic conversions. The Moscow Patriarchate set up specialized missionary sites where Orthodox missionaries could preach to the local people, as they did during the Russian Empire, before the Bolsheviks overran the country. It resulted in the conversion of at least some Muslim Tatars and Azeris, presumably making new friction more likely. Vladimir Zhirinovsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia could be most likely to staunchly reject this vision in favor of a resurgent Russian Empire, but the Salafis and the Putinists, military manufacturers and religious scholars alike, would presumably need to concentrate their movements in the coming years, coursing through Turkey’s easternmost areas down into Syria. The Al-Nusra Front and the Caucasus Emirate could call on their brethren still scattered across North Africa, thus escalating the turbulence.:

France 24: Mali troops arrest two men with explosives near Gao
Reuters: Tunisian Islamists rally to show ‘power of street’

The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa could safely count as a rival to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb because the latter developed a racial orientation against members of the former. As MOJWA focuses on recruitment among the West African population, acting Malian President Dioncounda Traore has mutinous factions within his military to deal with. Fortunately, the terrorists haven’t fared much better, between today’s arrests and yesterday’s apparent suicide attack. I’m certain that their sympathizers, whether in Tunisia or Egypt, will continue to preach as vociferously as they can to provide a constant framework for their strikes. They could use the new protests after Chokri Belaid’s assassination to their advantage, calling on the mosques they control, while tens of thousands rally against them. For their part, they’ve also railed against France’s influence in that country, so that France now looks like the main American ally fighting Sharia supremacy in North Africa. We should be certain to help it and our other allies straight away.:

Hill Hillicon Valley: Walden proposes Internet freedom bill
Christian Science Monitor: Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: how preemptive cyberwar is entering the nation’s arsenal

Give Oregon Congressperson Greg Walden the credit for this proposal, however symbolic it could be, for a free Internet as official American policy. There was a hearing to “scrutinize international efforts to regulate the Internet”, such as the International Telecommunications Union, but perhaps outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta already thought ahead. Our cyberweapons have new policies going for them, granting the United States Cyber Command a broader “operational role” within our military hierarchy. As legal hurdles get passed, other major incidents are popping into the minds of cyberwarfare experts, such as Stuxnet’s past damage to Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Among the retired military officers who pushed this is retired General James Cartwright, who shares worries that a virus uploaded by, say, the Chinese Communist Party could turn into a cyberweapon of mass destruction. The Department of Homeland Security has its own upgrades and plans to put in motion, and the Democratic and Republican National Committees should be able to review their own Internet security protocols. House Speaker John Boehner could welcome many of the implications in this technological transition.:

Roll Call: Taking Measure of the RSC’s New Leader

Huh. With the Republican Study Committee’s continuous agenda, Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise’s chairmanship has the attention of at least a few members out of concerns that he “solicited leadership help” in getting the position. Georgia Representative Tom Graves was the main competitor, but both men have been able to work together on the main points. Graves and Scalise made a point of avoiding personal vendettas by any of their colleagues, and the latter made his opinions known during that fiscal cliff fiasco at the start of this year. Others, such as the Heritage Foundation’s grassroots branch, are pointing to the upcoming sequestration fight to determine the most likely course of the Republican Study Committee. For my part, I’d turn my focus to the next few days as a launching point.

 

[Raymond - king of ducks]

Just curious but where is the liberal outrage? I remember years ago this board being filled with leftists who were shaking their fists at Bush for "Spying" on them and their phone calls, that Bush should go to jail for breaching their privacy, and that Bush was a war criminal for waterboarding. And then now the White Paper comes out that Obama has granted himself the ability to circumvent due process and kill any American he believes is engaging in treason. Now killing a American seems to be a FAR worse crime than waterboarding someone. But I do not see anyone stepping up and attacking Obama for his "war crimes"

Because they believe Obama can do no wrong. He's mister wonderful.

 

[WizardTrubbish]

Because they believe Obama can do no wrong. He's mister wonderful.

Find me a liberal who believes that. Go on, I'll wait.