It's the hot ticket of the week on the news shows. Blagojevich seems to have outwitted Obama, Reid and the whole of the Democratic party in appointing Roland Burris, but who has the law on his side? Partisan politics in the NM US Attorney's office bumps Richardson from Obama Cabinet. Queen's bathroom secret revealed. Rolls rolls greener Bentleys.

Ann Coulter is a genius. All she has to do is shake that stringy blonde hair, prance around in tight mini skirts, show her rail thin, pale white legs, spew foul mouthed expletives about her favorite whipping boy, liberals and the so-called liberal media and the tongues roar furiously.

Development depends on the capacity to change on an individual and societal level. Health and education are two necessary factors for developing this capacity.

International politics has always been a field of study that sets challenges not only to IR scholars but to the conventional standard of ethics and people´s ability to form evaluative judgments. Although in international relations it is a highly disputed issue to pinpoint facts and set aside non-facts I will try to focus on a number of issues re-lated to the current crisis in the Gaza strip. The first relates to Israel´s unquestionable right to defend itself.

my theory about the state the economy is in

The issues that started the conflict after the war in 1948 are still the basic problem.

For those not in the know, Sam Yorty´s claim to fame was that he held onto the Los Angeles mayor´s office during a period of rampant Kennedyism even though his heart pined for Nixon – and, he publicly stated so in the City of Angels even while campaigning for Whittier´s original Dick. In current parlance, this would be like Mayor Villar (nee Villaraigosa) loudly campaigning for Governor Sarah Palin to become President.

Could the crime of the century be a fraud? Was Bernard Madoff a scam artist who effectively pretended to be a good friend and committed member of his community for decades while he was actually robbing his friends blind? Or could it be that he really is committed to his friends and has confessed to fraud so they can recoup the money he lost for them in the market? The government insures against fraud, not against bad markets. Is Madoff playing US for suckers?

The American Flag has been used to protest many issues both in the United States and foreign countries. It has been through much since the country began. Using the flag to protest actions or issues is a right Americans have regardless of how we feel as individuals. It is one of the rights this country was built upon. The citizens of the United States have liberties and freedomes that many in other countries only hope to have. It is also true that it is something that everyone recognizes as a symbol of what our country stands for and there are those who wouldl like to destroy it. While we cannot control the actions of others in foreign lands we should take action to examine the reasons those who protest use the American flag. We should not condemn these actions but look to the cause and make efforts to change the reason for the protest if it is at all possible.

Geographically, Djibouti is located at North-West of Somaliland. The famous city of Zayla at Sarar region of Somaliland serves as major trade link between the two countries; the countries exchange millions of dollars in trade every year.

When Israel agreed to the cease-fire agreement that ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006, it suffered a strategic defeat that the Israeli government now has a chance to correct. The ongoing operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip offer an opportunity not only to restore the pre-2006 balance of power in the immediate region, but also to establish conditions conducive to a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

You need to learn which questions to ask your children to get a good conversation started.

A look at the stories of 2007 one year later.

It's the newest game show on TV!

Here are the political stories to watch in 2009.

The media has dropped the ball in its scientific reporting.

Let's get smart and change our dumb government.

America's culture of fear concerning Arabs on airplanes.

Former pirates are hired by the administrative machine of the secessionist state ´Puntland´, which has been backed by, and is currently backing, the recently resigned TFG ´president´ Abdillahi Yusuf whom the racist colonial state of ´Ethiopia´ and the colonial empires of England and France shamelessly portrayed as a possibly credible Somali interlocutor. This reveals only part of the criminal evildoings of the African Gestapo, the racist Abyssinian machine of the pseudo-´Ethiopian´ state, and their international partners. Ecoterra 96th Press Release Update sheds light on this development and several other related issues.

Marking 100 days of unbearable detention of the MV FAINA crew members at the hands of the Somali pirates, Ecoterra 95th Press Release Update contains the latest details as regards the incredible situation off the Somali coast. I republish it integrally.

Held captive for more than 100 days, the MV FAINA crew members are at the epicenter of every humanitarian concern; however, this is not shared by many people among the bizarre Kiev elite where strange deals have been stricken to condemn Ukraine to inactivity as regards the negotiations. Among the money-controlled, Kievan puppets, who impersonate important figures of the Ukrainian political and economic life, there are those who totally disregard the lives of the Ukrainian crew members of MV FAINA.

Continuing the publication of the series of the comprehensive Ecoterra press release updates issued over the past few days, I herewith republish the 93rd update. It offers a spherical view over the ongoing crisis and the different ways in which it has been perceived by varied backgrounds´ people who are all directly concerned with the grave situation deliberately triggered in the wider Red Sea and Horn of Africa region. 93rd Update 2009-01-01 10h36:26 UTC Ecoterra Intl.

Around the year change, Somalia looks ready for another dramatic deterioration of the 18-year old crisis that in and by itself illuminates the greatness of the late Somali president Siad Barre who should notably be taken as a statesman model by many aspirant political leaders and liberators in Somalia. With a great number of pending issues related to the Somali piracy phenomenon, and with the MV FAINA crew unreleased after 2325 of captivity, the new year 2009 does not augur well for Somalia. Engaged in day-to-day struggle for mere political survival, over-dependent on non Somali advisors and patrons, liars and deceivers, today´s Somali leaders lose the perspective, and day by day become more impotent and more powerless.

Long before the Somali piracy phenomenon became a matter of concern, Eritrea supported the forces that could bring peace in Somalia, and in August 2007 the rise of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia started from Asmara. The international community was then misled mainly because of the anti-Eritrean stance of the racist Assistant Secretary Jendayi Frazer, who disastrously engaged America on the side of the filthy, racist, and criminal regime of the Amhara and Tigray thugs of the tribal gangster Meles Zenawi.

The plan for a final division and enslavement of the Somali Nation seems to get unfolded with the resignation of the TFG ´president´, the departure of the Abyssinian ´army´, the deepening of the divisions among the Somali armed groups, the recent distribution of a great quantity of guns for this purpose, and the incredibly persistent phenomenon of Somali piracy that is being used as pretext by the voracious enemies of the Somali Nation. Framing every free opinion in the bogus dilemma "consent with the attack on the pirates or you are an Islamic terrorist" is only one of the ways the Apostate Freemasonic Lodge pursues in order to implement their evil machinations.

The Foreign Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Ohryzko expressed the hope that the Somali pirates and their representatives will soon realize who is hidden behind the supposedly benevolent businesswoman, Michele Lynn (Golden) Ballarin, stop immediately the fake and useless negotiations that she initiated for her dark purposes, and release the seamen before 2009 New Year holiday. More details on the issue and other related news can be found in the 90th Ecoterra Press Release Update that I herewith publish integrally.

The ridiculous racists of Africa defeated and departed from Somalia; the unrepresentative TFG pseudo-president resigned; the two news would have been wonderful under other circumstances. However, they are not so now, as these developments take place at a moment of machinated division of the National Liberation Forces of Somalia, namely ARS, ICJ, the Shebab, and the Ahl-u Sunna, who have all been disreputably defamed by the Freemasonic Anglo-Saxon mass media as ´Islamists´; the current multi-division of the National Liberation Forces of Somalia occurs at a moment of utmost aggravation of the parallel Somali crisis, namely the equally machinated phenomenon of piracy off the East African coast.

Erbil is an ancient Assyrian city the name of which (Arba ilu) means in Assyrian – Babylonian "Four Gods" (implying Assur, Ishtar, Shamash, and Sin). It was the religious capital of Assyria, and the temple of Ishtar at Erbil was one of Mesopotamia´s greatest centers of learning, science, knowledge, and art.

In four previous articles entitled ´The Neocolonial Fabrication of Iraq – A Country Without Justice´, ´Post-Saddam Iraq: the Prevalence of Injustice and Inequity´, ´Obliterating Humanity, US / UK-occupation of Iraq is Worse than Saddam Hussein´s Tyranny´ and ´Wicked Larceny of Natural Resources, Deliberate Diffusion of Chaos: the Only US Target in Iraq´, I republished the preliminary parts (Introduction, Table of Contents, Summary, Recommendations, Methodology, Background and Legal Framework) and main chapters (Delays in Hearings, Lack of Evidence and Reliance on Secret Informants, and Access to and Quality of Defense) of a Report recently released by the leading humanitarian NGO Human Rights Watch (The Quality of Justice - Failings of Iraq´s Central Criminal Court - December 14, 2008 - http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2008/12/14/quality-justice-0), which makes state of the dramatic situation that prevails in the judiciary system of the neocolonial fabrication of post-war Iraq. The Report sheds light on an impossible situation ensued from the calamitous mismanagement of the country by the biased US administration.

In three previous articles entitled ´The Neocolonial Fabrication of Iraq – A Country Without Justice´, ´Post-Saddam Iraq: the Prevalence of Injustice and Inequity´ and ´Obliterating Humanity, US / UK-occupation of Iraq is Worse than Saddam Hussein´s Tyranny´, I republished the preliminary parts (Introduction, Table of Contents, Summary, Recommendations, Methodology, Background and Legal Framework) of a Report recently released by the leading humanitarian NGO Human Rights Watch (The Quality of Justice - Failings of Iraq´s Central Criminal Court - December 14, 2008 - http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2008/12/14/quality-justice-0), which makes state of the dramatic situation that prevails in the judiciary system of the neocolonial fabrication of post-war Iraq. The Report sheds light on an impossible situation ensued from the calamitous mismanagement of the country by the biased US administration.

In two previous articles entitled ´The Neocolonial Fabrication of Iraq – A Country Without Justice´ (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-neocolonial-fabrication-of-iraq-a-country-without-justice.html), and ´Post-Saddam Iraq: the Prevalence of Injustice and Inequity´ (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/post-saddam-iraq-the-prevalence-of-injustice-and-inequity.html), I republished the preliminary parts (Introduction, Table of Contents, Summary, Recommendations, Methodology and Background) of a Report recently released by the leading humanitarian NGO Human Rights Watch (The Quality of Justice - Failings of Iraq´s Central Criminal Court - December 14, 2008 - http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2008/12/14/quality-justice-0), which makes state of the dramatic situation that prevails in the judiciary system of the neocolonial fabrication of post-war Iraq. The Report sheds light on an impossible situation ensued from the calamitous mismanagement of the country by the biased US administration.

Independence of the press has been severely strained under the Maoist rule in Nepal. The adaptation of the Maoists to the democratic norms is contingent upon their ability to allow full freedom to the national media.

Where were the Palestinian Muslims who nosily marched down Young Street in Toronto today Sat Jan 03/09 telling us that Israel is so terrible for defending itself against Hamas, , where were all you Palestinians when Hamas was sending Bombs into Israel for the last 6 months? Did you march like this to demand that the Islamic terrorist group "Hamas" stop sending 80 rockets a month into Israel? No you were not that is the sad thing. It would appear that the Palestinian in Canada want us to support a Islamic terrorist group called Hamas.

No matter how hard Modern Greeks try to hide the truth about themselves there is always someone out there who will expose it! Please read this article and find out more about the artificiality of Modern Greece and the Modern Greeks.

Here in Illinois, at least in DuPage County, when one walks into the county courthouse one is not allowed to take so much as a camera phone in. I´ve often wondered about this.

Natural disasters have plagued Earth since its formation. They're not going to stop, fervent prayer notwithstanding. If you're seeking certainty, I fear you're out of luck. The best we can hope for is to learn to live with uncertainty.

When twelve years´ pseudo-democratic practice under the monarchical setup was suspended for the rule of absolute dictatorship by Gyanendra Shah the top leaders of main political parties were hung-up and shaken for their willingness to confess mistakes. But now what they have become with their confessions in dealing with the new nation is disheartening.

The roughly 3,900 prisoners confined two to a cell were completely without water; 379 prisoners and eight staff members were seriously sickened by some sort of diarrheal disease, variously identified as the Norovirus, Campylobacter and, according to one Doctor I spoke to, "a mixture of fecal bacteria" that were never conclusively identified.

Israel's ground invasion of Gaza got underway on Saturday evening. Israeli censorship rules bar reporting of on-going military operations or casualties, but Israeli media reports indicate that the IDF has created two or three blocked-off areas inside the Gaza Strip, and that Gaza City is surrounded. Meanwhile, the U.S. has prevented United Nations Security Council action on a call for a cease-fire.

An explosive device that was placed inside the house of Judge Abdul-Mahdi Najar who lives in Tuz Khormatu went off about three o'clock this afternoon on the 2nd of January 2009. The blast occurred in the Aksu neighbourhood in Tuz Khormatu district which is one of the Turkmeneli districts; it is located on the highway between Baghdad and the strategic oil city of Kirkuk. The blast has caused minor damage to the house inhabited by the Turkmen judge who works at Tuz Khormatu court it also caused damaged to the car that was parked in front of the house belonging to one of the guests. The Turkmen Judge also was targeted on 9th of September 2008 by a suicide car bomb which resulted in the death of ten Turkmen people.

On New Year's Day, nine American Muslim passengers were not permitted to board an AirTran Airways flight going to Florida at Reagan National Airport, claims the Islamic group Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR. According to the Muslim passengers, some airline passengers complained about something that the group allegedly said while boarding the plane, which led to two federal air marshals ordering the passengers to deplane for rescreening. In a statement, AirTran Airways confirmed that nine Muslim passengers boarding Flight 175 going to Orlando International Airport were detained by authorities. The the airline apologized to the group Friday and refunded the passengers airfare and reimbursed the plane ticket for the U.S. Airways they later took.

Leave it to the folks at Amnesty International to take the side of Islamic terrorists in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. What the hell is "disproportionate response" when you are dealing with terrorists? Read Amnesty International USA's released statement below, but have a barf bag available. Hopefully, the US government will tell Amnesty where they can stick their complaint.

The Somaliland National Elections Commission has recently commenced the voter registration drive for the 2009 Presidential and local assemblies´ elections briefly postponed as the result of the October 29th terrorist attacks in Hargeisa. The voter registration programmed funded in part by the Somaliland government, the European Union, the United States government and several other non-governmental organizations is using bio-metrical technology to assure the validity of the process and the accuracy of the eligible voters across Somaliland. The voter registration programme has now been completed in five,( Awdal, Marodi Jeh, Sahil, Togdher and Sanaag), of the six Somaliland provinces.(n.b. future voter programmes will take place in each of the 16 newly created provinces of Somaliland). The last leg of the voter registration programme began on the 2nd of January in the region of Sool.

Mexican officials said statistics for the number of homicides were still being compiled. But an unofficial tally shows that the Mexican border cities are among the highest death tolls in Mexico. In just the two largest Mexican cities bordering the U.S. Juárez and Tijuana they ended the year with a record high with more than 2,600 killings, most of them attributed to turf wars among drug cartels. Some of those executions were Americans.

By now, most of the world is aware of the horrific news of death and destruction that visited upon the people of Gaza. Millions have watched in utter shock the footage depicting Israel ´s indiscriminate and disproportionate bombing of Gaza.

If the visionary founders of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) such as H.M Haile Silassie of the Empire of Ethiopia, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and General Abdul Nasser of Egypt etc., who were also deeply rooted in African philosophy and politics of liberation, were to watch over the recent African Union (AU) leaders, would they ridicule and scoff at them for letting the continent fall apart in front of their eyes?

On 17th February 2009, people all over the world will come together in mind and spirit to celebrate their connection with each other with two minutes silence at 3.00pm, USA, Eastern Time.

How Americans contributed to the recession with unrealistic ideas and a lack of planning.

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com reviews Margaret Wright's Bringing Back The Magic

Israel's military attack on targets in Gaza continues, one week into Operation Solid Lead (alternately translated as Operation Cast Lead), but a widely-anticipated and feared ground operation has not yet begun.

Ethiopian military in Somalia started showing signs of packing from their bases in Somalia, after invasion in Somalia in late 2006 backing the fragile government of Somalia. Residents in central Somali affirmed that Ethiopian troops armed with their vehicles crossed to its border with Somalia as they leaved from the border town of Ballanbal in central Somalia.

It usually takes just a bit to surprise me when it comes to politics, and keep in mind, 2008 was the year that Sarah Palin was unloosed upon us, but I'm admittedly jaw-dropped over the bruhaha developing over the appointment of Roland Burris by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat left by President-elect Barack Obama. There has already been a huge wave of Democrats feeding on themselves, which is hardly doing anybody any great favor.

Tension is rising about a possible imminent Israeli ground invasion into Gaza, as air and naval attacks continue, and the cabinet decided not to accept calls for an immediate cease-fire. The human suffering is increasing as well -- both for Palestinians in Gaza who have no where to go to escape the attacks, and who can barely expect adequate medical care in the current situation if they are wounded, as well as for Israelis living in communities around the Gaza border, as rocket and missile attacks continue with ever-expanding range.

Historical fiction author Lloyd Lofthouse talks about his book, My Splendid Concubine, why he chose a subsidy press and plans on opening his own publishing company for his next book and why he turned an agent down.

Even the most ardent reactionaries, deluded ´patriots,´ and apathetic cynics, whose myopic, Panglossian perspectives ensure that they continue to reflexively genuflect to the deeply criminal enterprise of American Capitalism and rationalize the savage imperialism of US foreign policy, are beginning to concede that we are in the midst of a crisis of epic proportions. So lack of awareness, which is usually the first obstacle to solving a problem, isn´t the real enemy here.

Should Israel stops its attacks on Hamas at this point, Hamas will emerge much stronger than it was—claiming victory in exactly the same way that Hezbollah claimed victory in Lebanon in 2006. If Israel allows Hamas to continue its control of Gaza, Iran will use the opportunity to reconstruct Gaza. The Islamic Republic of Iran´s reconstruction of Gaza will include the installation of an Iranian-controlled microwave communications system and rocket bunkers in exactly the same way that it did in southern Lebanon and South Beirut. If Iran gets its way in Gaza, it will not need a nuclear weapon to attack Israel; it will have Grad and Fajr missiles close enough to target major Israeli population centers, and with the use of chemical or biological agents, create the destruction of the Jewish State, all accomplished through its Hamas and Hezbollah proxies so that the Islamic Republic can claim total innocence.

A large number of flying bats have migrated from different parts of the state of Jharkhand and neighbouring states in a play ground in Ranchi city, the capital of Jharkhand state. Peculiar thing is that they are seen flying in day time in scorching heat and burning sun.They have made their home in number of eucalyptus trees planted in the ground.

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." As you likely know, the above quote is from the poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus.

Updated Jan. 4 The on again/off again former Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) settlement talks were restarted with last week's (Dec.

The Israeli attacks on Gaza continue by air and sea, with a tentative land probe reported. And rockets and missiles fired from Gaza continue to fall on what is now being reported a 60-mile radius in Israel, from Ashdod on the Mediterranean Coast to Beersheva in the Negev desert.

Some of the key nomenclatures of the George W. Bush Legacy are very painful to endure, even when just hearing about them or seeing them in print or on TV. This article will review the key Bush "decisions", starting before 9/11.

The following report is based on information obtained by the 14,000-member National Association of Chiefs of Police: As New Yorkers and tourists prepare for tonight's New Year's Eve celebrations -- especially in Manhattan's Times Square area -- law enforcement will be assisted by the citizen soldiers and airmen of the New York National Guard, according to security officials. Under orders from New York Governor David Paterson, members of the New York Army and Air National Guard will conduct additional security missions and stand ready to respond to city authorities if a man-made or natural emergency occurs. Within New York City, National Guard soldiers and airmen will conduct increased security operations at Pennsylvania Station on West 34th Street, the Port Authority Trans-Hudson terminal near Times Square, and at LaGuardia and Kennedy airports in coordination with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police.

The "Surge" has shown an improvement in lowering the violence in Iraq, but the mayhem is far from over. And bringing home all of the US troops is still a big question.

Hamas,Palestinian-Israeli conflict,

(OKLAHOMA CITY) I'm hoping you had a safe (in more ways than one) calendar New Year's celebration and are ready to commit to a political and social New Year of acquiring the legal recognition of our GLBT equality which is already ours as a right of citizenship. This morning I watched the "The Times of Harvey Milk", a documentary of Harvey Milk composed of interviews with people who knew and worked with Harvey Milk, combined with news clips illustrating the important events in Milk's public life in San Fransisco as city Commissioner. This is not to be confused with the new bio-pic starring Sean Penn titled simply, "Milk". I was reminded that the defeat of the Briggs Amendment that would have outlawed the employment of GLBT teachers in California was followed by the rise of Anita Bryant, who got her inspirational juice from this setback to the fundie-nuts and homo-haters agenda.

Nice, France. The sneaking suspicion I'd had since yesterday was confirmed by this morning's news which announced that another SDF ('Sans Domicile Fix', or homeless person) had been 'found dead', this time in Nice, near the 'Voie Rapide' (the overpass expressway leading from one end of town to the other). I knew immediately who they were talking about.

By making the war against terrorism the cornerstone of its policy towards the Horn of Africa, the Bush administration is ignoring the fundamental issues that have beset this region with conflict and human tragedy. By superimposing the war on terrorism on local existential conflicts, the Bush administration is elevating them into global crisis. By allying lopsidedly with Ethiopian government, the Bush administration has alienated Eritreans, Somalis and dissident forces in Ethiopia and, hence, broadened the anti-American sentiment in the region. Regional instability is cause and the spread of terrorism symptom of the crisis. If the U.S. acts as an independent arbiter cognizant of the fundamental issues of local and regional conflicts, it has a chance to positively influence the developments in the region.

LAHORE: The war on terror has killed a large number of people, including children, and destroyed the infrastructure in those countries where this war is being waged. About 151,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in three years following the US-led invasion of their country, according to World Health Organisation (WHO).

LAHORE: The years 2007-2008 saw a dramatic surge in the world food prices, bringing a state of global crisis and causing political and economical instability and social unrest in poor and developed nations. Systemic causes for the worldwide food price increase have been currently identified as climate change, (which has resulted in droughts and floods), rising oil prices, (which has heightened the costs of fertilisers, food transport, and industrial agriculture), the increasing use of bio-fuels in the developed countries and an increasing demand for a more varied diet, (especially meat) across the expanding middle-class populations of Asia.

On the first morning of 2009, the Washington Journal on CSPAN started their daily program with a segment where callers could give their top legislative priorities for the upcoming year. This writer was lucky enough to get on air as the third caller. I listed my top priorities as (1) the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, (2) an economic stimulus to help middle class and working class Americans and (3) creation of a system of government provided universal healthcare.

The Islamic administration in Burhakaba town southern Somalia which is 190 KM away from the Somali capital of Mogadishu had Friday morning executed two men who have committed banditry, as an Islamic officer stated. Osman Barur, a spokesman for the Islamists told local media that the execution of the two men was carried out according to Islamic law, and he has also warned any body commits any evil thing against Islamic law.

The uncertainty of the future health of the American economy has created an atmosphere of fear, doom, and gloom. The optimists among us persist on predicting a quick recovery, while the pessimists believe we are approaching another Great Depression.

Walks-As-Bear spoons about the virtues of helping the needy - aka: wildlife - by depositing your old Christmas tree out in your yard.

What does the New Year mean to regular people like you and me? What new policies can Team Obama usher in that can promote peace, prosperity, and hope in the coming four years?

International journalists have been barred from the Gaza Strip for most of the past two months, by a decision of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). An interim decision by Israel's Supreme Court, or High Court of Justice, handed down on Thursday in partial reply to a petition by the Foreign Press Association for restored press access to Gaza, was not implemented by the Israeli military on Friday, as its unprecedented attacks on Gaza continue for a seventh day by air and from the sea -- and a major ground offensive may be imminent. Meanwhile, the IDF is pleased by the press coverage of its war.

Sir Winston Churchill called General Robert E. Lee, quote ´one of the noblest Americans who ever lived.´ Unquote Please let me call to your attention that Monday, January 19, 2009, is the 202nd birthday of Robert E.

Covert actions (as distinguished from the covert collection of information) are used to influence political, military, or economic conditions or situations abroad, where it is intended that the role of the US Government will not be apparent or acknowledged publicly. These might consist of propaganda activities, support to political or military factions within a particular country, technical and logistical assistance to other governments to deal with problems within their countries, or actions undertaken to disrupt illicit activities that threaten US interests, e.g.

It is not about God or love, it is about control and domination--just as Sadism is not about human intercourse or love, it is about control, torture, punishment and domination. Why else name a so-called religion "submission?" Islam seeks nothing less than a total global domination. The word Islam literally means "Taslim," (submission) or just "surrender", the kind that comes by force and fraud.

"Charles Barkley told an officer following his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol that he was in a rush because he was on his way pick up a 'hot' girl for sex, according to a police report obtained by the Smoking Gun. When Barkley was arrested in Scottsdale, Ariz., early Wednesday after running a stop sign, the former NBA forward allegedly told the officer: 'You want to know the truth? I was gonna drive around the corner and get a b--- j--,' according to the notes in the incident report. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,475244,00.html Charles Barkley is a retired NBA legend, an NBA TV commentator, and an aspiring politician.

"Praying is like looking in complete darkness for something that has no existence." The Religious Right, a tool of the power elite, will remain a steady force in the political and cultural arena and anyone who believes they are dead, dying or irrelevant or that the so-called Culture Wars are over is sorely mistaken. David Dudley Field, an American jurist in 1893 once said that "the greatest achievement ever made in the cause of human progress is the total and final separation of church and state." Today we have self-anointed preachers who have the vanity to pretend that the whole creation was made only for them. Their wish is to turn the clock backwards on human progress.

Some salespeople just don't get it.

There's always one way up ahead that slows everyone else down.

Butterfly Town USA's liberals circle the wagons.

America values justice differently depending on who the victim is.

The very first 2009 year in review.

"If they had to live next door to a celebrity, American adults would most like to be neighbors with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and chat show host Oprah Winfrey. But trouble-prone pop star Britney Spears would be the worst celebrity neighbour, according to a survey published on Tuesday of the most and least desirable well-known faces Americans would have in their backyard." Reuters I live in a working class neighborhood, and the only celebrities likely to move next-door to me are the has-beens who appear on VH1 reality shows.

Cynthia McKinney has a penchant for courting controversy, sometimes willingly, sometimes unwillingly. McKinney's most infamous controversy is when she attempted to enter the Longworth House Office Building without wearing a lapel pin identifying her as a member of Congress.

Why are we so snobbish toward some kinds of meat? It's time to break out of that and save Western Civilization!

The media may be too hard on Donovan McNabb, but until he wins the big game, that's not going to change.

Israel and Palestine: The conflict keeps going with no end in sight.

Happy New Year and welcome to more debt than ever before!

Obama's not even president yet and he's already complaining about the shadow of the media. He'd better get used to it.

In terms of politics in Washington, Tel Aviv has created a situation that it expects will allow Clinton era aides surrounding Obama to recreate ´motion without substance´ show and will push aside Palestine from international politics.

A Look through the mist At last the elections to 11th Jammu & Kashmir State ( Inidia ) Legislative Assembly are over. With this came the end of the drama where in the political leaders were forced for over two months to play innocence, pledge for honesty, sincerity, truthfullness in future and beg for the mistakes of the past.

Hamas and Israel had simultaneous rallies in New York City. The Muslims knew they had a side. Our side was uncomfortable saying it.

In his speech broadcasted on national radio, Yusuf said, "When I took power I pledged three things. If I was unable to fulfill my duty I will resign.

[The following is based on an FBI strategy report sent to the 14,000-member National Association of Chiefs of Police.] The foreign intelligence threat within the United States is far more complex than it has ever been historically. The threat is increasingly asymmetrical insofar as it comes not only from traditional foreign intelligence services but also from nontraditional, non-state actors who operate from decentralized organizations.

The December 2008 general elections in Bangaldesh mark the initial steps in the country's transition to democratic governance.

Next year, a number of companies are going to be reinvented as banks. GMAC, the ex finance arm of General Motors, just made it yesterday.

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts state senate. He blogs at www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com