ChiGirl

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/ni...

http://observanda.blogspot.com/2012/02/observer.ht...

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article....

The two congressmen explained to Dodaro that they “are troubled by reports of President Abbas’ use of Palestinian Investment Fund (PIF) funds to provide housing for these convicted terrorists.”

“At the ceremony Abbas held [in honor of released prisoners] in Ramallah, he is reported as having praised these individuals for their ‘courage and sacrifice,’” the Israel Beiteinu MK wrote. “The atrocities referred to by Abbas as acts of ‘courage’... include the murders of scores of innocents, including women and children.”

http://news.yahoo.com/mexico-cull-50-000-wild-boar...

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/282070/netany...

Netanyahu spoke to the Knesset on Monday and delivered his most sobering warning yet about the magnitude of the Iran threat and the rising dangers Israel is facing throughout the Middle East. “If I had to summarize what will happen in our region, I would use two terms: instability and uncertainty,” Netanyahu told his parliamentary colleagues and his nation. “The collapse of Qaddafi’s regime in Libya, the bloody incidents in Syria, the American forces leaving Iraq, the new government in Tunisia, the upcoming elections in Egypt and many other events — these are all expressions of the immense changes occurring around us. These changes can increase the instability within these countries, and the instability between countries. … A nuclear Iran would pose a terrible threat on the Middle East and on the entire world. And of course, it poses a great, direct threat on us too.”

Then, Netanyahu made news. “A security philosophy cannot rely on defense alone,” he insisted. “It must also include offensive capabilities, which is the very foundation of deterrence. We operate and will continue to operate intensely and determinately against those who threaten the security of the State of Israel and its citizens. Our policy is guided by two main principles: the first is ‘If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first,’ and the second is ‘If anyone harms us, his blood is on his own hands.’”

Are there similarities to the middle east conflicts?

(Am I correct that religion may underscore the conflict i.e., Christian Serbs and Moslem Kosovans?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14316858

http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid=%7...

http://news.yahoo.com/boehner-house-compromise-deb...

Amending the constitution concerns me.

The 14th certainly became a fiasco and don't get me started on the 16th.

His talk of possible accommodation in the protracted political stalemate over federal budget policy came as the Senate took up the tea party-backed House legislation Thursday. It ties an increase in the government's borrowing authority to a series of conservative demands, including immediate spending cuts and a constitutional balanced budget amendment.

In your opinion does Obama understand the middle east foreign policy enough to make military decisions involving the United States?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14009206

and..... how difficult would it be to repeal 16th amendment in order to legislate/implement fair tax?

I would like your thoughts. Is America finally ready to replace the IRS with a fair tax system.

Thank you for your thoughts.

and what is the scale of humanitarian aid needed in Gaza?

The flotilla organizers' contention that Gaza's population is starving, held captive to "Israel's illegal stranglehold" on the region is, plainly and simply, a lie. The flotilla is nothing more than a provocation meant to challenge Israel's sovereignty, a cynical public relations ploy meant to sway world opinion against Israel.

https://secure2.convio.net/ifcj/site/SPageNavigato...

Not surprisingly, it's happening again. Members of the IHH are planning a fifteen-ship flotilla with 1,500 activists from 120 countries to set sail later this month. Though the organization is again claiming peaceful intentions, recent statements from IHH officials are ominous: "We have many surprises in store," one promised. Another, speaking more clearly, declared, ""Even if we sacrifice shahids (martyrs) for this cause, we will be on the side of justice."

Last April, one Red Cross official in the region stated emphatically, "There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. If you go to the supermarket, there are products. There are restaurants and a nice beach." In the wake of the flotilla last year, Israel which has consistently allowed food, medicine, and other essentials into Gaza — even eased up on its blockade.

have in common with the toppling of dictatorial governments in the middle east today?

Have we not learned anything from history?

"Israel is a fabricated government... a banner over satan and over the great satan?"

http://www.aipac.org/The%20Issues/Meeting%20US%20C...

In 2007, President George W. Bush signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Israel that pledged $30 billion in U.S. security assistance to Israel over a 10-year period.

In fulfillment of this pledge, President Obama is asking Congress to appropriate $3 billion in security assistance in fiscal year 2011 and $3.075 in fiscal year 2012.

The 10-year agreement embodies America's commitment to maintain Israel's qualitative military edge (QME), which Congress has defined as Israel's "ability to counter and defeat any credible conventional military threat from any individual state or possible coalition of states or from non-state actors."

Congress has yet to complete action on Israel's fiscal year funding allocation of $3 billion, a $225 million increase from the previous year.

http://www.aipac.org/The%20Issues/Meeting%20US%20C...

For decades, U.S. support for Israel through annual security aid has helped the United States achieve critical goals in the Middle East.

U.S. aid has helped deter a major regional war by making clear to potential foes that they could not defeat Israel militarily. This is the logic behind the commitment to preserving Israel's QME.

For the United States, Israel has served as an anchor of stability in the region, helping thwart aggressors and preserve moderate regimes without the type of deployment of U.S. forces required in Europe or East Asia.

By helping the Jewish state maintain its military edge, American assistance has also promoted peace with Egypt and Jordan. With the backing of the United States, Israel felt secure enough to make dramatic concessions in peace agreements with these countries as well make far-reaching offers to the Palestinians and Syria.

Israel has also served as a U.S. laboratory for new weapons and technology. Israeli battlefield use of American equipment and shared know-how has helped the United States improve both its equipment and tactics especially while fighting two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Aid to Israel also boosts industry here at home. Israel is required to spend 74 percent of U.S. aid to in the United States, which helps create American jobs.

http://www.aclj.org/TrialNotebook/Read.aspx?ID=111...

he United States has been providing billions of dollars in aid to the Paletinian Authority (PA) over years, with more than $500 million going to them last year alone. Here's the problem: with Hamas becoming part of this so-called 'unity' government - the U.S. must send a very strong message. We cannot send our tax dollars to support a terrorist-linked government. Either the Palestinian Authority rejects Hamas, or we stop sending U.S. funds to the PA.

Is Donald Trump a Perot on steroids?

Please provide reasoning to back your opinions regarding the issues.

Thanks

http://www.prisonplanet.com/donald-trump-us-should...

“Why aren’t they paying us?” Trump asked CNN’s Candy Crowley. “When they said that you should have said, we’ll go in. We want $5 billion. We have already spent $1.5 billion on fighting Gaddafi. We want $5 billion right now and we’ll go in. You know what? That’s peanuts to them. They’d give you a check in two seconds.”

(Yes, I know it's still early).

http://west.house.gov/about-me

China tells U.S. to quit as human rights judge

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/10/us-china...

Chinese rights lawyers and advocates have also been dismayed by a recent burst of arrests, detentions and heavy sentences against dissidents and activists.

On Sunday, hundreds of Chinese police moved to prevent a planned outdoor service by a church in Beijing that had been evicted from its former premises.

How, to what extent?

Beijing had stepped up restrictions on lawyers, activists, bloggers and journalists, and tightened controls on civil society.

It has also increased its efforts to control the press, Internet and Internet access, the report said.