lol thanks for thinking of me!

no sweat

excellent!

yes, thanks

one would think yes

now we know why they call it water st.

'Gay marriage' adopted: Now come the lawsuits

Analyst warns 'room for religious conscience' vanishing

After a decade of defeats and dozens of rejections by voters across the United States, campaigns for same-sex marriage have found friendly voters in Maine, Maryland and apparently in Washington state, according to early returns.

What now?

There likely will be lawsuits against churches. Justices of the peace or other officials could have a bull’s-eye on their backs. Small businesses, such as photographers, venue operators and cake bakers will be hit with claims under anti-discrimination laws. And more.

That’s according to Frank Schubert, who has worked on campaigns to defend the traditional definition of marriage.

He worked on the four defense campaigns for the 2012 election in Maine, Maryland, Washington and Minnesota. In the first three, voters agreed with the concept of same-sex marriage, and in Minnesota voters declined to embed the traditional marriage definition in the state constitution. It already is a state law there.

Schubert noted that the 2012 votes don’t really indicate a significant change of attitude, because the votes all were in liberal enclaves around the nation. Massachusetts, New York and a handful of other states already had imposed the practice on populations through court or legislative fiat, while more than 40 others have banned it either in their constitution or their law.

Schubert noted that what will happen now in America already can be seen in Canada, which approved same-sex marriage in 2005.

In Canada, according to a report by National Review, there have been hundreds of formal complaints pursued against people who hold to the biblical instruction that marriage is between a man and a woman. They include a well-known television anchor on a major sports show who was fired only hours after he tweeted his support for “the traditional and TRUE meaning of marriage.”

The report said he had only been defending a hockey player’s agent who was getting death threats for refusing to support a “gay” marriage campaign.

In the case, Fred Henry, the Roman Catholic bishop of Calgary, was threatened with litigation and charged with a human-rights violation after he wrote a letter to local churches on the church’s teaching on marriage, the report said.

The report noted there have been an estimated 200 to 300 proceedings against those people who defend traditional marriage.

“A considered and empathetic opposition to same-sex marriage has nothing to do with phobia or hatred, but that doesn’t stop Christians, conservatives, and anybody else who doesn’t take the fashionable line from being condemned as Neanderthals and bigots,” the report said.

Schubert said he sees that attitude coming to the U.S.

“I think we’re going to see the conflict that these laws create. They’re going to manifest themselves in a whole host of ways,” he told WND.

He said the laws affecting individuals and small businesses in hospitality, like a recent case involving a Christian couple in Vermont attacked for not wanting to have a lesbian event at their private inn.

“People who have any connection to governmental licenses could be impacted certainly,” Schubert said, such as notaries public, justices of the peace, mayors and commissioners.

“They will find themselves being forced by the power of government to participate in same-sex ceremonies or give up their government licenses,” he said.

Churches, too, will be targeted. He cited a case involving a plan by the Catholic Church to dispose of a parcel of property. Officials did not want to sell it for the purpose of holding lesbian ceremonies and were sued.

“There’s no room for religious consciences in this type of debate. It’s not live and left live. It’s a one-way street,” he said.

He also said violence is bound to follow. In fact, he said that on Election Day, a small church in Maine was hit by graffiti, including a swastika, simply for displaying pro-marriage signs.

Similar events happened several years ago in the state of Washington, when a petition to limit marriage to a man and a woman was circulated.

The names of the petition signers were made public, and death threats followed some who had supported traditional marriage. In that fight, homosexual activists promised they would get the names of those who wanted to protect traditional marriage and post them online so that they could encourage supporters of homosexuality to create “uncomfortable conversations” with the signers.

Then came, according to hundreds of pages of sworn statements, the death threats to those who, in one way or another, already had been identified as petition supporters and signers.

Among the many documented threats was the statement, “I will kill you and your family,” which was delivered to the young son of a political candidate, Elizabeth Scott, who had signed the petition.

The same thing happened during the fight over Prop 8 in California.

There, threats that were documented included:
•“I’m going to kill the pastor.”
•“If I had a gun I would have gunned you down along with each and every other supporter”
•“We’re going to kill you.”
•“You’re dead. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon … you’re dead.”
•“I’m a gay guy who owns guns, and he’s my next target.”
•“I warn you, I know how to kill, I’m an ex-special forces person.”
•“Get ready for retribution all you bigots.”
•Burn their f—ing churches to the ground and then tax the charred timbers.”

Evidence also included churches marred by graffiti, swastikas on lawns and walls, bricks thrown through windows and doors, adhesive poured into locks, suspicious packages of white powder sent in the mail – “all for nothing more than supporting traditional marriage.”

Schubert also says Barack Obama needs to take part of the blame.

“I think that what’s happening in Washington is a contributing factor. You have the president out there actively trying to redefine marriage, and to tell the American people this is perfectly fine and we should accept it.”

Obama has advocated for homosexuality throughout his presidency, and imposed open homosexuality on the U.S. military.

In a statement on his Mission: Public Affairs website, Schubert wrote of his disappointment over the Tuesday results, but said “it’s important to consider that these battles occurred in a very difficult political landscape. ”

“We’re were contesting in four deep [Democratic] states and were outspent very badly in all of them – at least four-to-one.”

http://www.wnd.com/2012/11/gay-marriage-adopted-now-come-the-lawsuits/

dam!

that's really good.....

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Analysts keep close eye on China's mystery space plane

Nature of Shenlong project, and what the robot vehicle truly represents, remain sketchy

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49765027/ns/technology_and_science-space/

what a mess ....

the comments to this story are well worth the read.....

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Sandy-Starved-New-Yorkers-Dumpster-Dive/176839571

Nevada’s Biggest Paper: Obama 'Unworthy Commander-in-Chief' After Benghazi

Read more on Newsmax.com: Nevada’s Biggest Paper: Obama 'Unworthy Commander-in-Chief' After Benghazi
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!

Nevada’s largest newspaper blasted President Barack Obama in a blistering editorial on Thursday about the Benghazi attacks in which four Americans died, calling him an “unworthy commander-in-chief.”

Obama, who holds a small lead in Nevada, which has six electoral votes, was taken to task by the Las Vegas Review-Journal for his handling of the Benghazi, Libya attacks in an editorial headlined, “Benghazi blunder: Obama unworthy commander-in-chief.”

“The Obama administration sat by doing nothing for seven hours that night, ignoring calls to dispatch help from our bases in Italy, less than two hours away,” the editorial said. “It has spent the past seven weeks stretching the story out, engaging in misdirection and deception involving supposed indigenous outrage over an obscure anti-Muslim video, confident that with the aid of a docile press corps this infamous climax to four years of misguided foreign policy can be swept under the rug, at least until after Tuesday's election.”

The paper went on to lay out the precursors to the attack, including the embassy cable expressing concern over rising Islamic extremism in Benghazi, the drawdown of a security force, and the denied request from Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed in the attack, for more body guards.

Even as a Pentagon drone aired a live feed of the attack, the paper wrote, “Not only did the White House do nothing, there are now reports that a counterterrorism team ready to launch a rescue mission was ordered to stand down.”

“The official explanation for the inadequate security? This administration didn't want to ‘offend the sensibilities’ of the new radical Islamic regime which American and British arms had so recently helped install in Libya,” the Review-Journal editorial said.

“The official explanation for why Obama administration officials watched the attack unfold for seven hours, refusing repeated requests to send the air support and relief forces that sat less than two hours away in Italy? Silence.”

It continued, “Prompt and strong action from the White House on Sept. 11 might have saved American lives, as well as America's reputation as a nation not to be messed with. Weakness and dithering and flying to Las Vegas the next day for celebrity fund-raising parties are somehow better? This administration is an embarrassment on foreign policy and incompetent at best on the economy - though a more careful analysis shows what can only be a perverse and willful attempt to destroy our prosperity.”


Read more on Newsmax.com: Nevada’s Biggest Paper: Obama 'Unworthy Commander-in-Chief' After Benghazi
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obama-benghazi-attacks-security/2012/11/01/id/462368

Report: Israel tracking Iran Navy’s expanded operations near Syria, Gaza Strip

Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has become concerned over the expansion of the
Iranian Navy, a report said.

The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies said that Israel has
been closely following the growth of the Iranian Navy and the extension of
its operations.


An Iranian warship moves through the Suez Canal en route to the Mediterranean.

“For now the Iranian naval deployment in areas close to Israel, the Red Sea, and the eastern Mediterranean is limited but nonetheless is of concern for Israel,” the report, titled “Iran’s New Strategic Horizons at Sea,”
said.

The report said Israel was concerned over Iranian Navy operations in the Mediterranean Sea, particularly near the coast of Syria and the Gaza Strip.

Authored by Shaul Shay, former deputy director of the National Security Council, the report said Iran’s deployment of warships in the Mediterranean marked an expansion of Teheran’s strategic horizon. Shay, now a research associate, said Iran could intervene in U.S. Navy missions in the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean in an effort to rescue the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“The efforts invested in building a stronger navy buttress the Iranian
quest for expanding its influence in the Red Sea region and eastern
Mediterranean,” the report, dated July 26, said. “It is able to foment
trouble and aid its allies, as well as counter the American naval presence.
It also encroaches upon physical proximity to Israel, an arch-enemy.”

Shay said Iran has been threatening to block the Red Sea and Gulf as
well as hamper Israel Navy operations. He cited Iranian plans to stage a
naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean along with Russian and Syria in
2012.

“The strategy is result of the Iranian attempt to achieve regional
hegemony and a response to the perceived threats to its national interests,
in particular Western attempts to stop Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons,”
the report said. “Therefore, Iran has adopted a new strategy of naval
presence in the region, sending ships to the Red and Mediterranean seas.”

The report said Iran regards the Red Sea as vital to Teheran’s quest to
control the energy shipping routes to the West. The Red Sea also constituted
the main waterway for Iranian weapons shipments to the Hamas regime in the
Gaza Strip.

The weapons route was described as starting from Iran through Yemen.
From Yemen, the weapons were said to move through the Red Sea to Sudan, and
overland through Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula. The report also cited
Eritrea as a waystation for Iranian weapons.

“An Iranian naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean could complicate
a future maritime struggle near Gaza,” the report said. “Its naval
deployment sends a strategic message of support in turbulent times for
Assad.”

http://www.worldtribune.com/2012/10/26/report-israel-tracking-iran-navys-expanded-operations-near-syria-gaza-strip/

The bombed Sudanese factory produced Iranian Shehab missiles
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 24, 2012, 11:03 PM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Sudan Shahab missiles Iran air strike Sudanese missile factory in flamesThe Yarmouk Complex of military plants near Khartoum, whicht was bombed five minutes after midnight Wednesday, Oct. 24, by four fighter-bombers, recently went into manufacturing Iranian ballistic surface-to-surface Shehab missiles under license from Tehran, debkafile’s military and intelligence sources disclose. Western intelligence sources have not revealed what types of Shehab were being turned out in Sudan but they believe the Yarmouk’s output was intended to serve as Tehran’s strategic reserve stock in case Iran’s ballistic arsenal was hit by Israeli bombers.
The Israeli Air Force has a long record of pre-emptive attacks for destroying an enemy’s long-range missiles in the early stages of a conflict. In June 2006, for instance, the IAF destroyed 90 percent of Hizballah’s long-range missiles in the first hours of the Lebanon war.
Videos of the explosions caused in the air raid over Sudan showed large quantities of phosphorus flares in the sky suggesting that a large stockpile was demolished along with the manufacturing equipment.
Western sources did not divulge information about the comings and goings of Iranian missile specialists or whether the Bashir government had given Tehran permission to stage attacks from Sudan against Middle East targets, in return for the allotment of a number of missiles to the Sudanese army. All they would say is that the complex's structures had been completely leveled by the aerial bombardment and subsequent fire.
Sudan accused Israel of the attack and stated it reserved the right to respond at a time and circumstances of its choosing. Israeli officials declined to comment in answer to questions.
If Indeed Israel was responsible for the bombing raid, it is possible to postulate the following objectives:
1. Its air force flew 1,800-1,900 kilometers to reach the Sudanese arms factory, a distance longer than the 1,600 kilometers to the Iranian underground enrichment site of Fordo. This operation may have been intended to show Tehran that distance presents no obstacles to an Israeli strike on its nuclear program.
2. The IAF has an efficient in-flight refueling capability.
3. The raid would have degraded Iran’s ability to retaliate for a potential Israel or US attack.
If it was conducted by Israel, it would add a third item to the list of backdoor assaults in which Iran and Israel appear to be engaged in the past three months.
On August 17, the power lines to Fordo were sabotaged, interrupting the work of enrichment taking place there and causing some of the advanced centrifuges to catch fire.
On Oct. 6, an Iranian stealth drone was launched from Lebanon into Israeli air space and photographed its most sensitive military sites as well as the Dimona nuclear reactor before Israel brought it down.

http://www.debka.com/article/22469/The-bombed-Sudanese-factory-produced-Iranian-Shehab-missiles

what'd you do hoagie !?!



Fire destroys Big Tex at State Fair of Texas

Posted Friday, Oct. 19, 2012

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/10/19/4348039/big-tex-on-fire-at-state-fair.html#storylink=cpy

what a train wreck them yankees are, i know your smiling

yup, must of missed that...... is he only bowing half way ?

'Drone beamed images of plans for joint Israel-US drill'


Sunday Times reports Iranian-made Hezbollah drone shot down over Negev surveilled ballistic sites; preparations for joint military maneuvers

The Iranian-made Hezbollah drone shot down over the Negev last week beamed back "images of secret Israeli military sites" and images of the preparations of the joint Israel-US military exercise, the Sunday Times reported.




The British publication's Tel Aviv-based correspondent Uzi Mahnaimi said that the drone was airborne for three hours before it was intercepted, and was able to relay "images of ballistic missile sites, main airfields and possibly the Dimona reactor."

The aircraft, according to Mahnaimi, was apparently the Shahed-129, introduced in Iran in September.



Tehran claims its newest drone has a range of up to 1,200 miles and flight duration of 24 hours, as well as fire power.

The report also mentions a detail first reported by Yedioth Ahronoth, saying that the first interception attempt failed and that the drone was shot down at a second attempt.




Mahnaimi further cited an Israeli defense source saying, "How could we defend this country from thousands of rockets and missiles if we can’t block a single Iranian drone?"



Hezbollah officially claimed responsibility for the drone mission on Thursday.



Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel is "Determined to protect our borders on land, in the air and at sea, as we did when we intercepted Hezbollah's attempt to send a drone into our airspace."



'Drone didn't violate UNR 1701'


Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said Sunday that sending the Hezbollah drone into Israeli airspace was not in violation of UN Resolution 1701, which means to anchor the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.



Mansour was quoted by the Lebanese website Nahar.net as saying that Israel "has violated the resolution tens of thousands of times… Hezbollah's unmanned drone that flew over Israel recently does not violate the resolution."




"Lebanon will definitely assume responsibility for Hezbollah's recent action because the country in a confrontation with Israel,” he added.




“This is not about Hezbollah, but about an ongoing Israeli violation against Lebanon through its occupation of Lebanese territories."




"It is as if the party is saying that since Israel is capable of violating the resolution, then so can we… It is time for Israel to halt its provocations,” Mansour told the website.





“Israel has no excuse to retaliate to Hezbollah's action because it is constantly practicing aggression against Lebanon,” he said.




“The United Nations has never held Israel responsible for its violations,” he concluded.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4291716,00.html

Rebels down fighter jet near Aleppo, activists say


Syrian rebel forces shot down a regime fighter jet some 10 kilometres west of Aleppo on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Rebels have also reportedly captured two air defence bases, one in Homs and another near Damascus.








Syrian rebels shot down a fighter jet in the northern province of Aleppo on Saturday, a monitoring group and a military defector said.

"The rebels shot down the fighter jet in the west of Aleppo province, where fierce battles are taking place," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. "The jet was bombarding the village of Khan al-Asal."

A defected military officer in the province confirmed the reports, adding that what he said was a MiG jet was shot down some 10 kilometres (six miles) west of Aleppo, scene of fierce battles since July 20.

Amateur video shot by activists and distributed by the Observatory showed groups of people gathering around a pile of embers, and smoke rising from the scene, as men fired their weapons into the air in celebration.

It also showed the tail of a fixed-wing aircraft, blackened by fire and broken off from the body of the plane.

"God is greatest," people shouted.

"People celebrate when planes are shot down because they are used to bombard civilian areas," said Abdel Rahman.

A second video shot and distributed by activists showed a rebel fighter leading an amateur cameraman to the destroyed remains of the jet.

"These are the planes of (President Bashar) al-Assad!" cried one unidentified man.

"The rebels likely used 23 mm anti-aircraft guns to shoot this plane down," said the Observatory's Abdel Rahman.

The rebel Free Syrian Army has shot down two MiG fighter jets in recent weeks.

On August 30, the rebels shot down a MiG fighter jet near a military airport in the northwestern province of Idlib.

Two weeks earlier, the FSA shot down another one in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

Experts say the Syrian army has been worn down by an increase in the number of battle fronts and rebel attacks that have cut major supply routes and undermined the regime's military superiority.

The army relies mainly on its monopoly on air power to slow the progress of the insurgency.

http://www.france24.com/en/20121013-rebels-down-fighter-jet-near-aleppo-syrian-observatory-human-rights

As Our Economy is Outsourced to China the Obama Administration Once Again Does Nothing



Submitted by Robert Oak on Sun, 10/14/2012 - 00:25

China
currency manipulation
cybersecurity
Geithner
industrial espionage
Jobs
Manufacturing
Obama
Romney
trade


Once again the U.S. Treasury and President Obama have refused to label China a currency manipulator, this time by delaying their report on exchange rates until after the election. The excuses abound, with the claim the Treasury Department must assess progress via a G-20 meeting, scheduled conveniently in November, to oh gee, the administration doesn't want to start a trade war. Anyone bothering to view the statistics on trade knows the United States has been in a trade war with China for over 12 years and guess what, we lost.







The yuan is pegged to the U.S. dollar and undervalued by 30%. See any progress in the above exchange rate graph? We don't either. China really laughs in the face of the United States and claims the Yuan is at equilibrium.


China’s currency has reached its equilibrium rate and its value is mainly determined by the market, rather than intervention, Beijing’s central bank chief said Sunday, signaling there is little likelihood of major movement in the yuan’s value in the near future.

Trade with China has cost the United States 2.7 million jobs. We see, consistently that China is roughly 40% of our goods trade deficit and that includes America's biggest problem, oil imports. Currency manipulation also has decimated our economic growth with estimates being equal to our current output gap.







Legislation to label China a currency manipulator have passed the Senate yet blocked in the House of Representatives. These bills have a huge number of Congressional representatives as cosponsors, yet are put on hold by Congressional leadership.

Even Wall Street is getting it that China's currency manipulation is a real drag on the U.S. economy. While China's massive buying of U.S. treasuries makes headlines, few realize the reason they do it is in order to keep their currency artificially undervalued.

If China's currency manipulation was confronted and corrected, an estimated 2.25 million jobs in 18 to 25 months would be created. Think about it. That's more job growth than we've had total in the last year and we are still down 4.5 million jobs since January 2008.

Just last week a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence report came out that was so damning, it was turned over to the FBI. The report states in no uncertain terms Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE are a major national security threat and not to be trusted. The report recommends our government and U.S. private companies should not purchase Huawai and ZTE products or allow these companies access to the United States telecommunications systems and networks.

Another report (pdf) also found China has been making telecommunications infrastructure and cyber warfare a top priority. Not only can China defend their own networks, they can also successfully launch a cyber attack on another nation at the same time.

The Chinese routinely issue DDoS attacks on the United States Internet infrastructure. The Department of Defense just spelled out the threat of cyberwafare.


A cyber attack perpetrated by nation states or violent extremist groups could be as destructive as the terrorist attack of 9/11,” he said in prepared remarks. “Such a destructive cyber terrorist attack could paralyze the nation.

Clearly it makes no sense to invite the Chinese right in, use their telecommunications hardware or let them access our networks. China has been repeatedly cited for stealing our industry secrets and intellectual property theft. Report after report has shown China knows no bounds when it comes to industrial espionage.

Yet when it comes to our economic security, despite the overwhelming statistics of economic devastation by China, nothing happens. The United States is offshore outsourcing our future to China. China is allowed to obtain our manufacturing sector, our advanced R&D, our innovations and most importantly our GDP and our jobs.

Beyond China's currency manipulation, their indigenous innovation policies have been called the biggest threat to the United States economically since the start of the mass exodus of our manufacturing base to China.

The lack of action by the Obama administration was blasted by team Romney, not exactly a bastion of other policies to help the U.S. middle class and U.S. citizen worker. Mitt Romney has promised to label China a currency manipulator his first day in office should he win the election.


Mitt Romney and running mate Rep. Paul Ryan on Saturday tagged China as "cheaters" in the global economy and accused President Obama of being soft on a country whose trade and currency policies are hurting the U.S. manufacturing sector and the middle class.

Why the Obama administration does nothing is no mystery. After all, they also claim bad trade deals are increasing exports, when in fact the opposite is true:


Obama’s claim – that the three trade deals are boosting exports – does not survive a basic fact check. The Panama deal has not even taken effect. Since implementation of the Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), U.S. goods exports to Korea have declined by nine percent (a decrease of more than $1.2 billion) in comparison to 2011 levels for the same months, while exports to Colombia since implementation of the Colombia FTA have barely increased (by $358 million). Under the FTAs, the United States has suffered a six percent fall in combined exports to the two new U.S. FTA partners.

Letting Chinese companies take over United States critical infrastructure is really battle of the lobbyists as well, not concern over us working folk or national security. Large corporate behemoths are really arguing over billions in profits, not those 2.25 million jobs. Us regular folk, who really need those jobs, are clearly an after thought, no matter what party is in power. That's probably why we get nowhere on the trade deficit with China. U.S. multinationals who offshore outsourced many of our jobs, have a vested interest to allow China to manipulate their currency. Cheap labor and cheap production are their goal, no matter what it does to the U.S. economy.

http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/our-economy-outsourced-china-obama-administration-once-again-does-nothing

As Our Economy is Outsourced to China the Obama Administration Once Again Does Nothing



Submitted by Robert Oak on Sun, 10/14/2012 - 00:25

China
currency manipulation
cybersecurity
Geithner
industrial espionage
Jobs
Manufacturing
Obama
Romney
trade


Once again the U.S. Treasury and President Obama have refused to label China a currency manipulator, this time by delaying their report on exchange rates until after the election. The excuses abound, with the claim the Treasury Department must assess progress via a G-20 meeting, scheduled conveniently in November, to oh gee, the administration doesn't want to start a trade war. Anyone bothering to view the statistics on trade knows the United States has been in a trade war with China for over 12 years and guess what, we lost.







The yuan is pegged to the U.S. dollar and undervalued by 30%. See any progress in the above exchange rate graph? We don't either. China really laughs in the face of the United States and claims the Yuan is at equilibrium.


China’s currency has reached its equilibrium rate and its value is mainly determined by the market, rather than intervention, Beijing’s central bank chief said Sunday, signaling there is little likelihood of major movement in the yuan’s value in the near future.

Trade with China has cost the United States 2.7 million jobs. We see, consistently that China is roughly 40% of our goods trade deficit and that includes America's biggest problem, oil imports. Currency manipulation also has decimated our economic growth with estimates being equal to our current output gap.







Legislation to label China a currency manipulator have passed the Senate yet blocked in the House of Representatives. These bills have a huge number of Congressional representatives as cosponsors, yet are put on hold by Congressional leadership.

Even Wall Street is getting it that China's currency manipulation is a real drag on the U.S. economy. While China's massive buying of U.S. treasuries makes headlines, few realize the reason they do it is in order to keep their currency artificially undervalued.

If China's currency manipulation was confronted and corrected, an estimated 2.25 million jobs in 18 to 25 months would be created. Think about it. That's more job growth than we've had total in the last year and we are still down 4.5 million jobs since January 2008.

Just last week a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence report came out that was so damning, it was turned over to the FBI. The report states in no uncertain terms Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE are a major national security threat and not to be trusted. The report recommends our government and U.S. private companies should not purchase Huawai and ZTE products or allow these companies access to the United States telecommunications systems and networks.

Another report (pdf) also found China has been making telecommunications infrastructure and cyber warfare a top priority. Not only can China defend their own networks, they can also successfully launch a cyber attack on another nation at the same time.

The Chinese routinely issue DDoS attacks on the United States Internet infrastructure. The Department of Defense just spelled out the threat of cyberwafare.


A cyber attack perpetrated by nation states or violent extremist groups could be as destructive as the terrorist attack of 9/11,” he said in prepared remarks. “Such a destructive cyber terrorist attack could paralyze the nation.

Clearly it makes no sense to invite the Chinese right in, use their telecommunications hardware or let them access our networks. China has been repeatedly cited for stealing our industry secrets and intellectual property theft. Report after report has shown China knows no bounds when it comes to industrial espionage.

Yet when it comes to our economic security, despite the overwhelming statistics of economic devastation by China, nothing happens. The United States is offshore outsourcing our future to China. China is allowed to obtain our manufacturing sector, our advanced R&D, our innovations and most importantly our GDP and our jobs.

Beyond China's currency manipulation, their indigenous innovation policies have been called the biggest threat to the United States economically since the start of the mass exodus of our manufacturing base to China.

The lack of action by the Obama administration was blasted by team Romney, not exactly a bastion of other policies to help the U.S. middle class and U.S. citizen worker. Mitt Romney has promised to label China a currency manipulator his first day in office should he win the election.


Mitt Romney and running mate Rep. Paul Ryan on Saturday tagged China as "cheaters" in the global economy and accused President Obama of being soft on a country whose trade and currency policies are hurting the U.S. manufacturing sector and the middle class.

Why the Obama administration does nothing is no mystery. After all, they also claim bad trade deals are increasing exports, when in fact the opposite is true:


Obama’s claim – that the three trade deals are boosting exports – does not survive a basic fact check. The Panama deal has not even taken effect. Since implementation of the Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), U.S. goods exports to Korea have declined by nine percent (a decrease of more than $1.2 billion) in comparison to 2011 levels for the same months, while exports to Colombia since implementation of the Colombia FTA have barely increased (by $358 million). Under the FTAs, the United States has suffered a six percent fall in combined exports to the two new U.S. FTA partners.

Letting Chinese companies take over United States critical infrastructure is really battle of the lobbyists as well, not concern over us working folk or national security. Large corporate behemoths are really arguing over billions in profits, not those 2.25 million jobs. Us regular folk, who really need those jobs, are clearly an after thought, no matter what party is in power. That's probably why we get nowhere on the trade deficit with China. U.S. multinationals who offshore outsourced many of our jobs, have a vested interest to allow China to manipulate their currency. Cheap labor and cheap production are their goal, no matter what it does to the U.S. economy.

http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/our-economy-outsourced-china-obama-administration-once-again-does-nothing

Benghazi: Osama's Revenge on Obama

people died, obama lied....i want to know what they knew and when they knew it

Talk about chickens coming home to roost. Talk about the Mother of All Fiascos. It's the revenge of Osama bin Laden from the bottom of the ocean, and the message is plain: al-Qaeda is very much alive, and America is a paper tiger.

The Middle East is beginning to fall apart -- Iran just sent a spy drone over Israel's sensitive defense installations, and the IDF waited hours to react; Turkey forced down a Syrian arms plane, and al-Qaeda's Al Zawahiri openly assaulted the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi in a six-hour attack, working through al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM), while the glorious Libyan friends did nothing as our ambassador was being raped and murdered. The guards called for help, and nobody responded. A police car fled the scene. The other ten cop cars requested by the consulate never showed up.

The Libyan regime knew. It had to know.

In Afghanistan, our soldiers are being murdered by the same Afghan troops we are training to take over after we leave. They can see the weak horse and the strong horse, and they are trying to tell the strong horse what side they are on. These folks used to be on our side, but they know which way the storm is blowing.

Remember: host governments are always responsible for the safety of accredited diplomats and soldiers. Always, always, always. Embassies have a U.S. Marine color guard -- not for protection, but for a symbolic presence. Host governments have overwhelming power: armies, cops, and a huge intelligence apparatus. In Afghanistan, believe it or not, we are the guests of the regime. If Afghan soldiers are killing us, it's because the regime is trying to save its butt, now that we have bowed down to the Taliban.

When Ayatollah Khomeini staged the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, he denied any responsibility. Jimmy Carter was weak enough to do nothing for a whole year, when the answer is right in the textbooks: the host government is always responsible for the security of diplomats. As soon as Reagan beat Carter, the U.S. hostages were released pronto, because Khomeini was not ready to die. His point was made.

Interesting footnote: Khomeini's runner to the embassy terrorists was a kid named Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was a big career move for him.

America may not have a memory, but the Islamists do. They've got our number, and they knew how far to push. They are not interested in you and me -- not yet -- but in the 1.4 billion Muslims who are quietly loving the revenge of Allah. This is how al-Qaeda gets notorious, wealthy, and powerful. This is how Islamists make recruits all over the world, including the West. Now Islamist throwbacks own Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Gaza. America is asleep at the switch, and Islamic fascists are on the march. Women in the millions are putting on chadors, niqabs, and black tents, not because they want to, but because they are afraid not to. They are right to be afraid. Our raving feminists are silent as the grave.

Remember: both our Cairo Embassy and our Benghazi Consulate were attacked, with a black al-Qaeda flag waving over the ruins for the international cameras. Al-Qaeda's signature is simultaneous attacks in different places. This was the biggest victory for AQ since 9/11/01. We handed it to them. Obama bowed down to King Abdullah in public. Hillary has been videoed a thousand times walking with Huma, both wearing head scarves.

Signals. In the Muslim world, if you send an openly gay ambassador to Libya, you might as well paint a target on him. If you make Hillary -- the betrayed wife of President Bill -- your secstate, expect the outraged patriarchal pride of the throwbacks to take revenge. You think Hillary being secstate is wonderful and progressive, and they take it as a personal insult and demand bloody revenge. They are laughing at her now -- a weak woman with a weaker president.

In Egypt and Libya, our glorified "Arab Spring" buddies did nothing while our sovereign territory went up in flames, our diplomats were shot and abused, and our national security secrets were stolen. So-called "spontaneous protests" exploded in fourteen Muslim countries at the same time as the Cairo and Benghazi assaults. Our diplomats have now been pulled out of a reported 20 Muslim countries, including Tunisia, Mali, Algeria, Libya.

It was the eleventh anniversary of 9/11/01, and our State Department idiotically pulled the U.S. Marines and military contractors out of Libya -- in favor of radical Islamists hired at $13,000 per year. Instead of U.S. Marines to guard the embassies with machine guns those State Department moneys went to Green Chevy Volts.

To show them we mean no harm. How they must be laughing at us.

Hours before the Benghazi attack on Ambassador Chris Stevens, al-Qaeda released a web video from Ayman Al Zawahiri -- bin Laden's second in command. According to the Israeli intelligence-linked news site Debkafile.com:


Zawahiri called on the faithful to take revenge on the United States for liquidating one of the organization's top operatives, Abu Yahya al-Libi in June by a US drone in Northwestern Pakistan. Its release was a "go signal" for the hit team to attack the US diplomats in Benghazi.

Why Benghazi? Because al-Libi means "the Libyan." Obama's U.S. predator killed Yahya al-Libi in Pakistan, and al-Qaeda takes instant revenge on our top diplomat in Libya.

Why the timing? It was 9/11, hours after the United States held memorial ceremonies for the victims, broadcast around the world.

It may not make sense to us, but it makes all the sense in the world to radical Muslims, al-Qaeda, Taliban, Salafists, Wahhabis, suicidal Twelvers, martyrdom freaks of Hezb'allah, and neo-Ottomans. There are hundreds of these little sects around the world, all whipped up every Friday by the local imam, sheikh, or other revenge fantasist.

Signals. They understand them. We have a media and political class that throws sand in our eyes. They are screaming at us, and we are pretending not to hear.

We now know why the administration has been running like hell from the assaults in Benghazi and Cairo. Weeks of flimsy lies, day after day, starting with Obama's speech to the United Nations, where he blamed a shoddy web video made by a Christian Copt from Egypt ("a resident of Southern California") who was promptly put in jail, presumably to protect his life. The BBC instantly blamed the video on 100 Jews -- or was it 500? -- who paid for the cruddy video. Anything to deflect blame in those crucial hours. Then the BBC "corrected" its lie after it went around the globe.

Our U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice is still running the same lies Obama told weeks ago. Hillary and the State Department are telling different lies every day; Obama is blaming the intelligence agencies, who are leaking right back; and somebody is blaming the Pentagon today.

This would be a scream if it wasn't so dangerous.

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat is an Arab newspaper published in London, and it's found a Libyan guard who survived that night, named 'Ali. (Translation by MEMRI.org; formatting in original.)


... Ali was part of a Special Protection Unit, which comprises members of the February 17 Brigade, a Libyan militia comprising radical Islamists which was established following the Libyan revolution.

Back in March 2012, the U.S. Consulate had hired members of the Special Protection Unit to guard its compound.

'Ali and others in his team describe ... the embassy's poor cooperation when, following the June 2012 attack on the embassy, (when a bomb exploded outside the Benghazi consulate) they requested upgrades to their weapons and improvement of the security tools at their disposal.

'Ali said that during the attack, after the embassy was stormed by some 50 men, ... his team's calls for backup, in Arabic and English, went unanswered by both the Americans inside the embassy and by the February 17 Brigade headquarters less than two miles away.

... Police Vehicle Outside Consulate "Fled The Scene"; No Response To Libyan Guards' Call For Backup

'Ali ... was taken by surprise by the attack, which he said "seemed to come out of nowhere." He said that he first noticed that the police car outside the consulate - an additional layer of security provided by the Libyan government - "took off quickly, fleeing the scene."

He then saw some 50 men, mostly unarmed, approaching the consulate by foot on the dirt road leading up to it, headed by eight masked men, two of whom carried RPGs. ... Shortly thereafter, one of the attackers fired three (RPG) rounds at the main gate, while others stormed the consulate wall.

...the great majority of the attackers were Libyans from Benghazi, and some of them were masked. ... four of the attackers, all apparently masked, were the leaders of the group, because ... all the others seemed to listen to them and to follow their orders.

... one of the four leaders had worn a Pakistani-type garment, and carried a golden pistol. A second, whom he described as a "short, fat, irritable" man about 5'4" with a beard visible under his mask carrying an AK-47, asked him about where the Americans were inside the consulate. A third man, he said, who was about 5'7", wore a long robe."

This is the age of the web, and the U.S. State Department must have been following every moment of the six-hour attack. They knew about September 11. They knew about Zawahiri's video. They knew Al-Libi was assassinated on President Obama's direct orders in Pakistan. They had received distress calls from the U.S. ambassador in Libya.

They knew. If they didn't know, they should resign en masse.

If the State Department knew, Hillary must have known. If Hillary knew, Obama must have been told. This is the age of instant communication. Didn't somebody have a cell phone?

They knew and did nothing.

It was 3 am, and nobody picked up the phone.

If Americans can't figure this out, the bad guys will. They already know. Only the ignorant and foolish don't get it.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/10/m-benghazi_osamas_revenge_on_obama.html

Benghazi: Osama's Revenge on Obama

people died, obama lied....i want to know what they knew and when they knew it

Talk about chickens coming home to roost. Talk about the Mother of All Fiascos. It's the revenge of Osama bin Laden from the bottom of the ocean, and the message is plain: al-Qaeda is very much alive, and America is a paper tiger.

The Middle East is beginning to fall apart -- Iran just sent a spy drone over Israel's sensitive defense installations, and the IDF waited hours to react; Turkey forced down a Syrian arms plane, and al-Qaeda's Al Zawahiri openly assaulted the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi in a six-hour attack, working through al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM), while the glorious Libyan friends did nothing as our ambassador was being raped and murdered. The guards called for help, and nobody responded. A police car fled the scene. The other ten cop cars requested by the consulate never showed up.

The Libyan regime knew. It had to know.

In Afghanistan, our soldiers are being murdered by the same Afghan troops we are training to take over after we leave. They can see the weak horse and the strong horse, and they are trying to tell the strong horse what side they are on. These folks used to be on our side, but they know which way the storm is blowing.

Remember: host governments are always responsible for the safety of accredited diplomats and soldiers. Always, always, always. Embassies have a U.S. Marine color guard -- not for protection, but for a symbolic presence. Host governments have overwhelming power: armies, cops, and a huge intelligence apparatus. In Afghanistan, believe it or not, we are the guests of the regime. If Afghan soldiers are killing us, it's because the regime is trying to save its butt, now that we have bowed down to the Taliban.

When Ayatollah Khomeini staged the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, he denied any responsibility. Jimmy Carter was weak enough to do nothing for a whole year, when the answer is right in the textbooks: the host government is always responsible for the security of diplomats. As soon as Reagan beat Carter, the U.S. hostages were released pronto, because Khomeini was not ready to die. His point was made.

Interesting footnote: Khomeini's runner to the embassy terrorists was a kid named Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was a big career move for him.

America may not have a memory, but the Islamists do. They've got our number, and they knew how far to push. They are not interested in you and me -- not yet -- but in the 1.4 billion Muslims who are quietly loving the revenge of Allah. This is how al-Qaeda gets notorious, wealthy, and powerful. This is how Islamists make recruits all over the world, including the West. Now Islamist throwbacks own Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Gaza. America is asleep at the switch, and Islamic fascists are on the march. Women in the millions are putting on chadors, niqabs, and black tents, not because they want to, but because they are afraid not to. They are right to be afraid. Our raving feminists are silent as the grave.

Remember: both our Cairo Embassy and our Benghazi Consulate were attacked, with a black al-Qaeda flag waving over the ruins for the international cameras. Al-Qaeda's signature is simultaneous attacks in different places. This was the biggest victory for AQ since 9/11/01. We handed it to them. Obama bowed down to King Abdullah in public. Hillary has been videoed a thousand times walking with Huma, both wearing head scarves.

Signals. In the Muslim world, if you send an openly gay ambassador to Libya, you might as well paint a target on him. If you make Hillary -- the betrayed wife of President Bill -- your secstate, expect the outraged patriarchal pride of the throwbacks to take revenge. You think Hillary being secstate is wonderful and progressive, and they take it as a personal insult and demand bloody revenge. They are laughing at her now -- a weak woman with a weaker president.

In Egypt and Libya, our glorified "Arab Spring" buddies did nothing while our sovereign territory went up in flames, our diplomats were shot and abused, and our national security secrets were stolen. So-called "spontaneous protests" exploded in fourteen Muslim countries at the same time as the Cairo and Benghazi assaults. Our diplomats have now been pulled out of a reported 20 Muslim countries, including Tunisia, Mali, Algeria, Libya.

It was the eleventh anniversary of 9/11/01, and our State Department idiotically pulled the U.S. Marines and military contractors out of Libya -- in favor of radical Islamists hired at $13,000 per year. Instead of U.S. Marines to guard the embassies with machine guns those State Department moneys went to Green Chevy Volts.

To show them we mean no harm. How they must be laughing at us.

Hours before the Benghazi attack on Ambassador Chris Stevens, al-Qaeda released a web video from Ayman Al Zawahiri -- bin Laden's second in command. According to the Israeli intelligence-linked news site Debkafile.com:


Zawahiri called on the faithful to take revenge on the United States for liquidating one of the organization's top operatives, Abu Yahya al-Libi in June by a US drone in Northwestern Pakistan. Its release was a "go signal" for the hit team to attack the US diplomats in Benghazi.

Why Benghazi? Because al-Libi means "the Libyan." Obama's U.S. predator killed Yahya al-Libi in Pakistan, and al-Qaeda takes instant revenge on our top diplomat in Libya.

Why the timing? It was 9/11, hours after the United States held memorial ceremonies for the victims, broadcast around the world.

It may not make sense to us, but it makes all the sense in the world to radical Muslims, al-Qaeda, Taliban, Salafists, Wahhabis, suicidal Twelvers, martyrdom freaks of Hezb'allah, and neo-Ottomans. There are hundreds of these little sects around the world, all whipped up every Friday by the local imam, sheikh, or other revenge fantasist.

Signals. They understand them. We have a media and political class that throws sand in our eyes. They are screaming at us, and we are pretending not to hear.

We now know why the administration has been running like hell from the assaults in Benghazi and Cairo. Weeks of flimsy lies, day after day, starting with Obama's speech to the United Nations, where he blamed a shoddy web video made by a Christian Copt from Egypt ("a resident of Southern California") who was promptly put in jail, presumably to protect his life. The BBC instantly blamed the video on 100 Jews -- or was it 500? -- who paid for the cruddy video. Anything to deflect blame in those crucial hours. Then the BBC "corrected" its lie after it went around the globe.

Our U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice is still running the same lies Obama told weeks ago. Hillary and the State Department are telling different lies every day; Obama is blaming the intelligence agencies, who are leaking right back; and somebody is blaming the Pentagon today.

This would be a scream if it wasn't so dangerous.

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat is an Arab newspaper published in London, and it's found a Libyan guard who survived that night, named 'Ali. (Translation by MEMRI.org; formatting in original.)


... Ali was part of a Special Protection Unit, which comprises members of the February 17 Brigade, a Libyan militia comprising radical Islamists which was established following the Libyan revolution.

Back in March 2012, the U.S. Consulate had hired members of the Special Protection Unit to guard its compound.

'Ali and others in his team describe ... the embassy's poor cooperation when, following the June 2012 attack on the embassy, (when a bomb exploded outside the Benghazi consulate) they requested upgrades to their weapons and improvement of the security tools at their disposal.

'Ali said that during the attack, after the embassy was stormed by some 50 men, ... his team's calls for backup, in Arabic and English, went unanswered by both the Americans inside the embassy and by the February 17 Brigade headquarters less than two miles away.

... Police Vehicle Outside Consulate "Fled The Scene"; No Response To Libyan Guards' Call For Backup

'Ali ... was taken by surprise by the attack, which he said "seemed to come out of nowhere." He said that he first noticed that the police car outside the consulate - an additional layer of security provided by the Libyan government - "took off quickly, fleeing the scene."

He then saw some 50 men, mostly unarmed, approaching the consulate by foot on the dirt road leading up to it, headed by eight masked men, two of whom carried RPGs. ... Shortly thereafter, one of the attackers fired three (RPG) rounds at the main gate, while others stormed the consulate wall.

...the great majority of the attackers were Libyans from Benghazi, and some of them were masked. ... four of the attackers, all apparently masked, were the leaders of the group, because ... all the others seemed to listen to them and to follow their orders.

... one of the four leaders had worn a Pakistani-type garment, and carried a golden pistol. A second, whom he described as a "short, fat, irritable" man about 5'4" with a beard visible under his mask carrying an AK-47, asked him about where the Americans were inside the consulate. A third man, he said, who was about 5'7", wore a long robe."

This is the age of the web, and the U.S. State Department must have been following every moment of the six-hour attack. They knew about September 11. They knew about Zawahiri's video. They knew Al-Libi was assassinated on President Obama's direct orders in Pakistan. They had received distress calls from the U.S. ambassador in Libya.

They knew. If they didn't know, they should resign en masse.

If the State Department knew, Hillary must have known. If Hillary knew, Obama must have been told. This is the age of instant communication. Didn't somebody have a cell phone?

They knew and did nothing.

It was 3 am, and nobody picked up the phone.

If Americans can't figure this out, the bad guys will. They already know. Only the ignorant and foolish don't get it.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/10/m-benghazi_osamas_revenge_on_obama.html

Confirmed: Obama Sent Same Form Letter to Parents of All Fallen Soldiers, Marines, SEALs

Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, 12:15 PM

A Houston man is upset that Obama sent his family a late, impersonal, form letter after his son was killed in Afghanistan this year.


A man who lost a son to the war in Afghanistan is disappointed in the condolence letter he received from President Barack Obama.

Tom Logan, a Willis resident, calls the note late, impersonal, disrespectful and essentially a form letter.

“It opened up a wound in our heart you can’t fix. You can’t send another letter. You can’t make it right,” Logan said.

Logan’s son, USMC Cpl. Joseph D. Logan, was killed Jan. 19, 2012, along with five other men when the helicopter they were in crashed.

Joey Logan was 22.

“He would have been more mad about this than I am,” Tom Logan said.

Tom Logan said he believes Obama did little more than sign his name to the document. He believes his son deserved more.

Local 2 Investigates examined two other letters sent by Obama to families of soldiers killed in action. The one-page typed condolence letters were identical other than names, ranks and service branches.

posted two condolence letters they inspected:
Here’s one of the letters.


Now compare that letter to the letter sent to the families of the Navy SEALs who were killed August 6, 2011.

It’s the same letter – word for word.

And here’s a photo of three similar letters sent to three SEAL families who lost their sons.

It’s the same letter.

For the past several years – since at least 2009 – and possibly throughout his term, Barack Obama has sent the same form letter to the parents of all fallen soldiers, Marines and Navy SEALs.

But Obama did send rapper Heavy D’s family a personal letter of condolence.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/10/confirmed-obama-sent-same-form-letter-to-parents-of-all-fallen-soldiers-marines-seals/

Confirmed: Obama Sent Same Form Letter to Parents of All Fallen Soldiers, Marines, SEALs

Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, 12:15 PM

A Houston man is upset that Obama sent his family a late, impersonal, form letter after his son was killed in Afghanistan this year.


A man who lost a son to the war in Afghanistan is disappointed in the condolence letter he received from President Barack Obama.

Tom Logan, a Willis resident, calls the note late, impersonal, disrespectful and essentially a form letter.

“It opened up a wound in our heart you can’t fix. You can’t send another letter. You can’t make it right,” Logan said.

Logan’s son, USMC Cpl. Joseph D. Logan, was killed Jan. 19, 2012, along with five other men when the helicopter they were in crashed.

Joey Logan was 22.

“He would have been more mad about this than I am,” Tom Logan said.

Tom Logan said he believes Obama did little more than sign his name to the document. He believes his son deserved more.

Local 2 Investigates examined two other letters sent by Obama to families of soldiers killed in action. The one-page typed condolence letters were identical other than names, ranks and service branches.

posted two condolence letters they inspected:
Here’s one of the letters.


Now compare that letter to the letter sent to the families of the Navy SEALs who were killed August 6, 2011.

It’s the same letter – word for word.

And here’s a photo of three similar letters sent to three SEAL families who lost their sons.

It’s the same letter.

For the past several years – since at least 2009 – and possibly throughout his term, Barack Obama has sent the same form letter to the parents of all fallen soldiers, Marines and Navy SEALs.

But Obama did send rapper Heavy D’s family a personal letter of condolence.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/10/confirmed-obama-sent-same-form-letter-to-parents-of-all-fallen-soldiers-marines-seals/

Confirmed: Obama Sent Same Form Letter to Parents of All Fallen Soldiers, Marines, SEALs

Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, 12:15 PM

A Houston man is upset that Obama sent his family a late, impersonal, form letter after his son was killed in Afghanistan this year.


A man who lost a son to the war in Afghanistan is disappointed in the condolence letter he received from President Barack Obama.

Tom Logan, a Willis resident, calls the note late, impersonal, disrespectful and essentially a form letter.

“It opened up a wound in our heart you can’t fix. You can’t send another letter. You can’t make it right,” Logan said.

Logan’s son, USMC Cpl. Joseph D. Logan, was killed Jan. 19, 2012, along with five other men when the helicopter they were in crashed.

Joey Logan was 22.

“He would have been more mad about this than I am,” Tom Logan said.

Tom Logan said he believes Obama did little more than sign his name to the document. He believes his son deserved more.

Local 2 Investigates examined two other letters sent by Obama to families of soldiers killed in action. The one-page typed condolence letters were identical other than names, ranks and service branches.

posted two condolence letters they inspected:
Here’s one of the letters.


Now compare that letter to the letter sent to the families of the Navy SEALs who were killed August 6, 2011.

It’s the same letter – word for word.

And here’s a photo of three similar letters sent to three SEAL families who lost their sons.

It’s the same letter.

For the past several years – since at least 2009 – and possibly throughout his term, Barack Obama has sent the same form letter to the parents of all fallen soldiers, Marines and Navy SEALs.

But Obama did send rapper Heavy D’s family a personal letter of condolence.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/10/confirmed-obama-sent-same-form-letter-to-parents-of-all-fallen-soldiers-marines-seals/

Turkish jets force down Syrian airliner

By Daniel Dombey in Istanbul and Funja Guler in Ankara






By Daniel Dombey in Istanbul and Funja Guler in Ankara






Turkey forced down a Syrian Airlines passenger aircraft on Wednesday on suspicion of transporting weapons from Russia to the Assad regime and said it had seized illicit cargo, as the already tense confrontation between Ankara and Damascus became still more grave.

The news that scrambled Turkish F-16 fighter jets had made the aircraft break its journey from Moscow to Damascus and land at Ankara airport came as Turkey threatened to step up its retaliation to a barrage of cross border shelling by Syria.





Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkish foreign minister, told Turkish state television that the aircraft, which was carrying about 30 passengers, was forced to land because of information that it may have carried “certain equipment in breach of civil aviation rules”. He added that Turkey was determined to stop “weapons transfers to a regime that brutally massacres civilians”.

A person knowledgeable about the search told the FT that equipment that could be considered arm parts had been discovered and seized, and that the aircraft would soon leave with its passengers.

Some Turkish media reported that missile parts had been discovered on the aircraft and that several large crates had been removed.

It also emerged that Turkish government had forbidden Turkish flights from travelling in Syrian airspace, because of the risk involved and a possible Syrian response.

One aircraft carrying Turkish pilgrims to Saudi Arabia from Bursa airport landed at Adana airport in Turkey because of the new restriction.

The search for arms on the Syrian Airlines flight from Moscow could also increase tension between Turkey and Russia, its neighbour, which has backed the regime of Bashar al-Assad, while Ankara supports the Syrian rebels.

Turkish media reported earlier in the day that Vladimir Putin, Russian president, had postponed a trip to Turkey scheduled for next week – a trip Ankara had seen as an opportunity to try to persuade Moscow to dilute its support for Mr Assad.

Syria is not subject to a UN arms embargo – partly because of Russian and Chinese vetoes in the UN Security Council of resolutions against the Assad regime. Nonetheless, Turkey has announced unilateral sanctions against any use of its land or airspace for the transport of weapons for the regime, although it is widely thought to allow arms shipments to the rebels.

Russia has rejected past allegations that is supplying Syria with offensive weaponry, rebuffing claims by Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, that it was providing Damascus with armed helicopters. However, it says it has provided Syria with anti-aircraft systems for legitimate reasons of defence.

The news about the Syrian jet came on a day in which Turkey threatened to step up its retaliation to cross-border attacks by Syria after six days – ending on Monday – in which Syrian shells landed in Turkey, with Ankara returning fire.

“If this continues we will respond with greater force,” said General Necdet Özel, the Turkish chief of staff, during a visit to Akçakale, a border town where five people were killed by a Syrian shell last week in the incident that triggered the retaliation

Turkey has already said that it if any more shells hit its territory the retaliation will be twice as great, with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister, questioning how the repeated shelling of Turkish territory can be merely the result of mistakes by Syrian armed forces.

“We have no intention of interfering in Syria’s internal affairs,” Mr Erdogan said in Istanbul before the news broke about the Syrian Airlines flight. “Our approach towards Syria does not depend on geopolitical balances; our only goal is to provide peace, comfort and stability in the region.”

The shells have hit Turkey amid fierce fighting for control of nearby border posts on the Syrian side of the frontier, with forces loyal to Mr Assad stepping up their attacks on rebel positions.

Opinion polls show that a majority of Turks both oppose war and disapprove of Mr Erdogan’s stance on Syria, which has seen him actively campaign against the Assad regime as Turkey becomes a hub for the political and military opposition as well as home to about 100,000 refugees.

But analysts say that in the event of another deadly shell attack the Turkish prime minister would have little option but to strike back harder. “You just can’t have another incident like those five people who were killed,” said Henri Barkey at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.

He also emphasised, however, that opposition to war was deeply entrenched. “The image of Turks fighting in the Middle East is wholly contrary to the idea of the country as a paragon of stability,” he said.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d2749540-12ce-11e2-aa9c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz28wPGVsw9

they all do

North Korea Defection: Soldier Crosses Heavily Armed Border After Killing 2 Superior Officers

SEOUL, South Korea — A North Korean soldier killed two of his superiors Saturday and defected to South Korea across the countries' heavily armed border in a rare crossing that prompted South Korean troops to immediately beef up their border patrol, officials said.

The soldier shot his platoon and squad leaders before crossing the western side of the Demilitarized Zone at around noon, a Defense Ministry official said, citing the soldier's statement after he was taken into custody by South Korean border guards.

The official, who declined to be named because questioning by authorities was ongoing, had earlier said one of the killed North Korean troops was a company commander but later corrected it, saying the information was mishandled in the first couple of hours of the development.

He said South Korean guards heard six gunshots before the North Korean soldier crossed the border. He also said the soldier used a loudspeaker to let South Korean guards know his intention to defect after the killings. The official said the motive behind the defection was unclear.

No unusual military movement was detected from the North Korean side of the border after the crossing, but South Korea immediately instructed its border troops to step up their guard, a South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official said. He also declined to be named, citing office rules.

There was no immediate comment from communist North Korea's state-run media.

Defections across the land border are rare, though North Koreans occasionally come to the South by boat. Last year, a North Korean civilian defected to the South across the land border. The last defection across the Demilitarized Zone by a North Korean soldier occurred in 2010, officials said. Another soldier and an officer also defected to the South across the border in two separate crossings in 2008.

The vast majority of North Koreans fleeing their homeland travel through China and Southeast Asia before arriving in the South.

More than 24,000 North Koreans have arrived in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.




The area where Saturday's defection took place is along the route to a South Korean-financed industrial complex in the North Korean border town of Kaesong, officials said.

Border security has been tighter than usual along the border in the past few years as military and political tensions between the rival Koreas soared. In 2010, a South Korean naval ship sank and 46 of its sailors died in an incident blamed on North Korea, though Pyongyang denies involvement. Later that year, North Korea bombarded a South Korean front-line island, killing two marines and two civilians.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/06/north-korea-defection-sol_n_1944444.html

Russia could resume subcritical nuclear bomb tests in Arctic, sources say

Russia has beefed up military security surrounding its old Arctic nuclear test archipelago of Novaya Zemlya in preparation for so-called subcritical nuclear tests of its old nuclear weapons, unconfirmed reports in Russia’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper indicate. Charles Digges, 03/10-2012
The tests, which would take place in Novaya Zemlya’s underground tunnel complex, are necessary in order to inspect Russia’s aging stockpiles of nuclear weapons – the world’s largest – the source, identified by the paper as working with Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said.

Sergei Novikov, an official spokesman for the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, would not comment on Nezavisimaya Gazeta’s report when reached by telephone.

Defense Ministry officials able to comment on the military build up on Novaya Zemlya – which has included halting civilian passenger flights to the archipelago’s Rogachevo airport as far back as August and a reported build up of a naval and air force presence surrounding it – would not answer repeated calls.

Subcritical testing is intended to show whether nuclear weapons components such as plutonium and uranium are developing problems as they age. Such tests, if conducted appropriately, do not lead to the uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction, or “critical mass,” of an actual nuclear blast. Only small amounts of fissile material are used and no radioactivity is released.

The United Nation’s Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which bans all nuclear explosions in all environments, does not prohibit subcritical testing. As of 1999, only the United States and Russia have acknowledged conducting subcritical tests.

No environmental threat - yet

Subcritical tests on Novaya Zemlya, some 960 kilometers east of northern Norway, do not pose an environmental danger, said Igor Kudrik, a Bellona expert on the Russian military and civilian nuclear complex.

“The tests can be done in a laboratory. There are no environmental hazards in and of themselves, but [the tests] suggest Russia is preparing for something larger, and that may go in the direction of performing an ordinary atomic bomb test,” said Kudrik.

In addition to determining safety and reliability of older nuclear warheads, subcritical tests can also be used to develop new generations of warheads.

But why now?

The motives behind ramping up subcritical tests at Novaya Zemlya, however, remain unclear. The Russian government spent a hefty sum of money to research the possibility of using Novaya Zemlya as a site for long-term storage of radioactive waste, but eventually gave up on the idea, said Alexander Nikitin, chairman of the Environment and Rights Center (ERC) Bellona.

Given those circumstances, said Nikitin, “I would immediately say that the [Novaya Zemlya] test range will be used again” for bomb tests.

“Today it is subcritical testing, tomorrow it could be more. Everything depends on world events,” continued Nikitin, a former Russian naval captain and nuclear inspector with the Russian Navy.

“If a war erupts between Israel and Iran, that would be a reason for standard nuclear tests. The day before yesterday, North Korea threatened South Korea with nuclear weapons – this too could be used as a reason to begin more than subcritical tests,” he said.

Nikitin said that subcritical tests give a “more or less clear picture” of how nuclear warheads are affected by age and whether they can remain in their missiles or need to be replaced.

Report a possible response to US subcritical tests?

Bellona’s first foray into Russian nuclear issues came in 1990 when it sailed its vessel Genius to Novaya Zemlya to protest nuclear testing there. The boat was detained and later released by the Soviet coast guard.

Russia last carried out a series of subcritical tests beginning in 1998, but the tests ceased in 2000. These tests took place during the same time frame that the United States was ramping up subcritical tests of its own, said a recent report from the Montreal-based Centre for Research on Globalization.

Russia’s unofficial floating of its plans for subcritical tests in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, speculated the Barents Observer news portal in Kirkenes, Norway, could be a response to US announcements that the US Department of Energy last month conducted underground subcritical testing of its own, according to the Canadian think-tank.

The Centre for Research on Globalization said in its report, published on September 30 that, “Since 2010, the US has ‘shot’ off three subcritical tests and has plans in late 2012 for ‘Pollux,’ a ‘first-of-a-kind demonstration’ combining a ‘scaled subcritical experiment’ with plutonium-239.”

It continued to read that “[w]hat we’re seeing in real-time in September 2012 is a replay of 1998,” in reference to the US tests that triggered the Russian tests during the same time period.

The Soviet Union conducted 715 nuclear bomb tests between 1949 and 1990, the last occurring on Novaya Zemlya. Of those tests, 215 were detonated in the atmosphere between 1949 and 1962, with the remaining 500 being detonated from 1963 in underground bunkers.

Testing Russia’s aging stockpile – is something bigger on the way?

During the Soviet era, plutonium in warheads was replaced at least every 10 years, but the process was expensive and cumbersome.

Given the age of the Russian stockpile, the Rosatom source that spoke to Nezavisimaya Gazeta could be entirely correct in suggesting the supposed subcritical tests are merely an effort to determine what warheads should be scrapped.

But Bellona’s Kudrik remained concerned that Russia’s resumption of subcritical testing “suggests that they are preparing for something bigger.”

He said Bellona would continue to monitor the situation.

Subcritical tests in a radioactive graveyard

This monitoring is especially important given the catalogue of enormous finds of nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel – from 2000 containers of radioactive waste, to old and damaged submarine reactors to an entire nuclear submarine – that were sunk in the shallows surrounding Novaya Zemlya for decades by Soviet, then Russia authorities.

A recently returned joint Russian-Norwegian expedition – the first of its kind in 18 years – has indicated that the K-27 nuclear submarine, which was scuttled by the Navy as waste in 50 meters of water in Novaya Zemlya’s Stepovogo Bay, should be researched for lifting and safe storage of its damaged reactors to avoid a possible nuclear chain reaction and explosion.

The sub, which suffered a radiation emergency that killed nine sailors in 1968, was dumped in Stepovogo Bay by the Russian Navy in 1981.

Preliminary reports from the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) have said that contamination surrounding the vessel, which has two liquid metal cooled reactors stuffed with spent nuclear fuel on board, has not increased since it was last inspected in 1993 and again in 2000.

But the NRPA has emphasized the importance of conducting environmental impact studies as soon as possible to determine the feasibility of lifting the sub.

The supposed plans to conduct subcritical nuclear testing on Novaya Zemlya would do nothing to ease the radiation woes in the region of the Kara and Barents Seas, suggested Kudrik.

Oil exploration concerns

The possible nuclear tests and the sunken radioactive waste in the region are a concern for oil majors, including Norway’s Statoil, who are participating in the Arctic oil gold rush. Some one-quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil resources are believed to lie in the Arctic.

Statoil in May inked a deal with Russian state oil monopoly Rosneft to explore the Barents Sea region west of Novaya Zemlya. Statoil has said it plans to drill nine exploration wells in the Arctic by next year, according to the E42 Norwegian-language news agency.

Statoil spokesman Bård Petersen did not immediately respond to text messages from Bellona as to whether the apparent plans for subcritical tests on Novaya Zemlya would alter its exploration plans with Rosneft.

While emphasizing that the financial responsibility for cleaning up the radioactive dump in Arctic seas lies with the Russian government, Bellona’s Kudrik suggested late last month that big oil should assist in accelerating the process by lending its offshore expertise.

“Oil companies should make sure that the area is swiped clean of nuclear waste before they start any oil exploration activity,” said Kudrik. “In the worst-case scenario – that is, an uncontrolled chain reaction in the reactors of K-27 – radiation will spread in the Kara Sea and create major difficulties for any industrial activity.”

http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2012/novaya_zemlya_subcritical_tests

U.S. Ospreys In Japan: Hybrid Aircraft Fly To Base On Okinawa Despite Protests

TOKYO -- Six Osprey hybrid aircraft were transferred to a U.S. base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa on Monday – and were greeted by hundreds of protesters outside the fence showing their concern about the plane's safety.

The aircraft – which takes off like a helicopter and flies like an airplane – flew safely from Iwakuni, on the Japanese main island, to U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, according to Capt. Justin Jacobs with the Third Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa.

All told, 12 of the MV-22 Osprey aircraft will be stationed at Futenma, which is surrounded by residential areas. It isn't clear when the remaining six will be moved.

Many Okinawa residents oppose their deployment after crashes in Morocco and Florida earlier this year, saying they are not safe to fly in Okinawa's crowded environment. An incident in North Carolina last month that officials called a "precautionary landing" further aggravated the sentiment.

Japan's central government gave the green light for operations to begin after a visit last month by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who said Washington is confident in the safety of the aircraft.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. was comfortable that it has a good understanding with Japan that the safety of the Osprey aircraft has been demonstrated. She said the U.S. would work with Japan to ensure the fleet is maintained in perfect condition to ensure the highest safety standards.

Photographs and TV footage Monday showed hundreds of protesters gathered near Futenma chanting and holding up banners opposing the Osprey.

"Who can say, "We understand" about something like this that could fall on our heads? It's extremely disappointing and regrettable," Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima told reporters.

The Osprey deployment plan has reignited longstanding anger over the heavy presence of American troops on Okinawa and has become a headache for officials in Tokyo and Washington hoping to calm anti-base sentiment. More than half of the roughly 50,000 U.S. troops stationed throughout Japan are based on Okinawa.




Futenma also arouses local frustration because the two countries decided to close it more than a decade ago, but it has remained in operation because a replacement site hasn't been readied

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/ospreys-japan-okinawa-base-protests_n_1930363.html

lol, im glad the monkeys off your back...

my gift for the bull

Big U.S. Fleet Nears Disputed Islands, But What For?

Read more: http://nation.time.com/2012/09/30/big-u-s-fleet-nears-disputed-islands-but-what-for/#ixzz27zWCnRmn

TOKYO – It’s probably just a coincidence; no need to worry yet. But the U.S. has quietly assembled a powerful air, land and sea armada not far from where Japan and China are squaring off over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Two Navy aircraft carrier battle groups and a Marine Corps air-ground task force have begun operating in the Western Pacific, within easy reach of the Senkaku Islands. That’s where Japanese and Chinese patrol boats are engaged in an increasingly tense standoff.

Chinese vessels have repeatedly entered territorial waters around the small islands in recent weeks and Coast Guard vessels from Japan and Taiwan fired water cannons at each other last week. The islands are controlled and administered by Japan, but claimed by both China and Taiwan.

No warships have been directly involved in the confrontations, so far. But China has vowed to continue sending patrol vessels into territorial waters and Japan has assembled scores of Coast Guard vessels to “defend” the islands.

The U.S. hasn’t taken sides in the ownership dispute, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for “cooler heads” to prevail. Nonetheless, U.S. officials have stated clearly that the Senkakus fall under the U.S.-Japan security treaty, which would require the U.S. to come to Japan’s aid in case of attack.

Navy officials confirmed Sunday that the USS George Washington carrier strike group has begun operating in the East China Sea, near the disputed islands. The USS John C. Stennis group is only slightly further away in the South China Sea. Each carrier is armed with more than 80 warplanes, and strike groups typically include guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, submarines and supply ships.

In the nearby Philippine Sea, some 2,200 Marines are embarked aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard and two escorts. The Marines are equipped with amphibious assault vehicles, light armored vehicles, artillery, helicopters and Harrier fighter jets.

Carrier groups and Marine task forces often operate alone, so the convergence of the three groups in a relatively small part of the Pacific represents an unusual concentration of firepower. All three are fresh from training exercises in and around Guam. Those exercises included live-fire with missiles and joint beach landings by U.S. Marines and Japanese ground troops.

A spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command says the training missions and carrier deployments are not necessarily related to the Senkaku tensions. The islands are called Diaoyu in China, and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan.

“These operations are not tied to any specific event,” said Capt. Darryn James, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command in Honolulu. “As part of the U.S. commitment to regional security, two of the Navy’s 11 global force carrier strike groups are operating in the Western Pacific to help safeguard stability and peace.”

In truth, the carrier and Marine deployments may have as much to do with the “re-balancing” of U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region, and with an unrelated crisis in the Middle East, as with the squabble in the East China Sea.

The George Washington battle group and the Marine task force, both based in Japan, were scheduled to conduct separate but overlapping exercises in the Guam region well before the Senkaku dispute heated up. Guam and nearby Tinian Island have been tabbed as a hub for the “re-balancing” of U.S. forces in the region — a hedge against China’s growing military power and ambitions in the region.

The Stennis is being sent from its homeport in Washington state to the Persian Gulf, four months ahead of schedule in response to the escalating crisis over Iran’s nuclear program. The Guam exercises allowed the Stennis to grab a few days of extra training with the George Washington group en route. The Senkakus are situated close to the major sea routes from Pacific to Mideast; it is unclear if the Stennis group is simply passing, by or will remain awhile.

The Marines, meanwhile, were expected to move from Guam to the Philippines for previously scheduled training with the Philippines military.

Navy spokesman James said he could not comment on future ship movements.

Although significant oil and gas deposits may exist within the islands’ territorial waters or exclusive economic zone, the Senkaku dispute has centered largely on old grievances and resurgent nationalism. U.S. officials have privately expressed frustration with the lack of diplomatic progress in resolving the dispute. China placed two-page ads in major U.S. newspapers this weekend, accusing Japan of “stealing” the islands and citing claims that date back hundreds of years.

The Senkakus are located about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Taiwan and about 200 miles (320 km) east of the Chinese mainland.

While the big U.S. fleet might have been intended as a warning to China not to escalate the islands dispute, it may have been intended to focus Japan’s attention, as well.

Or, it could have been a coincidence.


Read more: http://nation.time.com/2012/09/30/big-u-s-fleet-nears-disputed-islands-but-what-for/#ixzz27zWILCXg

Azerbaijan eyes aiding Israel against Iran


(Reuters) - Israel's "go-it-alone" option to attack Iran's nuclear sites has set the Middle East on edge and unsettled its main ally at the height of a U.S. presidential election campaign.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exudes impatience, saying Tehran is barely a year from a "red line" for atomic capacity. Many fellow Israelis, however, fear a unilateral strike, lacking U.S. forces, would fail against such a large and distant enemy.

But what if, even without Washington, Israel were not alone?

Azerbaijan, the oil-rich ex-Soviet republic on Iran's far northern border, has, say local sources with knowledge of its military policy, explored with Israel how Azeri air bases and spy drones might help Israeli jets pull off a long-range attack.

That is a far cry from the massive firepower and diplomatic cover that Netanyahu wants from Washington. But, by addressing key weaknesses in any Israeli war plan - notably on refueling, reconnaissance and rescuing crews - such an alliance might tilt Israeli thinking on the feasibility of acting without U.S. help.

It could also have violent side-effects more widely and many doubt Azeri President Ilham Aliyev would risk harming the energy industry on which his wealth depends, or provoking Islamists who dream of toppling his dynasty, in pursuit of favor from Israel.

Yet despite official denials by Azerbaijan and Israel, two Azeri former military officers with links to serving personnel and two Russian intelligence sources all told Reuters that Azerbaijan and Israel have been looking at how Azeri bases and intelligence could serve in a possible strike on Iran.

"Where planes would fly from - from here, from there, to where? - that's what's being planned now," a security consultant with contacts at Azeri defense headquarters in Baku said. "The Israelis ... would like to gain access to bases in Azerbaijan."

"ICEBERG" RELATIONSHIP

That Aliyev, an autocratic ally of Western governments and oil firms, has become a rare Muslim friend of the Jewish state - and an object of scorn in Tehran - is no secret; a $1.6-billion arms deal involving dozens of Israeli drones, and Israel's thirst for Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea crude, are well documented.

Israel's foreign minister visited Baku in April this year.

But a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable from 2009 quoted Aliyev, who succeeded his father in 2003, describing relations with Israel as "like an iceberg, nine tenths ... below the surface".

That he would risk the wrath of his powerful neighbor by helping wage war on Iran is, however, something his aides flatly deny; wider consequences would also be hard to calculate from military action in a region where Azerbaijan's "frozen" conflict with Armenia is just one of many elements of volatility and where major powers from Turkey, Iran and Russia to the United States, western Europe and even China all jockey for influence.

Nonetheless, Rasim Musabayov, an independent Azeri lawmaker and a member of parliament's foreign affairs committee, said that, while he had no definitive information, he understood that Azerbaijan would probably feature in any Israeli plans against Iran, at least as a contingency for refueling its attack force:

"Israel has a problem in that if it is going to bomb Iran, its nuclear sites, it lacks refueling," Musabayov told Reuters.

"I think their plan includes some use of Azerbaijan access.

"We have (bases) fully equipped with modern navigation, anti-aircraft defenses and personnel trained by Americans and if necessary they can be used without any preparations," he added.

U.S. CONCERNS

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has made clear it does not welcome Israel's occasional talk of war and that it prefers diplomacy and economic sanctions to deflect an Iranian nuclear program that Tehran denies has military uses.

Having also invested in Azerbaijan's defenses and facilities used by U.S. forces in transit to Afghanistan, Washington also seems unlikely to cheer Aliyev joining any action against Iran.

The Azeri president's team insist that that will not happen.

"No third country can use Azerbaijan to perpetrate an attack on Iran. All this talk is just speculation," said Reshad Karimov from Aliyev's staff. He was echoing similar denials issued in Baku and from Israel when the journal Foreign Policy quoted U.S. officials in March voicing alarm that Azeri-Israeli action could thwart U.S. diplomacy toward Iran and across the Caucasus.

Israeli officials dismiss talk of Azeri collaboration in any attack on Iran but decline public comment on specific details.

Even speaking privately, few Israeli officials will discuss the issue. Those who do are skeptical, saying overt use of Azeri bases by Israel would provoke too many hostile reactions. One political source did, however, say flying unmarked tanker aircraft out of Azerbaijan to extend the range and payloads of an Israeli bombing force might play a part in Israeli planning.

Though denying direct knowledge of current military thinking on Iran, the Israeli said one possibility might be "landing a refueling plane there, made to look like a civilian airliner, so it could later take off to rendezvous mid-air with IAF jets".

A thousand miles separates Tehran and Tel Aviv, putting much of Iran beyond the normal ranges of Israel's U.S.-made F-16 bombers and their F-15 escorts. So refueling could be critical.

INTELLIGENCE COOPERATION

There is far from unanimity among Israeli leaders about the likelihood of any strike on Iran's nuclear plants, whether in a wider, U.S.-led operation or not. Netanyahu's "red line" speech to the United Nations last week was seen by many in Israel as making any strike on Iran unlikely - for at least a few months.

Many, however, also assume Israel has long spied on and even sabotaged what the Western powers say are plans for atomic weapons which Israel says would threaten its very existence.

A second Israeli political source called the idea of Azerbaijan being either launch pad or landing ground for Israeli aircraft "ludicrous" - but agreed with the first source that it was fair to assume joint Israeli-Azeri intelligence operations.

The Azeri sources said such cooperation was established.

As part of last year's arms deal, Azerbaijan is building up to 60 Israeli-designed drones, giving it reconnaissance means far greater than many analysts believe would be needed just to guard oil installations or even to mount any operations against the breakaway, ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"With these drones, (Israel) can indirectly watch what's happening in Iran, while we protect our borders," legislator Musabayov said - a view shared by Azeri former military sources.

Less reserved than Israeli officials, the sources in Azerbaijan and in Russian intelligence, which keeps a close eye on its former Soviet backyard, said Baku could offer Israel much more, however - though none believed any deal was yet settled.

The country, home to nine million people whose language is close to Turkish and who mostly share the Shi'ite Muslim faith of Iran, has four ex-Soviet air bases that could be suitable for Israeli jets, the Azeri sources said. They named central Kyurdamir, Gyanja in the west and Nasosny and Gala in the east.

The Pentagon says it helped upgrade Nasosny airfield for NATO use. It also uses Azeri commercial facilities in transit to Afghanistan. But U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan is limited by Washington's role as a mediator in its dispute with Armenia.

One of the sources with links to the Azeri military said: "There is not a single official base of the United States and even less so of Israel on the territory of Azerbaijan. But that is 'officially'. Unofficially they exist, and they may be used."

The source said Iran had been a main topic of talks in April with Israel's Soviet-born foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman.

RECONNAISSANCE, RESCUE

Azeri tarmac, a shorter flight from key sites in northern Iran including the Fordow underground uranium enrichment plant and missile batteries at Tabriz, might feature in Israeli war planning in less direct ways, the former Azeri officers said.

With Israel wary of its vulnerability to pressure over air crew taken prisoner, plans for extracting downed pilots may be a key feature of any attack plan. Search and rescue helicopters might operate from Azerbaijan, the sources said - or planes that were hit or low on fuel could land at Azeri bases in extremis.

Such engagement carries risks for Azerbaijan and its oil platforms and pipelines operated with international companies.

Defending against Iran is part of public debate in Baku. The United States has provided Azerbaijan with three Coast Guard cutters and has funded seven coastal radar sites as well as giving Baku other help in protecting its oil installations.

Relations have long been strained between the former Soviet state and Iran, which is home to twice as many ethnic Azeris as Azerbaijan itself. Tehran beams an Azeri-language television channel over the border which portrays Aliyev as a puppet of Israel and the West, as well as highlighting corruption in Baku.

Azerbaijan sees Iranian hands behind its Islamist opposition and both countries have arrested alleged spies and agitators.

Faced with an uneven balance of force, Aliyev's government makes no bones about Israel being an ally. As one presidential aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained: "We live in a dangerous neighborhood; that is what is the most powerful driving force for our relationship with Israel."

However, Israel's confrontation with Iran may turn out, the arms build-up in Azerbaijan, including recent Israeli upgrades for its Soviet T-72 tanks, may have consequences for the wider region and for the stand-off with Armenia - consequences that would trouble all the powers with stakes in the Caspian region.

"We keep buying arms. On the one hand, it's a good strategy to frighten Armenia," one of the former Azeri officers said of the shaky, 18-year-old ceasefire over Nagorno-Karabakh. "But you don't collect weapons to hang on the wall and gather dust.

"One day, all these could be used."

(Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/30/us-iran-israel-azerbaijan-idUSBRE88T05L20120930

hooray!

your kidding me, right?