Department of Homeland Security on its Fifth Anniversary

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 8, 2008

Audio

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, I addressed the Department of Homeland Security on its fifth anniversary and thanked the men and women who work tirelessly to keep us safe. Because of their hard work, and the efforts of many across all levels of government, we have not suffered another attack on our soil since September the 11th, 2001.

This is not for a lack of effort on the part of the enemy. Al Qaida remains determined to attack America again. Two years ago, Osama bin Laden warned the American people, "Operations are under preparation, and you will see them on your own ground once they are finished." Because the danger remains, we need to ensure our intelligence officials have all the tools they need to stop the terrorists.

Unfortunately, Congress recently sent me an intelligence authorization bill that would diminish these vital tools. So today, I vetoed it. And here is why:

The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror -- the CIA program to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives. This program has produced critical intelligence that has helped us prevent a number of attacks. The program helped us stop a plot to strike a U.S. Marine camp in Djibouti, a planned attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi, a plot to hijack a passenger plane and fly it into Library Tower in Los Angeles, and a plot to crash passenger planes into Heathrow Airport or buildings in downtown London. And it has helped us understand al Qaida's structure and financing and communications and logistics. Were it not for this program, our intelligence community believes that al Qaida and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland.

The main reason this program has been effective is that it allows the CIA to use specialized interrogation procedures to question a small number of the most dangerous terrorists under careful supervision. The bill Congress sent me would deprive the CIA of the authority to use these safe and lawful techniques. Instead, it would restrict the CIA's range of acceptable interrogation methods to those provided in the Army Field Manual. The procedures in this manual were designed for use by soldiers questioning lawful combatants captured on the battlefield. They were not intended for intelligence professionals trained to question hardened terrorists.

Limiting the CIA's interrogation methods to those in the Army Field Manual would be dangerous because the manual is publicly available and easily accessible on the Internet. Shortly after 9/11, we learned that key al Qaida operatives had been trained to resist the methods outlined in the manual. And this is why we created alternative procedures to question the most dangerous al Qaida operatives, particularly those who might have knowledge of attacks planned on our homeland. The best source of information about terrorist attacks is the terrorists themselves. If we were to shut down this program and restrict the CIA to methods in the Field Manual, we could lose vital information from senior al Qaida terrorists, and that could cost American lives.

The bill Congress sent me would not simply ban one particular interrogation method, as some have implied. Instead, it would eliminate all the alternative procedures we've developed to question the world's most dangerous and violent terrorists. This would end an effective program that Congress authorized just over a year ago.

The fact that we have not been attacked over the past six-and-a-half years is not a matter of chance. It is the result of good policies and the determined efforts of individuals carrying them out. We owe these individuals our thanks, and we owe them the authorities they need to do their jobs effectively.

We have no higher responsibility than stopping terrorist attacks. And this is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe.

Thank you for listening.

END

Truth about Extremism

What the unbeliever’s call extremism towards Allah’s servants, the believers say they walk with a pious heart. For those, who use the word extremism are more commonly possessed with Shaytan in a bargain towards the abyss.

-Deborah

A Good Joke, with a Big Laugh

8 March 2008

by HRM Deborah

Just a small comment on the latest media propaganda campaign, which is trying to reignite the war in Palestine, between the Jewish people and the Palestinian people.

While, I did enjoy the propaganda joke, it is not going to ruffle our feather’s to say the least, because truth always outweighs lies; even to the extent of insulting Palestine and just outright trying to make us mad.

Furthermore, the joke is on the Propaganda hawker's!

Hillary Clinton on Oil Profits

Sen. Hillary Clinton Campaigns In South MS

7 March 2008

by Danielle Thomas

HATTIESBURG (WLOX) -- Just days before Mississippians go to the polls presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton made a stop in South Mississippi. The former first lady spoke to hundreds of supporters in Hattiesburg.

Clinton said she knows she's a long shot at winning Mississippi's Democratic primary on Tuesday. In fact, she said some people asked her why she bothered to come. She said it was because she wanted Mississippi to know if elected president our state can count on her.

"It took a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush. I think it's going to take a Clinton to clean up after the second Bush," the senator told a cheering crowd.

Senator Clinton spoke before a packed house at the Hattiesburg Train Depot if elected she'll be tough on oil producing countries that put the United States over a barrel when it comes to gasoline prices.

"Oil hit a $104 a barrel," said Sen. Clinton. "The president said 'I sure wish they'd drop the price' and they said 'No, we won't, Mr. President.' And he said he was disappointed."

Sen. Clinton continued, "I've got to tell you you won't see me holding hands with the Saudis. You'll see me holding them accountable for what they do to the oil price and to our country."

Senator Clinton says she's convinced its time the Iraqi people took responsibility sustaining democracy in their own country.

"On my first day I will ask the Secretary of State and the joint chiefs of staff and the security advisors to give me a plan so I can begin withdrawing our troops within 60 days," said the former first lady.

During her speech Senator Clinton specifically addressed a controversy brewing here in Mississippi about redirecting housing funds to the Port of Gulfport.

"Can I tell you it should go to both?" asked Senator Clinton. "We should have enough money in the United States of America to build a port and get people out of those FEMA trailers and get them into homes. Half a week in Iraq would pay for both."

"I am convinced that our priorities are up side down," she said. "Why are we being so miserly when it comes to people on the Mississippi Gulf Coast who are still in those trailers that are still leaking formaldehyde that still haven't had the money come to be able to rebuild their homes. It's time we took care of the American people first."

Clinton sharply criticized the Barak Obama campaign for contradicting itself on whether Obama has a plan to withdraw from Iraq.

Clinton said, "If he keeps telling people one thing and his campaign tells people abroad something else, I'm not sure what the American people should believe."

Dr. Mary Elizabeth Stevens of Gulfport resident went to hear Senator Clinton speak.

She was happy to hear the presidential candidate's promise to end the federally mandated No Child Left Behind.

"I'm a school teacher, a doctor of education. I feel in love with her for that because of her attitude about what we can do for our children. If you're going to design a program, you have to supply the money for it and our teachers have had a hard time with that."

Veteran Curtis Roberts liked hearing about the health care reform.

"All these older folks they're getting small SSI, you know social security and you wonder how are these people taking care of their medical needs. They're going and buying two or three day supplies."

Ryan Schilling, a teacher at Sacred Heart in Hattiesburg, brought a group of students to the rally. He said "She's such a terrific speaker, so energetic and she deserves to be one of the top two candidates within the Democratic party.

U.S. Policy for Middle East Peace?

For 108 years and counting.

Wrath of Allah

You see many of them taking the disbelievers as their Auliya (protectors and helpers). Evil indeed is that which their ownselves have sent forward before them, for that (reason) Allah's Wrath fell upon them and in torment they will abide.

تَرَى كَثِيرًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتَوَلَّوْنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَبِئْسَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ لَهُمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ أَن سَخِطَ اللّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَفِي الْعَذَابِ هُمْ خَالِدُونَ

Al-Maidah 5:80

My Mum is Amazing

Naadira Alli sings the song, "Mum is Amazing," written by Zain Bhikha which features on the Allah Knows album.

Spanish Drop “Inhuman” Extradition Request For Guantánamo Britons

3 March 2008

by Andy Worthington

Finally, after nearly three months of uncertainty, the Spanish government has dropped its request for the extradition of Jamil El-Banna and Omar Deghayes, two British residents freed from Guantánamo in December.

As discussed here, here and here, the very thought of extraditing these two men, who had suffered so much in US custody, was incomprehensible, not just because the timing of the request was so mind-bogglingly callous, but also because both men had been cleared by both the US and UK authorities.

Jamil El-Banna outside court in January.

Mr. El-Banna, a Jordanian, was seized with fellow British resident Bisher al-Rawi by US agents in the Gambia, where he had travelled to establish a mobile peanut-processing plant, in November 2002, and his case had caused embarrassment to the British government when it was revealed by his lawyers that British intelligence had been complicit in providing the false intelligence that led to his kidnapping, and Mr. Deghayes, who is married to an Afghan woman, and has a child that he barely knows, was seized in Pakistan and sold to US forces at a time when bounty payments for foreigners were widespread.

Omar Deghayes outside court in January.

Baltasar Garzón, the prominent judge who agreed to shelve the case against the two men, explained that he was doing so because of medical reports filed by the men’s lawyers at their last hearing in February. Two doctors, Jonathan Fluxman and Helen Bamber, had examined the men earlier in the month and had concluded that they were suffering from severe medical conditions caused by torture at the hands of their US captors and the inhumane conditions in which they were kept for five years.

According to the Guardian, the doctors reported that Jamil El-Banna was severely depressed, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that he was also suffering from “diabetes, hyper-tension, back pain and damage to the back of his left knee.” Mr. Deghayes was also diagnosed as suffering from PTSD and depression, and has “fractures in his nasal bone and right index finger.” In addition, he is blind in his right eye, as the result of an attack by guards at Guantánamo. It was also noted that both men presented “a high risk of suicide.”

In his report, Dr. Fluxman concluded that, “given all these factors, I don’t see how Mr. Deghayes would be able to give instructions to his lawyers, listen to evidence and give his own accurate testimony.” In Mr.El-Banna’s case, the doctors concluded that his already fragile mental health could deteriorate severely were he to be separated once more from his wife and children.

Announcing the shelving of the charges, Judge Garzón refused to concede that the initial claims that the men had connections with terrorism were misguided, but acknowledged that they were so damaged by their experiences that their very recovery was “uncertain,” and that as a result they were incapable of defending themselves in any potential trial.

Judge Garzón specifically blamed Mr. El-Banna’s medical condition on the “five years [he spent] in secret prisons in Gambia and Afghanistan and latterly in Guantánamo … in inhumane conditions.” He added that the torture he suffered in these prisons resulted in the “progressive deterioration of his mental condition.” In Omar Deghayes’ case, he noted that he was tortured and badly treated in prisons in Islamabad, Bagram and Guantánamo, and he concluded that the men’s treatment had “caused a serious deterioration in the mental state of the accused,” to such an extent that “it is impossible, even inhuman, to pursue the European arrest warrants.”

Speaking from his home in Brighton, Mr Deghayes said, “It’s good — it’s happy news. I always knew they would realise their mistake and give up the case.” He added that he hoped that the curfews imposed on Mr El-Banna and himself would now be lifted. “I still have problems with immigration as the authorities have taken away my resident status, but this is a relief, of course,” he insisted, and then pointed out that one of his main concerns was not his own status, but that of the 40 to 50 detainees still in Guantánamo who, he said, were in “immediate danger” of deportation to their home countries, where they face the risk of torture.

This, it should be noted, is a fate that Mr. Deghayes was himself threatened with, even though he and his family had fled Libya for Britain in the 1980s, after his father, a lawyer and trade union activist, had been murdered by representatives of Colonel Gaddafi’s regime.

Zachary Katznelson, Senior Counsel for Reprieve, the human rights charity which has represented the men, was also overjoyed to hear the news. “We are thrilled to hear that Judge Garzón has done the right thing and dropped his request for the extradition of Jamil and Omar,” he said. “These men suffered horrors for years at the hands of the United States. They never had a trial of any type, yet they served more than five years in a brutal prison. It is now time to let them rebuild their lives here in the UK — it’s where their families are and it’s where they call home.”

For more information about the Britons at Guantánamo, see my book The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison.


SOURCE: http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/

Purification through Affliction

For a believer, afflictions are like medicine, they remove from him diseases that, were they to remain, would destroy him or decrease his level of Iman (Faith). The afflictions and tests extract such diseases and prepare him for receiving full rewards and a high position in Paradise.

The occurrence of these afflictions is better than their absence, as Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said:

By Him in Whose hand is my soul, Allah does not ordain a decree for a believer but it is for his good; and this merit is for no one except a believer. If he is granted ease of living, he is thankful; and this best for him. And if he is afflicted with a hardship, he perseveres; and this is best for him.

Therefore, affliction and testing are required for the believer to achieve victory, honor, and well-being. Because of this, the Prophet (PBUH) said:

Those most afflicted among the people are the prophets, then the most righteous, then the next most righteous. One is afflicted in accordance with his deen (Way of Lfe). If his deen is firm, his affliction is made harder, and if his deen is weak, his affliction is made lighter. A believer continues to be subjected to adversity until he walks on the surface of the earth without a sin (haraam's).

What is Bushism?

And so, General, I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq."—meeting with Army Gen. Ray Odierno, Washington, D.C., March 3, 2008

A Bushism is any of a number of peculiar words, phrases, pronunciations, malapropisms, semantic or linguistic errors and gaffes that have occurred in the public speaking of United States President George W. Bush and, before that, of his father George H. W. Bush. The term (a neologism) has become part of popular folklore, and is the basis of a number of websites and published books. It is often used to caricature the two presidents. Common characteristics include malapropisms, the creation of neologisms, and spoonerisms.

Some columnists, including the late Molly Ivins, co-author of a book of Bushisms, have suggested that Bush may have difficulty speaking "Washington English," and that he may be trying to cover his dialect by over-emphasizing words. Some have hypothesized that Bush is not familiar with some of the words that he feels he must use as president.

Bush's misuse of the English language has spawned dozens of books that document the phenomenon. The majority of these books are written by Slate magazine editor Jacob Weisberg. The first Bushism book, simply titled Bushisms, was released in 1992. The Bushism books have been received well around the world, with editions released in Germany, France, and Italy landing on best seller lists. He has also inspired a poem composed entirely of Bushisms entitled Make the Pie Higher, compiled by a high-school English teacher, Dirk Schulze under the psuedonym of "Richard Thompson", as an example of a found poem for his students.



"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it." -George W. Bush
Source: Business Week Online, "A Gentleman's "C" for W," Richard S. Dunham, July 30, 2001

Note: In choosing this video, there is no disrespect to foreign governments! It is just so sad; the American’s are suffering under such leadership.

Hand Caught in the Cookie Jar?

President George W. Bush delivers remarks Thursday, March 6, 2008, during the commemoration of the 5th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The President told his audience, "...It's your vigilance and your hard work that have helped keep this country safe. And so I want to thank you." White House photo by Chris Greenberg

For Immediate Release

Office of the Press Secretary

March 7, 2008

President Bush Discusses Economy

Video
THE PRESIDENT: Earlier today I spoke with members of my economic team. They updated me on the state of our economy. This morning we learned that our economy lost 63,000 payroll jobs in February, although the unemployment rate improved to 4.8 percent.

Losing a job is painful, and I know Americans are concerned about our economy; so am I. It's clear our economy has slowed, but the good news is, we anticipated this and took decisive action to bolster the economy, by passing a growth package that will put money into the hands of American workers and businesses.

I signed this growth package into law just three weeks ago, and its provisions are just starting to kick in. First, a growth package includes incentives for businesses to make investments in new equipment this year. These incentives are now in place, and they are starting to have an impact. My advisors tell me that investment in new equipment remains solid thus far in the first quarter.

And as more businesses take advantage of these new incentives, as well as lower interest rates, we expect investment will continue to grow, and that businesses will begin creating new jobs in the months ahead.

Secondly, the growth package will provide tax rebates to more than 130 million American households. These rebates will begin reaching American families in May. And when the money reaches the American people, we expect they will use it to boost consumer spending, and that will spur job creation, as well.

We believe that the steps we have taken, together with the actions taken by the Federal Reserve, will have a positive effect on our economy. So my message to the American people is this: I know this is a difficult time for our economy, but we recognized the problem early, and provided the economy with a booster shot. We will begin to see the impact over the coming months. And in the long run, we can have confidence that so long as we pursue pro-growth, low-tax policies that put faith in the American people, our economy will prosper.

Thank you.

END

Vatican, Muslims, to Establish Permanent Forum

6 March 2008

Rome-The Vatican and Muslim leaders have agreed to establish a permanent forum to improve relations between the two religions.

A joint statement said the first meeting of the "The Catholic-Muslim Forum" would take place in November in Rome with 24 religious leaders and scholars from each side.

Scholars and religious leaders will be meeting November 4-6. The pope -- who will be receiving the seminar participants -- is scheduled to meet with Muslim scholars on the last day of the conference.

The announcement came after prominent Muslims and Catholics held talks at the Vatican this week in which they agreed to establish a Catholic-Muslim forum and to organize the November seminar.

"The theme of the seminar will be 'Love of God, Love of Neighbor,'" the Vatican said in a news release.

"Theological and Spiritual Foundations" will be the sub-theme on the first day. "Human Dignity and Mutual Respect" will be the topic on the second day. A public session will be held on the third day.

The Roman Catholic Church has been working to foster dialogue with Muslims in recent years, especially in light of comments made by Benedict in September 2006.

The pope and the Vatican, however, have worked to forge dialogue and reconciliation with the Muslim world, including Pope's visit to a Mosque in Turkey and praying toward Holy Mecca with Imam of the Mosque in November 2006.

Blasphemy is Not Becoming

In this handout image provided by the Palestinian Press Office (PPO), Fatah terrorist Mahmoud Abbas attends Friday prayers on 7 March 2008 in Ramallah.

Belarus expels US Ambassador

Karen B. Stewart, U.S. Ambassador to Belarus, appointed by George W. Bush on 8 September 2006.

7 March 2008

MINSK, Belarus - The Belarusian Foreign Ministry says it has demanded that the U.S. ambassador leave the ex-Soviet nation for consultations and recalled its ambassador to the U.S.

The move marks heightening tensions between the government of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and the United States. Washington has introduced travel restrictions on Lukashenko and members of his inner circle as well as financial sanctions against Belarusian authorities over their crackdown on opposition and free media.

Feel of Death

7 March 2008

by HRM Deborah

On sad reality about death, it is not just the Jewish people, but the Palestinians also, have seen so much death that it is like wearing a heavy overcoat that you have had to learn to live with.

Even to go so far as to say, every time any one of us is knocked down by this grim reality, we have learned to get up on our feet and keep moving on.

For one thing we never forget, Allah takes care of the martyrs.

Letters not linked to NY bomb

The image of Uncle Sam is seen behind shattered glass at the military recruitment center Thursday, March 6, 2008 in New York's Times Square. New York City police say some kind of explosive device was set off near a military recruiting station in Times Square. Police say there were no injuries in the blast early Thursday morning. The recruiting center at 43rd Street near Broadway had a large hole in the front window.(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

7 March 2008

There's apparently no link between the bombing of an military recruiting station in New York's Times Square and letters sent to Congress saying "We did it," law enforcement officials said Friday.

One Sad Evening in Jerusalem

Jewish members of the Zaka volunteers carry a stretcher with the body of a victim to an ambulance following the shooting attack at the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

The family of one of eight young Jewish students who was killed by a Fatah gunman, make their way to the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva, 6 March 2008.

Blood-stained prayer book (Photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO)

A member of a special Jewish police force searches the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem on 6 March 2008 after a Fatah terrorist gunman opened fire inside the Jewish Yeshiva (religious school) in Jerusalem late Thursday, killing eight Jewish students. (GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images)

Jewish mourners cry during the funeral of Avraham David Moses, 16, while thousands of other mourners poured into Jerusalem to take part in open-air funerals for the victims, aged 15 to 26, 7 March 2008.

The Grim Reality of Economic Truths

6 March 2008

by Pablo Ouziel

It is always good to know as a citizen that your leaders think everything is under control, for this reason I can only begin to imagine the relief people in the United States must feel when President Bush publicly acknowledges; "I believe that our economy has got the fundamentals in place. I must admit however that I struggle to understand where the president is getting his data from and I dread to think what things will look like by the time he admits that fundamentals are not really in place. According to Alan Greenspan "as of right now, U.S. economic growth is at zero, home prices will continue to weaken and a boom in oil prices is going to "go on forever". As he puts it, the US is "clearly on the edge."

I remember the time when General Motors Corp. was considered a pillar of the American dream, a fundamental of the economic miracle. Now, after reporting a quarterly loss of $722 million, compared with a profit of $950 million a year earlier, and offering buyouts to all of its 74,000 United Auto Workers employees, GM is clearly not a part of the sound fundamentals which President Bush likes to describe. The same seems apparent with MGIC Investment Corp., the largest U.S. mortgage insurer, which posted a record quarterly loss of $1.47 billion and is also being kept out of the Œpresidential fundamentals equation¹.

Things are so bad in the United States that during the Senate Banking Committee hearing, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson resorted to aliens from outer space to describe how things are looking; "If someone came down - a man came down from Mars - and you were trying to explain the regulatory structureŠ it's a patchwork quilt, in many ways." I don¹t blame him for looking for such far fetched metaphors when many economists and banking industry experts according to Time magazine, ³believe the subprime crisis could metamorphose into the biggest debacle to hit the sector since the Savings & Loan catastrophe of the 1980s, which caused some $500 billion in losses to the banking industry." As Merrill Lynch economist Kathy Bostjancic elaborates ³the impact here could be far larger (than the S&L crisis) in terms of the dollar amount and the spillover effects into other parts of the economy, particularly the consumer."

Doug Duncan, chief economist with the Mortgage Bankers Association, in his updated 2008 forecast says "the principal concern of the current credit crisis lies in the possibility that banks will eventually run out of capital," as Dean Baker, co-director of the Centre for Economic and Policy Research, a Washington think tank, adds, "the amount of debt that's likely to go bad is virtually certain to be in the high hundreds of billions of dollars, and it wouldn't surprise me if it ends up crossing a trillion."

In short, what we have here is the worst housing slump in a quarter century, an economy which in January alone lost 17,000 jobs, and The Standard & Poor's 500 Index which has fallen three consecutive months, the longest losing streak since 2003. We also have Americans whose December monthly expenditure on debt service, housing, medical costs, and food and energy bills has risen to an unprecedented 66.9 percent of their total spending, the highest since records began in 1980. According to Ron Blackwell, chief economist at the AFL-CIO, "American workers are suffering a generation-long decline in living standards and rising economic insecurity." To add to this, the four-week moving average of new claims for state unemployment is at the highest level since October 2005, and the University of Michigan¹s consumer sentiment index is marking its lowest point since February 1992 when the economy was emerging from a recession.

I would like to know what the president's fundamentals are. The White House seems to be isolated from reality. Data provided by the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America trade group clearly states that U.S. foreclosure rates have risen to their highest since at least World War II, and defaults on privately insured U.S. mortgages have risen 37 percent in December from the same month a year earlier. RealtyTrac Inc. is reporting that foreclosure rates have risen 75 percent in 2007, and the number of homes that have been repossessed, or taken back by the bank, have jumped 50% nationwide last year. According to The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index, pending sales of previously owned homes have fallen a steeper-than-expected 1.5 percent in December, and prices of existing U.S. single-family homes have slumped 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter versus a year earlier, the largest decline in the 20-year history of a national home price index. The National Association of Realtors has also reported that sales by homeowners have fallen in January to their lowest reading since the group began reporting annual sales pace in 1999, something which Northern Trust chief economist, Paul Kasriel describes as "more doom and gloom."

To add to this, home prices continued their plunge during the last three months of 2007, setting a real estate trade group's record for the biggest-ever quarterly drop, the steepest ever recorded by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which has been compiling the report since 1979. A Merrill Lynch report in January forecasted price declines of 15% in 2008 and another 10% in 2009 before markets begin to recover. On top of this, mortgage applications volume tumbled 22.6 percent during the week ending Feb. 15 according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application survey, while Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said its rating outlook on US homebuilders remains emphatically negative and it believes a recovery is not yet in sight, as six of the nation's largest mortgage lenders have temporarily stopped foreclosure proceedings, in a joint effort to cool the raging foreclosure crisis through a project known as Project Lifeline.

Things are so bad in the housing sector, a sector which one would deem as part of the fundamentals of a sound economy, that in a conference call with analysts, Kenneth Lewis, the chief executive of Bank of America, pointed out that more borrowers appear to be giving up on their homes as prices fall, noting a "change in social attitudes toward default." Not surprising considering that CIBC World Markets forecast U.S. house prices will end up sliding 20% before the market stabilizes, and estimates 50% of U.S. homeowners who took out below-prime mortgages in 2006 will end up owing more than their house is worth. As Michael Englund, chief economist at Action Economics put it, "there seems to be a sense of a very deep-seated collapse in the economy."

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's index of manufacturing activity in the U.S. Northeast also indicated the same disparity between Bush's sound fundamentals statement and reality, showing the manufacturing sector in the key heartland of the US is suffering its lowest output for seven years. "As far as this indicator is concerned, a recession, and a severe one at that, is already underway," said Paul Ash-worth, of Capital Economics. For Merrill Lynch, the collapse in the outlook for activity six months out was even more worrisome since it posted the steepest decline in the 40-year history of this report.

America's "new business cycle" which began in the 1980's has created as Thomas Palley ex Chief Economist with the US-China Economic Security Review Commission puts it, large trade deficits, manufacturing job loss, asset price inflation, rising debt-to-income ratios, and detachment of wages from productivity growth. It has used financial booms to support debt-financed spending, an easing of credit standards to support borrowing, and cheap imports to ameliorate the effects of wage stagnation. As Palley puts it, with "debt burdens elevated and housing prices significantly above levels warranted by their historical relation to income, the business cycle of the last two decades appears exhausted.

According to the New York Times, the sound fundamentals Bush likes to refer to, are alarmingly parallel to the Japan's lost decade, when the Japanese economy after a long boom in the 1990's, was stopped by a sharp fall in the real estate market causing a stretch of stagnation which ended only a few years ago. Clyde V. Prestowitz, president of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington, says the American economy is very fragile now," a sentiment which is echoed by Nouriel Roubini, an economics professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University, who warns that "the roughly $100 billion in bad loans reported by banks to date could increase nearly tenfold, as the defaults spread beyond the subprime mortgage loans to consumer loans, credit cards and corporate lending."

European Central Bank council member Guy Quaden points out that "it is clear that the slowdown in the U.S. will be more pronounced than previously foreseen." According to Bank of Italy governor, Mario Draghi, in the meeting held in Tokyo by the finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, "Bernanke said that while house prices are falling, they can't say how long and deep the crisis will be." But as lawmakers, politicians and bankers continue to debate about the current state of the American economy, what is clear is that the latest consumer price index (CPI), the government's main inflation indicator shows that for the year ending in January, all prices were up 4.3 percent. Excluding the temporary surges after Katrina, inflation hasn't been higher since July 1991. As for the producer price index, year over year the PPI is up 7.4% the fastest pace since 1981. As Robert Brusca, chief economist at FAO Economics says, with this data at hand, it will be hard for Mr. Bernanke to testify...and hold to the fiction of inflation as under control and the Fed as master of tamed inflation expectations." Yet Bernanke is telling lawmakers that `inflation expectations appear to have remained reasonably well anchored, and George Bush is convinced that fundamentals are in place.

As for now, while talk of subprime exposure has diminished, Ted Wieseman, an economist at Morgan Stanley, warns that investor worries about potential further writedowns are shifting in a big way from subprime residential mortgages to commercial real estate lending. Also as major retailers reported chilly January same-store sales, Wal-Mart with a meager 0.5% increase, Target with a 1.1% drop, Macy's with a worse-than-expected 7.1% decline, Kohl's with an 8.3% plunge and Nordstrom with a 6.6% drop in comps, the National Federation of Independent Business said its index of small business optimism slipped to the lowest reading since January 1991, when the U.S. was mired in recession.

To add to this economic and social carnage, Macy's Inc. has reported that it plans to cut 2,300 jobs across the country, Hasbro Inc the second-largest U.S. toy company, expects a 14 percent to 15 percent increase this year in the costs of made-in-China products, Time Warner has reported a 41 percent decline in fourth-quarter profits, Office Depot a 85% plunge in profit, and Jeffrey Garten, professor of international trade and finance at Yale School of Management has said that the United States "is beginning to look like a bargain-basement."

Of course, if the world's economic engine looking like a bargain-basement is a reflection of sound fundamentals, then I must accept my misreading of today¹s economic reality and subscribe to George Bush¹s sound fundamentals equation.

Pablo Ouziel is a sociologist and a freelance writer based in Spain.

The bravery of U.S. Marines

Carlos Latuff, is a political cartoonist and the above picture is his interpretation about the video, where Marine’s in Iraq murdered a puppy by throwing them off a cliff.

Myself, I will never understand the savagery of such a cruel act on a helpless puppy, as I would hope that this cruelty is not occurring to helpless civilians in Iraq.

Tap Dancing Bush

President Bush welcomes Senator John McCain to the White House on Wednesday, 5 March 2008.

5 March 2008

President George W. Bush joked with reporters and showed off his moves on the White House steps while waiting for Senator John McCain to give his endorsement towards the U.S. elections.

Terrorist Attack Hit’s Jewish Yeshiva

An Israeli ambulance evacuates the wounded outside the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem after a Palestinian shooting attack left eight Jewish students dead on March 6, 2008.

7 March 2008

At least eight people have been killed and 35 more wounded in a shootout at a Jewish school in west Jerusalem.

Witnesses said that an armed man entered the yeshiva, or religious school, and opened fire on Thursday.

The seminary is located in the Kyriat Moshe neighborhood.

The assailant reportedly entered a dining hall where about 80 people were gathered, and opened fire.

Shmuel Ben Ruby, Jerusalem police spokesman, said: "One terrorist infiltrated the Mercaz Harav seminary and opened fire in all directions.

"[He] was killed in an exchange of fire, and apparently he had an explosives belt."

Aharon Franco, another police official, said that the assailant came from Jabel Mukaber, a neighbourhood in east Jerusalem.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and immediately annexed the area.

In contrast to Palestinians in the West Bank, Arab residents of Jerusalem have Israeli identification cards, allowing them free movement between Israel and the West Bank.

Security lapse

A news Reporter, from the scene of the attack, said that questions will be raised as to how the assailants passed through the many security checks situated in the area.

"There are numerous checkpoints throughout the city," he said.

"The deaths will ultimately raise many questions regarding the apparent lapse in surveillance around the school."

"The terrorists attack a school and innocent people," Arye Mekel said.

"They are trying to kill the chances for peace. We will continue our fight against terrorists."

The attacks alleged perpetrators are more likely working with Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah Terrorist organization; makes for a grim reminder, of the numerous school shootings that occur in the United States.

Furthermore, it always makes for a sad day, when there is any lost of life; especially by methods such as this.

Small Bomb Damages Military Recruiting Station in Time Square in New York

An official inspects the damaged door after a small bomb explodes in front of the military recruiting station in Time Square on March 6, 2008 in New York. Little damage was done and no one was injured in the pre-dawn attack caused by a small explosive devise.(Monika Graff/UPI Photo)

A Skunk in a Space Shuttle

Terrorism, is about as welcome in Palestine, as a skunk in a space shuttle.

Homeowner Equity is lowest since 1945

New homes, some occupied and some yet to be sold, stand under a stormy sky in January 2008 in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Sales of new homes in the United States fell to a 13-year low in January and prices skidded further, the Commerce Department said Wednesday in a report highlighting the woes of real estate.(AFP/GETTY IMAGES/File/David McNew)

6 March 2008

By J.W. ELPHINSTONE

NEW YORK -Americans' percentage of equity in their homes fell below 50 percent for the first time on record since 1945, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.

Homeowners' portion of equity slipped to downwardly revised 49.6 percent in the second quarter of 2007, the central bank reported in its quarterly U.S. Flow of Funds Accounts, and declined further to 47.9 percent in the fourth quarter — the third straight quarter it was under 50 percent.

That marks the first time homeowners' debt on their houses exceeds their equity since the Fed started tracking the data in 1945.

The total value of equity also fell for the third straight quarter to $9.65 trillion from a downwardly revised $9.93 trillion in the third quarter.

Home equity, which is equal to the percentage of a home's market value minus mortgage-related debt, has steadily decreased even as home prices jumped earlier this decade due to a surge in cash-out refinances, home equity loans and lines of credit and an increase in 100 percent or more home financing.

Economists expect this figure to drop even further as declining home prices eat into the value of most Americans' single largest asset.

Moody's Economy.com estimates that 8.8 million homeowners, or about 10.3 percent of homes, will have zero or negative equity by the end of the month. Even more disturbing, about 13.8 million households, or 15.9 percent, will be "upside down" if prices fall 20 percent from their peak.

The latest Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index showed U.S. home prices plunging 8.9 percent in the final quarter of 2007 compared with a year ago, the steepest decline in the 20-year history of the index.

The news follows a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association on Thursday that home foreclosures skyrocketed to an all-time high in the final quarter of last year. The proportion of all mortgages nationwide that fell into foreclosure surged to a record of 0.83 percent, while the percentage of adjustable-rate mortgages to borrowers with risky credit that entered the foreclosure process soared to a record of 5.29 percent.

Experts expect foreclosures to rise as more homeowners struggle with adjusting rates on their mortgages, making their monthly payments unaffordable. Problems in the credit markets and eroding home values are making it harder to refinance out of unmanageable loans.

The threat of so-called "mortgage walkers," or homeowners who can afford their payments but decide not to pay, also increases as home values depreciate and equity diminishes. Banks and credit-rating agencies already are seeing early evidence of this.

On Tuesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested lenders reduce loan amounts to provide relief to beleaguered homeowners.

My Condolences with Love

A Statement from HRM Deborah of Palestine and the Messenger of Peace

6 March 2008

My heart goes out to everyone and I wish to extend my condolences, to all families both Palestinian and Jewish that has lost loved one’s; in the recent terrorist attacks by Fatah.

With all my heart, God willing, such heinous acts towards the Jewish and Palestinian people not be long.

Fatah Terrorist Meets with UN Special Coordinator

Fatah terrorist Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets with UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Robert Serry, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on March 6, 2008.

U.S. Military says 2,000 troops leaving Iraq

In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Army, Sgt. Robert T. Rapp is shown. Rapp, 22, of Sonora, Calif., an 82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper died in Afghanistan, Monday, March 3, 2008.

Some 2,000 U.S. soldiers are being withdrawn from Baghdad as part of a planned reduction of U.S. forces in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

American Plot to Overthrow the Palestinian Legal Government

4 March 2008

More lies and accusations are coming forewords towards the Bush Administration, to justifying their aid to Fatah Terrorist in Palestine against the PA legal government.

Furthermore, unified Jewish and Palestinian Royal Guards military operations in Palestine to combat against Fatah terrorism continues.

While it is unfortunate, many Fatah terrorist are murdering their own children and their family members to get sympathy from the global community.

Let Them Sleep

A homeless man with his dog, on Queen Street West, downtown Toronto, Canada.

Recently, I saw a video, which I will not publish, of an American solider in Iraq, murdering a beautiful puppy by throwing them off a cliff and thinking it was funny to kill a helpless puppy.

I am sure anyone else seeing the video, had to have had the same feelings as I; at the senseless cruelty of this soldier’s actions, even with the other soldier standing near to him and did nothing to stop it.

New US Ambassador to Arrive in Israel

6 March 2008

By Herb Keinon

US Ambassador Richard Jones will be replaced in the summer by James Cunningham, currently Washington's consul-general in Hong Kong, it was disclosed Wednesday.

The replacement of Jones so close to the end of the Bush administration's term has raised eyebrows. Traditionally the entire US ambassadorial corps tenders letters of resignation when a new administration takes office to give the new president the opportunity to appoint the diplomats he wants and that would have been a natural time for a new ambassador to be dispatched to Israel.

Earlier in the year, there were rumors that Jones, a Russian-speaker who formerly served as ambassador to Kazakhstan, would be sent to Moscow to serve as the US ambassador there. That eventuality, however, has not materialized.

Jones arrived in Israel in September 2005, replacing Dan Kurtzer, who served here for just over four years.

Cunningham, who has served in Hong Kong since August 2005, is known to Israel primarily from his days as deputy US ambassador to the UN from 2001-2005.

During that period, one Foreign Ministry official said, Cunningham "worked with full cooperation and friendship with the Israeli delegation at the UN, as is customary among diplomats from Israel and the US."

According to the State Department Web site, Cunningham has spent much of his career working on European and security affairs, with broad experience in multilateral diplomacy.

He served as chief of staff to the NATO secretary-general in the 1990s, and was also stationed in Stockholm, Washington and Rome.

How to Tell a Media Lie

The original caption read: Israel has been trying to seek out militants responsible for rocket attacks on its southern border. (BBC News)


The actual story to this picture, is the man in the uniform is apart of the Palestinian Royal Guards that is a unified military with the Jewish people against Fatah terrorism.

The original caption above, is strictly propaganda so the global public not know the real truth in Palestine; otherwise, trying to create a media cover-up to what is actually true.

Warning: Believing Current Propaganda

Will create an undue learning deficit, blindness and deafness.

Hungarian President Continues Middle East Visit in Ramallah

Mahmoud Abbas (R) and the Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom attend a press conference on March 5, 2008 in Ramallah, West Bank. (Photo by Thaer Ganaim/PPO via Getty Images)

OPEC will not Boost Oil Output

5 March 2008

VIENNA, Austria -OPEC will not put more oil on the global market, citing the stumbling U.S. economy as the reason Wednesday for slackening demand in the near future. affect

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced that it will not pump more — or less — oil right now because crude supplies are plentiful and demand is expected to weaken in the second quarter.

OPEC President Chakib Khelil said the global oil market is being affected by "the mismanagement of the U.S. economy," a day after President Bush lashed out at the organization for refusing to open the spigots.

America's economic problems were a key factor in its decision to hold off on any action, OPEC spokesman Ibrahim Hussein said.

The head of the 13-nation group did vow "constant vigilance" as the weak dollar, the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and political tensions in the Middle East rattle markets worldwide.

"The growing sense of despondency about the future global economic outlook is generating much uncertainty in energy circles," Chakib Khelil said in an opening address to oil ministers gathered in Vienna.

Khelil said, however, that crude stocks were well within five-year averages.

OPEC nations currently produce about 32 million barrels a day.

While it is common for OPEC to say it must remain vigilant, oil ministers suggested this week that the cartel would keep even closer tabs on prices and supply, and might authorize Khelil to take quick action in the next six weeks or so if he deems it necessary.

"There have been signs that the oil market is moving into a new phase," Khelil said, adding: "It should be characterized by stability and not volatility."

Saudi Arabia, OPEC's top producer and by far its most influential member, also said it saw no reason to change output targets — despite record high prices and a rebuke Tuesday from President Bush.

"Understand the consequences of high energy prices," Bush said after meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the Oval Office.

"I think it's a mistake to have your biggest customers' economies slowing down as a result of higher energy prices," he added.

Japan, the U.S. and other major industrialized nations have urged OPEC — which supplies about 40 percent of world demand for crude — to bring more oil on the market and pull down prices, which reached an inflation-adjusted record of nearly $104 a barrel this week.

OPEC is resisting, pointing to slackening demand in the second quarter and suggesting it would hold off to see what happens with supply and prices this spring.

"Why do we need to take any new measure if the health of the market that we follow for our policies is sound?" the pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat quoted Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi as saying.

Naimi told reporters in Vienna that his country is pumping roughly 300,000 barrels a day over its quota and is selling every drop "day in, day out" — an upbeat assessment.

Analysts said they didn't expect any significant action Wednesday.

"In truth, OPEC's decision not to pump more oil is a reflection that supply is relatively good," said Anthony Sabino, a professor of business at St. John's University in New York.

"What is driving oil prices up to the stratospheric level of over $100 per barrel is the U.S. economy, now undeniably in recession," he said. "It's not so much the price of oil is going up — it's that the value of the U.S. dollar, sad to say, is slumping."

Oil shot up a dramatic 19 percent last month as the falling dollar prompted speculators and other investors to shift cash to crude and other commodities as a hedge.

Khelil said Wednesday that OPEC was not happy at the speculation rocking an already jittery market, saying the influence has "not been welcomed by this organization."

Key cartel members said this week that prices in the $85 to $90 per barrel range would be optimal.

The 13 OPEC members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Iraq is the only member not subject to the cartel's output quotas.

___

On the Net:

OPEC, http://www.opec.org

Cost of Iraq War Now

"If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem." — George W. Bush, January 2001.
Graph shows budget authority for Iraq war in each fiscal year. Red squares mark the September 30 ends of fiscal years.

Bush’s Overall Approval Rating For February

Is a whopping: 6%

Palestinian Fresh Produce Vendor

A Palestinian vendor wears a cabbage leaf as a hat as he sells his fresh produce at the entrance to the Shuafat refugee Camp March 4, 2008 in East Jerusalem.

A Question about Anti-Semitism

4 March 2008

by HRM Deborah

Something seems to keep coming to mind, when Theodor Herzl went to Anti-Semitic nations to harm the Jewish people, that eventually all Semitic people would come under the fire of the Anti-Semitic suffering; which includes all Semitic ( Jewish, Palestinian etc.) people?

Because, what was the real motive to see the type of war that went on in Palestine and the lie’s to pit two Semitic groups against each other, that would have normally had very good relations.

Which the groundwork today, is hopefully renewing the return of these good relations, to even combat Anti-Semitism; which any form of racism against any people is always an unacceptable idea.

Furthermore, I ask this not out of any disrespect to anyone, I just hope one day to know the truth; because in the future, I hope these kinds of situations never happens again to any Semitic people.

President Bush Meets with National Association of Attorneys General: On illegal Wiretapping Lawsuits

For Immediate Release

Office of the Press Secretary
March 3, 2008

Audio

Video

THE PRESIDENT: General Wasden, thank you, sir; and General Lynch, thank you for having the Attorney General and me here to visit with the nation's Attorney Generals. I thank you very much for serving the country. I'm honored that you've stepped forward to say, I'm going to put my family in such a way that we're going to serve together. And I hope you have found the experience to be as enriching as I've found it -- my experience in public life to be.

I also know that you're dealing with a wide variety of issues. I was the governor of Texas. I see the Attorney General of Texas here. It's been -- it was a great joy to work with Greg when I was the governor. We have a solemn responsibility together, and that's to protect the country. You do it in a variety of ways, and we've got a responsibility here. As a matter of fact, there's no greater responsibility at the federal government than to protect the American people, which means that we must make sure our professionals have the tools they need to do the jobs we've asked them to do.

Now there's a serious debate here, and some of the Attorney Generals have written a letter, both Democrats and Republicans, urging that the debate be solved in such a way that the professionals can do the job. And I thank you for wading in. There's a lot of legal complexities on the FISA renewal debate, but the real issue comes down to this: To defend the country, we need to be able to monitor communications of terrorists quickly and be able to do it effectively.

And we can't do it without the cooperation of private companies. Unfortunately, some of the private companies have been sued for billions of dollars because they are believed to have helped defend America after the attacks on 9/11. Now the question is, should these lawsuits be allowed to proceed, or should any company that may have helped save American lives be thanked for performing a patriotic service; should those who stepped forward to say we're going to help defend America have to go to the courthouse to defend themselves, or should the Congress and the President say thank you for doing your patriotic duty? I believe we ought to say thank you.

I'm really appreciative of the fact that 21 state Attorney Generals, seven Democrats and 14 Republicans, wrote a letter stating that assistance from private companies, as they put it, "is utterly essential, and urges the Senate," -- at the time -- "to approve FISA reform that protects the companies from lawsuits." I think that represents what most people -- how most people think here in the country.

The Senate heard you, and heard the voices of other people, and passed a really good FISA reform bill by a strong bipartisan majority, 68-29. The answer to the question about whether we ought to thank or sue is also clear to the majority in the House of Representatives. If this bill, the Senate bill, were allowed -- were given a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives, it would pass. There's enough votes available to pass a good Senate bill that would give our professionals the tools they need to protect the American people from further attack.

Unfortunately, a minority in the House has been holding the bill up. This weekend there was some encouraging news. The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Sylvester Reyes, said that he was open to passing a bill with protections for our private sector partners, including those companies who are currently being sued for allegedly helping us after 9/11. I appreciate the Chairman's comments, and I urge the full House to pass this legislation as soon as possible.

I feel strongly about this issue, not only because I know we need to have the private carriers available to provide information, but to put it bluntly, if the enemy is calling in to somebody in the United States, we need to know who they're talking to and why they're calling and what they intend to do.

These lawsuits are really unfair, if you think about it. If any of the companies believed to have helped us -- I'm just going to tell you, they were told it was legal by the government. And they were told it was necessary by the government. And here they are getting sued. It would be dangerous -- the reason -- the danger in all this is that because the private companies are fearful of lawsuits or being besieged by lawsuits, they would be less willing to help in the future.

If your government has said this is legal, and we want your help, and then all of a sudden they get sued for billions of dollars, you can imagine how hesitant they'll be with future requests. And yet the threat is ongoing. And that's why we said failure by the House to act on the Senate bill would create an intelligence gap that is unacceptable.

So I appreciate your interest in the subject. Thank you for giving me and the General a chance to come by, and God bless you. Thank you. (Applause.)

END

Rice and Abbas: So Long, Farewell

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with Mahmoud Abbas on March 4, 2008 in Ramallah, West Bank. Rice hopes to rescuscitate peace talks between the Israeli and Palestinian governments, (Photo by Abbas Momani-Pool/Getty Images)

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Mahmoud Abbas has no voice in Palestine and the illegal peace accord by US President George W. Bush, it is dead.

Furthermore, as for Bush's thinking he can get his offensive illegal peace accord through in ten month’s, as far as all Palestine is concerned we do not now nor ever will listen to him or his policies again.

3,000 Trees of Reconciliation

In order to to support peace by creating greater economic justice, Jewish Voice for Peace has committed to planting 3,000 olive trees in Palestine in 2008. Please help us meet our goal!

The saplings that will be planted will, someday, contribute in a material way to the livelihoods of the farmers and their families who have suffered as a result of the Israeli Occupation. Even more than the act of planting, JVP’s task is to begin the conversation among Jews about what the Occupation has meant for Palestinians and for a land that is called Holy. These Trees of Reconciliation will not only help to repair the fields, but they will also help to start a dialogue about our history in Israel-Palestine and the work we all must do to heal and repair.

Please donate to this campaign today!

In over 10 cities in the US and abroad, TuB'shvat Seders will honor our tradition and kick-start our Trees of Reconciliation campaign. Learn more about TuB'shvat and about the Seders here.

Please take a pledge form and get your friends and famliy to donate as well.

Here are Top Ten Reasons to Join the Trees of Reconciliation Campaign.

The trees will be planted by the Palestine Free Trade Association.