The United Nations (UN) attempt to grab money and further power is not new. “Innovative methods of financing” is the latest term they are using to describe their actions.
Examples: A 1% worldwide billionaires tax, a currency trading tax, a tax on all financial dealings (stock, bond and derivative trading), a carbon emissions tax or an airline ticket tax.
These ideas are supported at UN meetings. The idea is that the UN would be in charge of these funds and “redistribute” the funds to poorer countries.
Also supporting these measures is Jeffrey Sachs.
Sachs is a vocal Occupy Wall Street supporter and “climate change” fighter.
Sachs also happens to be the leader of the Earth Institute, from Columbia University and a UN Assistant Secretary General. Part of his (UN) duties are to work with UN agencies and “multilateral financing institutions and other international organizations” to (in large part) fight climate change. To do so he was appointed head of a new lobbying group named the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
This week Sachs was noted to have been promoting a U.S. carbon tax to fight “climate change” by calling on President Obama. He has also been quoted “I’m happy to have the future pay for a lot of this. It doesn’t have to be current financed.” by Bloomberg News.
The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) is switching security systems. The apparent motivation… privacy and health concerns.
A $245 million program is establishing the second generation of body scanners. American Science and Engineering and L-3 Communications has been chosen to develop the new device.
The new technology now in use is called Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT-2). It is able to find non metal weapons and home made explosive devices. The AIT-2 makes use of two types of technology; x-ray scans and electromagnetic waves.
These new scanners have already been deployed in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento earlier this summer. Another 700 have also been placed around the country.
JK Rowling the author of the Harry Potter series as written her first book for adults. The Casual Vacancy was published today, but has failed to live up to the high expectations. Parents who love the Harry Potter books may be shocked by the dark content of the adult novel, critics have slated the book for being dull and banal; although saying it was funnier than they would have imagined. Readers may be shocked by the graphic depictions of pornography and the use of the f-word, and c-word. The book shows the darker, grittier side of life in a small English village. The characters include a prositiute, a drug dealer, and teenage girl raped by her mum’s heroin dealer. The is the deaths of children and a teen suicide. The Telegraph’s literary critic remarks, “As for the ending, dear God, it is so howlingly bleak that it makes Thomas Hardy look like PG Wodehouse.”
When challenged in an interview about the novel, and any responsibility she may have as the world’s most famous children’s author Rowling said, “There is no part of me that feels like I represented myself as your children’s babysitter or their teacher. I’m a writer and I will write what I want to write.”
U.S. intelligence officials knew within 24 hours of the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Libya that it was a terrorist attack and suspected Al Qaeda-tied elements were involved, sources told Fox News — though it took the administration a week to acknowledge it.
The account sharply conflicts with claims on the Sunday after the attack by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice that the administration believed the strike was a “spontaneous” event triggered by protests in Egypt over an anti-Islam film.
Two senior U.S. officials said that the Obama administration internally labeled the attack terrorism from the first day in order to unlock and mobilize certain resources to respond, and that officials were looking for one specific suspect. The officials said the intelligence community knew by Sept. 12 that the militant Ansar al-Shariah and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb were likely behind the strike.
Further, an official said, “No one … believed that the mortars, indirect and direct fire, and the RPGs were just the work of a mob — no one.
Yet a congressional source told Fox News that CIA Director David Petraeus, during a briefing with members of the House Intelligence Committee three days after the attack, espoused the view that Benghazi was an out-of-control demonstration prompted by the YouTube video. According to the source, this was “shocking” to some members who were present and saw the same intelligence pointing toward a terrorist attack.
In addition, sources confirm that FBI agents have not yet arrived in Benghazi in the aftermath of the attack. Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed in the assault.
The claims that officials initially classified the attack as terrorism is sure to raise serious questions among lawmakers who from the beginning have challenged the narrative the administration put out in the week following the strike. A few Republican lawmakers have gone so far as to suggest the administration withheld key facts about the assault for political reasons.
I think we should have answers right away. … I think they’re reluctant to tell us what this event really was probably because it’s an election year. But the American people deserve to know answers about what happened at our embassy in Libya,” Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., told Fox News.
One intelligence official clarified to Fox News that there was not a “definitive” lead on who might have been responsible for the Libya attacks in the immediate aftermath, though officials had an idea of the suspects.
It’s inaccurate to suggest that within the first 24 hours there was a definitive calling card and home address for the perpetrators of the Benghazi attack. Potential suspects and data points emerge early on, but it still takes time to be certain who is responsible,” the official said.
Curiously, Obama referred to “acts of terror” in his first public remarks about the attack. But from there, administration officials went on to blame the anti-Islam film.
Rice was the most explicit in that explanation, insisting on a slew of Sunday shows that the attack was not pre-planned and was tied to the film.
On Tuesday, Alec Baldwin took to his foundation’s Twitter account to tweet, “If Obama was white, he’d be up by 17 points.” Of course, the polls show that people are far more likely to vote for an African American for President than they are a Mormon.
To start the segment, Glenn reminded listeners that this was a man who had made some pretty horrible comments to loved ones in the past, showing that he is clearly dealing with some issues and is not a very happy person.
“The biggest spiritual leaders always, they weep because you’re missing who you really are. Don’t you see who you really are? They can see it. Because they see it in themselves. This guy doesn’t see anything but a black hole. He’s got an abyss in him. And I feel bad for Alec Baldwin. I mean, I don’t know him, you know, and I’m sure he doesn’t care about my pity. But he’s not a happy man,” Glenn said.
“And it’s really not that hard, Alec, when you get out of your own way, it’s really not that hard. Believe me, I spent most of my life not being a happy man. It’s not that hard to get out of your own way and be a happy man. You cannot see what America really is if that’s your vantage point,” he added.
Turning his attention to Baldwin’s tweet, Glenn wondered if Romney would be up an additional ten percent if he wasn’t Mormon.
Stu explained, “We have polling to back this up. 18% of people won’t vote for Mitt Romney because he’s Mormon. 4% of people won’t vote for Barack Obama because he’s black. 18 to 4. That’s in polling. That’s not me making it up. That’s been shown over and over again that there’s a large gap between those two groups. People don’t want to vote for a Mormon. At this point in American history, they have no problem voting for an African‑American. In fact, the polling shows that people are less likely to vote for a Catholic than they are to vote for an African‑American. So you could sit here and blame race all you want for the terrible, terrible performance of the guy you elected, but that is why he’s having problems here. He has the most favorable media of any president in American history and he’s still struggling to clear 43% in approval rating.”
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has given an interview with the Associated Press at the United Nations this week, where he calls for the establishment of a “New World Order”. Ahmadinejad wants to see the world move away from “years of American bullying and domination” In the interview he said, “God willing, a new order will come together and we’ll do away with everything that distances us…I do believe the system of empires has reached the end of the road. The world can no longer see an emperor commanding it.”
“Now even elementary school kids throughout the world have understood that the United States government is following an international policy of bullying,” he said.
Ahmadinejad also called American and Israeli insistence that Iran abandon it’s nuclear program as a non-issue, claiming America was using it as an excuse for the US to impose it’s will on Iran.
President Ahmadinejad is due to speak at the UN tomorrow, the United States delegates have already said they will boycott his speech.
In the interview Ahmadinejad also addressed the issue of Syria. He is calling for a group of countries to work together to bring an end to the bloody conflict in the country. However, intelligence suggests Iran is actively helping the Assad, with weapons and logistical support.
This will be Ahmadinejad’s last appearance at the UN General Assembly as he is due to leave office next June.
Innocence of Muslims is the Muhammad Movie by Sam Bacile that caused Muslims to kill United States ambassador, J Christopher Stevens. The anti Islam video claims Islam is a lie and Mohammed was a pedophile. Reviews of the Muhammad Film have ranged from “Disgusting” to “the riot laugh of the summer.” All rights to Sam Becile or whoever made this film.
The General Confederation of Greek workers (GSEE), the union of civil servants (ADEDY) and unionists affiliated with the KKE communist party began their first face-off with the young Greek coalition government.
These unions have prevented flights, created havoc with local transportation and have closed the services of public offices. The demonstrations are occurring in about sixty five cities and villages including Athens.
The strike includes air traffic controllers, hospital workers, ship workers and even tax collectors.
Unionist Despina Spanou… “We call on everyone to take part in the strike and resist the austerity measures that hurt Greek people and the economy,”
If you don’t mind cooler weather, walking up hills and pricey homes then San Francisco might be the place for you.
Despite being under a million in population, the city has so much to offer… world-class restaurants and museums, fairs and festivals, a larger educated group and an economy that is holding its own.
The ranking came about with Businessweek.com partnering with Bloomberg Rankings which looked at 100 of the largest cities in the country.
There were many factors looked at. For the individual it cannot be said which is the best city as family, work, lifestyle and sports team connections all factor in.
Some common traits that put San Francisco at the top of the list are as follows: They scored highest in education, in leisure they placed sixth and it made the top 20 in air quality and economic issues. The events hosted by San Francisco makes it seem like there is a continual festival going on. Views which attract about 130,000 tourists every day and its general ambiance intensifies local offerings.
Downsides are that it has one of the largest populations of homeless people in the nation and that rent is over $2000 for… a studio apartment!
Comparison cities are Seattle which came in second, Washington 3rd, New York 7th and LA 50th.
San Francisco. Oliver Barcenas, a known Norteno gang member who is currently on parole for a recent gang related shooting, was wounded by a policeman after he raised a TEC-9 gun at the same officer.
According to investigators, Barcenas was enroute for a revenge gang killing when he was stopped and wounded by San Francisco Police.
According to Police Chief Greg Suhr “These officers on Thursday night were exactly where they were supposed to be, doing exactly what they were asked to do,”.
However, this incident has sparked two nights of protests in the Mission district which included vandalism.
Madonna asked everyone in the audience of her Washington, DC performance Monday night to vote for President Obama because he is a “black Muslim.””Y’all better vote for fking Obama, OK? For better or for worse, all right?” the shouted from stage while sipping from a bottle of water with a straw. “”We have a black Muslim in the White House! Now that’s some amazing st.” Madonna, 54, also stripped down to her bra to reveal “Obama” stenciled in big letters on her back, before promising or warning?: “When Obama is in the White House for a second term Ill take it all off.” President Obama is not a Muslim. Or is He?
President Obama, speaking to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday, vowed the U.S. “will do what we must” to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon — calling this a threat to Israel’s existence.
Amid accusations from Republicans including Mitt Romney that Obama’s policies have not slowed Iran’s nuclear march, the president used the U.N. stage to assure the international community that he is serious about preventing that outcome.
“Make no mistake: a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained,” Obama said. “It would threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations, and the stability of the global economy. It risks triggering a nuclear-arms race in the region, and the unraveling of the non-proliferation treaty. That’s why a coalition of countries is holding the Iranian government accountable. And that’s why the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”
The president reiterated that he wants to resolve the issue “through diplomacy” but the time for doing so “is not unlimited.”
The reference to Iran came toward the end of a speech otherwise devoted to addressing the recent tumult in the Middle East and North Africa, including the murder of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans in Benghazi.
Obama began his address to the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday with a tribute to Ambassador Chris Stevens. Recalling Stevens’ time serving in the Peace Corps as an English instructor in Morocco, he said Stevens “came to love and respect” the people of the region and carried that commitment throughout his life.
“I tell you this story because Chris Stevens embodied the best of America,” Obama said.
The president went on to restate his administration’s support for the Arab Spring, calling it a “season of progress.”
But he said the recent violence and unrest is indicative of the difficulties along the way. “True democracy — real freedom — is hard work,” he said.
Obama said leaders in the region are at a critical juncture, and urged them to choose the forces of hope over the forces of intolerance.
“It is time to leave the call of violence and the politics of division behind,” Obama said. “On so many issues, we face a choice between the promise of the future, or the prisons of the past. And we cannot afford to get it wrong. We must seize this moment. And America stands ready to work with all who are willing to embrace a better future.”
The president called on world leaders to “marginalize” those that stoke hatred of the West in order to further their own politics.
And he continued to address the anti-Islam film that is blamed for many of the recent demonstrations against U.S. diplomatic posts — though that film may not have played much of a role in the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya.
Obama stressed that while he condemns the “crude and disgusting” video, America maintains the right to free speech.
“And on this we must agree: there is no speech that justifies mindless violence,” Obama said.
“There are no words that excuse the killing of innocents. There is no video that justifies an attack on an Embassy,” the president said.
Obama said the world now faces a choice “between the forces that would drive us apart, and the hopes that we hold in common.”
The last time Obama addressed the assembly, there was an air of hope surrounding the Arab Spring. U.S. officials remain optimistic, but some also worry that the latest unrest is perhaps the dark side of the revolution.
Obama used his U.N. address to urge leaders in the region not to let their hard-fought gains be undermined by those peddling the politics of hate and division.
The relationship between the Libya attack and the protests against an anti-Islam film elsewhere in the region remains unclear. Obama, in an interview on Monday, said the Libya attack was not just a “mob action.” Other evidence has emerged indicating the attack was pre-planned, though the administration has not yet publicly drawn that conclusion.
The speech Tuesday morning kicked off a day heavy on foreign policy for both the president and his Romney.
Romney addressed the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City in the morning, and Obama is expected to address the initiative later in the day.
United Nations — The United States will “do what we must” to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, President Barack Obama is expected to tell the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday in a speech that will also touch heavily on the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Libya.
“We respect the right of nations to access peaceful nuclear power, but one of the purposes of the United Nations is to see that we harness that power for peace,” Obama will tell U.N. delegates, according to excerpts of his planned remarks made available by the White House. “Make no mistake: a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained.”
Obama’s scheduled speech comes on the opening day of the U.N. General Assembly debate session.
During the session, which ends October 1, world leaders will again take up a host of pressing humanitarian issues, including poverty, global warming and the prospect of renewed conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa. But the Middle East and the 18-month civil war in Syria are expected to remain center stage.
In his speech Tuesday morning, Obama is expected to say that while the United States remains committed to a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear program, “time is not unlimited.”
While Iranian leaders say their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, Western leaders believe Tehran wants to build a nuclear weapon. U.N. inspectors also have expressed doubts about the program’s aims.
The consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran are immense, Obama will tell delegates.
“It would threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations, and the stability of the global economy. It risks triggering a nuclear-arms race in the region, and the unraveling of the non-proliferation treaty,” the president will say.
Obama’s speech comes on the heels of a series of confrontational statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who declared Monday that Israel has “no roots in the Middle East.”
U.S. national security spokesman Thomas Vietor called the comments “disgusting, offensive and outrageous,” and said they “underscore again why America’s commitment to the security of Israel must be unshakeable, and why the world must hold Iran accountable for its utter failure to meet its obligations.”
Later, in an interview on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” Monday, Ahmadinejad appeared to say he would not be surprised if Israel attacks Iran over its nuclear program.
“Of course, the Zionists are very much — very adventuresome, very much seeking to fabricate things,” Ahmadinejad said, referring to Israel. “And I think they see themselves at the end of the line. And I do firmly believe that they seek to create the opportunities for themselves and their adventurous behaviors.”
In his speech, Obama will also address the recent wave of violence targeting the United States, including the September 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that left Stevens, the U.S. ambassador, dead.
“The attacks of the last two weeks are not simply an assault on America. They are also an assault on the very ideals upon which the United Nations was founded,” Obama is expected to say.
“If we are serious about those ideals, we must speak honestly about the deeper causes of this crisis. Because we face a choice between the forces that would drive us apart, and the hopes we hold in common,” the president will say.
Obama also will address the uproar across the Muslim world over “The Innocence of Muslims,” a movie produced in the United States that mocked the Muslim Prophet Mohammed.
“There are no words that excuse the killing of innocents,” Obama will say, according to excerpts. “There is no video that justifies an attack on an embassy. There is no slander that provides an excuse for people to burn a restaurant in Lebanon, or destroy a school in Tunis, or cause death and destruction in Pakistan.”
While Obama is speaking in front of an international crowd, his speech Tuesday will also largely target a domestic audience, which will decide in November whether he gets another chance at the presidency.
Later Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande is scheduled to take the lectern and is expected to address a worsening crisis in the Sahel, where a deadly mix of drought, famine and Islamic militancy have plagued the North Africa region.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday disregarded a UN warning to avoid incendiary rhetoric and declared ahead of the annual General Assembly session that Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be “eliminated.”
Ahmadinejad also said he did not take seriously the threat that Israel could launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, denied sending arms to Syria, and alluded to Iran’s threats to the life of British author Salman Rushdie.
The United States quickly dismissed the Iranian president’s comments as “disgusting, offensive and outrageous.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted Israel could strike Iran’s nuclear sites and criticised US President Barack Obama’s position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
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Iran denies it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic work is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity.
“Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists,” Ahmadinejad, in New York for this week’s UN General Assembly, told reporters. “We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves.”
On Sunday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Ahmadinejad and warned him of the dangers of incendiary rhetoric in the Middle East.
Ahmadinejad, who has used previous UN sessions to question the Holocaust and the US account of the 9/11 attacks, did not heed the warning and instead alluded to his previous rejection of Israel’s right to exist.
“Iran has been around for the last seven, 10 thousand years. They (the Israelis) have been occupying those territories for the last 60 to 70 years, with the support and force of the Westerners. They have no roots there in history,” he said, referring to the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948.
“We do believe that they have found themselves at a dead end and they are seeking new adventures in order to escape this dead end. Iran will not be damaged with foreign bombs,” Ahmadinejad said, speaking through an interpreter at his Manhattan hotel.
“We don’t even count them as any part of any equation for Iran. During a historical phase, they (the Israelis) represent minimal disturbances that come into the picture and are then eliminated,” he added.
In 2005, Ahmadinejad called Israel a “tumor” and echoed the words of the former Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, by saying that Israel should be wiped off the map.
In Washington, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor reaffirmed the US commitment to Israel’s security.
“President Ahmadinejad’s comments are characteristically disgusting, offensive and outrageous. They underscore again why America’s commitment to the security of Israel must be unshakeable, and why the world must hold Iran accountable for its utter failure to meet its obligations,” Vietor said.
