Hopes, Fears and Obama. The Web Site.

11/15/2008 04:03:00 AM

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There is a new website dedicated to chronicling the hopes and fears surrounding Barack Obama called “Barack Obama Presidency:  Hopes and Fears”.  Users can view and submit ideas on hopes and fears and vote on which they share.  It’s all totally anonymous (other than maybe recording your IP address… big deal).

Its a really interesting look at both sides and lets you know that you are not alone with what you hope and/or fear.

Some of the fears include:

  • He will become a dictator.
  • He will weaken US defenses.
  • He will send this country into civil war.
  • He will find himself in over his head.
  • He will turn this country socialist.
  • He will change his mind more often than his underwear.
  • He will increase taxes so much that the US economy will suffer.
  • He will make community service “voluntary-compulsory.”
  • He will show US weakness to the terrorists around the world.

Some of the hopes include:.

  • We’ll pull our troops from Iraq.
  • He will restore America’s standing in the world.
  • Improve image of the U.S. around the world.
  • He will rescue a puppy from a pound.
  • We will finally hear the word ‘nuclear’ pronounce[d] correctly by the US president.
  • He will speak in complete sentences.
  • He will work toward granting gay people equal rights throughout the country, and help overturn same-sex marriage bans that already exist in several states.
  • He will quickly learn not to negotiate with terrorists.
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Gee Look, Obama’s Weekly Address.. [Yawn]

11/15/2008 03:29:00 AM

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And notice, the flag pin is back, with a nice try by putting an American flag in the picture, nice offset.   Oh and hey Barack?  I’d love to go back to work however, I need health insurance to get a little heart condition addressed first!  And these bailouts don’t help those of us who don’t make enough to file taxes so I guess I’m going to be passed over again when it comes to “stimulus checks” because I didn’t file taxes….. gee thanks.

Oh yea.. (insert sarcasm) I’m a bit bitter over those two facts…. (end sarcasm)

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Electors in California File Lawsuit Over Obama’s Natural Born Status [Constitutional Law]

11/15/2008 03:05:00 AM

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 flagconstitution A case has been filed in California, yes another lawsuit however this one I think has the legs to go the distance, for Obama to prove that he is a natural born citizen.

The only thing I have to say about all this is that it would be just so simple for Obama to earn trust in those of us who do have doubts as to whether he is natural born, and to believe his claims that he is natural born, by simply showing a stupid piece of paper.  It’s that simple.  What Obama does not seem to understand, or believe is that so far there have been at least 8 lawsuits against him, wanting to prove his is natural born, with two still active at this point and now a new suit, and that until he produces the document asked of him, chances are, it’s not going to stop.  Or does he wish to keep dividing the masses of us versus them?  Those that follow him versus those that do not trust him.  Trust is earned over time and actions, it is not automatically given.  There is NO substitute for time and actions.  Did many of you trust Bush when he first went into office?  Did many of you automatically trust Clinton when he went into office?  And for a President-Delegate to not want the trust of the United States citizens, then that alone says quite a lot about the man’s personality and mentality.

This is not so much about Obama being president, as it is that someone is possibly hiding the fact they are not natural born, and thus are not entitled to be President of the United States according to our Nation’s Constitution.  Or is the Constitution, something that is suppose to be the supreme law of the land, nothing more than just a piece of paper anymore?

What is increasingly more interesting about this case, is that the major news outlets, or the MSM, have not picked up on it, yet it seems to be spreading on the “Internez”, like wildfire.

CALIFORNIA LAWSUIT

alankeyes A petition has been filed in California by Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation on behalf of Alan Keyes (left), the presidential candidate of the American Independent Party, along with Wiley S. Drake and Markham Robinson, both California electors on Thursday, Nov. 13.  Named as defendants in the action are California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, President Delegate Barack Obama, Vice-President Delegate Joe Biden, and a list of California party electors.

bobclatimes424_0[6] The “Hawaii Revised Statute 338-178 allows registration of birth in Hawaii for a child that was born outside of Hawaii to parents who, for a year preceding the child’s birth, claimed Hawaii as their place of residence.  The only way to know where Senator Obama was actually born is to view Senator Obama’s original birth certificate from 1961 that shows the name of the hospital and the name and signature of the doctor that delivered him.” 

The State of Hawaii considers a “Certificate of Live Birth” a secondary source of identification for the purpose of establishing Hawaiian ancestry.  This is the document that can be seen on the “Fight the Smears'” website.  It is not a “Birth Certificate.”  Thus, the claim alleges that the “Certificate of Live Birth” posted by the Obama campaign cannot be viewed as authoritative, the case alleges since it does not show the hospital of birth, or a doctor’s signature.  [NOTE:  A high resolution scan of the document can be found here and here.

The case also raises the circumstances of Obama’s time during his youth in Indonesia, where he was listed as having Indonesian citizenship.  Indonesia does not allow dual citizenship, raising the possibility of Obama’s mother having given up his U.S. citizenship.  Any subsequent U.S. citizenship then, the case claims, would be “naturalized",” not “natural-born.”

The petition is a request for the Superior Court of California in Sacramento County to issue a peremptory writ barring Secretary of State Debra Bowen “from both certifying to the governor the names of the California Electors, and from transmitting to each presidential Elector a Certificate of Election, until such documentary proof is produced and verified showing that Senator Obama is a ‘natural born’ citizen of the United States and does not hold citizenship of Indonesia, Kenya or Great Britain.” 

The petition states that the California secretary of state should refuse to allow the state’s 55 Electoral College votes to be cast in the 2008 presidential election until President-elect Barack Obama verifies his eligibility to hold the office, and issue a writ barring California’s electors from signing the Certificate of Vote until documentary proof is produced.

“Should Senator Obama be discovered, after he takes office, to be ineligible for the Office of President of the United States of America and, thereby, his election declared void, Petitioners, as well as other Americans, will suffer irreparable harm in that (a) usurper will be sitting as the President of the United States, and none of the treaties, laws, or executive orders signed by him will be valid or legal,” the action challenges.

Citing the constitutional requirement that a president be a “natural born” citizen, the case discusses other state and federal court cases regarding “aspects of lost or dual citizenship concerning Senator Obama.  Those challenges, in and of themselves, demonstrate Petitioners’ argument that reasonable doubt exists as to the eligibility of the Democratic Party’s nominee for President,” the case said.

“There is a reasonable and common expectation by the voters that to qualify for the ballot, the individuals running for office must meet minimum qualifications as outlined in the federal and state Constitutions and statutes, and that compliance with those minimum qualifications has been confirmed by the officials overseeing the election process.”

“Since [the Secretary of State, SOS] has, as its core, the mission of certifying and establishing the validity of the election process, this writ seeks a Court Order barring SOS from certifying the California Electors until documentary proof that Senator Obama is a ‘natural born’ citizen of the United State of American is received by her.”

“This proof could include items such as his original birth certificate, showing the name of the hospital and the name and the signature of the doctor, all of his passports with immigration stamps, and verification from the governments where the candidate has resided, verifying that he did not, and does not, hold citizenship of these countries, and any other documents that certify an individual’s citizenship and/or qualification for office.

“To this date, in this regard, SOS has not carried out that fundamental duty.”

In response to questions about why the suit was being filed, Keys commented:

“I and others are concerned that this issue be properly investigated and decided before Senator Obama takes office.  Otherwise there will be a serious doubt as to the legitimacy of his tenure.  This doubt would also affect the respect people have for the Constitution as the supreme law of the land.  I hope the issue can be quickly clarified so that the new President can take office under no shadow of doubt.  This will be good for him and for the nation.”

INTERESTING FIND

obamakenyan08rz2 On the “Fight The Smears” website, that was designed to set the “record straight” about Obama.  However, FactCheck.org left a note stating:

“When Barack Obama Jr. was born on Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Kenya was a British colony, still part of the United Kingdom’s dwindling empire.  As a Kenyan native, Barack Obama Sr. was a British subject whose citizenship status was governed by The British Nationality Act of 1948.  That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.’s children.

Since Sen. Obama has neither renounced his U.S. citizenship nor sworn an oath of allegiance to Kenya, his Kenyan citizenship automatically expired on Aug. 4, 1982.”

If this is true, then Obama is not a natural-born citizen.

But yet later, FactCheck.org stated that the “certificate of live birth” to be valid.  The thing to remember here is that yes, the “certificate of live birth” may be valid however, under Hawaii Revised Statute 338-178, Obama could have been born in Kenya, and been brought back to Hawaii and received this document.  Additionally at that time in Hawaii, if a child was born outside a hospital, the family would have 30 days to apply for a birth certificate.

What makes this important is Obama’s grandmother in Kenya who has stated, and can be heard in the video below during a phone call from the Bishop of Anabaptists Churches of North America, Ron McRae, that Obama was born in Kenya.

Ron McRae: … I would like to see his actual birthplace when I, when I come to Kenya in December.  Uh, was she present when he was, was she present when he was born in Kenya?

Translator to Sarah Obama:  Alikuma zalima Obama (unintelligible)

Kewli Shuhubia:  He is asking her, he wants to know something was ah she present when he was born?

Translator:  Yes.  She says “Yes she was!  She was present when Obama was born.”

Ron McRae:  Okay.

 

OTHER THOUGHTS

In Obama’s book The Audacity of Hope, pg. 204, Obama states he lived in Indonesia for five years.

“During the five years that we would live with my stepfather in Indonesia…….”

At that time, only Indonesian citizens were allowed to enroll in public school.  If Obama’s citizenship was switched to Indonesian, and later switched back, he would then be referenced as a “naturalized” citizen, and not an “natural born” and thus, is not eligible for president.

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

I believe all the above facts themselves warrant an investigation into whether Obama is infact a natural born citizen.  It’s a simple thing.  Produce the original “Birth Certificate” and all is done instead of fueling the fires of doubt against him and wasting taxpayers money in courts.  How can one believe in anyone, if they won’t be truthful, or attempt to gain trust?  Or again, is that what he wants, to divide this nation into believers and non-believers?  Just thoughts to ponder……

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Obama Backed Labor Law To Cost U.S. Jobs Says Consumer Association.

11/14/2008 04:34:00 AM

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ist2_5536951-comunist-stencil Via Metro International [Boston]:

Millions of U.S. jobs may head overseas if a labor bill backed by President-elect Barack Obama passes, the head of the Consumer Electronics Association said.

The Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the card-check law,lets employees form unions when a majority of workers sign cards, rather than only after employees vote in secret.  Obama, who will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, co-sponsored the legislation as a U.S. senator from Illinois.

Employers may send jobs offshore to avoid dealing with interference from unions, Gary Shapiro, chief executive officer of the Arlington, Virginia-based association, said yesterday in an interview.  The measure is the biggest concern for the group, which represents more than 2,000 electronics companies, he said.

"A lot of our manufacturers have told us they'll ship jobs overseas," Shapiro said.  "In the tech industry, to be innovative and to be able to compete," employers have to be able to freely hire and fire workers.

From the Courier-Journal in Kentucky:

This card check law would be partially damaging to Louisville where the manufacturing base is still a dominant part of the economy.

As far as Kentucky is concerned, Toyota would be a top-of-the-agenda target and thus would probably pick up its operations and move them to Canada or Mexico.

As a former chairman, and still a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce labor policy committee, I can assure you that this is the most potentially damaging piece of proposed union legislation to both the freedom of the individual employee and the health of U.S. productivity to come along in memory.

And how does this possibly affect the transportation industry?  From Logistics Management:

"I expect HOS to be revised and perhaps even codified and I would not be surprised to see driving hours reduced to 10 based on a 12 hour work day. (Which means less miles, thus less money.  And goods to be delivered at a slower rate.) You should expect to see a mandatory fuel surcharge program and stronger enforcement of the EPA Model Anti-Idling law; and many (not just LTL) trucking companies could become unionized.  Lastly, all efforts to improve productivity through Size and Weight, will quietly be put to sleep."

As a little overview of the EFCA, in its current form, once the legislation passes, unions will be able to penetrate the workforce by merely obtaining a simple majority of employee signatures on authorization cards - known as a "card check" process - which substitutes a signature for a secret ballot vote.

One a majority of signed "authorization" cards are obtained and presented to the employer, the union will be entitled to legal recognition as the employees' exclusive bargaining representative.    This "system" however, allows for pressuring employees and peers to sign the cards and everyone will know who supported a union and who didn't.  And since unions can press employees for their signatures before and after work, during their breaks, at local bars, churches and even at their homes and this could be a problem for those who do not wish to participate.

Also under the proposed legislation, there is a  section entitled "Facilitating Initial Collective Bargaining Agreement."  Under this section, collective bargaining agreement must begin within 1-0 days and must be reached within 90 days after a demand is made by the union to commence negotiations following a successful card-count.  If an agreement is not reached, the parties must submit the negotiation process to mediation. 

If no agreement is reached with negotiation after 30 days, then it is sent to a federal arbitration panel.  That arbitration panel settles the negotiations by determining the terms of a binding two year agreement, setting wages, benefits, hours, work-rules and all the other terms of employment.  When it reaches this level, employees do NOT have a say or a vote on pay, benefits or workplace conditions.

And then there are the Union dues to be paid every week.

First, this means that there will be a major waiting period before the union benefits "happen".  It will not happen overnight.  And secondly, do you really think that employers who are not "union friendly" will employee those who want the union?  No, they will choose for cheaper labor (i.e. illegal) or choose to outsource their work overseas.

And if you say that legitimate large employers don't hire illegal immigrants, well, let me tell you of something that happened to me within the past few days.  I was at a local McDonalds, as I have a horrible horrible liking for their vanilla shakes, and overheard two employees talking about one of themselves.  One employee was professing that he did not have a social security card, or a social security number, yet this employee was obviously over the age of 18.  He then proceeded to tell the other employee how he had gotten a fake social security card.  While I stood there listening to their conversation, the manager realized that I was listening and told the two to end their conversation looking at me.  Now McDonald's might not be the dream job that everyone thinks of, but its a job, and in this economy where jobs are thin, a job that a legal American might need, it was given to an illegal immigrant by a Fortune 500 company.  And this is NOT a lone observation or overheard conversation where I live.  And no, this is not going to turn into an immigration post.

Now supposedly Obama supports employer use of the federal E-Verify program and increasing the number of visas allowed (why are we increasing visas when we don't have enough jobs to go around now?), but shares labor concerns that H-1B workers are sometimes used to substitute for American workers and would likely put more restrictions on how employers can use the visas. 

The Patriot Employer Act of 2007 is suppose to help stop companies sending jobs overseas by giving tax breaks to companies that keep jobs in the United States, maintaining their corporate headquarters here, pay a certain level of wages, stay neutral during organizing drives, pay at least 60 percent of the healthcare premiums of employees, prepare workers for retirement and support workers who serve in the military.   There's only one problem with that.  Where are the jobs?  If there are no jobs, then there are no employees.

And Obama plans on taxing employers for the new national healthcare program.  Under Obama's proposal, employers that don't provide a "meaningful" contribution to their workers health coverage will have to pay the government a percentage of their payroll.

Obama also co-sponsored an act that eliminates caps on compensatory and punitive damaged awarded in discrimination cases.  This act would parallel the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, where every time an employee receives a paycheck or pension payment, they can sue for pay discrimination.  Obama is a strong supporter of this act.

Obama also plans on increasing the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour and also require employers with at least 15 employees to provide seven paid sick days per year.  (Obama co-sponsored the sick days bill.)

So do you REALLY THINK that employers are going to keep jobs in the United States with all these new rules and expenses?  Seriously.... Now I am not saying that people are not entitled to these rights however, do you think every company and business in the United States has the money to back all of this up, especially with the significant drop in business and sluggish sales?

Now I'm all for workers rights with fair pay for a fair job done.  But forced unions are not going to "fix" the rising unemployment level.  All they are going to do is raise the unemployment level, driving major corporations to send jobs overseas to lower costs, and lower hassle.  The main point of Congress should NOT be to "fix" unions.  It should be to stimulate the economy, stimulate jobs, stimulate spending, and help people, not the black hole AIG banks out of trouble.

And the only people it seems that will make any money out of this act, will be labor lawyers and union heads.  But I could be wrong.  Time will tell, if the act and/or acts pass.....

Oh, and one other thing.  Pushing for organized workers and unions for all jobs is a trait of socialism.  Don't believe me?  Check out the Socialist Party USA's, Socialist Party Handbook on "Working Class Unity".

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What's Warming Up In The Bullpen [Could It Be MORE Unemployment Misery?]

11/14/2008 03:21:00 AM

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The Department of Labor reported 240,000 jobs lost in October, driving the total number of jobs lost for the year to 1.2 million.  Nearly one of of eight American workers is now unemployed or underemployed.  But yet, no one has officially announced we are in a recession.  If this isn't a recession, then I hate to see what one looks like, and I truly fear what a depression would look like.

First-time claims for jobless benefits increase by 32,000 to 516,000 in the week ending Nov. 8, from 484,000 the week before, the Labor department said.

In the good news department, gas prices are the lowest in 21 months, but who has the money for it?  And it shows since the number of barrels bought was the fewest in more than five years.

And while reading this, I want you to remember that AIG, who just renegotiated their loan to $150 billion, is giving away $500 million in deferred compensation to retain 6,000 employees.

And the first bit of news if for you Obama supporters

■  Millions of U.S. jobs may head overseas if a labor bill backed by President-Elect Obama passes, the head of the Consumer Electronics Association said.

■  Mayor Bloomberg, NYC, forecasts that as many as 140,000 of that city's 300,000 member work force, could be cut by July 2009.  Notices to more than 4,000 city staffers, including 1,000 police were sent out, effective immediately.  He is proposing to raise taxes either 7.5 or a 15% increase in income tax, and a 7% increase in property tax!

■  In New York State, Governor Paterson announced a two-year $5.2 billion deficit reduction plan.  Over 200 non-profit groups protested.

■  In the same article as above, Philadelphia is facing a $108 million shortfall and $1 billion deficit by the end of the fiscal year, has closed libraries, swimming pools and cut 800 city jobs.

■  In also the same article, Gov. Schwarzenegger has forced state employees to take one day off each month without pay in order to help with $4.5 billion in government cuts.  And he has proposed raising taxes as well, 1.5% increase in the sales tax over three years.

■  Citigroup to cut at least 10,000 jobs.  Will make a total of 23,000 jobs lost this year for Citigroup.  They plan on cutting another 39,000 jobs by September of 2009 for a total of 62,000 jobs lost.

■ DHL is shutting down domestic services, ending 9,500 jobs.

■  Circuit City filed bankruptcy, laying off another 700 workers on top of the 7,000 layoffs it announced a week ago, along with the closure of 155 stores.

■  Jobless claims hit 25-year high.

■  In Toledo Ohio, Unions are promising legal action if three-day governmental shutdown is done in an effort to save $300,000 to $1 million.

■  U.S. Steel Corp. laid off 677 hourly workers at its domestic plants.

■  Chicago Mayor Daley warned of "huge" layoffs during the remainder of the year an into 2009.

1,900 possible layoffs at GM stamping and powertrain facilities.

■  GM plans to cut at least 3,500 more salaried jobs in the next few months with 3,460 salaried workers signing up for "sweetened" retirement offers trying to shed 7,000 salaried and contract jobs.

■  Chrysler has announced the elimination of 35,000 jobs since Feb 2007, including plans to trim as many as 5,000 salaried positions by the end of this year.

■  Intel has reduced its revenue estimate by about $1 billion, but still plans on making $9 billion (plus or minus $300 million.....)  National Semiconductor plans to cut about 5 percent of workers.  Applied Materials said it will cut 1,800 jobs.

■  Sun Microsystems says it will cut up to 6,000 of its workers, or 18 percent of its global staff in the next year.

Oh, and have a nice day.  This has been Misery Index bringing you your daily dose of "misery".  (Yea.. I love ya too..........................) 

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AIG Giving Employees $503 MILLION In Deferred Compensation! [The Black Hole Sucks Again!]

11/14/2008 02:35:00 AM

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Can someone PLEASE explain to me WHY this black hole company was saved and WHY they keep sucking getting money and WHY doesn't someone let them fail?  What does AIG have or have over the government that no other financial institutions do?

And this comes just after news of AIG whining about their loan and asking for more money for a total loan of now $152 billion, and days after another junket was learned to the tune of $343,000.

According to the Washington Post, AIG "plans to pay out $503 million in deferred compensation to some of its top employees, saying it must tap the funds to keep valuable workers from exiting the troubled insurance giant." Yet earlier this week, Treasury officials said they had imposed some of the most stringent limits ever on AIG execs bonuses and compensation for the additional bailout.  And this comes at a time when AIG posted $37.63 billion in losses for their 3rd Q numbers. 

Ashooh, AIG's normal BSer, spokesman said that more than 6,000 employees are covered by AIG deferred compensation plans, but declined to name any employees or [SURPRISE!] the number of top execs who will receive the payouts.  [SO lets run some numbers real quick.  That's 6,000 employees, and half a billion dollars, which figures out to about ohhh.. $80,000 plus per person.  Nice Christmas gift, don't you think?]

In AIG's defense, Ashooh said, "This is not taxpayers' money they are going to run away with."  "We are trying to take the incentive away for people to leave now, until we have time to get the company running right again," he added.  [Anyone notice lately if Ashooh's nose is growing?  And why would anyone leave with how tight jobs are on Wall Street right now, and with the high number of such unemployed?  Exactly where would they go, since nearly all financial companies have a hiring freeze on right now.  Can you say "Doesn't pass the smell test" boys and girls?]

Ohh.. umm.. Mr. Waxman?  Sir, may I see the receipts for this please, since I've helped bail their butts out WAY TOO MANY TIMES?   Personally, I'd say FORGET IT.  If you have to pay someone extra to keep them on with unemployment as high as it is right now, then let them go, especially if there is no contract between AIG and the employee.  There are thousands of financial advisers and such without jobs right now from Wall Street.  They will be MORE than happy to take their place and have a job again to those who don't want to work.  Especially since your CURRENT workers can't seem to show the company a profit. Hello, $37.63 billion loss in the 3rd Q!  Show me the money!

And I'd give Liddy until the end of the year, to begin to turn the company around, especially since when AIG was first bailed out, he stated that the original loan would be paid off by the end of this year.  If he can't/won't/doesn't, then it's time to replace him.

NO TO THE DEFERRED COMPENSATION!

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Gerald Celente Predicts Total Collapse of Economy and Revolution By 2012.

11/14/2008 01:00:00 AM

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uncle-sam-bruised-economySo who is Gerald Celente?  Well, he's the CEO of Trends Research Institute.  He  predicted the 1987 stock market crash, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis.  He served as executive assistant to the secretary of the New York State Senate and shuttled between Chicago and Washington, D.C., as a "government affairs specialist" during the 1970s.  He is renowned for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events, minus the crystal ball, through analysis and research.  Celente has 30 years of credentials.

Quotes about Celente:

■  "When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente." - CNN Headline News

■  "Gerald Celente has a knack for getting the zeitgeist right." - USA Today

■  "Those who take their predictions seriously ... consider the Trends Research Institute." - The Wall Street Journal.

■  "When Gerald Celente predicts what's going to be popular, people listen." - Times Union

■  "... a guy who obviously knows his trends." - Bill O'Reilly

■  "Doesn't it feel like the truth?" - Oprah Winfrey

Other agencies who use Celente are The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, 48 Hours, CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, BBC, MSNBC, CNBC, NPR, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, USA Today, The Independent, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Time, Business Week, Financial Times, Newsweek, Time, U.S. News and World Report, Investors Business Daily and The Economist, just to name a few.

Clients of Celente include Bank of America, American Express, The Coca Cola Company, Du Pont, Nestle', Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 3M, and Kimberly-Clark as examples.

Subscribers to his magazine "Trends Journal" include AT&T, Aetna, Audi, Ford, Mobil, Samsung and Nestle.

This is what Celente said in November, 2007 about 2008.

A financial crisis will likely send the U.S. dollar into a free fall of as much as 90 percent and gold soaring to $2,000 an ounce, a trends researcher said.

"We are going to see economic times the likes of which no living person has seen," Trends Research Institute Director Gerald Celente said, forcasting a "Panic of 2008."

"The bigger they are, the harder they'll fall," he sad in an interview with New York's Hudson Valley Business journal.

Celente -- who forecast the subprime mortgage financial crisis and the dollar's decline a year ago and gold's current rise in May -- told the newspaper the subprime mortgage meltdown was just the first "small, high-risk segment of the market" to collapse.

Derivative dealers, hedge funds, buyout firms and other market players will also unravel, he said.

Massive corporate losses, such as those recently posted by Citigroup Inc and General Motors Corp., will also be fairly common "for some time to come," he said.

He said he would not "be surprised if giants tumble to their deaths," Celente said.

The Panic of 2008 will lead to a lower U.S. standard of living, he said.

A result will be a drop in holiday spending a year from now, followed by a permanent end of the "retail holiday frenzy" that has driven the U.S. economy since the 1940s, he said.

Obviously everything that Celente predicted has come true or is starting to come true.

In January, 2008 Celente stated:

"We're in the USSA."  "Just like back in the days of the Soviet Union, in the USSR.  They're doing the same kinds of things.  When you look at the government numbers, for example, they don't add inf ood - for which prices have gone up over 25 percent in the last year - and fuel - oil prices have gone up some 60 percent year to date.  They don't add those numbers into core inflation."  "And the government is taking over the country in a lot of different ways, so people have to take steps themselves.  They have to stop buying a lot of garbage that they don't need.  And here's a country with self-storage units?  This is something unique around the world; nobody's ever haerd of such a thing.  So we have to start cutting back, we have to start doing a lot of smart things and becoming more locally involved.  Because if a lot of people do little things collectively, big things can happen.  And I believe the vacuum is so big right now; that it can be filled with anything."

By now you should realized why Celente is stated to be the modern "Nostradamus", minus the fortune telling part.  Ready to read what he says we have coming for us in the future? 

" [Celente] is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, which cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas by 2012. [...]

Cliente says that by 2012 American will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.

"We're going to see the end of the retail Christmas....we're going to see a fundamental shift take place....putting food on the table is going to be more important than putting gifts under the Christmas tree," said Celente, adding that the situation would be "worse than the great depression".

"America's going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for," said Celente, noting that people's refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis. [...]

In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America.

"There will be a revolution in this country," he said.  "It's not going to come yet, but it's going to come down the line and we're going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it:  the takeover of Washington, D.C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup.  And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen."

"The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts.  That's going to be the big one because people can't afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax.  You're going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop."

"It's going to be very bleak.  Very sad.  And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before.  Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we're going to see many more."

"We're going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well.  It's going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to.  It's going to come as a shock and with it, there's going to be a lot of crime.  And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people's minds weren't wrecked on all these modern drugs - over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be.  So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody's comprehension."

 

Here's a video of him talking recently to FOX News.  (Yea I know Fox however, he talks to everyone, who pays that is...):

From an August 2008 interview with Terry McNally and from Celente's book "Trends":

2012.  The future has arrived.  Empire America is collapsing.  The Panic of '08 because the Crash of '09.  The global financial system has melted down.  Most paper money isn't worth a dime.  The worse of environmental fears have been realized.  What some call the "War on Terror," others call WWIII.  The onset of The Blackest of Plagues has the world's populace terrified.

The streets are teeming with the homeless, helpless and jobless.  Major cities look like Calcutta.  Neither Big Bother's surveillance, corporate security squads, or angry vigilantes can stop the pandemic crime wave.  Even gated communities provide no sure sanctuary; the rich have become the targets of choice for kidnappers, gangs and organized criminals.

Food is plentiful if you can afford it, but dangerous to eat unless you grow your own or get it from reliable sources.  After years of drought and mismanagement, water shortages have reached crisis levels in much of the world.

But even as this is written in 2012, the official word is still, "Take a deep breath, the fundamentals are sound."  They're not.  Yet those who didn't see it coming, still keep telling us what to do.  Seeing through the media and government spin machines and smoke screens, many sensed the seriousness of the situation, and in their gut expected the worst.  But either through instinctive fear, stubborn denial, or conditioned inertia, few prepared for what was to come.  They now live between the helpless states of "what-might-have-been" and "I-wish-I-did."

You can hear the interview between Celente and Terrence McNally in a podcast.

Now you can choose to listen to Celente's words, and think about what he has said and predicted and be informed.   Now you may have the opinion that the "powers that be" will never let the United States fall into such a situation.  Well, where exactly are they going to get all that money to "fix" and "change" things for the right?  The bailout has now topped $5 TRILLION in less than two months.  Where is that number going to be in six months?  And where is all that money to fix the financial institutions that decide to become nationalized?  And what if the banks can't pay that money back in a timely manner?  (Note I didn't take the total doomsday scenario of what if they can't pay it back at all.)

Now I'm sure some Obama supporters are screaming that Obama promised that middle-class taxes aren't going to go up.  Well, don't forget that little added line from September 17, 2008 when he stated that taxes will go up once we are out of the recession.  Well, one what if we don't come out of the recession within the next 4 years, and it drops.  And two, what if we do come out of the recession within the next four years, what kind of bill are we as taxpayers looking at, especially considering a $5 trillion bill for bailout for only two months?

And  one final thing; what is the deal with 2012 being spouted out as a date for when things either go good or bad?  Oh wait, that's when Nibiru is suppose to pass by us, or according to the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012 that the world ends....... oh yea....   But seriously, what is the deal with 2012 other than the next Presidential Election? 

Oh wait.. according to Biden & Powell someone is going to meddle with Obama in January...... never mind.  The world as we know it ends in January.. have a nice Christmas everyone!  And if your wondering, what I want for Christmas is a nice cave up in the mountains away from civilization, with a nice stream and cover.

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BBC Taped On Air Session With Taliban

11/13/2008 10:21:00 PM

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taliban fighters The BBC's World Have Your Say, airs 45 minutes of a Q&A session with Taliban spokesperson, Zahidullah Mujahid, answering questions from listeners to the radio program and others who posted questions in the comments section of the program's blog.

You can listen to the pre-taped interview at the BCC iPlayer site, which uses Real Player.  This broadcast will only be available for seven days.  There may be however, a podcast of the interview available from the BBC in the near future, as previous episodes are available here.

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I Am SO Tired of The Whiners In California [Prop. 8]

11/13/2008 09:50:00 PM

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I am so tired of some people whining in California.  And I want to address those of you in the "alternative" lifestyle that voted "No" on Prop 8.  I want you to read something very very closely.  CA Prop 8 was PASSED in a vote of 52.3% to 47.7%.  If you missed that, let me summarize....

YOU LOST

250px-CA2008Prop8 Now get over it!  The vote was put up, and Prop. 8 was passed, which means that a marriage is known only as a man and a woman.  Not a man and a man.  Not a woman and a woman.  But no, you want it YOUR way, totally ignoring what the population wants, and how our Constitution is set up for elections.

See the little graphic to the left?  The areas that are in green are those who voted that a marriage is only between a man and a woman.  That means the citizens of CA voted, and determined that a marriage is NOT a man and a man, or a woman and a woman. 

How many different ways can I say it before you get it through your thick skulls and let it sink into your brains?  YOU LOST.  But no, you want to be sore losers and whine and cry and moan and groan that you are being picked on.  Umm, vote.  Hello?  How can it not be fair?  Everyone has the freedom to vote, and obviously a larger percentage feels differently than you do.  GET OVER IT.

Last time I checked, the Bible said that a man lying with another man was a sin.  Last time I checked it said a marriage was between a man and a woman.  The last time I checked, there was noting in our Constitution about same sex marriages as a right.  So, it was up to the citizens of CA to decide and they did, and you still think your rights are being discriminated against, and want to go against our Nations' and CA's Constitution, and let a court decide, wasting more and more money on the issue.

It's been 10 days since Election Day, and you are STILL whining and acting like a crazy mob, attacking people, boycotting businesses, and acting just plain stupid.  So obviously you don't believe in our Nation's Constitution, and you don't believe in the CA Constitution, and obviously think that what the majority wants isn't important, and all that matters, is what you want.  Well too damn bad.  Didn't your parents always tell you that life isn't fair and you don't always get what you want?

GROW UP

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Treasury Names Charity Supporter of Hamas Today "Officially Bad", Four Months After Israel.

11/13/2008 01:58:00 AM

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hamas_rallyAccording to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (IICC) in a July 8, 2008 announcement, and based on an Israel Security Agency report, in 2007 approximately $120,000,000 was transferred to Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip to finance terrorist organization activity, about 30% of which was earmarked for financing Hamas' da'wah. 

A da'wah is an extensive network of civilian institutions and is Hamas' main source of power.  These institutions include banks, schools and camps for children and include "preaching and incitement to terrorism and hatred for Israel and the Jews by running an independent educational system and mosques to brainwash Palestinians with its radical Islamic ideology," according to the IICC.

military_training These indoctrines begin in kindergarten and continue through university level and operate summer camps, more than 100 of which are operated by the "Union of Good".  Some of these camps have paramilitary or even fully military activities intended to prepare the young for enlistment into the ranks of the various terrorist organizations.  Training at these camps include using guns to subdue an enemy, practicing capture, taking hostages, and workshops for home-made rockets, among other things.

A child at a Hamas summer camp, when asked what he wants to be when he grows up, replied, "I want to be a military man, a holy warrior, to liberate this land, because it is our and does not belong to anyone else."

Additionally, funds are given to family members of suicide bombings, funds are used for "feasts" at mosques and for food donations, it funds orphanages, healthcare clinics, soup kitchens and even sports leagues.

Today, the U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday named an Islamic charity as a group aiding Hamas militants in the Middle East and prohibited Americans from dealing with the "Union of Good" organization.  The Treasury Department said that the Union of Good funnels money to Islamist fighters in the West Bank and Gaza, adding that the government will seize any funds in the United States controlled by the charity.

On the Treasury Department's web site there is an announcement allowing this action under and allowed via Executive Order 13224 blocking Terrorist Property put into effect on September 23, 2001. [PDF]

11/12/2008

The following entities have been added to the OFAC's SDN list:

UNION OF GOOD (a.k.a. 101 DAYS CAMPAIGN; a.k.a. CHARITY COALITION; a.k.a. COALITION OF GOOD; a.k.a. ETELAF AL-KHAIR; a.k.a. ETILAFU EL-KHAIR; a.k.a. I'TILAF AL-KHAIR; a.k.a. I'TILAF AL-KHAYR), P.O. Box 136301, Jeddah 21313, Saudia Arabia [SDGT]

[OFAC - Office of Foreign Assets Control]
[SDN - Specially Designated Nationals]
[SDGT - Specially Designated Global Terrorist]

It only took the Treasury Department four months after Israel announced the same, and six years with Israel outlawing the "Union of Good"  and Hamas da'wah institutions in 2002.  They both have probably had a good idea about the "Union of Good" sending funds to Hamas since late 2000, and certainly since 2001.  Why so long?  Well, that's a good question for which I don't have an answer for. 

rockets_display Although the "Union of Good" was outlawed in Israel in February 2002, in July of this year, the Defense Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, signed an order banning 36 global fundraising organizations to the "Union of Good" [PDF]  as Israel stepped up efforts to cut off flow of cash to Hamas government.  On that order was a list of 36 organizations with an entry of the following:  "23.  The Union of Good Lebanon - Dar Al Fatwait (Includes US Charitable Organization)

300Leader_ismail_haniyeh_HAMAS_at_rally_cartoon But by putting the "Union of Good" on the Treasury Departments list,  this makes it a criminal offense for U.S. persons to provide material support or resources to Foreign Terrorist Organization's ("FTOs") and requires financial institutions to block all funds in which FTOs or their agents have an interest, per Section 302 of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.

Among the types of businesses covered they this regulation, are banks, securities and commodities broker/dealers, investment companies, currency exchanges, issuers, redeemers, and cashiers of traveler's checks, checks, money orders, or similar instruments, credit card system operators, insurance companies, dealers in precious metals, stones or jewels, pawnbrokers, loan and finance companies, travel agencies, licensed money transmitters, telegraph companies, businesses engaged in vehicle sales, including automobile, airplane or boat sales, persons involved in real estate closings or settlements, and casinos.

Such "financial institutions" must notify OFAC Compliance about any blocked funds within ten days of blocking, otherwise they face civil (not criminal) penalties to be assessed against them in an amount equal  to $50,000 per violation or twice the amount which should have been blocked, whichever is greater.

pct_1 The "Union of Good" was established in October 2000, shortly after the beginning of the last Palestinian Intifada against Israel.  It is comprised of 50 Islamic "charities", including Hamas and Hezbollah affiliated organizations.  The "Union of Good" was suppose to raise funds for only 101 days, but its initial success led the founders, mostly Hamas members, to maintain its operations to date.

The "Union of Good" is headed by Dr. Yussuf al-Qardawi, who is the source of spiritual and religious authority for Hamas and others in the Palestinian territories.  Al-Qardawi, who established and leads the Department of Islamic Law (Shari’a) at the Univeristy of Qatar and the Institute for Sunnah Research there, is also on the board of directors of the Al-Taqwa Bank, designated by the US as a terrorist funding organization in November 2001.

Al-Qardawi established legal justification for "financial jihad [al-jihad bil-mal]" in a lecture he gave in May 4, 2002 in the UAE.  According to him, "collecting money for the mujahideem (jihad fighters) was not a donation or a gift but a duty necessitated by the sacrifices they made for the Muslim nation."

funds_1

To the left is part of a "Union of Good" table of shaheeds from 2002, including suicide bombers in Israeli cities.  It designates the allocations of funds to their families through the Hamas-affiliated Islamic "charitable society" Al-Tadhamun in Nablus. 

If you do not know what Hamas is, they are a LARGE Palestinian Muslim militant movement with origins in the late 1960s when it was started by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.  It is important to remember that although Hamas is a Muslim based organization, this does not mean that all Muslim's are part of Hamas or terrorists.  Hamas is a fanatical organization that has it's own charter, a document that is independent from the Qur'an.  And in fact many Palestinians [Muslim] do want peace between them and Israel [Jewish].

Yassin established al-Mujamma' al-Islami in 1973 to coordinate the Muslim Brotherhood's political activities in Gaza.  Yassin founded Hamas as the Muslim Brotherhood's local political arm in December 1987, following the eruption of the first intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli control of the West Bank and Gaza.  Hamas published its official charter in 1988.

Here are some highlights of the principles of Hamas as stated in their Covenant or Charter:

■  "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

■  "The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day.  It, or any part of it, should not be squandered:  it, or any part of it, should not be given up.

■  "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad.  Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

The first Hamas suicide bombing took place in April 1993.  Five months later, Yasir Arafat, the then-leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and Yitzhak Rabin, then-prime minister of Israel, sealed the Oslo accords - an Israeli-Palestinian peace pact that eventually unraveled.  Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli right-wing in November 1995.  Arafat died in November 2004.

Hamas is believed to have killed more than five hundred people in more than 350 separate terrorist attacks since 1993 through suicide bombers, mortars, short-range rockets, and small arms fire.

SOURCES:

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Radio Host Who Said He Wanted Joe The Plumber Dead On Air, FIRED.

11/12/2008 02:55:00 PM

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karel 12345 Karel was fired yesterday afternoon, a week after he stated on-air he wanted "Joe the Plumber MFking dead."  However, Karel is trying to portray himself as a victim.

In his defense, Karel says that he was told by the engineer, who left the studio to use the bathroom, that his microphone was off.  The engineer was also told, he says, to make sure it is off during breaks because Karel talks to his chat room during the breaks, saying things not appropriate for air.

"Weekends are cheap and they were using a cheap engineer for my show," he said.  "My show shouldn't have had an inexperienced engineer for my show, which is done remotely, and in which the host doesn't have an on/off switch on his mic.  They put an inexperienced driver in the seat and the show crashed."

Obviously Karel is an inexperienced and unprofessional radio show host, as the number one rule of broadcasting is to assume the mic/camera is always "hot" or "on" while in the studio.  And obviously if you think the engineer was inexperienced, and there are more experienced engineers at the studio and you didn't have one, that should tell you a lot about your show and it's importance to the station.

And BTW, this is the same guy who wrote an editorial on the Huffington Post titled "I'm Afraid..." regarding death threats stating "Yes, I'm afraid that John McCain and Sarah Palin through their hateful, spiteful and untrue rhetoric are, no matter how inadvertent, trying to get Barack Obama out of the race, literally, as in, taken out.  [...]  What you are doing is criminal and wrong and very, very dangerous."

Here's audio of the show:

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Obama's Grandmother Is Not "On Ice" as Debbie Schlussel States.

11/12/2008 02:32:00 PM

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schlussel Everyone seems to be wondering about Obama's departed grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who died two days before the Nov. 4th presidential election, and why Obama's hasn't gone back to Hawaii for the ceremony, especially Debbie Schlussel who states "It's now been over nine full days since Madelyn Payne Dunham - Barack Obama's thrown-under-the-bus "typical White" grandmother who raised him -- died. Yet, still no funeral.  That's a pretty odd -- not to mention, disrespectful -- way to treat a grandmother you claim you love and who raised you... Regardless of whether you told the worlds she was a "typical White" racist. [...]  That's a pretty long time to keep a body on ice -- especially the body of someone you claim to have loved, someone who raised you.  But, then again, it's not like he didn't commit other offenses against her, like throwing her under the bus and calling her a racist. [...]  Hail to the Chief, Saint Obamessiah.  This guy is cold."

Now while I may not like Obama's style or his agenda, I find Schlussel's statements insulting and showing of her intelligence and mentality, especially since it seems that she didn't take the time to run her little fingers across a keyboard to do a bit of research, and find some answers why, but instead choose to run her little fingers over her keyboard to show her lack of intelligence.  So lets go on with the show.....

A campaign aide said the 86-year-old Dunham died late Nov. 2nd at her home in Honolulu, and Obama was notified of his grandmother's death around 8 AM Monday morning [2am HI time].  That morning Obama appeared at a rally in Florida without making an announcement.  A written statement was issued around 4:30 PM, in the name of Obama and his sister, before he spoke at an evening rally in Charlotte.  The delay was intended to allow his sister, who was six hours behind in Hawaii, time to take care of a few details before news of the death became public.

When Obama made the announcement on Nov.3rd that his grandmother had died, a campaign spokesman declined to say when the service would be held, referring to the statement, which mentions a "small private ceremony to be held at a later date."  Obama's campaign said he will return to Honolulu sometime in December although they will not specify exactly when he will arrive.

So everyone seems to want to know why?  Well, first it's not uncommon for funerals to be held more than a week after the death of a Hawaii resident because of the time it takes to fly to the islands, Jerry Andrade, funeral home manager of Borthwick Mortuary stated, which is handling Dunham's arrangements.  And this would make sense since Obama's family is quite large, and lives pretty much all over the place. 

Secondly, Dunham has been cremated.  In an email, Maya Soetoro-Ng stated that Dunham's koa (wood) urn arrived on Election Day.  So again, the delay is not unusual.  Many times those that have been cremated do not have ceremonies for them until a later date.  The fact is, Dunham is not "on ice" as Debbie Schlussel has said.

Borthwick Mortuary in Hawaii is handling the arrangements.  Officials at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific have since been contacted by Borthwick Mortuary about holding a service for Madelyn Dunham, says Gene Castagnetti, the cemetery's director.

During a family vacation in August, Obama brought his family to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.  Obama and his children left two leis at niche No. 440, where the ashes of his grandfather Stanley Dunham are in an urn behind a bronze plaque.  Stanley Dunham was an Army sergeant in WWII; he died of prostate cancer in 1992.  Madelyn is eligible to be inurned here, alongside her husband.

Stanley Dunham's niche is large enough to hold another urn.  If the family decides on that arrangement, Sergeant Dunham's bronze plaque covering the niche would be removed and replaced with another that would include his wife's name, birthday and date of death.

There will be a public service for Dunham this upcoming Friday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl according to Gene Castagnetti, Borthwick cemetery's director.

moron-index-lge3Schlussel, you are out of line, simply because you chose to run your "fingers" to degrade instead of doing your job by accurately doing research before posting/publishing.  I don't care if you have millions of readers, I don't care how popular you are.  The fact of the matter is, you are WAY out of line, and make anyone look bad who is trying to prove points about Obama  with your inaccurate statements because you'd rather slam Obama instead of trying to do your damn job.  So go ahead and now slam me, a little nobody of a blogger, who shows you for what you really are, and took a whole 10 minutes to do a bit of searching to find information.  What are you going to do?  Whine about it?  Blog about it?  *SNORT*

 

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Robert Malley, Who Was Fired From Obama's Campaign for Meetings With Hamas, Is Probably Back On Obama's Team.

11/11/2008 07:09:00 PM

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malley Earlier this year Barack Obama's Middle East policy advisor was terminated only after 10 days due to admitting meetings with Hamas, after making the Obama campaign look bad.  Well, according to several articles, that person is back on Obama's team, and was within hours of Obama winning the Election.  And being dispatched last week to the Middle East.

Could this be the "missing link" between Hamas stating they have been in communication with Obama aides, yet Obama's team states it is a lie?  And is it just a "play" on words again, like so often from Obama teams, aides, etc?  Could Obama's statements of never communicating with Hamas now be "changed"?  And did Ben LaBolt lie stating that Malley would "not play any role in the future"?

From the Obama Campaign website view Obama and Biden's "Full Israeli Fact Sheet". [PDF] 

Is Robert Malley Back?

Sunday, November 9th, 2008 From Arutz Sheva:

According to a report on Middle East Newsline, President-elect Barack Obama has dispatched his "senior foreign policy advisor", Robert Malley to Egypt and Syria to outline Obama's policy on the Middle East.

Malley reportedly relayed a promise from OBama that the United States would seek to enhance relations with Cairo and reconcile differences with Damascus.

"The tenor of the message was that the Obama administration would take into greater account Egyptian and Syrian interests," an aide to Malley was quoted as saying.  The aide said Obama plans to launch a U.S. diplomatic initiative toward Syria.  Malley met both Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad "to explain Obama's agenda for the Middle East."

Monday, November 10th, 2008  From Israel Today:

"Robert Malley,  a top Middle East advisor that US President-elect Barack Obama promised months ago would play no role in his administration due to ties to Hamas, has reportedly been sent out on the next administration's first diplomatic mission.

According to a report in Middle East Newsline, Obama dispatched Malley to Egypt and Syria late last week with a message that he intends to mend and bolster relations with both nations, and to give greater weight to their concerns regarding regional conflicts than did President George W. Bush.

During the Democratic Party primaries, Obama was lashed by critics for having Malley on his team after the latter admitted to being in regular contact with Hamas as part of his work with the International Crisis Group.

Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt quickly responded at the time that Mally had provided "informal advice to the campaign in the past," but insisted that he had "no formal role in the campaign and he will not play any role in the future."

Tuesday, November 11, 2008.  From FrontPage Mag:

History will record that Barack Obama's first act of diplomacy as America's president-elect took place two days after his election victory, when he dispatched his senior foreign-policy adviser, Robert Malley, to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - to outline for them the forthcoming administration's Mideast policy vis-a-vis those nations.  An aide to Mally reports, "The tenor of the messages was that the Obama administration would take into greater account Egyptian and Syrian interests" than has President Bush.  The Bush administration, it should be noted, has rightly recognized Syria to be not only a chief supporter of the al Qaeda insurgency in Iraq, but also the headquarters of the terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the longtime sponsor of Hamas.  ... Yet unlike President Bush, Obama and Malley have called for Israel to engage in peace negotiations with Syria.

[...]

"...Mally has advised nations around the world to establish relationship with, and to send financial aid to, the Hamas-led Palestinian government in Gaza."

"... Malley contends that it is both unreasonable and unrealistic for Israel or Western nations to demand that Syria sever its ties with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or Iran.  Rather, he suggests that if Israel were to return the Golan Heights to Syrian control, Damascus would be inclined to pursue peace with Israel."

[...]

"It is notable that six months ago the Obama campaign and Malley hastily severed ties with one another after the Times of London reported that Malley had been meeting privately with Hamas leaders on a regular basis - something Obama had publicly pledged never to do."

"But indeed, within hours after Obama's election victory, Malley was back as a key player in the president-elect's team of advisors - on his way to Syria."

 

November 11, 2008.  From Newsbusters:

"News services in Israel are on fire with talk that Barack Obama has just sent a supporter of the terror group Hamas as his envoy to Syria and Egypt to relay news of his policies to come. " [...]

"As mentioned back in May, Malley reported that he held "regular meetings" with the Palestinian terror group Hamas causing Israelis quite a lot of heartburn.  To appease Israel's supporters in the U.S. at that time, the Obama camp threw Malley under the bus." [...]

"Yet despite claims that Malley would not have a "role in the future," now word has emerged that Malley was just sent to Egypt and Syria this week as an envoy for Barack Obama causing at least one harshly worded report in Israel to claim that Obama "lied" about Malley earlier this year. [...]

This should also make one wonder if Obama was telling the truth back in May?  And, if Malley has been hauled up from under the bus, does this make all the others Obama rolled over on his way to the White House suddenly back in the clear? [...]

So, can we or can we not believe a word that Obama said about any of those he felt obliged to distance himself from during the election?  Will we soon see a William Ayers touring the White House as a guest instead of a murderous bomber?  Will uncle Rev. Wright suddenly be back on the Christmas party invite list so he can see for himself where the AIDS epidemic to kill all blacks was planned?

BACKGROUND

May 09, 2008

According to a Times Online article, Barack Obama's Middle East policy advisor disclosed yesterday that he had held meeting with the militant Palestinian group Hamas - Obama promptly fired him.

Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organization.  "I've never hidden the fact that in my job with the International Crisis Group I meet with all kinds of people," Malley stated.

From the Chicago Sun-Times, Ben LaBolt stated, "Sen. Obama strongly opposes talking to Hamas, a terrorist group committed to Israel's destruction.  As president, he will work to isolate Hamas and target its resources, and rejects any dialogue until Hamas recognizes Israel, renounces terrorism, and abides by previous agreements."

July, 2008

Obama visited Israel and the West bank in July, meeting Israeli leaders and Abbas and traveling to an Israeli town that had been hit by Hamas rockets from Gaza.

August 05, 2008

Chicago attorney Mazen Asbahi, the Muslim-outreach coordinator to the Obama presidential campaign, after being appointed to the position for Muslim American affairs on July 25, was forced to resign from his volunteer position when questions arose over his alleged involvement in an Islamic investment fund that was believed to have links to Hamas.

The problem, reported by The Wall Street Journal on August 6 started when the WSJ emailed inquiries about Asbahi's background and then Asbahi tendered his resignation. The inquiries were based upon an internet newsletter "Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report" noted that:  "Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama has named Mazen Ashahi, a Chicago lawyer with ties to a financial organization close to the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, as National Coordinator for Muslim American Affairs for his campaign."  The newsletter noted that Asbahi was listed as one of six trustees of Allied Asset Advisors Fund in a May 4, 2000 SEC filing.

Via ABC, according to Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report, that group was a "subsidiary of the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) and adviser to the Down Jones Islamic Fund, both affiliated with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)," referring to its own February 2007 report [PDF], "EXTREMISM AND THE ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA (ISNA)."

Part of that report details the role NAIT played in an ideological struggle in a Bridgeview, IL, mosque, and the fundamentalist imam, Jamal Said, who ultimately won that battle.  Said served along with Asbahi as a trustee of Allied Asset Advisors Fund.

Said was also one of the many listed as an "unindicted co-conspirator or joint venturer" named in the US government's unsuccessful racketeering trial The US vs. the Holy Land Foundation, which ended in a mistrail, formerly the largest Muslim charity in the US, which the US government accused of  being a front-group to fundraise for Hamas.

Obama had no apparent ties to Said.  Obama named Asbahi to do Muslim outreach for his campaign, and Asbahi had ties to Said - and to the Islamic Society of North America, which was also named as an "unindicted co-conspirator or joint venturer" in the Holy Land Foundation case.

Additionally, the newsletter also asserted that Asbahi had been listed as a speaker for ISNA and has spoken at ISNA conferences.

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

According to World Net Daily:

"The Hamas terrorist group believes the election of Sen. Barack Obama is an "historic victory" for the world and an opportunity to change U.S. foreign policy toward engagement with America's foes, Ahmed Youself, Hamas' chief political adviser in the Gaza Strip, told WND.

Youself, speaking by cell phone from Gaza, said Hamas is drafting a letter of congratulation to be sent tomorrow directly to Obama.  He said the current draft of the letter praises the president-elect as "another John F. Kennedy, or great Roosevelt." ...

"This is a historic day, a turning point.  I think this is the very first time in history that one country's election concerned everyone everywhere all over [the] world," said Youself.  "Everybody is looking forward to Obama's change, for a change in the U.S policy, particularly in the Israeli-Palestinian equation, which is the mother of all conflicts."

Youself told WND he believes an Obama administration will be more willing to engage in dialogue with Hamas.

Friday, November 7th, 2008

Hamas Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar said he hoped Obama's victory would open a new page in relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world.  But he said he did not expect the U.S. to talk to Hamas immediately.

Saturday, NOVEMBER 8th, 2008

In an AP report, Hamas was stated to be ready to open talks with Barack Obama the group's leader said in an interview broadcast on Saturday.  Khaled Mashall said that Hamas is ready for dialogue with Obama and his new administration "on the basis that the American administration respects our rights and our options."  "The American administration, if they want to deal with the region, Palestine and the Arab-Israel conflict, they have no other option than deal with Hamas because we are a real force on the ground, effective," Mashall told Sky News from Damascus, Syria.

Denis McDonough, senior foreign policy advisor to Obama, said Hamas had to change its policies before it could engage in any talks.  "President-elect Obama said throughout the campaign that he will only talk with Hamas if it renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel's right to exist and agrees to abide by past agreements," McDonough said.

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

From Al Bawaba:

Dr. Ahmad Yousef, a political adviser to the prime minister of the Hamas-led government, Ismail Haniyah, revealed Tuesday that prior to the US president elections, a secret meeting was held between senior officials from the Palestinian movement and President-elect Barack Obama's advisors in the Gaza Strip.

"We were in contact with a number of Obama's aides through the Internet, and later met with some of them in Gaza, but they advised us not to reveal this information as it may influence the elections or become manipulated by McCain's campaign", Yousef said in an interview with London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat,  published Tuesday.

According to Yousuf, Hamas' contact with Obama's advisors was ongoing, adding that he personally had friendly relations with a few of Obama's advisers whom he had met when he lived in the US.  "Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh will draft a congratulatory letter to Obama for his victory in the elections," added Yousef.

"The policy Obama will instate in the Middle East will differ from that of his predecessor George W. Bush, although it is clear that the region and the Palestinian issue will not be at the top of his agenda," Yousef told Al-Hayat, "[Obama] will focus more on the economic crisis, Iraq and Afghanistan."

From Globe and Mail:

Speaking from Gaza, today, Ayman abu Leilah, a spokesman for Mr. Yousef, confirmed these statements as true, adding that the most recent meeting took place in early October "one month before the election."  He said Mr. Yousef had first met Obama people some years ago when he was studying in the United States.

Mark Regev, foreign press spokesman in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, said the government had "absolutely no confirmation" that such a meeting ever took place, and said he would not comment on what they considered only a hypothetical situation.

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AIG Asks For More Money, Again, Has Another "Conference" for 150 in Phoenix, Congressman Wants AIG CEO To Resign Now. [Drinks, Food and Spa included]

11/11/2008 03:27:00 PM

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900 AIG obviously thinks they don't have to follow the law either, in typical banker arrogance.  AIG has been busted so many times for "executive retreats", "conferences", and "parties" after being bailed out by the Feds.  In fact, they were threatened by the NY Attorney General, that if they didn't stop, they would find themselves in court.  Liddy said that he would demand that all money that had been used for these "retreats" paid back, and promised to amend their ways by released new policies.

During all of this AIG has asked for more and more money, to the point where they wanted the terms of their loan altered. Well the Fed's gave AIG what they wanted, and the previous $85 billion eight-week-old rescue deal, plus the additional $38 million four-week-old plan for AIG are gone and replaced with a new $150 billion plan, tapping into funds that were originally set aside for banks, not investment companies.

AIG, THE BLACK HOLE

According to the AFP, under the revised program for AIG announced Monday, the Treasury will replace the entire previous package plan with a larger, longer-term $152.2 billion dollar program, including 60 billion dollar five-year loan and $52.2 billion to buy up distressed securities.  The Treasury will have to use $40 billion to buy preferential shares in the company with money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)

In the new program, the previous $85 billion dollar loan is cut to $60 billion, and a lower interest rate is set, but its duration is extended to five year from two.  Another $52.5 billion is provided to purchase distressed assets from the company, including $30 billion for collateralized debt obligations and $22.5 billion for residential mortgage-back securities.  And the government will use $40 billion in TARP funds to buy AIG preferential shares, which will carry a high interest rate of 10 percent.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke "have determined that a failure by the firm would cause damage to our financial system, the US economy and the global economy," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters.

PARTIES CONTINUE

AIG was caught holding another "party" on the taxpayers dime, this one costing approximately $343,000, and they tried to hide it.  "AIG made significant efforts to disguise the conference, making sure there were no AIG logos or signs anywhere on the property," KNXV reported.  A hotel employee told KNXV reporter Josh Bernstein, "We can't even say the word [AIG]" while signs stated "AMC 08" with AMC standing for "Asset Management Conference".

An AIG news release speaks of the event which was hosted by AIG Advisor Group.

AIG Advisor Group will hosts its 2008 Asset Management Conference (AMC) at the Point Hilton Squaw Peak hotel and conference facility in Phoenix, Arizona on November 5 - 7, 2008.  Nearly 150 financial planners, who operate their own independent businesses and are not AIG employees will participate in the event.  Financial planners attending the meeting represent 23% of total AIG Advisor Group revenue as of September 30, 2008.

The goal of the AMC is to provide an educational, training and networking forum for financial planners.  The AMC meeting agenda includes seven general sessions, twenty-two classes, and two working lunches.  Topics range from alternative investment products and advisory services strategies to business-building programs, productivity tools, and portfolio management.

Eighteen participating product sponsor firms are underwriting $320,000 of the total meeting cost of $343,000.  The company's portion of the total meeting costs is under $25,000.  Additionally, financial planner attendees are responsible for their travel-related expenses, registration fee ($199), and guest registration fee ($250).

AIG Advisor Group has conducted a top to bottom review of all AMC meeting expenses to validate that only expenses required to ensure the meeting's success are incurred.  Consistent with that review, the company determined that the appearance of Terry Bradshaw as a guest speaker was not required.  Although costs related to his appearance were to be paid by a product sponsor, his appearance has been canceled.

.....

Conference Sponsors

- AIG SunAmerica Mutual Funds  [AIG]
-  OppenheimerFunds
-  Russell Investments
-  Brinker Capital
-  Investment Advisory Services
-  Curian Capital
-  Dimensional Fund Advisors
-  eMoney Advisors
-  Financial Guidance
-  Genworth Financial
-  Genworth Financial
-  Hanlon Investment Management
-  Invesco AIM
-  Icon Advisers
-  IAS
-  iShares
-  John Hancock
-  Lockwood Advisors
-  Morningstar
-  Rochdale Inestment Management

 

Reporters for ABC 15 (KNXV) caught AIG executives on hidden cameras poolside and leaving a spa at a three-day event at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort.  According to the report, the conference at the resort included many senior managers at AIG.

While there, AIG execs were having poolside meetings while drinking coffee and working out at the spa while other attendees were in conference rooms for seminars.  Also seen where half a dozen execs going to dinner at McCormick & Schmick's at the Camelback Esplanade, racking up a bill of more than $400 for drinks, appetizers, and meals and being chauffeured around in a limo.

In addition to the nearly 150 independent financial planners in Phoenix for training and education, the conference attendee list was a 'Who's Who of AIG leaders' according to KNXV.  It included:

■  Larry Roth, President & CEO, AIG Advisor Group;
■  Art Tambaro, President & CEO, Royal Alliance Associates;
■  Mark Schlafy, President & CEO, FSC Securities;
■  Gary Bender, Senior Vice President, Investment Advisory Services;
■  Bruce Levitus, Senior Vice President, Investment Advisory Services;
■  Stuart Rogers, Senior Vice President

The TV station confronted AIG employees before they departed Sky Harbor Airport on Friday morning, and in a video do not seem amused.  When asked if Roth and Tambaro minded being asked a few questions about the conference, Roth replied "We absolutely do [mind].'   Roth and Tambaro referred all questions to AIG's PR department while they walked into First Class boarding, yet John Pluhowski stated that Roth and Tambaro flew round-trip in coach class.

Nick Ashooh, a company spokesperson, confirmed AIG instructed the hotel to make sure there were no AIG signs or mention of the company by staff.  AIG defended themselves by Ashooh stating, "We're trying to avoid confrontation, keep our profile low.  Some of our employees have been harassed."

AIG also told KNXV that AIG was paying for the conference and then would be reimbursed by the sponsors.

CUMMINGS NOT AMUSED, CALLING LIDDY TO RESIGN

Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) who sits on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is calling for AIG's CEO to resign.  "A person  who is drowning then doesn't jump up and start partying.  And that's the problem.  I think that we made it very clear to them that we do not want one dime of taxpayer money being spent on these junkets."

Cummings wrote a letter to Liddy stating:

"Having received this assistance, which has been nothing less than a  lifeline for AIG, you decided to continue to hold corporate parties as if nothing has fundamentally changed with your business."  ... "That a firm already reliant on taxpayers' funding would organize such an event is outrageous. Even more shocking, however, is that this event was apparently also concomitant with AIG's request for billions of dollars in additional bailout funding from the U.S. taxpayers."

"... then the United States Congress - and the American taxpayers who have funded the rescue of your company - have the right to receive from you clear answers to the following questions:

1.  Did AIG organize and/or allow any employees to participate in a corporate retreat in Phoenix, Arizona, in early November 2008?  If so, what was the purpose of the event and how many AIG employees attended?  Please also provide the schedule of continuing education classes provided to executives and indicate how many executives attended each session.

2.  Were any product sponsors underwriting the costs of the event?  If so, please identify these sponsors and the funding they provided.

3.  What expenses did AIG incur in conjunction with the Phoenix event?  Please itemize each expense.

4.  Also, please identify each of the 160 planned events canceled on or after October 30.

AIG ISSUES STATEMENT IN LIGHT OF EVENTS

Dated Nov 11, 2008 [PDF]

"Recent news reports have grossly mischaracterized an American International Group seminar for 150 independent financial planners held in Phoenix last week.

The financial planners are not AIG employees.  In addition, the cost to AIG for this event was minimal.  More than 90 percent of the costs were paid either by sponsors or by the independent financial planners themselves.

It is essential for AIG to conduct seminars of this kind to keep independent financial planners abreast of investment products and services including those offered by AIG.  The financial planners are responsible for generating almost $200 million in revenue this year for AIG as of September 30th.

On October 10, I issued a directive to all AIG employees and subsidiaries to reduce expenses and conserve cash, including canceling all nonessential conferences or meetings, unnecessary travel and excessive overhead.  Since then, we have canceled more than 160 events.  We conducted a top-to-bottom review of all expenses of the Phoenix meeting in advance and found that it was consistent with my October 10th directive.  This conference was approved because it provides the kind of communication we must conduct with the people who sell our products if we are to be successful and repay the U.S. taxpayer."

 

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