GUTTING SECURITY: O'S DANGEROUS ANTI-TERROR PICKS

By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN

President-elect Barack Obama's appointments to Homeland Security, the Justice Department and now the CIA indicate a virtual abandonment of the War on Terror.

As Homeland Security chief, he's named a governor whose only experience has been with the US-Mexican border. His attorney general pick, meanwhile, took the lead in pardoning FALN terrorists. Now he has rounded out his national-security and Justice Department teams by naming ultraliberals.

Leon Panetta, his choice for CIA chief, is as liberal as they come. Though originally a pro-Nixon congressman, he long ago embraced the left with the fervor of a convert and brings these values to the CIA.[Read more]

20 nations join U.S. Navy's anti-piracy fleet

ABU DHABI — The U.S. Fifth Fleet has established an international force to combat piracy in the Gulf region.

The U.S. Fifth Fleet said its new international naval force would battle pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. The command, based in Bahrain, has recruited the participation of 20 countries against Somali-based pirates.  [Continue reading]

Florida resident convicted of smuggling plans for Hamas missiles into U.S.

WASHINGTON — Officials said Hamas supporters in the United States have been weighing the use of Hamas weapons for attacks against military targets.

"Hamas has very strong links with both individuals and organizations in the United States," an official said. "Some of these individuals want to copy Hamas's methods."

On Dec. 18, an Egyptian native was sentenced to 15 years on charges that he "provided material support to terrorists."

Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, a resident of Tampa, Fla., was convicted of smuggling explosives and plans for Hamas missiles and rockets.

[Continue reading]

War report:

 Israel's air force scored with intel, drone support; 'Hamas is not Hizubllah'

WASHINGTON — The Israel Air Force has achieved significant gains in the war against the Hamas regime, according to an assessment of the conflict.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies said the Israeli air force combined manned and unmanned aircraft to target and strike Hamas operatives and facilities throughout the Gaza Strip, Middle East Newsline reported.

The Washington-based center, said to be close to members of the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama, said the air force has eroded much of the Hamas command. [Continue reading]

"A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." --John Adams

The Biggest Lies About The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

By Rachel Marsden
HUMAN EVENTS

The latest chapter in the conflict between the governments of Israel and Palestine is generating loads of media ink -- and huge, whopping lies. Here’s a roundup of the top myths related to this war:

Continue reading.

A SHAMELESS HACK APPOINTMENT

"Would you ask your accountant to perform brain surgery on your child? That's the closest analogy I can find to the choice of Democrat Party hack Leon Panetta to head the CIA.

Earth to President-elect Obama: Intelligence is serious. And infernally complicated. When we politicize it - as we have for 16 years - we get 9/11. Or, yes, Iraq.

The extreme left, to which Panetta's nomination panders, howled that Bush and Cheney corrupted the intelligence system. Well, I worked in the intel world in the mid 1990s and saw how the Clinton team undermined the system's integrity (when Panetta was Clinton White House Chief of Staff).

The director's job at the CIA isn't a party favor. This is potentially a matter of life and death for thousands of Americans. But the choice of Panetta tells us all that Barack Obama doesn't take intelligence seriously"

--Ralph Peters

Read more here.

THE ARAB DOGS THAT AREN'T BARKING ABOUT GAZA

"European foreign ministers were startled Jan. 6 when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told them Hamas must not be permitted to win the conflict in Gaza. That's not what they expected to hear from an Arab leader.

Israel's invasion of Gaza has prompted denunciations from the usual suspects. But as fictional detective Sherlock Holmes noted in solving the mystery of the disappearance of the race horse Silver Blaze, what's most interesting are the dogs that aren't barking.

Moonbats in Europe and America are agitated, but protests against Israel in Sunni Moslem countries have been muted. In the West Bank, there's barely been a peep of protest.

This is because Sunni Moslem leaders view the terror group Hamas as a proxy for Iran. And though Sunni Moslem rulers don't like Jews any more today than they did before, they don't fear Israel. But they do fear Shia Iran."

--Jack Kelly

13 up-and-comers in the '08 class - Charles Mahtesian - Politico.com

It’s far too early to know if the House Class of 2008 will have a collective identity, like the Watergate babies of 1974 or the revolutionary Republicans of 1994. With 55 members, the group elected in November is considerably smaller than those famed classes, and the 33 Democrats and 22 Republicans as yet don’t appear to have any central organizing ideology.

But already, more than a few characters on both sides of the aisle are attracting notice, some for their unique backstories, some for their quick rise and others as players to watch in the future.

There’s Anh “Joseph” Cao, the unlikely new Louisiana.......

TRUCKING DUCK

Obama Comes Up With 'Create'-ive Solution to Jobs

After blizzard of misreporting, media bailed out by president-elect. [Read commentary]

Are We Crazy? Starting a Business NOW?

The first sprouts of the new American economy are already breaking through the snow.
By Dan Kennedy
Business & Media Institute


Some associates and I have recently invested capital in forming a new bank. I’m not allowed to give out its name or location here, in this column, as commercial promotion is forbidden thanks to the non-profit status of the publisher – an annoying little oddity, given that I’m writing in defense of capitalism.

But, to the point. A Business Week article from Dec. 22 was.... (Read more)

Obama Stimulus: $1 Trillion, 600,000 Government Jobs and Few Media Questions

The Balance Sheet
Business and Media Institute

With a forecasted $1 trillion deficit for the foreseeable future, mainstream media hit and miss on just how much government will expand under the President-elect’s current proposals. (Read on)

Thomas Sowell : The Economic "Stimulus"

Two centuries ago, when there were plans to create a huge fund of money to pay off Britain's national debt, the great classical economist David Ricardo objected on grounds that-- no matter what the money was said to be for-- politicians could spend it for whatever they wanted.

Two centuries later, we have not yet caught up to that.....

Cal Thomas : Pigs at the Trough

Like pigs waiting in line to get their snouts in the feeding trough, come many of the nation's governors -- on the heels of the mayors -- asking Washington for bailout money.

Democratic governors from overspending states like.....

Calif. Supreme Court Will Hear Case Challenging In-State Tuition to Illegal Aliens
(CNSNews.com) - The California Supreme Court will hear a case on the legality of granting in-state tuition to illegal aliens attending public colleges, potentially setting a national precedent for nine other states that allow the same discount.

CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE

For the remarkable Japanese, it's time to dance

Japan is stumbling into what could be a year of seminal decision-making for a people, a culture, and an economy — all still unique and critical for her Asian neighbors and the keystone of U.S. strategies and policies in the region. [Read more]

Gaza conflict has everything to do with the power struggle in Iran

The escalation in rocket attacks by Hamas forces in Gaza against neighboring Israeli towns over the past 18 months, leading to Israeli retaliation must be viewed in the context of the struggle for power now underway between competing sets of Iranian clerics.

Iran has been the principal financial, logistical, and ideological sponsor of......

Russia exercise with Greece sets precedent

ATHENS — Russia has launched its first military exercise in Greece, regarded as the closest NATO member to Moscow.

U.K. Rescue Fails to Spur Bank Loans - WSJ.com

LONDON -- A new U.K. lending survey shows banks sharply tightening credit to households and companies, intensifying worries that the government's £500 billion ($725 billion) bank-rescue plan is failing to get money flowing into the economy.

The report shows banks becoming increasingly conservative in lending practices, reducing maximum credit lines and cutting the size of mortgage loans as a percentage of home values. Banks said they were scaling back mortgage lending even as demand for new mortgage loans remained stable.  [Read more]

The Senate Goes Wobbly on Card Check

WSJ.com

It's hard to defend taking away the secret ballot.
By KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL

Responsibility has a way of focusing the mind.

Take Mark Pryor, Democratic senator from Arkansas. In 2007, Mr. Pryor voted to move card check, Big Labor's No. 1 priority. And why not? Mr. Pryor knew the GOP would ..........

Funny Business in Minnesota

WSJ.com-

Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations of Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and a meek state Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken may emerge as an illegitimate victor.
[Review & Outlook] AP

Mr. Franken started the recount 215 votes behind Senator Coleman, but he now claims a 225-vote lead and suddenly the man who......

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

French warship captures 19 Somali pirates

Source: Reuters

Iranian commander: Cut oil sales to Israel's backers-

Reuters.com

TEHRAN, Jan 4 (Reuters) - An Iranian military commander called on Islamic countries to cut oil exports to Israel's supporters in response to the Jewish state's offensive in Gaza, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

IRNA said commander Bagherzadeh described oil as "one of the powerful elements of pressure" on the Jewish state's Western backers in the "unequal war" faced by Palestinians in the coastal strip.

"Pointing at Westerners' dependence on the Islamic countries' oil and energy resources, he (Bagherzadeh) called for .....

China factory output dips further

BBC NEWS-

China's manufacturing output fell for a third consecutive month in December as the global economic slowdown continued to impact on its economy.

The official purchasing managers' index moved slightly higher than November's all-time low to 41.2 with any figure under 50 indicating a contraction.

The fall was caused by ........

Russia Wants Warships Stationed Around the Globe

MOSCOW - Russia's military leaders approved a plan by the navy on Sunday to station warships permanently in friendly ports across the globe.

Underfunded since the 1991 break up of the Soviet Union, the Russian navy has .....

Israel: Hamas May Be Using Chinese Rockets

New Hamas rockets pounding Israel are suspected of being sophisticated Chinese rockets with enough range to strike more than 25 miles into Israel and enough punch to add a brutal new dimension to the escalating violence, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman told Newsmax Sunday.

Capt. Ishai David said that three-meter-long rockets with a range of 40 kilometers started landing in the Negev Desert region of Israel a week ago.

The IDF is currently engaged in offensive operations in Gaza to wipe out Hamas missile sites bombarding Israeli cities with cascades of missiles. If the new missiles .....

Israeli Troops Slice Deep into Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships surrounded Gaza's largest city and fought militants at close range Sunday, the first full day of an overwhelming ground offensive in the coastal territory.

Israel said it has inflicted a heavy blow against Hamas as it expands a weeklong offensive meant to stop rocket fire on southern Israel. But spiraling civilian casualties..... [Read more]

Roseanne Barr blasts Israel as 'Nazi state'

Accuses Jews bombing Gaza of learning from their German 'mentors'

Top conservatives back Blackwell

Ben Smith - Politico.com

Two dozen conservative luminaries will announce today their support for former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell for Republican Nation Committee chairman.

The group, which mixes leading economic conservatives, including Steve Forbes and Pat Toomey, and leading social conservatives, including James Dobson and Tony Perkins, had agreed to endorse and campaign together for a candidate based....

Prez-Elect Makes New Pitch, Promises on Job Creation....

Including 600,000 New Government Employees

In his radio address today, President-elect Obama uses some new language when discussing what he wants the stimulus package to achieve in terms of jobs. First off, he has a name for the package -- the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." [Read on]