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Cox & Forkum: Parting Shot
Cox & Forkum: Parting Shot
CNN: Annan chides U.S. in farewell speech.
Kofi Annan had some strong words Monday for the United States in his farewell speech as secretary-general of the United Nations. …
“When power, especially military force, is used, the world will consider it legitimate only when convinced that it is being used for the right purpose, for broadly shared aims, in accordance with broadly accepted norms.”
As things stand, accountability between states is highly skewed. Poor and weak states are easily held to account, because they need foreign assistance. But large and powerful states, whose actions have the greatest impact on others, can be constrained only by their own people, working through their domestic institutions.
That gives the people and institutions of such powerful states a special responsibility to take account of global views and interests, as well as national ones. …
In fact, it is only through multilateral institutions that states can hold each other to account. And that makes it very important to organize those institutions in a fair and democratic way, giving the poor and the weak some influence over the actions of the rich and the strong.
Kofi Annan is a damn CROOK along with his son. They both belong in prison.
Good Bye and Good riddance…..
Thanks for turning the United Nations from a feckless, meaningless, international organization into a CORRUPT, feckless, meaningless, international organization.
The Heritage Foundation: Kofi Annan’s Legacy of FailureÂ
Today’s United Nations is a broken institution in fundamental need of wholesale reform. That is Annan’s legacy, and the United States and the world looks forward to new leadership at Turtle Bay—leadership that is untarnished by the taint of scandal and actually lives up to the ideals of the U.N.’s own Declaration of Human Rights. The U.N. needs a Secretary General who will seek real reform of the U.N. bureaucracy and aggressively stand up for democracy, human rights, and freedom.
Indeed……
Technorati Tags: UnitedNations, KofiAnnan
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Cuba Watch: Is Fidel Castro Dead?
A woman holding a sign in Spanish that translates to ‘Liberty for Cuba,’ joins revelers as they cruise the streets of Hialeah, Fla., in this Aug. 1, 2006, file photo, after hearing the news about Fidel Castro’s health. Cuban officials announced the head of Cuba had temporarily relinquished presidential power to his brother Raul due to intestinal illness.
Pajamas Media: Rumors Fly of Castro’s Death
According to Babalu Blog and, Pajamas Media has learned, some Miami radio stations… Fidel Castro is dead! Pajamas Media is investigating.
Meanwhile, a debate rages over whether Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla) urged the killing of the Comandante, a difficult thing to do if he is already dead. (NYT)
UPDATE: Spanish Radio said to have reported Castro dead. Miami police on alert. The Miami Herald comments on recent photographs of the dictator.
LIBERTY FOR CUBA!
Stay tuned……….
Blogosphere:
Cuban President Fidel Castro gestures as he addresses a crowd of Latin American students gathered in Pedernales, in Holguin province, Cuba, for the anniversary of the attack on the Moncada barracks, in this July 26, 2006, file photo.
Technorati Tags: Cuba, FidelCastro
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Glenn McCoy on the Wiretapping of Princess Di
The newest mystery in the massively investigated death of Princess Diana is why American intelligence allegedly eavesdropped on her phone calls.
Reports in the British press claim that the results of an official probe into the Paris car crash that killed her on Aug. 31, 1997, along with boyfriend Dodi Fayed will reveal that the U.S. was listening to her phone calls. The eavesdropping – without British permission – was right up to her death, including calls from the Ritz Hotel, where she was staying that night, according to leaks from the report.
That report will be released Thursday.
Did the Clinton Administration Engage in “Domestic Spying†Against Princess Diana?
Not Slick again…….
Technorati Tags: GlennMcCoy, PrincessDi
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Representative William Jefferson Watch: Democrats Keep Jefferson Off Ways and Means Committee
United States congressman William Jefferson (D-New Orleans) speaks during an election night victory party after defeating Karen Carter in a runoff in New Orleans, Louisiana December 9, 2006.
AP: Dems keep Jefferson off Ways and Means
House Democrats, insistent that they will hold lawmakers to higher standards, decided Tuesday that Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record) will not return to an influential committee until a federal corruption investigation involving him is completed.
Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi said the Democratic Steering Committee had resolved that Jefferson, who last Saturday won a runoff election in his New Orleans district, will not be given back his spot on the Ways and Means Committee, the panel that determines tax and trade policies.
But, will Pelosi allow him to be seated on the House Budget Committee? Or the House Bribes Committee?
Jefferson, an eight-term incumbent, handily defeated his Democratic opponent in a runoff election despite the controversy over the federal investigation. He was accused of taking bribes from a company seeking contracts in the Nigerian telecommunications market.
After his victory speech Saturday night, Jefferson said: “I don’t try to second-guess Ms. Pelosi. I don’t go there to work for anyone, I go there to work with the people down here.”
Right!
It is a mockery of Congress that this MORON be seated.
Flap awaits a speedy indictment.
Previous:
Representative William Jefferson Watch: Jefferson Wins 9th Term in Congress
Representative William Jefferson Watch: Tale of Friendship, Ambition and Betrayal
Representative William Jefferson Watch: Appeals Court Rules Jefferson Has 2 Days to Review Documents
Representative William Jefferson Watch: FBI Raid on Jefferson’s House Office Legal
Representative William Jefferson Watch: “Trying to Protect Their Ownâ€
Representative William Jefferson Watch: Jefferson Refuses to Quit Ways and Means Committee
Representative William Jefferson Watch: GOP Challenges FBI Raid of Jefferson’s Office
Representative William Jefferson Watch: “There are Two Sides to Every Storyâ€
Representative William Jefferson Watch: FBI has BRIBES on Tape
Technorati Tags: WilliamJefferson
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Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad – ” Just As the Soviet Union Was Wiped Out and Today Does Not Exist, So Will the Zionist Regime Soon Be Wiped Out”
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, shakes hands with anti-Zionism Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, of Monsey, N.Y., at the start of his meeting with participants of a conference on the Holocaust, in Tehran, Iran , Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2006. Participants at a conference questioning whether the Holocaust took place praised Iran’s hard-line president on Tuesday, saying the gathering gives them the chance to air theories casting doubt on the Nazi genocide that are banned in parts of Europe. Ahmadinejad initiated the two-day gathering, which began on Monday, in an attempt to bolster his image as a leader standing up to Israel , Europe and the United States _ an image he has used to whip up support at home and abroad.
Reuters: Iran president says Israel’s days are numbered
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday told delegates at an international conference questioning the Holocaust that Israel’s days were numbered.
Ahmadinejad, who has sparked international outcry by referring to the killing of six million Jews in World War Two as a “myth” and calling for Israel to be “wiped off the map”, launched another verbal attack on the Jewish state.
“Thanks to people’s wishes and God’s will the trend for the existence of the Zionist regime is downwards and this is what God has promised and what all nations want,” he said.
“Just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and today does not exist, so will the Zionist regime soon be wiped out,” he added.
His words received warm applause from delegates at the Holocaust conference, who included ultra-Orthodox anti-Israel Jews and European and American writers who argue the Holocaust was either fabricated or exaggerated.
President Ahmadinejad is pushing the nuclear clock a minute closer to Armageddon with this reiteration of previous statements about wiping out Israel.
Why do you think Israeli Prime Minister Olmert sabre rattled with his statement that Israel possesses nuclear weapons?
Iranian men look at pictures at a sideline exhibition at the conference aimed at breaking taboos on the Holocaust in Tehran, 11 December 2006. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted Israel would suffer the same fate as the USSR, as Iran faced a barrage of condemnation for hosting a conference casting doubt on the Holocaust.
The Vatican called the Holocaust an “immense tragedy” which had to remain forever a warning for all people to respect the rights of others.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Tehran meeting “shows the danger of the situation Israel is in and in particular the threat that Israel lives under.”
She was speaking after meeting Ehud Olmert, who was on his first visit to Germany as Israeli Prime Minister.
Germany has made it a priority to support Israel since the Holocaust under the Nazis and the end of World War Two in 1945.
EU Commissioner Franco Frattini expressed “shock and indignation”, adding: “Anti-Semitism has no place in Europe; nor should it in any other part of the world.”
Will this Holocaust Conference FLAP help the United Nations Security Council vote sanctions against Iran because of their uranium enrichment program?
No, Russia and China will NEVER vote for meaningful sanctions against Iran……
And in the meantime, Russia will be shipping nuclear fuel to Iran in March 2007.
Russia in March will start delivering nuclear fuel for the plant it is building in Iran, the head of a state company in charge of the project said Monday, according to Russian news reports.
Atomstroexport’s head Sergei Shmatko said during a trip to Tehran that he and Iranian officials had discussed financial problems related to the completion of the nuclear plant in Iran’s southern port of Bushehr, the ITAR-Tass, Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies reported.
Shmatko said his company would start preparations in January for nuclear fuel deliveries to Bushehr, and begin actual shipments in March, six months ahead of the physical launch of the Bushehr nuclear reactor.
Bushehr will make a FINE bombing target for the IDF Air force.
The clock is ticking for the nuclear “POINT OF NO RETURN.”
Previous:
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Expands Uranium Enrichment – AGAIN
Iran Nuclear Watch: Credibility of United Nations at Risk Over Iran Nuclear Sanctions
Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad Warns P-5-Plus-1 About Sanctions
Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad – Israel “On the Verge of Disappearingâ€
Iran Nuclear Watch: Letters to Ahmadinejad
Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad Sends ANOTHER Letter – This Time to the American People
Iran Nuclear Watch: Russia Begins Delivery of Tor-M1 Air Defense Missile Systems to Iran
Iran Nuclear Watch: IAEA Waives Decision on Aid for Iran’s Arak Nuclear Reactor
Iran Nuclear Watch: Robert Mugabe – Iran, Zimbabwe “THINK ALIKEâ€
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Replacing Tehran Nuclear Reactor With Heavy Water Arak Reactor
The Iran Nuclear FilesThe Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Natanz is pictured in this January 2, 2006 satellite image.
Technorati Tags: Iran, Ahmadinejad
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Rudy Giuliani Watch: Giuliani Leads McCain and Hillary Clinton in 2008 Presidential Poll
Bloomberg: Giuliani, Clinton, McCain Lead Potential 2008 Rivals, Poll Says
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Arizona Senator John McCain and New York Senator Hillary Clinton top the list of politicians American voters would like to see run for the White House in 2008, according to a new poll released today.
Giuliani, a Republican, was supported by 56 percent of the registered voters in the WNBC/Marist Poll. Republican McCain was second with 52 percent, and 48 percent said they supported a presidential run by Clinton, a Democrat.
The Numbers:
Dec. 2006 Sept. 2006 Feb. 2006 Hillary Rodham Clinton 33% 35% 33% John Edwards 14% 10% 16% Al Gore 13% 16% 17% Barack Obama 12% n.a. n.a. John Kerry 5% 9% 11% Joseph Biden 3% 5% 4% Bill Richardson 1% 1% 2% Evan Bayh 1% 1% 3% Wesley Clark 1% 1% 3% Tom Vilsack 1% — — Chris Dodd — 1% — Undecided 16% 16% 9% Source: Marist College Institute for Public Opinion / WNBC
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 967 registered American voters, including 327 Democrats, 294 Republicans, and 314 independents, conducted from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, 2006. Margin of error for the subsample of Democrats and Republican leaners is 5 per cent.Dec. 2006 Sept. 2006 Feb. 2006 Rudy Giuliani 24% 23% 22% John McCain 23% 15% 22% Condoleezza Rice 15% 20% 22% Newt Gingrich 8% 7% 5% Mitt Romney 4% 4% 4% Bill Frist 3% 4% 2% Chuck Hagel 2% — 1% Tommy Thompson 1% — — Mike Huckabee 1% — — Tom Tancredo 1% 1% 1% George Pataki 1% 2% 2% Sam Brownback — 1% — Undecided 17% 21% 17% Source: Marist College Institute for Public Opinion / WNBC
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 967 registered American voters, including 327 Democrats, 294 Republicans, and 314 independents, conducted from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, 2006. Margin of error for the subsample of Democrats and Republican leaners is 5 per cent.Possible match-ups – 2008 U.S. presidential election
Rudy Giuliani (R) 49% – 43% Hillary Rodham Clinton (D)
John McCain (R) 49% – 43% Hillary Rodham Clinton (D)
Condoleezza Rice (R) 43% – 47% Hillary Rodham Clinton (D)Source: Marist College Institute for Public Opinion / WNBC
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 967 registered American voters, conducted from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, 2006. Margin of error is 3.5 per cent.The poll highlights the following:
GOP:
1. Two person race between Giuliani and McCain. The others are DONE
2. Either of the leading GOP candidates are beating Hillary ClintonDemocrats:
1. Hillary Clinton leads but Obama is surging as John Kerry FADES
2. Al Gore is still in the race – if he wants it. Does John Edwards wish to be VP again?
3. Democrats trail leading GOP candidates with Hillary Clinton as their nomineeStay tuned………
Previous:
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Giuliani Leads in Latest Fox News Poll
Technorati Tags: RudyGiuliani, HillaryClinton, JohnMcCain
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Saudi Arabia Watch: Saudi Ambassador Abruptly Resigns and Leaves the United States
Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S., told his staff he wanted more family time.
Washington Post: Saudi Ambassador Abruptly Resigns, Leaves Washington
Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, flew out of Washington yesterday after informing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and his staff that he would be leaving the post after only 15 months on the job, according to U.S. officials and foreign envoys. There has been no formal announcement from the kingdom.
The abrupt departure is particularly striking because his predecessor, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, spent 22 years on the job. The Saudi ambassador is one of the most influential diplomatic positions in Washington and is arguably the most important overseas post for the oil-rich desert kingdom.
So, what is up with this?
Internal political manuvering, an impending death in the royal family or a change in direction?
Stay tuned……
Technorati Tags: SaudiArabia, PrinceTurkial-Faisal
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Israel Watch: Israeli Prime Minister Olmert Acknowledges Israel Has Nuclear Weapons
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (L) is welcomed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. Olmert was holding talks with Merkel after he sparked an uproar by appearing to admit that Israel has nuclear weapons.
AP: Israel Nuke Comment Sparks Controversy
A slip of the tongue by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about Israel’s nuclear policy ballooned into a domestic crisis Tuesday for the Israeli leader, who came under criticism from across the political spectrum.
In an interview with a German television station broadcast Monday, Olmert appeared to list Israel among the world’s nuclear powers, violating the country’s long-standing policy of not officially acknowledging that it has atomic weapons.
Asked by the interviewer about Iran’s calls for the destruction of Israel, Olmert replied that Israel has never threatened to annihilate anyone.
“Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map,” Olmert said. “Can you say that this is the same level, when you are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as America, France, Israel, Russia?”
Is this a WARNING SHOT across Iran’s bow?
You betcha.
Israel and the United States will NOT tolerate nor acquiesce into allowing Iran to possess a nuclear weapon. If this means using Israeli nukes, then so be it.
Israel, which foreign experts say has the sixth-largest nuclear arsenal in the world, has stuck to a policy of ambiguity on nuclear weapons for decades, refusing to confirm or deny whether it has them.
The comments came days after incoming Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in testimony to a Senate committee, identified Israel as a nuclear power.
With Olmert’s quote featured on the front pages of all of Israel’s major papers Tuesday and with political rivals calling for his resignation, aides to Olmert – who was in Berlin Tuesday on a state visit – hurriedly said the remark had been misinterpreted.
Olmert has been under pressure in Israel because of the perceived Israeli loss to Hezbollah in this summer’s 33-day Lebanon war. Is he trying to save his political skin?
Probably
This complicates American aid to Israel but this obfuscation has been continuing for decades.
Should Olmert resign because of this remark?No, but stay tuned sparks will fly……
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) addresses members of the Islamic volunteer Basij militia just outside Tehran in November 2006. Ahmadinejad has told Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya that Israel is sliding toward disappearance.
Previous:Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad – Israel “On the Verge of Disappearingâ€
Technorati Tags: Israel, EhudOlmert
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Day By Day by Chris Muir December 12, 2006