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Will Tony Blair Become the First President of Europe?
Oct 29th, 2009
Daily News.telegraph.co.uk
Categories: Today's Headlines;Revived Roman Empire

Tony Blair was on his knees on Sunday, deep in thought, in the pews of the Roman Catholic church at Great Missenden where he worshipped when he was at Chequers. As prayers were offered up for Pope Benedict and world peace, the former Prime Minister may well have had his thoughts focused on subjects closer to his own heart. 

At the same time as he was in church, his close friend David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, was making the most direct case to date in public by a British minister for Mr Blair to become the first President of Europe. It was the culmination of a two-month campaign by the Foreign Office to put Britain at the heart of Europe once and for all. 

Mr Blair, who scaled unheard of heights in popularity and unpopularity as Prime Minister, is now a front-runner to become the second most powerful man on the planet after President Obama. Officially, Mr Blair is saying nothing but in private he talks about it all the time. It is inconceivable that the last time he spoke to Gordon Brown – it was for 45 minutes on the telephone 10 days ago – the subject did not surface. 

"Oh, he wants it," said one trusted Blair ally. "He will be more powerful than he was when he was Prime Minister." Does he still hanker after power? "Of course he does," said the ally. But not at any price. 

If, as Mr Miliband suggested on the Andrew Marr show on Sunday, the EU wants someone who has the charisma and recognition factor to "stop the traffic" in Beijing, Moscow or Washington, Mr Blair is almost certain to get it. 

But first Vaclav Havel, the Czech president, has to ratify the Lisbon treaty and in his latest attempt to derail the agreement he has suggested there should be a referendum. The Czech constitutional court will hold a one-day hearing into the idea of a referendum today; it is expected this will be rejected, clearing the final legal obstacle to the treaty being ratified by the entire EU. The verdict is expected next week. 

Even before then, the horse trading over whether they want a "traffic stopper" or a more low-profile, committee-style chairman, and indeed the nuts and bolts of the job description, will begin in earnest on Thursday at a two-day EU summit in Brussels. 

When it comes to the actual choice of EU president, it is the French and German leaders who will make the crucial decision, along with Mr Brown. If they don't want to be upstaged by someone better known across the globe than they are, the job may well go to a relatively unknown from somewhere like Finland, Holland or Luxembourg. 

Unofficially, Mr Blair is "really excited" about the prospect of having a big full-time job once more, which would thrust him back into the spotlight that he misses, potentially keep him in employment until retirement age, and of course enable the former Prime Minister – who is fond of making money – to take the front seat on the lucrative EU gravy train. 

It's why over the last eight weeks government ministers attending Brussels meetings or G20 negotiations have mobilised an impressive campaign to harness enthusiasm across the continent for Mr Blair as Britain's candidate. 

The pitch presents him as an international statesman with the "prestige, stature and character" to raise the EU's presence on the world stage. Photographs of him with Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, just two weeks ago will have played to that description. 

Mr Miliband, who Mr Blair still hopes one day will lead the Labour Party, is repaying his confidence by playing the role of campaign manager. He he has deployed Britain's formidable network of ambassadors and diplomatic contacts to push the cause of his mentor. Jonathan Powell, who was Mr Blair's chief of staff and is a seasoned former diplomat, is also using his connections. 

But one person who Mr Blair has yet to persuade is his wife Cherie, who accompanied him to church on Sunday. Were they praying for the same thing? Contrary to reports that she wants to be the new Cherie Antoinette, his wife would prefer him not to take the job because it would mean a huge pay cut. 

Mr Blair has earned a reputed £15 million since he left Downing Street in 2007. His annual salary would be a comparatively trifling £250,000 by comparison, although there would be a grace and favour house and of course the EU's legendary expenses. 

"Cherie has got used to the millionaire lifestyle and does not want to give it up for a job which will thrust them back into the hostile glare of the media for a fraction of what he is earning now," said one friend of the former Prime Minister. 

But would Mrs Blair be able to embrace the lifestyle of chauffeur-driven cars, clothing allowances, and domestic staff? "I think she would pretty quickly get used to the idea of people calling her husband Mr President," added the friend. 

One vital ally in the cause is said to be Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France. But is he? His public support for Mr Blair as the "most European" of British politicians, and their regular telephone communication, are huge factors in Mr Blair's position as front-runner. 

The former British PM's speech, delivered in fluent French, to the January conference of President Sarkozy's centre-right Union pour un Mouvemenet Populaire was a clinching factor. 

But that was the pragmatic President Sarkozy, a man keen to raise France's profile by having a President who would improve the EU's global credibility. In his weaker moments, however, wrapped in his emperor's clothes, he might not like the idea that President Obama telephones President Blair before President Sarkozy. 

It's why some EU diplomats suspect he might have changed his mind about his old friend who failed to take Britain into the single currency and divided Europe over the Iraq war. "Can Sarkozy be trusted? Will he switch and swing behind Germany at the final hour," said one diplomat with experience of Paris putting the Franco-German alliance first. 

The most crucial figure will be Angela Merkel, whose position has been made stronger by her electoral success as Chancellor in Germany last month. She "can live with him," said one source, but would prefer a low profile candidate chairing EU summits rather than a colossus bestriding the globe. 

Chancellor Merkel, though agnostic, is thought to favour Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch Prime Minister little known outside his own country. 

William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, has also intervened. arguing that an incoming Conservative government would regard the elevation of Mr Blair to European president as a "hostile act". 

The tactic may well have backfired. Mrs Merkel is not only angry with David Cameron's Conservatives for threatening some as yet unspecified act again the Lisbon Treaty if they win the election, but also for withdrawing his MEPs from the mainstream centre-right People's Party in the European parliament. "It might well be that Merkel will see Blair as a check on Cameron," said one official. 

José Manuel Barroso, the commission president, has also backed the ideas of the president being more of a committee chairman rather than a world leader. Only yesterday John Bruton, the Commission's outgoing "ambassador" to Washington, made a similar point. He said: "My own sense of it is that it's going to be more a job for someone working behind the scenes to forge consensus, bearing in mind that the decisions of the European Council are all taken on the basis of consensus." 

Behind the scenes fighting the British corner is Sir Kim Darroch, who was appointed by Mr Blair shortly before he stood down, as ambassador to the EU. It was a shrewd appointment. Sir Kim, who was Mr Blair's Europe adviser for three years, has forged such good contacts he is seen in Brussels as Blair's "secret weapon". 

"If anyone can make sure this job sounds harmless but projects a global role for the right personality it is Darroch," said one diplomat from another EU state. Another official recalled dining with Mr Blair. "He got used to being British leader in the front rank and was clear he would not take the European job if it meant standing behind heads of government when summit photographs are taken." 

So, the final countdown has begun in earnest. Will we be seeing a magisterial motorcade for a statesman of Mr Blair's international stature, or a more modest form of transport befitting a politician who could not stop the traffic in his own back yard? 

Or, as one Blairite ally puts it: "Do they want a president who has the red carpet rolled out in Beijing or one who waits in the queue at immigration because no one recognises him? That is the test."

Stock Analysts Issue 'black Tuesday' Warning
Oct 29th, 2009
Daily NewsWND
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

Trends on anniversary of 1929 collapse indicate markets on verge of 'crash'

On this 80th anniversary of the "Black Tuesday" stock market collapse, some analysts are experiencing déjà vu, warning a major crash in the stock market is imminent.

Graham Summers, senior market strategist at OmniSans Research, wrote in the firm's daily e-letter yesterday that the markets may finally be on the verge of the crash he has been predicting for more than two months.

"Well, judging from the market's action today, I believe we may be within 48 hours of getting the "Official Sell" signal I've been waiting for," he wrote in "Gain, Pains, and Capital."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 119 points yesterday, or 1.2 percent, while the NASDAQ lost 2.7 percent. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies dropped 3.5 percent.

Summers explained in an online piece Tuesday that he has been watching an ominous pattern develop in which the trading range shrinks as stocks rise higher. In the past, that pattern has led to a sharp downturn, he said.

"I've been forewarning of a potential crash for months now. And the market's current action is precisely what you would expect for a major top (increased volatility)," Summers wrote.

Author and WND columnist Vox Day, asserts in book released last week, "The Return of the Great Depression," that the U.S. is entering the early stages of the Second Great Depression.

Day concludes an economic contraction of very large proportions is developing. But he contends that "due to a reactive wave of positive social mood, statistical obfuscation and understandable denial, it will take about a year for the consensus opinion to cycle through the various scenarios in descending order of optimism before the grim reality finally becomes apparent to even the casual observer."

Summers says the "issue now is whether this rally gives up this week, rolls over and breaks below the trend line or if there will be some greater push to the upside."

Pm Warns of Climate 'catastrophe'
Oct 29th, 2009
Daily NewsBBC News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning;World Government

The UK faces a "catastrophe" of floods, droughts and killer heatwaves if world leaders fail to agree a deal on climate change, the prime minister has warned.

Gordon Brown said negotiators had 50 days to save the world from global warming and break the "impasse".

He told the Major Economies Forum in London, which brings together 17 of the world's biggest greenhouse gas-emitting countries, there was "no plan B".

World delegations meet in Copenhagen in December for talks on a new treaty.

'Rising wave'

The United Nations (UN) summit will aim to establish a deal to replace the 1997 Kyoto treaty as its targets for reducing emissions only apply to a small number of countries and expire in 2012.

Mr Brown warned that negotiators were not reaching agreement quickly enough and said it was a "profound moment" for the world involving "momentous choice".

Gordon Brown said negotiators had 50 days to save the world from global warming and break the "impasse".

He told the Major Economies Forum in London, which brings together 17 of the world's biggest greenhouse gas-emitting countries, there was "no plan B".

World delegations meet in Copenhagen in December for talks on a new treaty.

'Rising wave'

The United Nations (UN) summit will aim to establish a deal to replace the 1997 Kyoto treaty as its targets for reducing emissions only apply to a small number of countries and expire in 2012.

Mr Brown warned that negotiators were not reaching agreement quickly enough and said it was a "profound moment" for the world involving "momentous choice".

"In Britain we face the prospect of more frequent droughts and a rising wave of floods," he told delegates.

"The extraordinary summer heatwave of 2003 in Europe resulted in over 35,000 extra deaths.

Grim warning

"On current trends, such an event could become quite routine in Britain in just a few decades' time. And within the lifetime of our children and grandchildren the intense temperatures of 2003 could become the average temperature experienced throughout much of Europe."

The costs of failing to tackle the issue would be greater than the impact of both world wars and the Great Depression combined, the prime minister said.

The world would face more conflict fuelled by climate-induced migration if a deal was not agreed, he added.

He told the forum, on the second day of talks in the capital, that by 2080 an extra 1.8 billion people - a quarter of the world's current population - could lack sufficient water.

Mr Brown said: "If we do not reach a deal at this time, let us be in no doubt: once the damage from unchecked emissions growth is done, no retrospective global agreement, in some future period, can undo that choice.

"So we should never allow ourselves to lose sight of the catastrophe we face if present warming trends continue."

Agreement at Copenhagen "is possible", he concluded.

"But we must frankly face the plain fact that our negotiators are not getting to agreement quickly enough. So I believe that leaders must engage directly to break the impasse."

Art,s Commentary.....See the video above by Lord Monckton.

Obamacare to Put Planned Parenthood in Charge?
Oct 29th, 2009
Daily NewsWND
Categories: Today's Headlines;Moral Decline

Provision for 'pregnancy resource centers' appears to benefit abortion industry leader

The largest grassroots Catholic pro-life group in the nation is warning of a perfect storm of circumstances that could set up Planned Parenthood as a quasi-governmental entity with the power to establish as law its declaration of a universal right to tax-paid abortions and autonomous rights to sexual "pleasure" for children.

The warning is being issued by the American Life League, which has been trying to protect life from the moment of creation to natural death since its founding in 1979.

The organization now is warning about a new International Planned Parenthood Federation document called "Sexual Rights: An IPPF Declaration," detailed by ALL's Michael Hichborn as containing those rights, as well as provisions for child predators to conceal past criminal sexual histories.

"The declaration could take on significant new meaning as the nation debates the Obama administration's pro-abortion, pro-Planned Parenthood health agenda, according to ALL.

The declaration is completely consistent with Planned Parenthood's record of sexualizing children," stated Rita Diller, the chief of ALL's STOP Planned Parenthood project. "But what is historic about this is for the first time Planned Parenthood has completely divorced sexual rights from reproductive rights.

"Planned Parenthood has been outed – they are about uninhibited sex for everyone – including children,” she said.

She explained that the health care takeover being assembled now in Congress at Obama's request also "could grant Planned Parenthood a quasi-government position.

"If that happens, Planned Parenthood could use its national position to implement this IPPF policy," she said.

The present incarnation of America's Healthy Future Act creates a new program called the National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Resource Center, ALL noted. The provision states this program will be granted to "a nationally recognized, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization" that "has demonstrated experience working with and providing assistance to a broad range of individuals and entities to reduce teen pregnancy," and "is research-based and has comprehensive knowledge and data about teen pregnancy prevention strategies."

"It seems the wording was framed with Planned Parenthood in mind," Diller continued. "If this provision remains, and Planned Parenthood is granted control of that program, this 'Declaration of Debauchery' [established by Planned Parenthood] could well be the cornerstone for prohibiting restrictions on the sexual activity of children."

Diller called the provision "dangerous" and noted Planned Parenthood is under investigation for tax fraud and concealing child rape at some locations, but an expanded status as a quasi-governmental organization would give it "even more influence over our kids."

The federal plan also calles for a "training" program that gives at least $250,000 to east state to "educate" adolescents on "both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and STDs," the league said.

Obama Signs 'hate Crimes' Bill - Christian Broadcasters Concerned
Oct 29th, 2009
Daily NewsOneNewsNow - Charlie Butss -
Categories: Today's Headlines;Moral Decline

The "hate crimes" bill approved recently by Congress could be a problem for broadcasters -- most importantly, Christian broadcasters -- now that it has been signed into law.

President Barack Obama has signed into law a measure that adds to the list of federal hate crimes attacks on people based on their sexual orientation. Congress approved the legislation last week as part of the $680-billion FY 2010 Defense Authorization bill. Appended to the hate crimes amendment was a statement ensuring that a religious leader or any other person cannot be prosecuted on the bases if his or her speech, beliefs, or association.
 
But Craig Parshall, chief counsel for National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), discounts that statement, pointing out that such laws in other countries have been used to silence people of faith. He believes the law approved by Congress is potentially dangerous as it relates to comments made about homosexuality or another religion.

"Under the criminal law of incitement, if something is said in a broadcast that another person uses as a motivation to go out and commit an act of what they call 'bodily injury' in the statute, then a broadcaster could be held criminally liable," he explains.
 
Or an outspoken broadcaster could be held to be co-conspirator, adds Parshall. He says the supposed bodily injury could be something as insignificant as someone being jostled during a rally or shoved in a protest march.

Parshall acknowledges the amendment that was passed to provide some degree of protection for Christians, but points out that interpretations of such statements are ultimately left up to the court.
 
"And that's always a problem," he laments. "We have a court system that has been notorious for getting it wrong when it pits the power of government on one hand and the free exercise of religious rights of individuals on the other."

According to the NRB attorney, there could also be repercussions in agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Internal Revenue Service. Parshall says the FCC, for example, could develop rules on what broadcasters can and cannot say about homosexuality, possibly jeopardizing their licenses.
 
"Public school curriculum could be built entirely on the idea of what is illegal hate in our culture," says the attorney. "And our children could be indoctrinated [to believe that] if you criticize another religion or mention Jesus as being the only way, that's hateful--- [or] if you say that homosexuality is a sin, that's hateful."

And then there is the IRS, which Parshall says could apply the hate crimes law as a national policy on homosexuality and other world religions.

"And [they] could start taking a look at Christian non-profit ministries and [telling them if they] want to be tax exempt, [they] can't speak hatefully about other groups," he suggests. "That would be defined as not criticizing Islam or not being critical of the homosexual lifestyle. Those are just a few of the ripple-out effects."
 
Parshall contends that an examination of the motive behind the hate crimes law reveals it is not about hate -- and will have no effect on stopping crime, because that is already outlawed in all 50 states. In his opinion, it is designed to shut up the opposition -- Christians specifically -- and close down any debate against the homosexual lifestyle.
 
The NRB spokesman does expect lawsuits to be filed against the hate crimes law after it is signed.

More than half of the adults surveyed across the world believe that creationism must be taught alongside the theory of evolution
Oct 29th, 2009
News UpdateJimmy DeYoung
Categories: Jimmy DeYoung News

To mark the 20th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his work on the Origin of Species, a survey was given to adults in ten countries of the world on 5 continents and the results indicate that more than half of those surveyed believed that creationism must be taught alongside the theory of evolution in the classroom. People were asked which of these origins of man was closest to their own opinion and on average 53% felt that creationism should be taught alongside Darwinism, a result that bothered the head of the Darwin Now program. Dr. Vern Baker said that the debate about Darwinism has been portrayed as very polarizing - science vs. religion.

Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News

The debate over the origins of man, Darwinism vs. creationism is a debate that has an interesting connection to the return of Jesus Christ at His Second Coming.

For over 150 years there has been a debate on the origins of man and the leader of the opposition fighting against the Biblical account of Creation, Charles Darwin, has been the center focus in this debate. Darwin's work, The Origins of Man, published 150 years ago, forms the debate as science vs. religion. The world bought into the idea that Darwin had science on his side in the debate. This argument has been disqualified by the reality of the scientific world questioning some of Darwin's theory as just that - a theory on the origins of man not scientific fact.

The Bible speaks to this issue as a significant attitude that will be prevalent at the time of the return of Jesus Christ to the Earth. The Apostle Peter wrote in II Peter 3 that there would be those who deny the return of the Lord Jesus Christ as they also deny the Creation account in Genesis 1 (II Peter 3:3-5). The truth be known, both Creation and the theory of evolution must be taken by faith, but the Biblical account gives us an eyewitness account of the origins of man where God created all things and then gave Moses the account of what happened so that he could record it in the Bible.

The Bible is absolute truth - evidence that Bible prophecy also will be fulfilled.

Israel: Hizballah Rearmed in Southern Lebanon, Despite UN Force
Oct 29th, 2009
Daily NewsIsrael Today
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

A top Israeli army official on Wednesday told The Jerusalem Post that Hizballah has managed to set up an arms cache in just about every village in southern Lebanon, despite the presence of more than 10,000 UN peacekeepers tasked with preventing the group's rearmament.

The official said that while the UN force has done an adequate job of not allowing Hizballah to operate in the open, the peacekeepers have demonstrated that they dare not enter local villages, where they are viewed and treated with hostility. As a result, Hizballah has been free to set up bases in nearly every small town and village, putting its weapons well within range of Israel.

That assessment came just a day after a missile fired from southern Lebanon hit the outskirts of the northern Israel town of Kiryat Shemonah. Four more missiles were found at the launch site, located in a small Lebanese village just miles from the Israeli border.

Demographic Deceit & Optimism
Oct 29th, 2009
Daily Newsisraelnationalnews.com
Categories: The Nation Of Israel

The all time record of daily Jewish births at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital, set on September 21, 2009, reflects the substantial rise in Israel’s Jewish fertility. Delivery rooms function at 100% capacity.

Anyone claiming that Jews are doomed to become a minority between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean is either dramatically mistaken or outrageously misleading.

An audit of Palestinian and Israeli documentation of births, deaths, school and voter registration and migration certifies a solid 67% Jewish majority over 98.5% of the land west of the Jordan River (without Gaza), compared with a 33% and an 8% Jewish minority in 1947 and 1900, respectively, west of the Jordan River.

The audit exposes a 66% distortion in the current number of Judea & Samaria Arabs - 1.55 million and not 2.5 million, as claimed by the Palestinian Authority. In 2006, the World Bank exposed a 32% bend in the number of Palestinian births. Inflated numbers have provided the Palestinians with inflated international foreign aid and inflated water supply by Israel. They have also afflicted Israeli policy-makers and public opinion molders with fatalism and erroneous demographic assumptions, impacting on Israel’s national security policy.

Refuting demographic fatalism, the robust growth of Israel’s Jewish fertility (number of births per woman) has been sustained during the last 15 years, while Arab fertility and population growth rate (birth, death and migration rates) experienced a sharp dive.

The number of Jewish births during the first half of 2009 accounted for 76% of all births, compared with 75% in 2008 and 69% in 1995. Unlike all other developed societies, the number of annual Jewish births has grown by 45% from 1995 (80,400) to 2008 (117,000), while the annual number of “Green Line” Arab births has stabilized around 39,000. The secular, rather than the religious, sector has been chiefly responsible for the Jewish growth. For example, the Olim (immigrants) from the USSR arrived to Israel with a typical Russian fertility rate of one birth per woman; today, those women are giving birth to two to three children, the typical secular Israeli Jewish rate. Moreover, the Arab-Jewish fertility gap shrunk from 6 births per woman in 1969 to 0.7 births in 2008 (3.5:2.8), converging toward 3 births.

The Arab fertility rate in Judea & Samaria is declining rapidly (toward 3.5 births), as has been the case in all Muslim countries except Afghanistan and Yemen: Jordan (twin-sister of Judea & Samaria)) – 3, Syria – 3.5, Egypt – 2.5, Saudi Arabia – 4, Algeria – 1.8 and Iran – 1.7 births per woman.

The swift decline in the Arab fertility rate within the “Green Line” reflects the impressive Arab integration into Israel’s infrastructure of employment, education, health, trade, finance, politics, sports and culture.

The sharp decrease in the Judea & Samaria Arab fertility rate is the outcome of modernity. A 70% rural majority in 1967 has been transformed into a 70% urban majority in 2009, burdened by civil war, terrorism and severe unemployment. Elementary and higher Education have expanded dramatically, especially among women. Median wedding age and divorce rate are at an all time high. In addition, Judea & Samaria Arabs have experienced a high emigration rate since 1950, further eroding population growth rate.

The current 67% Jewish majority west of the Jordan River (without Gaza) could expand to 80% by 2035, leveraging the aforementioned Jewish demographic tailwind and the potential Aliya resulting from the global economic meltdown and the rise in anti-Semitism (e.g. half a million Olim during the next ten years from the former USSR).

Baseless demographic fatalism has played a key role in shaping Israel’s state of mind and national security policy. It has eroded the level of confidence in the future of the Jewish State. However, well-documented demographic optimism now confirms that there is no demographic machete at the throat of the Jewish State, that demographic scare tactics are hollow and that Israel’s challenge is not a “demographic time bomb,” but rather a demographic “scare crow.”

Companies Get Even 'gayer' As U.S. Economy Plummets
Oct 29th, 2009
Daily NewsWND - Joe Kovacs
Categories: Today's Headlines;Moral Decline

Firms with pro-homosexual policies continue steady increase in number

Despite an economy languishing in high unemployment and low consumer confidence, more American companies are jumping on the bandwagon to provide support for homosexual and transgender employees.

More than 300 firms have now received perfect 100 percent scores in this fall's Corporate Equality Index, produced annually by the Human Rights Campaign which ranks businesses on their "treatment" of employees who have chosen homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lifestyles.

The list, which saw a 20 percent increase this year in the number of perfect scores, includes newcomers such as theater giant AMC Entertainment, Costco, Delta Air Lines, Food Lion and General Mills.

"Even in the most challenging economy, leading employers are forging ahead of federal and state law to recruit and retain a diverse workforce – regardless of employees' sexual orientation and gender identity or expression," said Joe Solmonese, president of the HRC. "While Congress considers a federal law that prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, businesses can take immediate steps to ensure all employees in their workforce are treated fairly today."

Many companies, such as financial leader Morgan Stanley, are thrilled with their top ranking and use it as a public-relations tool.

"Our global top-down commitment to diversity, including LGBT diversity, ensures that each member of the Morgan Stanley family is able to bring his or her full self to the table as a valuable contributor," said company spokesman Jeffrey Siminoff, who also chairs the Pride Employee Network. "We appreciate the endorsement of our strong and unwavering commitment to our diverse employees, both in terms of another 100 percent CEI score and formal recognition by the HRC as a 'Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality.'"

Andrew Pascal of Wynn Resorts says equality is a cornerstone of the culture at his firm.

"We are strengthened by a diverse group of employees whose unique differences are valued and celebrated at every level of the company," he said. "We take great pride in this honor, a testament to the fact that fair and equal treatment has empowered our employees."

Interestingly, that attitude is from the same company whose head, casino mogul Steve Wynn, recently complained the left-leaning policies of President Obama are not just wrong, they're also dangerous.

"They are trying to change the basic fabric of American life without preparation, homework or experience. And they're trying to intimidate everybody," Wynn told the Las Vegas Sun.

Ahmadinejad: 'we will not Retreat Even An Iota' on Nuclear Rights
Oct 29th, 2009
Daily NewsJpost
Categories: Today's Headlines;Anti-Israel

Ahmadinejad: 'We will not retreat even an iota' on nuclear rights | Jerusalem Post

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday his country "will not retreat even an iota" on its nuclear rights, but added that the West had moved "from confrontation to interaction" with Iran over its controversial uranium enrichment, which he called the nation's "inalienable right."

Speaking to a rally on Thursday in the northeastern city of Mashhad, Ahmadinejad said that "ground has been paved for nuclear cooperation" and Teheran was ready to work on nuclear fuel supplies and technical know-how with the UN nuclear watchdog.

He added that Iran welcomed the international offer to ship out 70 percent of its enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment, but was unspecific as to whether the Islamic Republic would sign the deal.

On Thursday afternoon Reuters reported that the nation had handed the International Atomic Energy Agency its response to the UN deal. The news agency cited state-owned Al-Alam TV. There was no information on the content or nature of the response, and no official confirmation has yet been made by the IAEA.

Iran has been considering the deal - which Western leaders hope will ease concerns over Teheran's controversial nuclear program - for a week now.

Ahmadinejad's speech suggested that Iran will stick by earlier comments that support the framework of the deal, but demand some changes. A key point is how quickly Iran is willing to send its stockpile of low-enriched uranium outside the country for further processing.

The Vienna-brokered plan requires Iran to send 1,100 kilograms of low-enriched uranium - around 70 percent of its stockpile - to Russia in one batch by the end of the year. After further enrichment there, France would convert the uranium into fuel rods for return to Iran for use in a Teheran reactor that produces medical isotopes.

Western powers say it's critical for Iran to send out 70 percent of its uranium store in one load to eliminate - at least temporarily - its options to make a nuclear weapon.

A significantly lower amount or gradual shipments by Iran could jeopardize a key part of the proposal, which was reached after talks last week that included the United States. About 1,000 kilograms is the commonly accepted amount of low-enriched uranium needed to produce weapons-grade uranium for a single nuclear warhead.

Teheran signaled this week it wants significant changes in the UN deal and to be allowed either to buy the fuel for the Teheran reactor from abroad or to ship the material in small batches. That would not reduce fears about further enrichment to weapons-grade uranium because Iran would be able to quickly replace small amounts it sent out of the country with newly enriched material.

Ahmadinejad said the West had pushed for halting Iran's nuclear program in the past but that now it is "ready for cooperation and participation on exchange of nuclear fuel and building power plants."

The UN Security Council has slapped three sets of sanctions against Iran after the country refused to halt the uranium enrichment.

But the world now recognizes Iran's nuclear right, Ahmadinejad claimed. "We welcome the West's change in behavior," he said, adding that Iran is ready to "shake any hand that is honestly extended toward us."

Also Thursday, a team of UN nuclear inspectors returned to the agency's headquarters in Vienna from a visit to a previously secret Iranian uranium enrichment site. It expressed satisfaction with the mission but details have not been revealed.

What the inspectors saw - and how freely they were allowed to work - will be key in deciding whether six world powers engaging Iran in efforts to reduce fears that it seeks to make nuclear weapons seek a new round of talks with Teheran.

The Fordo site is near the holy city of Qom. Iran revealed it was building it Sept. 21 in a confidential letter to the IAEA. Just days later, the leaders of the US, Britain and France condemned Teheran for having kept it secret. The West believes Iran revealed the site's existence only because it had learned that the US and its allies were about to make it public. Iran denies that.

'us Better Act Before Israel Attacks Iran'
Oct 29th, 2009
Daily NewsIsrael Today
Categories: Today's Headlines;War

US congressional leader Dan Burton (R-IN) told the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday that if the US does not get serious about stopping the Iranian nuclear program, it is going to have to deal with a Middle East in flames as the result of a preemptive Israeli strike on the Islamic Republic.

Burton noted that after years of international diplomatic efforts, Iran is still enriching uranium with the expected intention of building a nuclear weapon. This, warned Burton, Israel cannot and will not allow to continue past a certain point.

If Washington does not want the much larger task of calming a Middle East embroiled in war, it should get more serious about the comparatively smaller task of strong-arming the Iranian regime into giving up its nuclear quest, Burton implied.

The congressman's warning echoed that of French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Monday, when he told London's Daily Telegraph that Israel "will not tolerate an Iranian bomb," and will eventually attack Iranian nuclear facilities if the international community fails to come up with another solution.