Hamas-Linked Charity Offers $1.4M for Israeli Soldier Abduction
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip —
A Gaza charity headed by the interior minister of the militant Hamas group on Wednesday offered $1.4 million to any Arab citizen of Israel who abducts a soldier.
Palestinians have frequently called on Israeli Arabs to abduct Israeli soldiers, but this is the first time that money has been offered.
The Waad group from Gaza offered the bounty for Israeli soldiers in an e-mail sent to Palestinian media. The organization, which supports Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, is headed by Hamas' Interior Minister Fathi Hamad. The minister did not return messages seeking comment.
The charity could presumably raise the cash through its connections with Hamas. The militant group is thought to have millions of dollars at its disposal, both through its tight control of Gaza and support from Iran and other allies.
Waad's director, Usama Kahlout, said the bounty was in response to an Israeli group's offer to pay Gaza residents for information on the whereabouts of Sgt. Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier captured more than three years ago by Hamas-allied militants.
The Born to Freedom Foundation offered $10 million for information pertaining to Israeli soldiers missing in action or held captive. Activists routinely call phone numbers in Gaza as well as in Lebanon looking for leads on missing Israeli soldiers. Israeli intelligence is also believed to call Gazans in search of information.
German mediators are currently overseeing negotiations between bitter rivals Israel and Hamas to exchange Schalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Israel is holding some 7,500 Palestinian prisoners. Schalit is the only Israeli held by Hamas, while four Israelis who disappeared in Lebanon in the 1980s remain unaccounted for.
On Wednesday, visiting French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, met with Schalit's parents in Jerusalem. The Schalits have French citizenship, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy has offered his support to the family.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
New Report from the Center for Disease Control
Well, I think that this is telling... In the new report from the CDC on Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD's), Washington, D.C., the Nations Capitol, won the Triple Crown! They had the highest rate in the nation for Syphilis, Gonorrhea and Chlamydia.
D.C. posted a Chlamydia rate of 1,177 cases per 100,000 people, the number two rate was Mississippi at 728 per 100,000. As a comparison, D.C.'s neighbors were 405 - Virginia and 439 - Maryland.
In Gonorrhea, D.C. reported 451.5 cases per 100,000, almost twice Mississippi's rate (again they were number 2) of 256.8. Virginia (134) and Maryland (118) were a good ways down this list as well.
The third part of the Triple Crown, Syphilis, D.C.'s rate was 24.8 cases per 100,000 (primary and secondary). Louisiana had the distinction of being second on this one, with 16.5 cases per 100,000. Third place went to Alabama with 9.7. Neighbors Virginia (3.4) and Maryland (6.7) were again, a ways down the list.
I guess that maybe we should all be sure that we are using some sort of protection when we go to visit our representatives?
If you want to see the report, it is available from the CDC's web site. Just click HERE
D.C. posted a Chlamydia rate of 1,177 cases per 100,000 people, the number two rate was Mississippi at 728 per 100,000. As a comparison, D.C.'s neighbors were 405 - Virginia and 439 - Maryland.
In Gonorrhea, D.C. reported 451.5 cases per 100,000, almost twice Mississippi's rate (again they were number 2) of 256.8. Virginia (134) and Maryland (118) were a good ways down this list as well.
The third part of the Triple Crown, Syphilis, D.C.'s rate was 24.8 cases per 100,000 (primary and secondary). Louisiana had the distinction of being second on this one, with 16.5 cases per 100,000. Third place went to Alabama with 9.7. Neighbors Virginia (3.4) and Maryland (6.7) were again, a ways down the list.
I guess that maybe we should all be sure that we are using some sort of protection when we go to visit our representatives?
If you want to see the report, it is available from the CDC's web site. Just click HERE
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Health and safety snoops to enter family homes - Times Online
Everyone should read this... Yes, this is going on in Britain. Why should you care, you ask? Well... If they can do it there, they WILL do it here, if we allow. We have to fight, everything that they want to do, at every turn, in order to keep what little freedom we have.
Health and Safety inspections... Think about it for a minute. Do you have cleaning chemicals in your house? Are the stored in a locked container? Are the chemicals all separated by type so that there could not be any chemical reactions by any of them leaking? That's a hazard that you need to fix. Do you have electrical outlets that are "uncovered" where someone could put something in them? That's a hazard if you have little children who have access to your home. Do you have ANY outlets in your kitchen, laundry or bathrooms that are not GFI? That is a hazard that will have to be fixed. Do you have carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide detectors in the area around any furnaces, gas heating appliances, or garage access areas? That is a hazard that will have to be fixed. Do you have stairs? Are they gated? Need I go on?
Health and safety snoops to enter family homes - Times Online
Health and Safety inspections... Think about it for a minute. Do you have cleaning chemicals in your house? Are the stored in a locked container? Are the chemicals all separated by type so that there could not be any chemical reactions by any of them leaking? That's a hazard that you need to fix. Do you have electrical outlets that are "uncovered" where someone could put something in them? That's a hazard if you have little children who have access to your home. Do you have ANY outlets in your kitchen, laundry or bathrooms that are not GFI? That is a hazard that will have to be fixed. Do you have carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide detectors in the area around any furnaces, gas heating appliances, or garage access areas? That is a hazard that will have to be fixed. Do you have stairs? Are they gated? Need I go on?
Health and safety snoops to enter family homes - Times Online
Monday, November 16, 2009
EDITORIAL: Covering up jihad - Washington Times
This is a VERY good read, and very important for everyone to read and think about. And we all know that the Washington Times is NOT a conserative publication....
EDITORIAL: Covering up jihad - Washington Times
EDITORIAL: Covering up jihad - Washington Times
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Who's More Important?
I just don't understand it, and I am sure that the Networks are going to be of the same opinion about the way that most of us feel. They just don't get it.
The coverage Tuesday by the networks of the memorial service for the soldiers who were killed in the terrorist event there was rather telling, I think. NBC offered live coverage of the whole service. Soldiers snapping to attention and saluting as the National Anthem was played, silently mouthing the words of the Warrior Ethos along with GEN George Casey as he recited it. ABC and CBS? They were showing their "regularly scheduled" soap operas. No mention of the events going on at Ft Hood. When did they go to it? They broke in to their soaps when President Obama was stepping up to the teleprompter.
When did ABC and CBS end their coverage? CBS left as Obama stepped away from the mic, ABC held on until the start of "Amazing Grace" then they went back to the soaps. No Chaplains speaking, no prayers, no hymns, no National Anthem, no Generals speaking, no Taps. No thought or consideration given to the families across the nation who lost loved ones in that event at Ft Hood. Brothers, Sisters, Grandsons, Grand daughters, nephews and nieces, friends, loved ones from all walks of life and all stages of life. All they cared about, or so it seems anyway was the "photo op" of Pres Obama making an appearance at the memorial service. Nothing else.
Now, lets compare that to a Tuesday in July. Another memorial service. This one for the "King of Pop". According to the Nielsen ratings 30.9 million people over 3 hours watched that memorial service, because there was nothing else on the TV. As Brent Bozell said then, "On the night of July 6, ABC, CBS and NBC paid twenty times more attention to Jackson, more than a week after his death, than to the deaths of 7 brave soldiers in Afghanistan."
I know that I am biased, because I have spent most of my adult life (in fact basically HALF of my life at this point) in the Army. I know people at Ft Hood. But this is something that SHOULD have been on the top of the lists for ALL NETWORKS. NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MSNBC... All of them.
Well, that's my opinion...
The coverage Tuesday by the networks of the memorial service for the soldiers who were killed in the terrorist event there was rather telling, I think. NBC offered live coverage of the whole service. Soldiers snapping to attention and saluting as the National Anthem was played, silently mouthing the words of the Warrior Ethos along with GEN George Casey as he recited it. ABC and CBS? They were showing their "regularly scheduled" soap operas. No mention of the events going on at Ft Hood. When did they go to it? They broke in to their soaps when President Obama was stepping up to the teleprompter.
When did ABC and CBS end their coverage? CBS left as Obama stepped away from the mic, ABC held on until the start of "Amazing Grace" then they went back to the soaps. No Chaplains speaking, no prayers, no hymns, no National Anthem, no Generals speaking, no Taps. No thought or consideration given to the families across the nation who lost loved ones in that event at Ft Hood. Brothers, Sisters, Grandsons, Grand daughters, nephews and nieces, friends, loved ones from all walks of life and all stages of life. All they cared about, or so it seems anyway was the "photo op" of Pres Obama making an appearance at the memorial service. Nothing else.
Now, lets compare that to a Tuesday in July. Another memorial service. This one for the "King of Pop". According to the Nielsen ratings 30.9 million people over 3 hours watched that memorial service, because there was nothing else on the TV. As Brent Bozell said then, "On the night of July 6, ABC, CBS and NBC paid twenty times more attention to Jackson, more than a week after his death, than to the deaths of 7 brave soldiers in Afghanistan."
I know that I am biased, because I have spent most of my adult life (in fact basically HALF of my life at this point) in the Army. I know people at Ft Hood. But this is something that SHOULD have been on the top of the lists for ALL NETWORKS. NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MSNBC... All of them.
Well, that's my opinion...
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
PELOSI: Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to Jail
I am making this post pretty much without comment, I think that it doesn't need any...
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JCT Confirms Failure to Comply with Democrats’ Mandate Can Lead to 5 Years in Jail
Friday, November 06, 2009
Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.
In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: “This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.”
Key excerpts from the JCT letter appear below:
“H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax.” [page 1]
- - - - - - - - - -
“If the government determines that the taxpayer’s unpaid tax liability results from willful behavior, the following penalties could apply…” [page 2]
- - - - - - - - - -
“Criminal penalties
Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:
• Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
• Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]
When confronted with this same issue during its consideration of a similar individual mandate tax, the Senate Finance Committee worked on a bipartisan basis to include language in its bill that shielded Americans from civil and criminal penalties. The Pelosi bill, however, contains no similar language protecting American citizens from civil and criminal tax penalties that could include a $250,000 fine and five years in jail.
“The Senate Finance Committee had the good sense to eliminate the extreme penalty of incarceration. Speaker Pelosi’s decision to leave in the jail time provision is a threat to every family who cannot afford the $15,000 premium her plan creates. Fortunately, Republicans have an alternative that will lower health insurance costs without raising taxes or cutting Medicare,” said Camp.
According to the Congressional Budget Office the lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker’s bill would cost $15,000 in 2016.
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JCT Confirms Failure to Comply with Democrats’ Mandate Can Lead to 5 Years in Jail
Friday, November 06, 2009
Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.
In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: “This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.”
Key excerpts from the JCT letter appear below:
“H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax.” [page 1]
- - - - - - - - - -
“If the government determines that the taxpayer’s unpaid tax liability results from willful behavior, the following penalties could apply…” [page 2]
- - - - - - - - - -
“Criminal penalties
Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:
• Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
• Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]
When confronted with this same issue during its consideration of a similar individual mandate tax, the Senate Finance Committee worked on a bipartisan basis to include language in its bill that shielded Americans from civil and criminal penalties. The Pelosi bill, however, contains no similar language protecting American citizens from civil and criminal tax penalties that could include a $250,000 fine and five years in jail.
“The Senate Finance Committee had the good sense to eliminate the extreme penalty of incarceration. Speaker Pelosi’s decision to leave in the jail time provision is a threat to every family who cannot afford the $15,000 premium her plan creates. Fortunately, Republicans have an alternative that will lower health insurance costs without raising taxes or cutting Medicare,” said Camp.
According to the Congressional Budget Office the lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker’s bill would cost $15,000 in 2016.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sen Hatch's Statement on Healthcare
While he is NOT on the top of my Favorite People list, he is right about this...
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