Yearly Archives: 2013

China Officially Backs Russia On Syria, Warns On Global Economy

"China warned on Thursday that military intervention in Syria would hurt the world economy and push up oil prices, reinforcing Vladimir Putin’s attempts to talk US President Barack Obama out of air strikes. 'Military action would have a negative impact on the global economy, especially on the oil price – it will cause a hike in the oil price,' Chinese vice-finance minister Zhu Guangyao told a briefing before the start of the G20 leaders’ talks." Continue reading →

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Brutality of Syrian Rebels Posing Dilemma in West

"As the United States debates whether to support the Obama administration’s proposal that Syrian forces should be attacked for using chemical weapons against civilians, this video, shot in the spring of 2012, joins a growing body of evidence of an increasingly criminal environment populated by gangs of highwaymen, kidnappers and killers. Across much of Syria, where rebels with Western support live and fight, areas outside of government influence have evolved into a complex guerrilla and criminal landscape. That has raised the prospect that American military action could inadvertently strengthen Islamic extremists and criminals." Continue reading →

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If Congress says no, can Obama strike Syria?

"Initiating airstrikes in Syria would undermine rather than uphold the credibility of the UN Charter, which generally permits the use of non-defensive force only with Security Council authorization. That has not been granted. The charter’s purpose is in fact to prevent individual states from engaging in the sort of international policing the US is proposing to undertake in Syria. Ultimately, it isn’t clear where the administration could turn for legal justification in the event of a no vote in Congress. Even without a strong legal foundation, if the administration decides to proceed with airstrikes, there isn’t much Congress could do to stop it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIf Congress says no, can Obama strike Syria?

MSNBC’s Alex Wagner vs. Ron Paul On Syria, Liberty, Anti-Semitism

"Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) joins Alex Wagner to give his take on the situation in Syria, how Obama has handled the situation, and why he thinks the 'grand deception' of the Syria debate is that this is a question of national security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMSNBC’s Alex Wagner vs. Ron Paul On Syria, Liberty, Anti-Semitism

IRS Finalizes Penalty for ObamaCare Mandate

"Last week, federal tax collectors finalized a rule to penalize individuals who do not obtain health insurance under ObamaCare. The regulation from the IRS formally codifies the fine charged to people without insurance under the health care law's individual mandate, says The Hill. Under the law, most Americans must either be covered by health insurance or pay a penalty. For the first year, the charge for not obtaining health insurance is $95 or 1 percent of household income. The penalty will increase, though, to $695 per person or 2.5 percent of household income in 2016 and then according to a cost-of-living formula for following years." Continue reading →

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ObamaCare Was Sold To American Voters On Deceptive Terms

"In 2008, Barack Obama made it sound as though his health reform was only designed to help people who couldn’t afford health insurance afford it. Everyone else was going to be left alone. ('If you like the health plan you have you can keep it.') Then, on the eve of passage of the legislation, the focus changed to those few people (very few, it turns out) who are denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. But it very recently, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and others have been in print explaining that ObamaCare won’t work unless the government controls the premiums paid by everybody in the entire country! As far as the general public is concerned, this is a brand new idea." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObamaCare Was Sold To American Voters On Deceptive Terms

Ecuador seeks to extend libel penalties to cover social media

"The Ecuadoran government has proposed legal changes to punish libel disseminated over social networks like Twitter or Facebook, a top official said Wednesday. Alexis Mera, President Rafael Correa’s secretary for legal affairs, said the move aimed not to control content on social networks, but to extend to them the same rules that apply to other media. Under Ecuador’s penal code, slanderous libel, which involves a false accusation of a crime, carries a punishment of between six months and two years in prison. Correa has used the courts to sue for libel newspapers and journalists who have written critically about him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEcuador seeks to extend libel penalties to cover social media

Michael Hastings: A Non-Conspiracy Theory

"Michael had been living in LA [alone] for at least 6-months renting two apartments in the same building; one for living, one for writing. Michael and Elise Jordan had been married less than two-years at the time of his death. In less than a year of marriage, Michael and Elise were technically physically separated for large amounts of time by this move and careers. Worth a glance, if you look at this video of the two of them from last summer [2012], you will notice they do not behave as a loving couple, let alone newlyweds in comparison to the reporter John Avalon and his wife. In fact, the bubbly-ness and warmth Elise usually exudes [in other media appearances] is completely lacking." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichael Hastings: A Non-Conspiracy Theory

Russian legislators introduce bill to take children away from LGBT parents

"A Russian lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow the state to remove children from homes headed by LGBT parents. The draft bill was published on the Russian parliament’s website Thursday morning and proposed to make the 'fact of nontraditional sexual orientation' grounds for removing or denying parental custody rights. The bill, if passed, would add sexual orientation to a list of disqualifying factors that includes alcoholism, drug addiction and a history of child abuse. Bill author Alexei Zhuravlev said that the law would be a natural extension of a law passed earlier this year that bans so-called 'homosexual propaganda.'" Continue reading →

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Homeschool raid on family viewed as terror

"The German government is being accused of terrorism on its own citizens for a police squad raid in which officers armed with a battering ram forcibly took four children from their parents because they were being homeschooled. The accusations are being posted on a Facebook page for the German embassy in Washington. The reaction developed after, as WND reported, four homeschooled children, ages 7 to 14, were forcibly taken from their Darmstadt, Germany, home by police armed with a battering ram. The parents, Dirk and Petra Wunderlich, were told they won’t see the children again soon, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeschool raid on family viewed as terror