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One of the fans weigh in.

According to the press release: "The visit is a private event. There will be no photo or press availabilities.” In a meeting that has not happened between a President and a Chief Justice in 17 years, SCOTUS and the President-elect are chatting but without any one from the outside. I wonder what they have to talk about?

Not a ripple in the MSM about the appointment of Carol Browner.

It may be that considerations of race or politics are secondary if ethanol is promoted by Obama-Browner. It may be worth considering if Illinois is the state that is expected to benefit a great deal from the proposed energy solutions during the new administration.

Graphic source: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES APPOINTED.

Carol M. Browner has been tapped as the coordinator of climate and energy policies. Until last week, Browner, Obama's nod as global warming czar, was listed as one of 14 leaders of a socialist group's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which calls for "global governance" and says rich countries must shrink their economies to address climate change. The page has been revised but a cached copy reveals that Browner is a socialist.

Just last Thursday though, Browner's name and biography had been removed from Socialist International's Web page although a promotional photo of a her speaking on 30 June to the group's congress in Greece was still available.

Socialist International, an umbrella group for many of the world's more mainstream social democratic political parties such as Britain's Labor Party, is a self-proclaimed socialist group harshly critical of U.S. policies.

Obama tapped Browner last month to fill a new position as White House coordinator of climate and energy policies. The appointment does not need Senate confirmation and so will not likely face opposition as a confirmed Socialist.

Previously, Browner ran the Environmental Protection Agency under Clinton and she was on the board of directors for the National Audubon Society, the League of Conservation Voters, the Center for American Progress and former Vice President Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection.

Her name has been removed from the Gore organization's Web site list of directors, and the Audubon Society issued a press release about her departure from that organization.

The controversial Browner was investigated by The Washington Times who discovered that she refused to use email when she served during the Clinton administration for fear of leaving a digital trail. She also ordered her government computer hard drive wiped clean of records just before leaving office.

An email sent to her surfaced in litigation so she simply decided not to a computer." She said: "I was very careful."

A lawsuit convinced a judge to order that the agency must preserve such records. The same day Browner asked a staff member to erase all files on her government computer and her work computer was scrubbed which prompted allegations of a possible cover-up.

The ensuing investigation ultimately cleared Ms. Browner of any wrongdoing who claimed that she was unaware of the judge's order. Her former agency, however, didn't fare as well. It was found in contempt of court for failing to preserve government records.

There will be no transparency during her tenure since she is "afraid the public might see it later," said Mike Surrusco, senior researcher at Common Cause, a nonpartisan group that monitors government ethics and openness.

Charles Davis, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition at the University of Missouri, said avoiding computers and e-mail "seems a little drastic and over the top."

In addition, according to her Wikipedia article:

"During Browner's tenure, there were many reports from African American employees of racism directed at them from a network of "good old boys" who dominated the agency's middle management layers. The most known of these involved policy specialist Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, who in 1997 filed suit against the agency; in 2000 the EPA was found guilty of discrimination against her and she was awarded $300,000. Coleman-Adebayo said that Browner allowed the problems to persist rather than trying to clean them up: "She wasn't at all sympathetic to complaints about civil rights abuses. We were treated like Negroes, to use a polite term. We were put in our place." In an October 2000 Congressional hearing on the matter, Browner appeared near tears as she said minorities had tripled in the agency's senior ranks during her time as administrator, but she was unable to explain why the culprits in Coleman-Adebayo's case had not been dismissed and in some cases had been promoted. A month earlier, Browner had asked for the Office of the Inspector General to linvestigate [sic] a statement by an African American environmental specialist that she had been ordered to clean a toilet in 1993 in advance of Browner's arrival at an EPA event. This followed a rally in which dozens of EPA employees protested what they saw as rampant bias at the agency. Congressional dissatisfaction with the EPA situation and its treatment of Coleman-Adebayo led to passage of the No-FEAR Act in 2002, which discourages federal managers and supervisors from engaging in unlawful discrimination and retaliation."

Jamaat-ud-Dawa is supposedly a charitable organisation and Hafiz Mohammed Saeed claims to be an injured innocent; yet, it's clear that the organisation and Saeed's family have been subject to scrutiny by the U.S. government for several years and a couple of Saeed's family members are already in US custody.

As the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) grew in Pakistan, Saeed's family rotated to the US to live and work here for a decade.

During this time, LeT aka Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), has morphed from an ISI-sponsored terror outfit against India to become a global jihadist organisation with increasing ties to Al Qaeda.

JuD originated and deeply resonated in almost all areas of Pakistani life where the U.S. could do little. Mumbai changed the equation.

Previously, Saeed's family rotation lived here as imams while preaching and raising funds for jihad.

The first to land in the US was Muhammad Masood, Saeed's brother, who arrived in 1987 on a J-1 exchange visitor visa. He lived in the Boston area, working odd jobs until he started teaching at the Islamic Academy of New England at the Islamic Center of New England in Sharon, Massachusetts. Masood was arrested in November 2006 and charged with visa fraud and other unnamed crimes.

The second family member to arrive was Abdul Hannan, Saeed's brother-in-law (married to Masood's sister). Hannan arrived in the late-1990s, coming to the US through another member of their organisation, Muhammad Khalil, who is serving time currently in a U.S. jail. By 1998, Hannan himself was in jail, also in Massachusetts.

Hannan was released in 2002, and for the next couple of years floated around another Rhode Island, also as an imam, before returning, as imam to Massachusetts. Hannan was again arrested in November 2006 with his brother-in-law Masood. So far, there were two members of Saeed's family in U.S. jails.

The third member, another brother of Saeed named Hamid arrived in the US in 2001 for a program at Harvard University. He returned to the U.S. later in the year and became an imam at the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester. In October 2007, Hamid was deported to Pakistan, on visa irregularities. But one of the reasons, according to some sources, was that the U.S. discovered that he used to run a safe house for LeT terrorists in Moon Chowk and Lahore, India and that his imam activities in the U.S. were all about teaching jihad to youngsters there.

By 2003, LeT offices opened in California and Virginia. After the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, international organizations discovered that LeT also ran terror training camps which were also used to train terrorists from other groups.

The climax to their activities was Mumbai on November 26.

LeT arose an international terrorist organization allied with, or working in concert with Al Qaeda thus this has piqued the interest of the international intelligence community.

Daniel Markey, currently with the Council for Foreign Relations and earlier with the U.S. State Department, stated that the U.S. concern is that LeT emerged as a global jihadist organization no longer satisfied with the status as just an anti-India group.

A Newsmax story last year estimated that anywhere from $13 million to $63 million may have been received by the Obama campaign from overseas credit cards or foreign currency purchases. More recently, the FEC itself has flagged 16,639 potential foreign donations to Obama's campaign. The extent and amount of illegal campaign contributions will not likely be known since the majority of the FEC Commissioners are Democrats who are not likely to advocate an investigation.

Its Muslim time according to editor Nida Kahn claiming, "It's our time." The publication, Elan magazine, sporting Obama's familiarity with Islam from the daughter of Malcolm X and Benjamin F. Chavis Muhammad, the chief of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, and his time attending an Indonesian Muslim school.

The magazine, which calls itself the "guide to global Muslim culture," is distributed in the U.S., Pakistan, Indonesia, Canada, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, as well as online.

Obama stated on ABC's This Week that he would meet with our enemies “without precondition.” With this shift he has moved U.S. interests into a position of weakness. Our enemies are quick to take advantage of his weakness: Hassan Qashqavi, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, stated “We are willing to talk to them directly and give them a clear choice and ultimately let them make a determination in terms of whether they want to do this the hard way or the easy way.” Qashqavi's tone is clear; they want to set the agenda of the meeting, they want to dictate to us what our choices are. In addition, the Iranian Vice President for Media Affairs Mehdi Kalhor said that Iran has set two preconditions for holding talks with the U.S. “(A)s long as U.S. forces have not left the Middle East region and continues its support for the Zionist regime, talks between Iran and U.S. is off the agenda.” The two statements form a cohesive whole indicating who is in control. Obama has unilaterally shifted the power base of the region from our allies to our enemies by allowing the United States to weaken its approach to talks and negotiations.

One of the main tenants of Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” is, “the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed by him.”

Obama does not grasp the wisdom of Sun Tzu.

During the Presidential debates, Obama tried to obviate his policy by stating what he really meant, was "preparation," rather than precondition.

Now, of course, he does not have a maverick challenging him in a debate, and Obama's policy is clear. He is now back to his real weakness as a negotiator, he legitimizes the position of America's enemies.

The best case scenario Americans can hope for, given Obama's deficiencies, is that
Hillary can take a harder, more realistic line, since she is more savvy and experienced in global affairs.

With each Saturday radio address the "job creation" number grows. Obama, try to create one more new job before inflating non-existing growth each week. The American people deserve results and transparency.

As the Hamas-Israeli conflict widens, which Obama had no comment about, he addressed his priority item of interest. "We need a playoff," Obama told reporters after being asked about Florida's 24-14 victory over Oklahoma in Thursday night's BCS championship game. "If I'm Utah, or if I'm USC or if I'm Texas, I might still have some quibbles." While the serious issues of state unfold, Obama is doing what he does best, show up and vote "Present." I would be delighted if someone could get him interested in the real game: politics.

The Mumbai evidence is available regarding the terrorist murders of civilians where their handlers cheered after hearing the gunfire over the phone. The material documentation was released after India accumulated a dossier for release. The documents were released by the Indian newspaper The Hindu. More than 170 people were killed and hundreds wounded during the 60 hour terror spree that shut down the city. The Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based terror group allied with al Qaeda and supported by powerful elements within Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence agency and the military, carried out the attack. The identity of the major handler has been identified as a current or former Pakistani military officer who appears to be Hamid Gul, the retired former chief of the ISI.

The Pakistan-based handlers provided real-time intelligence and directed the terrorists to killed specific hostages.

The released dialogue reveals that the terrorists planned and executed the attack for maximum media coverage, ordered the murder of hostages, and cheered after the murders were carried out.

They stated: “Kill all hostages, except the two Muslims,” the handlers stated. “Keep your phone switched on so that we can hear the gunfire.”

The handlers are heard cheering in the background.

Once that Indian officials were known to be hostages, they state: “Pray that we find them.”

The handler reiterates “Allah is helping you. The wazir (Indian minister) should not escape. Try and set the place on fire.”

They go on to state: “Keep in mind that hostages are of use only as long as you do not come under fire because of their safety.” “If you are still threatened, then don’t saddle yourself with the burden of the hostages. Immediately kill them.”

“Israel has made a request through diplomatic channels to save the hostages. If the hostages are killed, it will spoil relations between India and Israel.”

“So be it, God willing,” one of the terrorists responded.

Jill Stanek has written a blog identifying Obama's views on abortion.

On CNN, Michael Scheuer, a former CIA officer in charge of the hunt for Bin Laden is critical of former President Clinton and the man reported as the President-elect Obama's pick to head the CIA, Leon Panetta:

"He clearly has nothing on his curriculum vitae that suggests he should be the candidate for this job," Scheuer said. "It's not apparent he has any talent that is pertinent to the job."

Scheuer said Panetta's lack of experience could damage the agency and jeopardize national security.

"What Mr. Panetta's appointment says is that there's no urgency in the mind of the Obama administration that they think they can send somebody over there who can learn on the job and that the enemy will wait to attack us," he said."

Appearing on the Fox News' "Special Report," Scheuer stated:

"The agency officers will be well aware that bin Laden is a problem today because Mr. Panetta and Mr. Clinton and their colleagues chose to do nothing to protect America."

You begin to get the impression that Obama does not grasp the threat that Bin Laden, et. al., represent. In light of the possible Panetta apparatchik appointment, Obama's words following 9/11 take on a haunting tone. He stated:

Obama recorded his response to the 9/11 attacks for The New Yorker magazine:

"Even as I hope for some measure of peace and comfort to the bereaved families, I must also hope that we as a nation draw some measure of wisdom from this tragedy. Certain immediate lessons are clear, and we must act upon those lessons decisively. We need to step up security at our airports. We must reexamine the effectiveness of our intelligence networks. And we must be resolute in identifying the perpetrators of these heinous acts and dismantling their organizations of destruction. We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.We will have to make sure, despite our rage, that any U.S. military action takes into account the lives of innocent civilians abroad. We will have to be unwavering in opposing bigotry or discrimination directed against neighbors and friends of Middle Eastern descent. Finally, we will have to devote far more attention to the monumental task of raising the hopes and prospects of embittered children across the globe—children not just in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and within our own shores."

Cf. The New Yorker.

No. 08A524
Title: Gail Lightfoot, et al., Applicants
v.
Debra Bowen, California Secretary of State

Docketed:
Lower Ct: Supreme Court of California
Case Nos.: (S168690)

~~~Date~~~ ~~~~~~~Proceedings and Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dec 12 2008 Application (08A524) for a stay pending the filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, submitted to Justice Kennedy.
Dec 17 2008 Application (08A524) denied by Justice Kennedy.
Dec 29 2008 Application (08A524) refiled and submitted to The Chief Justice.
Jan 7 2009 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of January 23, 2009.

I am pleased to see that the transparency is real and Obama has finally released the official record; we can all rest easier now.

Herein is a copy of the divorce decree between the Soetoros, Stanley Ann, and Lolo, parent and step-parent of Obama; the Obama - Dunham divorce decree has been available for some time.

A recent Military Times survey of active-duty service members found 6 of 10 U.S. soldiers polled said they were "pessimistic" or "uncertain" about Obama serving as commander in chief of America's armed forces.

Newbie Obama's Twitter account was hacked. I realize how the MSM is touting Obama as technologically proficient, however, as we all know after having been around IT security for even a short time, these publicly available tools are eminently hackable. We should realize that there is no magic panacea and Obama is a newbie. So far, his Twitter account has been breached as his campaign web site was hacked earlier as well. Watch and learn America.

The nation's top intelligence jobs will be filled by two individuals who are almost no direct experience in intelligence gathering. The political mileage seems to be the key here as Obama distances himself against Bush administration policies.

Former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, a longtime congressional veteran and administrative expert, is designated to head the CIA. If the fortunes of the CIA can be any lower I suppose Panetta can drag us even lower. In Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, Tim Weiner convincingly documents the atrocious failures of the CIA, and the length, depth, and outrageous incompetence of CIA.

Also, retired Admiral Dennis Blair is Obama's choice to be director of national intelligence, who is also bereft of first-rate intelligence qualifications.

Obama seems to be playing politics with these appointments since he is communicating his dissatisfaction with the Bush administration policies which included the harsh interrogation of prisoners, waterboarding, and extraordinary renditions-—the secret transfer of prisoners to other governments with a history of torture. Several high-level, but so far unnamed officials feel that warrantless wiretapping will end. We'll see.

Obama overlooked former and current CIA officials who had impressive intelligence credentials. The more qualified individuals worked in intelligence during the Bush administration during the months leading up to 9/11. In fact, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Senate’s incoming Intelligence committee chair, criticized Obama’s choice.

She stated:

“I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA Director. I know nothing about this, other than what I’ve read. My position has consistently been that I believe the Agency is best-served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time."

No kidding, Diane.

Panetta only had direct intelligence experience in a two-year stint in the mid-1960s as a U.S. Army lieutenant. Panetta was director of the Office of Management and Budget and a longtime congressman from California. As White House Chief of Staff during the Clinton administration, he spearheaded the internal effort to find a new CIA chief that led to the selection of John Deutsch.

Deutsch did not want the position although he reluctantly accepted the position after Clinton appointed him. Deutsch attempted reforms of the chaotic CIA although he made Clinton furious when he told Congress that CIA could not unseat Saddam Hussein. The situation led to his sacking (Cf. Weiner, pp. 524-535).

Panetta served on the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel that released a report at the end of 2006 with dozens of recommendations for reversing course in the war; of course, most of the recommendations were overly dire and pessimistic. How quickly they forget seems to be the watchword here. Who remembers the Iraq Study Group? At the time Democrats were thrilled with its recommendations they seemed to be stating the facts in a straightforward manner. When the recommendations were published in 2006, the Iraqi situation seemed hell bent on deterioration, and Democrats seemed to be mired in the Group's assessment, nonetheless, rather than a slide toward chaos that appeared imminent, the Iraqi government did not collapse and it has actually moved towards a national reconciliation. Nothing succeeds so much in Washington as failure.

"Two Million Minutes" is the title of a documentary that compares U.S. high school education with their counterparts in China and India. I screened the production when it was first released in 2007 which proved to be scary viewing. We are trouble if American high school education does not immediately improve.

As their website points out, the producers state:

Regardless of nationality, as soon as a student completes the 8th grade, the clock starts ticking. From that very moment the child has approximately -

…Two Million Minutes until high school graduation…Two Million Minutes to build their intellectual foundation…Two Million Minutes to prepare for college and ultimately career…Two Million Minutes to go from a teenager to an adult

How a student spends their Two Million Minutes - in class, at home studying, playing sports, working, sleeping, socializing or just goofing off -- will affect their economic prospects for the rest of their lives.

How do most American high school students spend this time? What about students in the rest of the world? How do family, friends and society influence a student's choices for time allocation? What implications do their choices have on their future and on a country's economic future?

This film takes a deeper look at how the three superpowers of the 21st Century - China, India and the United States - are preparing their students for the future. As we follow two students - a boy and a girl - from each of these countries, we compose a global snapshot of education, from the viewpoint of kids preparing for their future.

Our goal is to tell the broader story of the universal importance of education today, and address what many are calling a crisis for U.S. schools regarding chronically low scores in math and science indicators.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

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