Iran willing to build new relationship with US (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s president on Wednesday sent the clearest signal yet that the Islamic Republic wants warmer ties with the U.S., just one day after Washington spoke of new strategies to address the country’s disputed nuclear program.

Taken together, the developments indicate that the longtime adversaries are seeking ways to return to the negotiating table and ease a nearly 30-year-old diplomatic standoff.

President Barack Obama’s administration has sought to start a dialogue with Iran — a departure from the Bush administration’s tough talk.

Iran had mostly dismissed the overtures, continuing to take hard-line steps like putting an American journalist on trial on espionage allegations.

But in his speech Wednesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad changed his tone, saying that Iran was preparing new proposals aimed at breaking an impasse with the West over its nuclear program.

“The Iranian nation is a generous nation. It may forget the past and start a new era, but any country speaking on the basis of selfishness will get the same response the Iranian nation gave to Mr. Bush,” Ahmadinejad told thousands in the southeastern city of Kerman.

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton discussed Ahmadinejad’s comments during a meeting Wednesday with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

“With respect to the latest speeches and remarks out of Iran, we welcome dialogue,” Clinton said. “We’ve been saying that we are looking to have an engagement with Iran, but we haven’t seen anything that would amount to any kind of proposal at all.”

She said the six nations trying to lure Iran back to the negotiating table would have more to say in the coming days. Those countries, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, asked Solana last week to invite Iran to a new round of talks.

Solana said Iran has not formally responded to the invitation, and he declined to comment on Ahmadinejad’s remarks.

The U.S. government has declined to publicly discuss possible new strategies for dealing with Iran. The Obama administration said its immediate goal is to get Iran back to nuclear negotiations.

Though there have not been any concrete breakthroughs, Mehrzad Boroujerdi, an Iranian affairs expert at New York’s Syracuse University, said Ahmadinejad’s comments were a “good omen.”

“It certainly signals interest in engaging with the Obama administration,” he said, adding that no terms had been set for possible talks.

Iran’s uranium enrichment program has been the key point of contention. The Bush administration had insisted that Iran scrap enrichment before talks could begin — a demand Iran repeatedly rejected. On Wednesday, a senior official said the U.S. would be prepared to let Tehran continue enriching uranium at the current level for some time.

Uranium enrichment can be used to produce fuel for nuclear energy or nuclear weapons. The U.S. and some of its allies accuse Tehran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charges, saying its nuclear program is geared toward generating electricity.

There had been a few efforts in recent years to reach consensus, but they appeared to go nowhere.

Two years ago, Washington briefly softened its position, and its negotiating partners told Tehran that they could accept a continuation of enrichment for a limited time as they moved toward talks. But Iran insisted it be allowed to enrich as part of its rights under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, ending the effort.

A decision by the U.S. to return to the negotiating table last year also did not bear fruit.

But Wednesday, Ahmadinejad said, “circumstances have changed” — an apparent reference to Obama’s election and Iran’s own progress in its nuclear program since talks with world powers last year.

Iran says it now controls the entire cycle for producing nuclear fuel — including extracting uranium ore and enriching it.

Ahmadinejad said Iran welcomes dialogue provided it is based on justice and respect, suggesting the West should not try to force it to halt enrichment.

“Today we are preparing a new package. Once it becomes ready, we will present that package (to you),” the president said. “It is a package that constitutes peace and justice throughout the globe and also respects other nations’ rights.” He didn’t elaborate.

The U.S. and Iran broke off diplomatic ties after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by hard-line students. Relations became rockier under the Bush administration, which branded Iran part of an “Axis of Evil” along with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and North Korea.

Part of the softening could be tied to the June re-election bid by Ahmadinejad, whose popularity has been declining. His main opponent favors better ties with the United States.

It is unclear, however, whether Ahmadinejad even has the clout to build a new relationship with the U.S. Just last month, Iran’s supreme leader — who has the final say on all state matters — abruptly dismissed Obama’s offer for dialogue.

“After 30 years, this won’t be a matter resolved in a month or two. Any negotiations on the nuclear issue with Iran will take at least one year to work out,” Boroujerdi said.

____

Associated Press Writers Anna Johnson in Cairo and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report

I know this is faux news but it is a decent story with little propaganda

A BBC news report on the Iranian/American journalist on trail for espionage.

Obama trying to show that our government is not like it was in the past but trying to move towards peaceful talks with Iran.

Iran’s response

a news clip directly related to this story

My Two Cents:  This story is another example of how I think this nation is turning into the right direction regarding foreign policy.  Seeing the current electricity shortage in the middle east I do not see any harm in allowing Iran to resarch Nuclear Power. They may even find new and more efficent ways to harness Nuclear Energy. Of course they could make a nuclear weapon from the spent rods but so can we.

I do not think Nuclear Weapons should be available to any nation, but America has them, China has them, Russia still has some,  and there are many other nations that have Nuclear Weapons. So asking all the governments of the world to dispose of Nuclear Weapons is a very improbable thing. I think that negotiations should resume because the Iranian government is not a part of “the axis of evil.” Fact is the axis of evil was dissolved at the end of World War 2. The Iranian government wants to better the lives of their people and to help stop pollution to the environment. The United States even bullying the Iranian government because of one persons personal belief. Or at least that is what it looks to me. I think that if the UN needs to oversee Iran’s Nuclear Energy practices the UN should also oversee America’s as well as the other countries involved in this issue. That would show good faith to the Iranian government and they will not feel left out.  The response to Obama’s gesture was recieved with schepticism. Iran then offered some advice to how change should be made for the betterment of peace. Obviously with this new development in Iran publicly saying they are willing to try and build this new relationship is promising. Iran’s response was not full of lies but they did tell a lot of truth. America is hated for butting thier nose where it does not belong. It seems to other countries we are trying to take over the world. So I understand the Anti-American sediment. America needs to change, will we be able to be on good terms with the Muslim nations of the world?  We will stay tuned and see how this develops.

G20 leaders seal $1tn global deal (BBC)

Leaders of the world’s largest economies have reached an agreement to tackle the global financial crisis with measures worth $1.1 trillion (£681bn).

To help countries with troubled economies, the resources available to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be tripled to $750bn.

There will also be sanctions against secretive tax havens and tougher global financial regulation.

And the G20 has committed about $250bn to boost global trade.

US President Barack Obama said the summit could mark a “turning point” in the pursuit of economic recovery and made progress in reforming a “failed regulatory system”.

NEW FUNDING PLEDGES $500bn for the IMF to lend to struggling economies $250bn to boost world trade $250bn for a new IMF “overdraft facility” countries can draw on $100bn that international development banks can lend to poorest countries IMF will raise $6bn from selling gold reserves to increase lending for the poorest countries Source: BBC G20 leaders’ statement Global markets rise on G20 deal Historic IMF changes Q&A: The G20′s $1tn deal First Lady moved by school visit Mixed reactions to G20 outcome

“By any measure the London summit was historic.

“It was historic because of the size and the scope of the challenges that we face and because of the timeliness and the magnitude of our response,” he said.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said there was “no quick fix” for the world economy but there was a commitment to do whatever was necessary.

“This is the day that the world came together to fight back against the global recession, not with words, but with a plan for global recovery and for reform and with a clear timetable for its delivery,” Mr Brown said.

Another G20 meeting will be held in New York in September to check on progress, the BBC has learned.

The deal was announced shortly before the European stock markets closed and gave leading indexes a significant boost.

London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares ended 4.3% higher. In Paris, the Cac 40 jumped 5.4% and in Frankfurt, the Dax rose 6%.

The deal

On behalf of the G20, Mr Brown announced the following steps:

• Bankers’ pay and bonuses will be subject to stricter controls

Gordon Brown announces the G20 deal

A new Financial Stability Board will be set up to work with the IMF to ensure co-operation across borders and provide an early warning mechanism for the financial system There will be greater regulation of hedge funds and credit ratings agencies A common approach to cleaning up banks’ toxic assets has been agreed The world’s poorest countries will receive $100bn extra aid G20 countries are already implementing the biggest economic stimulus “the world has ever seen” – an injection of $5tn by the end of next year. IMF boost The IMF has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the G20 summit. The resources it has to help troubled economies will be increased to $500bn. An overdraft facility will also be increased to $250bn (in the IMF’s currency, so-called Special Drawing Rights) that all members can call upon. Mr Brown said that there would be a crackdown on tax havens to prevent the loss of sorely needed tax revenue. HOW BIG IS ONE TRILLION? Big numbers explained Shortly after the summit finished the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development published a blacklist of countries deemed uncooperative. It said Costa Rica, Malaysia, Philippines and Uruguay had not made any commitment to respecting international standards. “We have agreed tough standards and sanctions for use against those who don’t come into line in the future,” Mr Brown said. President Obama was said to have played a key role in brokering the agreement on tax havens, resolving differences between France and China. Hopes met? French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that the conclusions of the G20 summit were “more than we could have hoped for”. HAVE YOUR SAY 1.1 trillion…how can that ever be accounted for? Success for them. Failure for everyone else Nathan McConnell, Grantsburg, US Send us your comments Earlier, there had been suggestions of rifts between France and Germany and the US and the UK. The US and UK emphasised the need for public spending to ease the crisis while France and Germany were keen for tougher financial regulation. Mr Sarkozy had threatened to walk out of the meeting if it did not yield concrete results. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also praised the outcome. She said the new measures would give the world a “clearer financial market architecture” and the agreement was “a very, very good, almost historic compromise”. Her finance minister, Peer Steinbrueck, said he was pleased that the G20 statement did not oblige states to launch further economic stimulus packages. Protests Protesters gathered outside the summit, but in smaller numbers than during Wednesday’s demonstrations in London’s financial district. Several hundred staged “noisy but calm” protests near the Excel centre, representing groups including the Stop the War Coalition and CND. And about 400 more demonstrators were boxed in by police outside the Bank of England in London’s financial district, during angry but peaceful protests. More than 100 people were arrested over the two days of protests – 86 of them on Wednesday, police said. A small group of protesters gathered earlier at the London Stock Exchange, but later dispersed. Poor benefit The G20 countries have pledged $100bn in aid for developing countries, more than expected. The money will be dispensed through multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank. The measure that could make the most difference in the short term for the poorest countries is the availability of $250bn of trade credit, says BBC international development correspondent David Loyn. It will enable goods currently rotting on the quayside in Africa to move again, he says. BBC business editor Robert Peston said the tougher financial regulation announced by the G20 was a significant step. He said it sounded the death knell for the freewheeling Anglo-American way of banking and conducting financial markets. However, he said the measures would not get the world out of recession overnight. Now for my two cents: This summit is making a lot of people parinoid here is my take on how this summit to help stabilize our global economy that effects everyone on this earth. It is a good thing. Will this summit bring together a New World Order or One World Government. No a one world government is an impossible idea. Like communism and democracy it sounds good on paper but there can never be no such thing. After WW2 the UN was going to be the One world government. Now a One World Financial system does not sound so bad. That would cut out one big reason for wars..money. A one world government would put an end to wars and in a crazy persons fairy tale land it is possible. But from a realistic stand point it would never work for more than about 2 seconds before a full revolt happens. Plus the Earth already had one unified government at one time called the Christian Church.  During the Dark Ages it is evident that Kings and queens were just puppets of religions own agendas. Realistically a One World Government would never work China would never agree to it, the muslim nations certainly would not agree to it. And despite what hacks and frauds say a one world religion is also a very HUGE improbability. Because everyone has a different definition of the truth it is an impossibility. If it was possible the One world religion would be Christianity in all of its forms. Since the worlds majority are Christians.  And to those Revalations end of times sayers, the bible had a very specific number by all accounts is 144,000 which in Numberology that is a significant number. But the number of believers in the world right now exceeds that amount. The only way that prophecy which is the catalyst for almost everything is that maybe the billions of people subscribing to Christianity is wrong. Or Revalations itself was averted, visions are finicky and sometimes just because you have knowledge of future events that knowledge can change things drastically. Dogmatic religion is the reason the human race does not go forward. With all of that being said, my two cents is the world is not going to end because 20 of the worlds biggest countries are getting together and helping the global economy out by pooling money together. In my opinion Obama is not selling out the tresury. And quite frankly alot of pastors said Bill Clinton was the anti-christ even though he brought our national debt to an all time low. And after his term of office our national surplus dissappeared in one day. To someone’s half-assed idiotic plans for a war that is impossible to win.  And any strategy thatcould have improved our chances in succeeding the person that proposed that was forced to resign. Obama had to pick up the mess that the president that broke the world made. He is making good progress and the outcome of this G20 summit shows that he is trying to make good on promises he made. It shows that he is trying to work with other countries. To the people that think we need to be insulated from the rest of the world and any way of trying to work with other countries to get us as human beings through this Global Crisis is trying to set up a One World Government I have a sentence that describes you perfectly.  You are an idiot. Us being insulated and shunning other nations is what broke the world. The only way to fix it is to work with other nations in a peaceful way. This will not lead to a One World Government because niether a One World GOvernment or Religion is realistic. In a fantasy world where there are not varibles then yes it is possible but this world is full of varibles that come out of no where. If a new world government is tried to be set up it will be rebelled against. If a new unified world religion tries to be sprung up it will be crushed by the free thinking non sheeple of the world. (A majority of christians are blue pilled Sheeple. Following commands of someone they think is on a higher spiritual level as anyone else. That is the cult way of thinking.) The only thing this summit did was help fix the problems with the Global economy and is that really a bad thing?

Feds release accused Nazi prison guard Demjanjuk(AP)

John Demjanjuk is the guy in the wheel chair

CLEVELAND – John Demjanjuk was released from federal custody Tuesday evening, just hours after six immigration officers removed the accused Nazi death camp guard from his suburban home in a wheelchair, authorities said. Federal officials had taken Demjanjuk to a federal building in downtown Cleveland, but the 89-year-old retired autoworker’s impending return to Germany was halted when three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of deportation. An arrest warrant in Germany claims Demjanjuk was an accessory to some 29,000 deaths during World War II at the Sobibor camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. Once in Germany, he could be formally charged in court. Demjanjuk was driven to his home in Seven Hills after his release, former son-in-law and family spokesman Ed Nishnic said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement they’ll supervise him through electronic monitoring. In granting the stay, the three-judge panel said it would further consider Demjanjuk’s motion to reopen the U.S. case that ordered the deportation, in which he says painful medical ailments would make travel to Germany torturous. Citing the need to act because of the possibility of Demjanjuk’s imminent deportation, the court issued the stay without addressing the U.S. government’s argument that the court had no jurisdiction to rule on Demjanjuk’s appeal.

The government planned to continue its legal battle in court, said Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney. Nishnic said the family was relieved the stay was granted. “We’re delighted. We’re prepared to make our arguments with the 6th Circuit, and it’s just a shame that Mr. Demjanjuk had to go through the hell that he went through once again this morning,” he said as he walked into a federal building in Cleveland where Demjanjuk was being held. Earlier Tuesday, Demjanjuk’s wife, Vera, sobbed and held her hands to her mouth as immigration officers loaded his wheelchair into a van at their home. As the van moved down the street, Vera turned and waved, sobbing in the arms of a granddaughter. Several family members, including a 10-year-old grandson, were in the home when the officers removed Demjanjuk. Nishnic said Demjanjuk, a native of Ukraine, told his family, “I love you,” in Ukrainian and was aware that the officers were there to take him to Germany. Nishnic said his former father-in-law moaned in pain as he was placed in the wheelchair. “It was horrendous. He was in such pain. I wouldn’t want to see anyone go through something like that,” said granddaughter Olivia Nishnic, 20. John Demjanjuk Jr., who filed the appeal with the 6th Circuit earlier Tuesday, said the government hadn’t lived up to earlier understandings of how his father would be removed. “They told me that they would have an ambulance. They told me we would have three to five days’ notice, and obviously you can’t believe everything the government tells you,” he told The Associated Press by phone while headed back to Cleveland from the federal appeals court in Cincinnati. He predicted his father would not survive long enough in Germany to stand trial. “If he is deported, if this madness and inhumane action is not stopped by the 6th Circuit, he will live out his life in a (German) hospital. He will never be put on trial,” he said. “It makes absolutely no sense that the Germans, after nearly killing him in combat, would try to kill him once again.” The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center said it was undeterred. “We remain confident that John Demjanjuk will be deported and finally face the bar of justice for the unspeakable crimes he committed during World War II when he was a guard at the Sobibor death camp,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, Wiesenthal Center founder. “His work at the Sobibor death camp was to push men, women and children into the gas chamber. He had no mercy, no pity and no remorse for the families whose lives he was destroying forever,” Hier said. Deborah Dwork, a professor of Holocaust history at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., said the Demjanjuk case illustrates that there is no statute of limitations on the crime of genocide. “The issue is holding him accountable, no matter what his age,” she said. Dwork said she believes German prosecutors acted cautiously and deliberately in bringing their case because they can’t afford to run a weak trial. Germany’s image in the eyes of the international community would be tarnished if Demjanjuk is acquitted, she said. Demjanjuk, a native Ukrainian, has denied being a Nazi guard and claims he was a prisoner of war of the Germans. He came to the United States after the war as a refugee. Demjanjuk had been tried in Israel after accusations surfaced that he was the notorious Nazi guard “Ivan the Terrible” in Poland at the Treblinka death camp. He was found guilty in 1988 of war crimes and crimes against humanity, a conviction later overturned by the Israeli Supreme Court. A U.S. judge revoked his citizenship in 2002 based on Justice Department evidence showing he concealed his service at Sobibor and other Nazi-run death and forced labor camps. An immigration judge ruled in 2005 he could be deported to Germany, Poland or Ukraine.

___ Associated Press Writers Thomas J. Sheeran in Cleveland, Terry Kinney in Cincinnati, Kantele Franko and Matt Leingang in Columbus, Devlin Barrett in Washington and Roland Losch in Munich contributed to this report.

Now my two cents: One thing even if he did do what he was accused of he is facing a thing of double jepordy which he was tried in Isreal and then acquitted of the charges.  If the Isreal supreme court acquitted him in 1988 do you not think Germany should just drop the charges? In short I want to see the evidence. But I would also like to add a story my great-grandfather said of Nazi Germany. He was in the German Army stop-lossed if you will after Hitler’s rise to power. Now a Nazi Germany stop-loss was you stay in or we kill your family. After he saw what was going on in East Berlin he deserted and joined with the Allies. Unfortunately his family (father, mother, and youngest brother) did not make it out of Germany alive. They were slaughtered shortly after they left thier home. With this knowledge and I believed everything my great-grandfather told because I lied to him once and I could not sit down for a week. He had no tolerance for lying. But Demjanjuk’s claims make me think that he was put in a simular forced work.  I want other peoples thoughts on this.  And now to the phones…..

Susan Boyle – Simon’s Surprise

as the saying goes, beauty is only skin deep. but what is beauty, anyway? with people, beauty is that which comes from the soul. susan boyle has the sublime gift of music. when she sings, beauty fills the room and touches all. i’d like to share this gift with you, guaranteed to make you smile :

Susan Boyle – Singer – \”Britain\’s Got Talent

( click on above link )

Obama Vows to fight piracy after captains rescue. (AP)

AP – This image provided by the U.S. Navy taken from video made with an unmanned aerial vehicle, shows a 28-foot …

By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY and PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writers Elizabeth A. Kennedy And Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press Writers – 3 mins ago

MOMBASA, Kenya – President Barack Obama vowed Monday “to halt the rise of piracy,” while shipmates of the rescued American freighter captain called for tough action against Somali bandits who are preying on one of the world’s busiest sea routes.

Obama appeared to move up the piracy issue on his agenda, saying the United States would work with nations elsewhere in the world.

“I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we’re going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks,” Obama said at a Washington news conference.

The nighttime rescue operation of Richard Phillips won praise abroad but it was uncertain how far Obama wanted to go to engage the pirates.

The U.S. was considering options including adding Navy gunships along the Somali coastline and launching a campaign to disable pirate “mother ships,” according to military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions have been made.

Some military strategists believe it may ultimately be necessary to attack the pirates’ bases on land in Somalia. But few international allies have the appetite for another land operation in Somalia, where a U.S. military foray in the early 1990s ended in humiliation. And the cost in civilian casualties would likely be extremely high, some warn.

“That would be nuts,” said Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent and State Department counterterrorism specialist. “These people are not organized into any military force, they are intermingled with women and children. You’re talking about wiping out villages.”

The chief mate aboard the US-flagged Maersk Alabama was among those urging strong U.S. action.

“It’s time for us to step in and put an end to this crisis,” Shane Murphy said. “It’s a crisis. Wake up.”

In Burlington, Vt., Phillips’ wife, Andrea Phillips made a tearful public appearance, her first since the Sunday rescue of her husband. She thanked Obama, who approved the dramatic sniper operation that killed the pirates holding him.

“You have no idea, but with Richard saved, you all just gave me the best Easter ever,” she said in a statement read by the family’s spokeswoman.

On the other side of the world, the 19 crew members on the Alabama celebrated their skipper’s freedom with beer and an evening barbecue in an area cordoned off from journalists, said crewman Ken Quinn, who ventured out holding a Tusker beer — a popular brew in Kenya, where the ship was docked.

On Tuesday morning, the crew left the cargo ship and checked into a hotel in the Kenyan resort city of Mombasa. It was not immediately clear how long the crew was planning to stay. Some crew have said they would return home soon, probably by air.

New details emerged Monday about the standoff.

Fearing the pirates’ lifeboat was approaching the Somali shore, where they could escape, the Bainbridge rammed it back out toward sea, said a spokesman for Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of the Navy’s Fifth Fleet. That happened before the Bainbridge put a tow line on the lifeboat to help it navigate the choppy sea.

The four pirates that attacked the Alabama were between 17 and 19 years old, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

“Untrained teenagers with heavy weapons,” Gates told a group of students and faculty at the Marine Corps War College. “Everybody in the room knows the consequences of that.”

U.S. officials were now considering whether to bring the fourth pirate, who surrendered shortly before the sniper shootings, to the United States or possibly turn him over to Kenya. If he is brought to the U.S., he’d most likely be put on trial in New York or Washington.

Both piracy and hostage-taking carry life prison sentences under U.S. law.

That pirate had surrendered to seek medical attention. He was stabbed with an ice pick during a scuffle with the crew when the pirates initially tried to overtake the Alabama, a senior military official said.

The American ship had been carrying food aid bound for Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda when the ordeal began Wednesday hundreds of miles off Somalia’s eastern coast. As the pirates clambered aboard and shot in the air, Phillips told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men.

Phillips was then taken hostage in an enclosed lifeboat that was soon shadowed by three U.S. warships and a helicopter. Navy SEAL snipers parachuted from their aircraft into the sea, and were picked up by the USS Bainbridge, a senior U.S. official said.

U.S. Defense officials said snipers got the go-ahead to fire after one pirate held an AK-47 close to Phillips’ back. The military officials asked not to be named because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

Snipers killed three pirates with single shots shortly after sailors on the Bainbridge saw the hostage-takers “with their heads and shoulders exposed,” Gortney said.

It was not immediately known when or how Phillips would return home.

Pirates hold some 230 foreign sailors still held hostage in more than a dozen ships anchored off lawless Somalia.

Vilma de Guzman worried about her husband, one of 23 Filipino sailors held hostage since Nov. 10 on the chemical tanker MT Stolt Strength.

“The pirates might vent their anger on them,” she said. “Those released are lucky, but what about those who remain captive?”

___

Jelinek reported from Washington. Associated Press writers who contributed to this report include Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu, Somalia; Michelle Faul, Malkhadir M. Muhumed and Tom Maliti in Kenya; Lara Jakes, Anne Gearan and Devlin Barrett in Washington; and John Curran in Burlington, Vt.

________________________________________________________________________________________

This was taken from the Associated Press website but I feel I need to make my own synopsis because I do not believe in copy and pasting and not adding my own spin on things. For one I must applaud Pres. Obama in his actions because I believe this piracy is a much bigger threat than what is in Iraq. Terrorism comes in all forms and now the Navy can actually do thier jobs instead of leaving the Army to do it for them..(just kidding.) The kid surrended to the united states and face international charges between a joint international court. But his sentence should be served in America, lets face it he is a kid and the kids of Africa just do not sign up to fight on thier own. Some do but most do not, even though putting him in the hardest of the hard prisons in America would be like sending him to a resort compared to being “free” in Africa. I just would not trust the Kenyan prision system to be able to hold the kid.

notorious criminals: scott peterson

Scott Peterson’s Life on Death Row

By Vickie Bane for People.com

Originally posted Saturday April 11, 2009 10:45 AM EDT

Sitting in a 4-by-9-foot cell on San Quentin’s Death Row, Scott Peterson doesn’t have a lot of choices in life, but he can decide how to decorate his wall.     

While many cons plaster their cells with pictorial collages, Peterson has only one photo hanging across from his bunk: a smiling shot of him and his wife, Laci. 

It’s a much different pose from his most recent mug shot – taken in June of 2007 – where his dark hair was clipped short by fellow cons in the exercise yard. Under his half-smiling face is a placard with his inmate number and the word: “Condemned.”

Bunnies and Eggs! Where they and Easter really comes from.

I am all for religious tolerance and I do believe that there is no such thing as the one absolute truth because there is no such thing as a singular absolute truth and my reasoning is simple. Every opinion and truth is different even if the truth agrees with another there is something that is different. This can be seen in opinions, a persons opinion is something that is true to them, religion, and politics. That being said Christianity that was given momentum by the Roman Empire via the Holy Roman Catholic Church which then split up into different denominations because the “truth” was seen differently to other people than the diocese saw it. But a quick history lesson like the Borg, the Roman Empire took parts of the cultures they conqured and made it into thier own. The Romans really did this well, this skill was carried over when they went from republic to theocracy. Even though the Roman Empire fell vestages of it till remain and in some countries hold a kind of ruling power. This is all done through religion.

Now to the meat and potatoes of my article. The Origins of Easter as we know it. Christianity during the dark ages took many of the time honored holidays of the old religion and put a christian spin on it. Easter actually derives from an old holiday commonly known to those that still practices the spiritual beliefs of our pre-monothestic ancestors. To Christians the term is Pagan. I see the term Pagan as a slander but it is used today in a good light. The word’s definition for a long time ment religion other than christian now it is taken to mean Wicca among other “earthy” religions. The original name of the holiday was Eastre or Ostera depending on the geological location. The holidays were named after the gods worshiped in those parts of the world. These holidays had a theme of reserection from winter to spring and fertility. The holiday is celibrated on the vernal equinox, the goddess that was honored during this time was pictured with rabbits at her feet.  *gasp!* This was the main theme of this goddess.  Hence the Easter Bunny was created. The different myths I do not know.

So what does bunnies have to do with Eggs? Nothing the egg was really more symbolism of the reserection of spring. Why do we color them then is something you may be asking. There actually is a ritual called the Egg Ritual.  The Ritual is performed by each participant boiling an egg. (usually in the same pot.)  During this time the participants think about a goal or wish they have during that particular time. After the eggs are boiled and cooled thier goals and/or wishes are either bound to the egg or the participant projects those goals and/or wishes while putting designs and colors on the egg or both. Then the egg is buried where the goal and/or wish comes true or is starting to come true by some areas in three days.   But what about the origins of the Easter Egg hunt? I am not claiming to be an expert and truly cannot give you an answer with historical facts, but I can guess from what I have mentioned already that this practice is purely Dark Ages Christian. Thinking about it the inquision used kids to find “heretics”  so having kids search for painted boiled eggs to find these “heretics” could have started this practice. I cannot say for sure though.

Even though Christianity now lays a huge claim on Easter it did not originate with Christianity.  But it does not make Easter as it is celibrated by Christians wrong. Easter as celibrated by Christians is to celibrate the reserection of thier saviour. And they hold the true deeper reason of why the tradition of Easter from the Bunny to the Egg was created in the first place.  This includes all holidays. Holidays were never created to glorify a deity even though the reasoning to celibrate is religious. The deeper reason of why it exists and why it is a big thing is the fellowship of fellow clansmen and in the fellowship of whatever the group you worship with is called. Holidays exist to bring family and people together. By these traditions it happens. From the painting of the egg with your kids to hiding them. To doing an Easter Egg hunt at your church or local park. To what our ancestors did as I indicated above. All of these practices included, and encouraged this kind of togetherness.

Even though I write this post to show everyone the truth as I see it, I will not be so arrogant to say this is the absolute truth. These are things I have pieced together from old oral and written histories. Someone said to me recently “Concepts are a way to deeper understanding.”  The concept of any holiday I believe is to bring people closer together. No matter the origins it should still be practiced and not shuned just to have that interaction with your fellowman. A lot of good memories I have of my family is during different holidays.  This is the root and reason of any holiday no matter the origins. 

I hope everyone that practiced Easter, Passover, Ostera, or what have you had a good one surrounded by family and friends. May your hearth and home be blessed.

Blessed Be.

Obama the Rationalist

POLITICO

JOHN F. HARRIS & EAMON JAVERS | 4/7/09 5:11 PM EDT  

Barack Obama speaks with U.S. troops at Al Faw Palace, in Baghdad's Camp Victory. Photo: Reuters

 

As Barack Obama returns from Europe on Tuesday, he has in bright, bold strokes revealed his signature on the world stage: He is Obama the rationalist. 

A diverse set of Obama decisions in recent days have a common theme: a leader who sees himself building a more orderly, humane world by vanquishing outdated thinking and corrupting ideology. 

With a rapid series of major announcements and rhetorical gestures, the new president has done more than turn from Bush-era policies. He has shined a vivid light on his philosophical outlook on the world — and how starkly he differs from his predecessor on basic beliefs about power, diplomacy and even human nature.