No cease-fire: Israel pounds Gaza after Hamas reportedly kidnapped Israeli soldier

The Democrats may stand with Hamas, but not this Blogger.

Tank fire and airstrikes pummeled Gaza, as Israeli forces moved deeper into the West Bank, searching for a soldier apparently captured by Hamas militants, despite a three-day cease-fire that didn't even last two hours Friday.   
The suspected kidnapping occurred shortly after a heavy exchange of gunfire erupted in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Militants reportedly emerged from a tunnel shaft before a suicide bomber detonated himself, one senior Israel Defense Forces source told The Jerusalem Post.
Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old 2nd Lt. from the central Israeli town of Kfar Saba, was apparently captured during the ensuing mayhem and taken back into Gaza through a tunnel, while another two soldiers were killed.
At least 62 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed in the fierce fighting that quickly shattered an internationally brokered cease-fire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Secretary of State John Kerry that Hamas militants will ”bear the consequences of their actions, ” after reports of the kidnapping. Netanyahu told Kerry by phone Friday that Israel will continue to defense itself against attacks, Jewish newspaper Algemeiner reported.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu told U.S. Secretary of State Kerry that Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip will bear the consequences of their actions and that Israel would take all necessary steps against those who call for our destruction and perpetrate terrorism against our citizens,” an Israeli government press office statement read.
Kerry issued a statement while traveling back to the U.S. from India Friday, condemning the violence in Gaza and possible kidnapping of the Israeli soldier, calling it an ‘”outrageous violation of the cease-fire. “
“Hamas, which has security control over the Gaza Strip, must immediately and unconditionally release the missing Israeli soldier, and I call on those with influence over Hamas to reinforce this message,” Kerry’s statement said.

“The international community must now redouble its efforts to end the tunnel and rocket attacks by Hamas terrorists on Israel and the suffering and loss of civilian life,” the statement concluded.   
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon blamed Hamas for violating the cease-fire and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the missing soldier.
A Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, would neither confirm nor deny the capture, saying it was being used -- along with news that two Israeli soldiers were killed in the Rafah area -- as a cover for a "massacre."
The Israeli military said the heavy shelling in Rafah that followed was part of operational and intelligence activity designed to locate Goldin. 62 Palestinians died and at least 400 were wounded in Rafah, Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra said. Rescue workers were searching for people buried under the rubble, he added. He did not say whether those killed were civilians or militants.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor sent a letter to U.N. Secretary –General Ban Ki-moon Friday, calling for the U.N. to condemn Hamas for violating the cease-fire and preventing humanitarian assistance in Gaza.  The letter also demanded Hamas be held responsible for murdering and kidnapping Israelis, and called for the missing soldier’s safe return.
“While Israel agreed to this cease-fire to allow humanitarian relief for the people of Gaza, Hamas agreed so that it could plan and carry out an attack and kidnap a soldier.  Hamas has sent hundreds of suicide bombers into our cities and towns and kidnapped our children.  In the last month, Hamas has also launched 3,073 rockets into Israel. How much more evidence is needed before the United Nations will finally designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and call for its disarmament?” the letter read.
Britain’s Channel 4 News reported that the soldier is from a family of British-Jewish immigrants and is a cousin – either second or third – of Israeli's defense minister, Moshe Ya'alon.
The cease-fire took effect at 8 a.m. local time and was expected to last for a period of 72 hours.  Both Israel and Hamas accused each other of breaking the cease-fire within two hours of its start.      
U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said Friday if the soldier was, in fact, kidnapped by Hamas militants, it was a “barbaric violation of the cease-fire agreement,” and he must be immediately released.
"We urge those with influence over Hamas to exercise that influence to get Hamas to return the soldier that has been taken hostage and to live up to the agreements that were made just yesterday," Blinken said.
"There's no doubt that that soldier should be returned unharmed and immediately."

"Once again, Hamas and the terror organizations in Gaza have blatantly broken the cease-fire to which they committed."- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

United Nations Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Robert Serry’s office issued a statement Friday, following reports of the cease-fire violation, urging Palestinian parties to reaffirm their commitment to the ceasefire.
“Serry is deeply concerned regarding the serious consequences on the ground that could arise as a result of this incident. He will continue his efforts to contain the violence and the risk of renewed escalation,” the statement said.   
A tweet from the official account of the Israel Defense Forces said that eight rockets and mortars were fired at Israel from Gaza, one of which was intercepted while the other seven hit "open areas."
"Once again, Hamas and the terror organizations in Gaza have blatantly broken the cease-fire to which they committed, this time before the American Secretary of State and the U.N. Secretary General," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in an earlier statement Friday.
An Israeli official said the apparent abduction marked a "very dangerous escalation of violence" and that there would be no three-day humanitarian cease-fire. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
The U.S. and U.N. said they had gotten assurances that all parties to the conflict had agreed to an unconditional cease-fire during which there would be negotiations on a more durable truce.
The Israeli Cabinet held a rare session after the start of the Jewish Sabbath on Friday evening to weigh options, including whether to expand the 25-day-old operation against Hamas.
If confirmed, Goldin's capture could dramatically change the trajectory of the conflict. Any cease-fire efforts would likely be put on hold and Israel might instead expand its ground operation. Israel has in the past gone to great lengths to return captured soldiers. In 2011, it traded hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli soldier who had been captured by Hamas-allied militants in 2006.
The conflict has already devastated large swaths of the coastal area and killed at least 1,500 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to Palestinian officials. Israel has lost 63 soldiers and three civilians.
Ambulances ferried the wounded to Rafah's al-Najar hospital, where bloodied bodies on stretchers were carried inside and family members frantically searched for loved ones. Many of the injured were young children, their clothes stained with blood. In one hospital room, four children were treated on a single bed.  
"We are under fire. Every minute or so, tanks fire shells," said Ayman al-Arja, 45, a resident of the area.
Despite the collapse of the latest truce, an Egyptian government official said Cairo had not canceled its invitation for Palestinians and Israelis to hold talks there. "Invitations were delivered already to the delegations," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media.

Russian official burns Obama with Putin-leopard pic

A picture says more than words could ever!

Ceasefire Cartoon

Clinton on Sept. 10, 2001: I could have killed bin Laden but 'I didn't'

Former President Bill Clinton, mere hours before the 9/11 terror attack, openly acknowledged that he turned down a chance to kill Usama bin Laden, according to a newly released recording. 
The former president can be heard admitting this in a speech to Australian business leaders on Sept. 10, 2001. 
Until now, Clinton's eerie words had not been made public. But a businessman who had access to the nearly 13-year-old recording handed it over to Sky News Australia, which broadcast it in a report Monday. 
"I'm just saying, you know, if I were Usama bin Laden -- he's a very smart guy, I've spent a lot of time thinking about him -- and I nearly got him once," Clinton said on the recording. 
"I nearly got him. And I could have killed him, but I would have to destroy a little town called Kandahar in Afghanistan and kill 300 innocent women and children, and then I would have been no better than him." 
"And so I didn't do it," he added. 
Clinton had recently left office at the time of the speech. 
This is not the first time that the notion was raised that the Clinton administration had the opportunity to detain or even kill bin Laden, but chose not to. Leading up to the final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, otherwise known as the 9/11 Report, there were conflicting testimonies and information about whether the administration had taken Al Qaeda threats seriously and had turned down a chance to have bin Laden extradited to the U.S. on terrorism charges. 
In the end, the 9/11 panel found that there were several missed opportunities to go after bin Laden and Al Qaeda, including a point in which the Central Intelligence Agency had tracked bin Laden to a hunting camp in Afghanistan in 1999.  The Clinton administration declined to launch an attack for fear of hitting officials from the United Arab Emirates, who were at the camp on a hunting trip.

Unaccompanied illegal immigrant kids exposed federal agents to lice, scabies, tuberculosis and chicken pox, report says

But?

Unaccompanied illegal immigrant children with communicable diseases have given or exposed federal agents to lice, scabies, tuberculosis and chicken pox, according to a report issued Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.
In two cases, the children of a border patrol agent got chicken pox contracted from their parents’ exposure to unaccompanied children with chicken pox, according to the report on conditions of detention centers and border facilities.
The report, the first in a series, is based on 87 unannounced visits to 63 detention centers being used to house unaccompanied alien children (UAC) in Texas, Arizona and California during July 1-16.
“Many UAC and family units require treatment for communicable diseases, including respiratory illnesses, tuberculosis, chicken pox, and scabies,” said the memorandum summarizing the report.
“UAC and family unit illnesses and unfamiliarity with bathroom facilities resulted in unsanitary conditions and exposure to human waste in some holding facilities.
“DHS employees reported exposure to communicable diseases and becoming sick on duty. For example, during a recent site visit to the Del Rio USBP Station and Del Rio Port of Entry, CBP personnel reported contracting scabies, lice, and chicken pox.
“Two CBP Officers reported that their children were diagnosed with chicken pox within days of the CBP Officers' contact with a UAC who had chicken pox. In addition, USBP personnel at the Clint Station and Santa Teresa Station reported that they were potentially exposed to tuberculosis.”
Sources previously told FoxNews.com of multiple instances in which Border Patrol agents were exposed to tuberculosis—and one instance in which an agent contracted a severe case of tuberculosis from illegal immigrants in his care.
Other sources told FoxNews.com that swine flu has been found at several detention centers in Texas.
According to the OIG report, one of the detention centers being used to house unaccompanied children did not have a trained medical tech on site and four did not provide detainees access to prescription medication.
OIG agents checked the sites for sanitation, availability of medical care, food services and other factors. Sites and their staff were found to be largely in compliance with rules and regulations.
The memo also reveals that DHS OIG is investigating a June 11 complaint to DHS Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and DHS OIG filed by the ACLU on behalf of 116 unaccompanied alien children.
The office currently is investigating 16 of those allegations while separate offices are investigating the others.
During their detention site visits, OIG agents did not observe misconduct or inappropriate conduct by DHS employees nor did they receive new complaints from any of the randomly interviewed unaccompanied children.
The OIG also found that the data system used by CBP to comply with the required documentation of the arrests and care and release of unaccompanied children was unreliable because of frequent system outages causing inconsistent reporting.
CBP’s data system is supposed to be used to track compliance with guidelines including meal times per day, phone usage, detainee medical conditions and detainee arrests and releases from CBP custody. 
OIG recommended Immigration and Customs Enforcement  find the resources needed to fix the system.

Good Plan Joke

House approves lawsuit against Obama over alleged abuse of executive power

 Who me ????

The House on Wednesday approved a highly contentious lawsuit against President Obama over his alleged abuse of executive power, teeing up an election-year legal battle sure to spill onto the midterm campaign trail.
The House backed the lawsuit resolution on a vote of 225-201, with all Democrats opposed.
Republicans say the lawsuit is necessary to keep the president in constitutional check, after he allegedly exceeded his authority with unilateral changes to the Affordable Care Act.
Democrats branded the effort a political charade aimed at stirring up GOP voters for this fall's congressional elections. They also said it's an effort by top Republicans to mollify conservatives who want Obama to be impeached -- something House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he has no plans to do.
“We have no plans to impeach the president. We have no future plans. Listen, it's all a scam, started by Democrats at the White House,” Boehner said Tuesday.
Following the vote, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden issued  a statement saying, “President Obama swore an oath to uphold the Constitution—an oath he has not fully lived up to. Today, the House took an important step to defend the Constitution and hold the president accountable.”
White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer sent an email saying, “The House of Representatives just took a vote -- and it wasn't to raise the minimum wage, put in place equal pay, create jobs, or reform our broken immigration system.
Instead, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives just voted to sue the President for using his executive authority. This lawsuit will waste valuable time and potentially millions of taxpayer dollars.”
Republicans said their planned legal action was warranted because, they argue, Obama has violated his constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws. They say that instead, he has enforced laws as he wants to, dangerously shifting power to the presidency from Congress.
"The people's representatives will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness of this president," said Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo. "We will do whatever it takes to hold him and future occupants of the Oval Office accountable."
Democrats dismissed the proposed lawsuit as a legally groundless exercise that could end up costing taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees and other expenses. But they've tried linking the suit to impeachment talk by conservatives like former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and turning it into a fundraising device.
Democrats have sent pleas for contributions to their supporters warning that the GOP is out to impeach Obama and ruin his presidency. Using that pitch, Democrats raised $1 million Monday, according to the head of the House Democratic campaign organization, Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y.
The lawsuit will focus on how Obama has carried out his health care overhaul.
Republicans say Obama has illegally changed the law using executive actions. The White House and Democrats say he's acted legally and within the latitude he's empowered to use as chief executive.
In particular, Republicans have objected that Obama has twice delayed the law's so-called employer mandate, which he did under pressure from business groups. The provision requires companies with 50 or more employees working at least 30 hours weekly to offer health care coverage or pay fines, while businesses with fewer than 50 workers are exempt.
The requirement was initially to take effect this year. Now, companies with 50 to 99 employees have until 2016 to comply, while bigger companies have until next year.
Republicans say there are other examples of Obama exceeding his powers. These include failing to notify Congress in advance when he traded five Taliban members held at the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the captive Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, and unilaterally preventing the deportation of some children who illegally immigrated to the U.S.
They also point to Obama's comments in January that 2014 would be a "year of action" to implement his priorities, which he said he would do "with or without Congress" by using his "pen and the phone."
"Such a shift in power should alarm members of both political parties because it threatens the very institution of the Congress," said a GOP-written report accompanying the legislation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israel calls up 16,000 reservists, vows to investigate strike on UN school in Gaza

Israel's military announced Thursday that it had called up 16,000 reservists to potentially join its ongoing offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza. 
The call-up, which brings the total number of troops called up by Israel to 86,000, could signal a potential widening of Operation Protective Edge, which began July 8 as an effort to halt rocket attacks by Hamas against southern Israel and destroy tunnels used by Hamas militants to cross from Gaza into Israel for the purpose of attacking soldiers and civilians. 
A lasting cease-fire in the region appears no nearer. The Associated Press reported that Egyptian officials met Wednesday with an Israeli envoy about Israel's conditions for a cease-fire, including disarming Hamas, according to a high-ranking Egyptian security official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to discuss the delicate diplomatic efforts.
The Times of Israel reported that Egypt is refusing to host a Palestinian delegation unless Hamas ceases fire. For its part, Hamas has said it will only halt fire once it receives guarantees that a seven-year-old Gaza border blockade by Israel and Egypt will be lifted. Meanwhile, The Times of Israel reported that Israeli's Security Cabinet met Wednesday and approved ongoing strikes against Hamas. 
The troop announcement also came as Israel's military said it would investigate whether tank shells struck a United Nations-run school in a Gaza refugee camp, an event that drew condemnation from the U.S. and the U.N. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told the BBC that Israel would issue an apology if it determined that fire from its troops struck the school. 
"We have a policy; we don't target civilians," Regev told the BBC, before adding "It's not clear to us that it was our fire, but we know for a fact there was hostile fire on our people from the vicinity of the school."
Pierre Kraehenbuehl, chief of the U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees, told the Associated Press that Israel must try harder to ensure that civilians are not hurt, especially in Gaza, where 1.7 million people are squeezed into a small coastal territory. His agency has opened 80 of its schools to more than 200,000 Palestinians fleeing the violence.
"What maybe the world forgets ... is that the people of Gaza have nowhere to go," he said. "So when the fighting starts and they move, it is not as if they can cross a border to somewhere." 
Israel has accused Hamas of using residents of Gaza as human shields by launching rockets from the territory's most densely populated cities. 
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, using somewhat less diplomatic language that Kraehenbuehl, called the school shelling "outrageous" and "unjustifiable," and demanded an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, adding, "Nothing is more shameful than attacking sleeping children."
Gaza health authorities say at least 16 people were killed in the school attack and 1,360 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the offensive, though it is unclear how many were civilians and how many were Hamas militants. 56 Israeli soldiers have died since the start of the offensive, as well as two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker.  
On Wednesday, White House spokesman Eric Schutlz told reporters the Obama administration expected a "full, prompt, and thorough investigation" into the shelling, but stopped short of directly blaming Israel. 
"We are extremely concerned that the thousands of internally displaced Palestinians, who have been called on by the Israeli military to evacuate their homes, are not safe in these UN-designated shelters in Gaza," Schultz told reporters. "We also condemn those responsible for hiding weapons in the United Nations facilities in Gaza. All of these actions violate the international understanding of the UN’s neutrality."
At the State Department, spokeswoman Marie Harf described a purported leaked transcript of a weekend call between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "complete crap," claiming that the intention of the leak to hurt the U.S.-Israeli relationship.
"I don't know toward what end. I don't know who did it," she said. "But I don't know what other conclusion you can draw from that." Both the U.S. and Israeli government deny the authenticity of the transcript, which came amid stinging reports in some Israeli media outlets accusing Kerry of aligning himself too closely to Hamas and being dismissive of Israeli complaints.