Hamas says three top commanders killed by Israeli airstrike in Gaza

Hamas said that an Israel airstrike in Gaza killed three of its senior military leaders early Thursday. 
The Palestinian militant group claimed that the men -- identified as Mohammed Abu Shamaleh, Mohammed Barhoum and Raed al-Attar -- were killed along with three other people in a strike on a four-story building near Rafah, a town in the southern part of the coastal territory. 
The Israeli security agency Shin Bet confirmed the deaths of Shamaleh and al-Attar in an email, but did not mention Barhoum. The three Hamas leaders are considered to be at the senior levels of its military leadership and were involved in a number of high profile attacks on Israeli targets.
"The strike was the result of intelligence and operational activities, which led to the detection and attack on two central operatives from the heart of Hamas’s military leadership," Shin Bet said in a statement. 
The strike, one of 20 the Israeli military said it carried out early Thursday, came one day after another strike in Gaza City aimed at Hamas' senior military leader, Mohammad Dief. Israeli intelligence sources have told Fox News that they believe that Dief was killed in that operation, but Hamas has claimed that he survived. 
Israel says the airstrikes are in response to a resumption of Hamas rocket fire that on Tuesday scuttled a six-day cease-fire. The military says that only one rocket launch was registered since midnight, compared to more than 210 over the previous 30 hours.
In a nationally televised address Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed little willingness to return to the negotiating table after six weeks of war with Hamas.
"We are determined to continue the campaign with all means and as is needed," he said, his defense minister by his side. "We will not stop until we guarantee full security and quiet for the residents of the south and all citizens of Israel."
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry expressed "deep regret" over the breaking of the cease-fire. It said in a statement Wednesday that it "continues bilateral contacts" with both sides aimed at restoring calm and securing a lasting truce that "serves the interest of the Palestinian people, especially in relation to the opening of the crossings and reconstruction."
An Egyptian compromise proposal calls for easing the Gaza blockade but not lifting it altogether or opening the territory's air and seaports, as Hamas has demanded.
While the plan does not require Hamas to give up its weapons, it would give Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces were ousted by Hamas, a foothold back in Gaza running border crossings and overseeing internationally backed reconstruction.
The Gaza blockade has greatly limited the movement of Palestinians in and out of the territory of 1.8 million people, restricted the flow of goods into Gaza and blocked virtually all exports.
Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas and other militant groups from getting weapons. Critics say the measures amount to collective punishment.

Islamic State militants threatened journalist's death in email to family, CEO says

In the days before journalist James Foley was brutally beheaded by a member of the Islamic State militant group, an e-mail sent to Foley's family threatened his execution in "vitriolic" terms, the CEO of the international news service Foley had worked for said Wednesday. 
Philip Balboni told a news conference that the e-mail, which was received sometime last week, did not contain any demands, in contrast with previous missives dating back to last fall. Balboni said the company had hired an international firm shortly after Foley disappeared in November 2012, and the New Hampshire native was located in September 2013. Balboni added that Foley was always kept in Syria, though his captors moved him around often.
Foley was abducted in northern Syria while covering that country's civil war and had not been heard from since. On Tuesday, Islamic State, the militant group formerly known as ISIS, released a video showing a militant beheading Foley in apparent response to U.S. airstrikes against militant positions in Iraq. At the end of the video, the militant is shown threatening to behead another missing American journalist, Steven Sotloff.  
Citing a representative of Foley's family and a former hostage, the New York Times reported that ISIS militants had pressed the U.S. to pay a multi-million dollar ransom in exchange for Foley's release. That demand was refused. The Times also reported that ISIS is holding at least three other Americans hostage, including Sotloff, and has threatened to kill all of them if their demands are not met. 
In addition to money, the militants' demands also reportedly include prisoner swaps. One prisoner specifically named in the Times report is Aafia Siddiqui, a neuroscientist with ties to Al Qaeda who has been imprisoned in Texas since 2010 after a conviction for attacking U.S. agents in Afghanistan. 
In a rare move Wednesday, the Pentagon revealed that U.S. special forces had attempted to rescue hostages held by Islamic State, including Foley, earlier this summer. Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement that the mission had targeted a "captor network" inside the militant group, and included air and ground elements, but was unable to locate the hostages. 
Meanwhile, new details were being reported in the British press about the identity of the militant who beheaded Foley in the video. American and British intelligence officials were working to firmly identify the man, who speaks in the video with a distinct British accent and is believed to be from London or southeast England. 
A former hostage told The Guardian that the man was the head of a group of three British militants whose main job is to guard foreign captives in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, an ISIS stronghold. The hostage said the man called himself "John" and described him as intelligent, educated, and devoted to radical Islamic teachings. The hostage said that his fellow captives referred to their three British overlords as "The Beatles." 
The Guardian also reported that "John" is a point man for hostage negotiations and has had discussions about possible ransoms with families of several foreign nationals via Skype. 
The British government has estimated that up to 500 citizens of that country have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join up with ISIS and other militant groups since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011. British intelligence officials also reportedly believe that those nationals have developed into particularly dangerous fighters, willing to carry out suicide attacks and, as in the case of Foley's death, beheadings. According to The Daily Telegraph, approximately half of those 500 have returned to the United Kingdom.

Teacher omits God from Pledge of Allegiance

Jessica Andrews could not believe her eyes.
“It was like an ‘Oh my gosh’ type of feeling,” the mother of six from Aiken, South Carolina told me.
The item that caused her angst came from her daughter’s school. It was a copy of the Pledge of Allegiance. But the school’s version of the pledge was just a few words short – two to be exact.
“It didn’t have ‘under God’,” she said.
Jessica’s daughter is a fourth grader at Chukker Creek Elementary School. She said Aiken is a very religious community and they are a religious family. So you can imagine her surprise when she realized the school’s version of the pledge did not include a shout-out to the Almighty.
“It’s outrageous, to be honest,” she told me. “It seems like the government is doing everything they can to take God out of everything.”
Jessica pointed out that our forefathers believed in God – so why can’t the youngsters acknowledge we are a nation under God?
“We are so quick to change our religion to accommodate everyone else,” she said. “It seems like Christianity is getting taken out of everything.”
So how did the Almighty end up getting cut from the pledge?
I alerted the school early Tuesday morning – and by midday Principal Amy Gregory determined Jessica had a legitimate beef.
In this particular case, the omission was not the nefarious work of a godless educator. The principal said it was an honest-to-goodness mistake.
“This was a single mistake by a very embarrassed and apologetic teacher,” the principal told me in written correspondence.
“In order to assist her new students with our morning announcements, a teacher made copies of the pledge and national anthem for her class,” she told me. “She cut and pasted these from a website and in doing so, this line was omitted.”
Ah yes – the old “cut and paste” will get you every time.
“The teacher failed to proof the paper,” the principal wrote.
As we all know – the most important part of the editorial process is the proof-reading. That’s why God made copy editors. Before I go off chasing another squirrel, let’s get back to the issue at hand – the pledge.
The principal said as soon as the teacher learned her mistake, she sent a corrected version to parents – along with an apology.
“I do apologize,” the teacher wrote. “Please forgive me. I respect our country and what it was founded on.”
Principal Gregory said the boys and girls at Chukker Creek recite the pledge every day. And in case you’re wondering, she said the words ‘under God’ are included.
Jessica told me she used the incident as a life lesson for her little girl.
“I told her the government and a lot of people don’t like God,” she said. “Some people are offended by Christianity. I try to be as real with my kids about their faith as I can be. I don’t want to sugarcoat everything.”
We need more moms like Jessica Andrews. Thanks to her eagle eye she was able to facilitate change at Chukker Creek Elementary School.
We also need more educators like Principal Gregory. She acknowledged the mistake, took swift action and righted a glaring wrong.
Gold stars for everyone!

US working to verify video purportedly showing beheading of American journalist

The Obama administration was working early Wednesday to confirm whether a video released by Islamic militants purportedly showing the beheading of American journalist James Foley was authentic.
However, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press Tuesday that they believed the video showed Foley's death. A statement by Foley's mother, Diane, posted on the "Find James Foley" Facebook page requested privacy "as we mourn and cherish Jim."
"We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people," the message said. "We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world."
Earlier Tuesday, a red-eyed but gracious Diane Foley said the family would not have an immediate statement when approached at her Rochester, N.H. home by an Associated Press reporter. A priest arrived at the home several hours later.
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the administration has seen the video. She said that if it's deemed genuine by the intelligence community, the U.S. would be "appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist."
President Obama was briefed on the video Tuesday night by Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes on Air Force One, Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said.
Fox News has learned that the video, which is being taken seriously by U.S. officials, is being analyzed by a special group within the US intelligence community that specializes in media exploitation. The group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is believed to have other Americans in their custody.
At the end of the video, a militant shows a second man, who was identified as another American journalist, Steven Sotloff, and warns that he could be next captive killed. Sotloff was kidnapped near the Syrian-Turkish border in August 2013 and freelanced for Time, the National Interest and MediaLine.
The release of the video allegedly showing his death comes amid a U.S. airstrike campaign against Islamic State targets in Iraq. ISIS has declared an Islamic state in the territory it controls in Iraq and neighboring Syria, imposing its harsh interpretation of Islamic law.
Foley, 40, a freelance journalist, vanished in Syria in November 2012 while covering the Syrian civil war for GlobalPost. The car he was riding in was stopped by four militants in a contested battle zone that both Sunni rebel fighters and government forces were trying to control. He had not been heard from since.
The publication "mounted an extensive international investigation" for his whereabouts, with the search extending throughout the Middle East, along the Syria-Turkish border, in Lebanon, Jordan and other locations, GlobalPost wrote on its site Tuesday.
In 2011, Foley was among a small group of journalists held captive for six weeks by the government in Libya and was released after receiving a one-year suspended sentence on charges of illegally entering the country. In a May 2011 interview about his experience, he recounted watching a fellow journalist being killed in a firefight and said he would regret that day for the rest of his life. At the time, Foley said he would "would love to go back" to Libya to report on the conflict and spoke of his enduring commitment to the profession of journalism.
"Journalism is journalism," Foley said during the AP interview, which was held in GlobalPost's office in Boston. "If I had a choice to do Nashua (New Hampshire) zoning meetings or give up journalism, I'll do it. I love writing and reporting."
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists condemned what it called a "barbaric murder. The organization estimated Tuesday that about 20 journalists are missing in Syria, and has not released their nationalities. In its annual report last November, CPJ concluded that the missing journalists are either being held and threatened with death by extremists, or taken captive by gangs seeking ransom. The group's report described the widespread seizure of journalists as unprecedented and largely unreported by news organizations in the hope that keeping the kidnappings out of public view may help in the captives' release.
Marquette University, Foley's alma mater, said it was "deeply saddened" by the news of Foley's purported death. The Milwaukee university said he had a heart for social justice and used his talents to tell stories in the hopes they might make a difference.
"We extend our heartfelt prayers and wishes for healing to James' family and friends during this very difficult time," it said in a statement.
Earlier Tuesday, GlobalPost CEO and co-founder Philip Balboni in a statement asked "for your prayers for Jim and his family." AFP chairman Emmanuel Hoog said the French news agency was "horrified" by the video and called Foley "a brave, independent and impartial journalist."

Gaza truce talks break down as Israel, militants trade rocket fire

Talks being held in Cairo for a long-term Gaza cease-fire broke down Tuesday as Israel recalled its delegation hours after Palestinian militants broke an earlier truce by launching volleys of rockets.
An Israeli official told The Associated Press that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered negotiators at cease-fire talks to return home.
The Israeli military said a total of 10 rockets had fallen Tuesday, including one that damaged a coffee shop in southern Israel.
Israel responded to the rockets by launching their own airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian officials in Gaza reported more than two dozen Israeli airstrikes. At least 21 people, including 14 women and children, were wounded in a strike that hit a building housing the offices of Hamas' Al Aqsa TV station in Gaza City.
Israel's civil defense authority, the Home Front Command, ordered authorities to reopen public bomb shelters within a 25-mile range of Gaza.
The Israeli moves, coupled with the outbreak of violence, threw Egyptian efforts to arrange a long-term cease-fire into jeopardy.
The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to journalists, said the Egyptian-hosted talks with Hamas militants are based on the "premise" that there will be no violence. The talks face a midnight deadline.
There was no immediate Egyptian comment, but a Hamas official declared the talks over.
In Cairo, the head of the Palestinian delegation, which is comprised of various factions, said no progress had been made in Tuesday's talks, but expressed hope they could still succeed.
"We gave the Egyptians our final position. We are waiting for them to come back with a response," said Azzam al-Ahmed, a close aide to President Mahmoud Abbas.
Earlier Tuesday, Israel’s military said three rockets launched from Gaza City landed in open fields near the southern city of Beersheba.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But shortly before the launch, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum hinted of more rocket fire, saying: "If Netanyahu doesn't understand ... the language of politics in Cairo, we know how to make him understand."
In a statement Tuesday, Israel’s military accused Palestinian militants of violating a cease-fire and said it maintains "both defense and striking capabilities in order to address the renewed aggression."
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev called the rocket attack “a grave and direction violation of the cease-fire.”
Wide gaps remain on key issues in the cease-fire talks, including Israel's blockade of Gaza, its demands for disarmament of Hamas and Palestinian demands for a Gaza seaport and an airport.
In an apparent attempt to pressure Hamas, Egypt said early Monday it would co-host an international fundraising conference for Gaza — but only if a deal is reached first.
That appears to play into the hands of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, which is seeking to regain a Gaza foothold, seven years after Hamas ousted it from power in the densely populated coastal strip.
Hamas, whose officials are part of the Palestinian delegation in the Cairo talks, has emerged weaker from the month-long Gaza war.
The militant group finds itself pressured by both Egypt and the Palestinian Authority to accept a less than perfect deal with Israel, but needs to show the people of Gaza that the enormous sacrifices they endured in the fighting were not in vain.
A member of the Palestinian delegation said that Israel was offering to ease the Gaza blockade by opening border crossings to some goods and people, but was insisting that it retain the right to limit the imports of material like cement, and chemical and metal products, which Israel says can be used for weapons manufacturing.
Hamas fears the arrangement would allow Israel to retain the right to close the crossings whenever it wished and is pushing for more Palestinian input into such decisions.
The Palestinian official also told The Associated Press that Israel wants to put off for an unspecified date any discussion on the opening of a Gaza seaport and airport and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
The Palestinians, however, say they will only agree to postpone discussing the seaport and airport for "a month after a ceasefire agreement, with other issues like .... the prisoners," the official said. He spoke condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss negotiations with the media.
He also said that Israel agrees to extend the maritime territory in which Gaza fisherman can venture out from three to six miles and eventually to 12 miles from the shore, but that it was standing firm against Hamas' demand for unsupervised exports from the strip.
The Gaza blockade, imposed after Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007, has greatly limited the movement of Palestinians in and out of the territory of 1.8 million people, restricted the flow of goods into Gaza and blocked virtually all exports.
Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent arms smuggling, but critics say the measures have amounted to collective punishment.
Jamal Shobaky, the Palestinian ambassador in Cairo voiced disappointment with the Israeli stance, particularly on the question of the blockade. "What the Israelis have offered so far in the talks is not removing the blockade but rather easing it," he said.
The latest round of Gaza fighting was precipitated by massive Israeli arrests of Hamas members in the West Bank in the aftermath of the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in June. Their deaths were followed by the slaying of a Palestinian youth in Jerusalem in what was a likely revenge attack.
Since the war started with an Israeli air campaign on July 8, followed by the introduction of troops on the ground nine days later, many of the strip's structures have been destroyed and tens of thousands of people remain huddled in U.N. shelters.
Gaza Health Ministry official Ashraf al-Kidra said Monday the death toll from the fighting had jumped to over 2,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, while U.N. officials, who often take more time to verify figures, put the number at 1,976. Israel lost 67 people, all but three of them soldiers.

Hug Out Cartoon

Obama takes break from vacation for high-level White House meetings on undisclosed topics

President Obama took a break from his summer vacation to return to Washington early Monday for series of high-level, but unspecified, White House meetings.
Obama left his first family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard and will meet with Vice President Joe Biden and other top-ranking officials later Monday, according to White House staffers. But they have not disclosed what officials will discuss -- amid a list of international problems that include fighting in Iraq, Israel and Ukraine and the humanitarian-immigration crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Obama’s decision to return to Washington appears to be in part a response to criticism about him spending two weeks on a resort island amid so many foreign and domestic crises.
However, the president’s first week on the Massachusetts island, in which he played several rounds of golf, included on-camera statements on U.S. military action in Iraq and the clashes between police and protesters in Ferguson, Mo. And he called foreign leaders to discuss the tensions between Ukraine and Russia, as well as between Israel and Hamas.
"I think it's fair to say there are, of course, ongoing complicated situations in the world, and that's why you've seen the president stay engaged," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.
Officials disclosed Sunday that Attorney General Eric Holder will brief Obama on Monday about the situation in Missouri, where the Aug. 9 police shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown has sparked rioting.
Political observers have speculated that Obama might be returning to take executive action to help fix the country’s broken immigration system -- perhaps broadening a 2012 order that delayed deportation for some young illegal immigrants to include as many as 5 million people now living illegally in the United States.
However, White House officials have said the president won’t take such action until after summer and after receiving full reports on the issue from the departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
Obama is scheduled to return to Martha's Vineyard on Tuesday and stay through next weekend.
Though work has occupied much of Obama's first week on vacation, he also found time to go to the beach with his family and out to dinner with first lady Michelle Obama. He hit the golf course one more time Sunday ahead of his departure, joining two aides and former NBA player Alonzo Mourning for an afternoon round.
Earlier in the week, Obama attended a birthday party for Democratic adviser Vernon Jordan's wife, where he spent time with former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton.
That get-together between the former rivals-turned-partners added another complicated dynamic to Obama's vacation. Just as Obama was arriving on Martha's Vineyard, an interview with the former secretary of state was published in which she levied some of her sharpest criticism of Obama's foreign policy.
Clinton later promised she and Obama would "hug it out" when they saw each other at Jordan's party. No reporters were allowed in, so it's not clear whether there was any hugging, but the White House said the president danced to nearly every song.

Gov. Perry indicted: Everything's big in Texas, even this B.S.

Remember Barack Obama telling his followers to always "bring a gun to a knife fight"? Like good subjects do, his supporters in Texas obeyed. Friday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry was indicted on two counts of abuse of power. 
This ridiculous politically motivated “indictment” of Governor Rick Perry stems from the ugly thug tactics of the "politics of personal destruction" that the left is known for. They draw blood and leave scars on conservatives who threaten their political power, hoping the threat retreats and hoping his or her base of support remains silent in fear of becoming collateral damage.
Thankfully, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and those of us with scars to prove it can help others learn from things like this Texas-sized political drama.

This ridiculous politically motivated “indictment” of Governor Rick Perry stems from the ugly thug tactics of the "politics of personal destruction" that the left is known for.

First and foremost, today's liberals have no shame. Case in point: Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg.
Lehmberg was busted for drunk driving with an open bottle of vodka in her car after a 911 call reported her endangering others while swerving erratically on the road. The D.A. was smashed -- three times over the legal limit. 
She was a nut job while in custody, disgracefully threatening law enforcement officials and lashing out violently. The D.A. had to be physically restrained. It was all caught on tape. The extent of the D.A.'s serious drinking problem was uncovered, evidence included her purchase of 72 bottles of vodka in just one store alone, in just over a year. It's reasonable to believe she imbibed elsewhere, too.
The appropriate and honorable thing for this powerful D.A. to do -- note, she's the county's chief law enforcement officer and her job is to decide which law-breaking Texans she wants to put in jail - is resign. Governor Perry asked her to do so, which any good governor would do. But because this D.A. is a hardcore Democrat in a hardcore-Democrat county, and Governor Perry is a Republican, Democrats rallied around her and she refused to resign.
Lehmberg's D.A.’s office runs the state’s Public Integrity Unit which prosecutes public crimes like government corruption. Texans were baffled that this clearly unfit official was running a unit with huge statewide importance and they lost confidence in this government oversight unit.
Governor Perry used appropriate tools under the Texas Constitution to urge Lehmberg to do the right thing, using line item veto power to defund the Public Integrity Unit until it could actually serve the public with integrity, under a leader who had integrity. 
According to reports, he reached out to alleviate the Democrats’ fears about her replacement by promising to select her right hand man for the post – essentially giving liberals their desired replacement. All he wanted was for this unfit public official to step aside.
The governor was doing his job in looking out for the people, but Democrats only care about Democrats, and drunk or sober, Lehmberg was one of them. 
Her liberal supporters filed an ethics complaint against Perry, defying commonsense and common practice by claiming he abused power when he publicly announced his intention to veto.
The Travis County D.A.'s Office, still under Lehmberg, convened a grand jury, and – surprise, surprise! – Perry was “indicted.” Remember, a grand jury indictment is not a criminal conviction. It’s the result of a one-sided preliminary hearing run by the prosecution.
I don't worry about Perry, personally, in all this because he'll have a microphone plus millions in people and dollars to mount a strong defense at the courthouse and in the court of public opinion. But what we should all worry about is that the left doesn’t care about the end result, they only care about immediate headlines in their strategy to destroy a person.
Most Americans will only read that glaring headline orchestrated on a Friday night to minimize rebuttals: “Rick Perry Indicted On Felony Corruption Charges!” Once that bell is rung, it’s impossible to un-ring it.
I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason, so in hindsight I can value my own experience as a conservative governor dealing with leftwing activists who would stop at nothing to take out a successful Republican.
I was riddled with countless frivolous ethics complaints and lawsuits after being nominated as the GOP vice presidential candidate, all in an attempt to derail my governorship and personally bankrupt my family.
One by one these complaints were tossed out on the basis of their frivolity, but the activists got what they wanted via the complicit liberal media's consistent headline: “Palin Charged With Ethic Complaints!”
It didn’t matter that the “complaint” was for something as absurd as wearing an old snow machine jacket with my husband's logo on it, or answering reporters' questions inside my state office, or giving a pro bono speech for a pro-life charity; again in hindsight the ridiculousness of the constant charges -- that cost millions to defend and halted all progress in my administration -- would seem hilarious if they'd not been so unfair to the public.
The media breathlessly reported on every one of the liberal's complaints with bold font, front page coverage. But when each one was overturned, most times we never even saw one mention about our vindication.
I have no doubt that Rick Perry will weather this storm because he's better prepared for this kind of B.S. than we were up here in Texas's big sister state, when the politics of personal destruction ramped up to unimaginable levels.
Rick won't have to worry about the Republican establishment piling on, either. He's more ingratiated with the political machine than someone considered still an unknown who'd go rogue on GOP kingmakers when they acted unethically, so he's fortunate to only face a firing squad from one side.
All over the country people are facing challenges. Some are unfairly charged with wrongdoing and they may feel defenseless and are absolutely slack jawed at the injustice it seems their detractors get away with. But like Rick Perry will do, Americans must all keep the faith that justice will be done, and whether it's a personal or political battle, know that if we lose that faith, there's no hope for America.
We come out of the battle with more scars, but look at those as reminders of what it takes to overcome. The scars toughen your skin to prepare you for something perhaps tougher up ahead, but surely for something greater.   
In today's political ring, these leftwing Chicago-type tactics of personal destruction are a corruption of our democratic process. It's a slap in the face of the American way of affecting change. We see the same “take no prisoners” tactics at play in the scandalous Democrat-run IRS – as officials with liberal sympathies brazenly harass conservatives to shut us up and shut us down.
We see the same cruel and unfair tactics at play in the liberal-run press that chooses to ignore the liberal president's threats against Congress with his "pen and phone," and his threats against any who question his failed policies when instructing his supporters to meet us with a gun in the proverbial knife fight that is today's politics. All of this prevents good people from even wanting to get involved in politics.
This will only stop when We the People wise up and buck up enough to demand better, and to fight back with a warning to liberals to pull in their horns because we'll never fall for their sick game again.
Don’t fall for those "Another Corrupt Conservative Governor; This Time in Texas!" screaming headlines. It's true that everything's big in Texas, including this pile of B.S. thrown at their governor that may be bigger than usual.
An indictment is serious business, and if found to be baseless it gives a big black eye to every watchdog group and every D.A.'s decision, so let's expose these thug tactics for what they are: the corrupt power plays of an embarrassingly failed Democratic Party lacking integrity and honor.
Rick Perry and conscientious citizens will expose this on a national level in coming days, mark my words, because you don't mess with Texas nor do you poke the rest of us independent Americans fed up with hell rousers turning the bad guy into the hero while demonizing the good.
Sarah Palin first made history on December 4, 2006, when she was sworn in as the first female and youngest governor of Alaska. In August 2008, Senator John McCain tapped Palin to serve as his vice-presidential running mate in his presidential campaign, making her the first woman to run on the Republican Party's presidential ticket. She is a contributor for Fox News where she offers her political commentary and analysis across all Fox News platforms.

ISIS Cartoon

Hillary Clinton requires 'presidential suite,' stenographer for speaking engagements, report says

Bailey: "This is the Democrats version of spreading the wealth around!"

Hillary Clinton has not yet announced whether she will be running for president in 2016, but a new report suggests that she has a taste for luxury to match any world leader.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal obtained Clinton's contract and related documents related to a scheduled October 13 speech at a University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Foundation fundraiser. The documents show that Clinton received $225,000 to speak at the fundraiser, a discount from her initial $300,000 asking price. But the fee was only the first of Clinton's many stipulations. 
The former Secretary of State insists on staying in the ‘presidential suite’ of a luxury hotel of her staff's choice, with up to five other rooms reserved for her travel aides and advance staff. Clinton also reportedly requires that the Foundation provide a private plane. However, the jet can not be any private plane; only a $39 million, 16-passenger Gulfstream G450 "or larger" will do the job.
“It is agreed that Speaker will be the only person on the stage during her remarks,”  reads the contract for the event, which also requires that Clinton have final approval of all moderators or introducers. 
Also, according to her standard speaking contract, Clinton has to stay at the event no longer than 90 minutes and will pose for no more than 50 photos with no more than 100 people. There is no press coverage of video or audio taping of her speech allowed, with the only record allowed being made by a stenographer whose transcript is given to Clinton. The paper reports, however, that the stenographer's $1,250 bill will be paid by the UNLV Foundation.

Gaza talks in limbo as cease-fire expiration approaches

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were due to return to mediation talks in Cairo Sunday with both sides facing the looming expiration of the current five-day cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. 
Negotiations between the sides have been ongoing since early last week. They are aimed at ending the latest war between Israel and Hamas-led Islamic militants in the Gaza Strip and improving conditions for the territory's 1.8 million people. Israel wants guarantees to end rocket fire and attacks on its citizens.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened his government's weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday by saying "We are in the midst of a joint military and political campaign. The delegation in Cairo is operating under clear guidelines to stand by Israel's needs."
"Only if there is an answer to these needs will we reach an understanding. We are a strong and determined nation. If Hamas thinks that it can cover its military defeat with a political achievement, it is mistaken. As long as the quiet does not return, Hamas will continue to suffer very serious blows."
A member of the Palestinian delegation told The Associated Press on Sunday that the gaps between the sides were still significant and that it was far from certain whether a deal could be reached before the cease-fire expires.
"We are less optimistic than we were earlier," he said.
The negotiator said that a key sticking point remains Hamas's insistence that Israel pledge to end its Gaza blockade before the talks conclude. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the issue with journalists.
 Under the terms of an Egyptian proposal, Israel and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority would negotiate the end to the blockade at some point in the future. The blockade has restricted the flow of goods into Gaza and blocked virtually all exports, as well as limited Palestinians' movement in and out of the territory.
The Times of Israel, citing a Palestinian news agency, reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had called on Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to accept the Egypt-proposed truce when the two met in Qatar Saturday. 
Israel says the blockade is necessary to prevent arms smuggling, and officials are reluctant to make any concessions that would allow Hamas to declare victory.
Israel, meanwhile, is demanding that Hamas be disarmed, or at the very least, be prevented from re-arming, something the militant group has rejected.
Hamas has recovered from previous rounds of violence with Israel, including a major three-week air and ground operation in January 2009 and another weeklong air offensive in 2012. It still has an arsenal of several thousand rockets, some with long ranges and relatively heavy payloads.
The current round of fighting began after Hamas resumed firing rockets at Israel following the arrests of suspected Hamas-affiliated militants in the West Bank. Israel said the arrests came as part of the investigation into the killing of three Israeli teens in June.

Boots on the ground Cartoon

Banned Books (Unbelievable)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_banned_by_governments

Purported letter from inside Gaza tells of tunnel toil, Hamas cruelty

An emotional letter purportedly smuggled out of Gaza details one man’s harrowing participation in digging the tunnels that Israel blames for triggering the latest round of fighting and paints a bleak picture of life under Hamas control.
The 30-year-old Palestinian to whom the letter is attributed describes accepting a cryptic job offer, then being taken in a windowless truck with five others to a building where they were forced to dig tunnels for long, gruelling shifts in stretches that lasted 10 days.
“We drove for an hour and finally they stopped and took us into a closed building. We didn’t know where we were,” reads the letter, the text of which has been released on the Internet. “They showed us a hole in the ground and told us to go down.

“We didn’t know where we’d been, or what tunnel we dug.”- Purported letter smuggled out of Gaza City

“We walked for a few hundred meters, and when we got to the end, two Hamas members were waiting for us,” the letter continues. “They gave us working tools and explained to us what to do in order to make the tunnel longer.”
It goes on to describe back-breaking labor performed in unventilated shafts, with Hamas overseers screaming and even assaulting workers not deemed to be working hard enough. In the end, after the workers were taken back home and paid meager wages for their work, “We didn’t know where we’d been, or what tunnel we dug,” the letter said.
Earlier this week, The Times of Israel reported that Hamas killed dozens of tunnel diggers after their work was done to prevent leaks to Israel about the locations of the underground shafts. In addition to tunnelers purposely killed, The Journal of Palestine Studies in 2012 reported that Hamas leaders had admitted that, "at least 160 children have been killed in the tunnels," reflecting the fact that many children are also used as forced labor to dig the terror tunnels.
The writer, who sources told FoxNews.com lives in Gaza City, had the handwritten, Arabic letter smuggled out by courier to Itzik Azar, a resident of central Israel and friend of the writer’s late father.
In the letter, the writer also claims his father’s metalwork shop was commandeered by the U.S.-designated terrorist group soon after it came to power in Gaza in 2006, and used from that point on to turn out rockets.
“They [Hamas] set the prices and [placed the orders] from the workshop,” he wrote. “From that day, every morning an armed Hamas member used to come to the shop and give us orders to make winged metal pipes. Straight away I understood that they were used to launch rockets. One day a pickup truck came and the Hamas members took my father from the shop. We never saw him again. Later I learned they killed him and threw his body into a pit.”
The death of his father and the seizure of the family shop drove the man to jump at the chance to earn money, he said. When the latest hostilities between Israel Defense Forces and Hamas broke out more than two months ago, he realized his own work had played a role.
“We heard about the tunnels that Hamas dug and I understood that I helped them,” read the letter. “We pray that the world will help to free us from the fearful and cruel Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip. I pray for death to all Hamas members and that we will get freedom and a chance to live a normal life for our children in Gaza. Inshalla.”

Ferguson shooting: Police, protesters clash after disclosures

Bailey: "One picture says more than a thousand words."What has this got to do with Justice?

Anger spurred by the death of a black teenager at the hands of white police officer boiled over again early Saturday morning in Ferguson, Missouri, when protesters stormed into a convenience store — the same store that Michael Brown was accused of robbing.
Police and about 200 protesters began clashing late Friday after another tense day in the St. Louis suburb, a day that included authorities identifying the officer who fatally shot Brown on Aug. 9. At the same news conference in which officer Darren Wilson was named, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson released documents alleging that Brown stole a $48.99 box of cigars from the convenience store, then strong-armed a man on his way out.
Just before midnight, some in what had been a large and rowdy but mostly well-behaved crowd broke into that same small store and began looting it, said Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson.
Some in the crowd began throwing rocks and other objects at police, Johnson said. One officer was hurt but details on the injury were not immediately available.
Johnson said police backed off to try and ease the tension. He believes looting may have spread to a couple of nearby stores. No arrests were made.
"We had to evaluate the security of the officers there and also the rioters," Johnson said. "We just felt it was better to move back."
Meanwhile, peaceful protesters yelled at the aggressors to stop what they were doing. About a dozen people eventually blocked off the front of the convenience store to help protect it.
Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday appointed Johnson to take over security after concerns were raised about how local police had used tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters earlier in the week. Johnson said one tear gas canister was deployed Friday night after the group of rioters became unruly.
Jackson's decision to spell out the allegations that Brown committed the robbery, and his releasing of surveillance video, angered attorneys for Brown's family and others, including U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay. Earlier Friday night, the Democratic congressman took a bullhorn and told protesters, "They have attempted to taint the investigation. They are trying to influence a jury pool by the stunt they pulled today."
Family attorney Daryl Parks acknowledged that the man shown in the surveillance footage "appears to be" Brown. But he and others said Brown's family was blindsided by the allegations and release of the footage. They said that even if it was Brown, the crime didn't justify the shooting of a teen after he put up his hands in surrender to the officer, as witnesses allege.
Another family attorney, Benjamin Crump, said police "are choosing to disseminate information that is very strategic to try to help them justify the execution-style" killing, said Crump, who also represented the family of Trayvon Martin, the teenager fatally shot by a Florida neighborhood watch organizer who was later acquitted of murder.
The surveillance video appears to show a man wearing a ball cap, shorts and white T-shirt grabbing a much shorter man by his shirt near the store's door. A police report alleges that Brown grabbed the man who had come from behind the store counter and "forcefully pushed him back" into a display rack.
Police said they found evidence of the stolen merchandise on Brown's body.
Brown's family and supporters have been pushing for release of the officer's name. Wilson is a six-year police veteran — two in neighboring Jennings and four in Ferguson — and had no previous complaints filed against him, Jackson said.
The police chief described Wilson as "a gentle, quiet man" who had been "an excellent officer." Wilson has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting. St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch said it could be weeks before the investigation of the shooting wraps up.
St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley on Friday asked Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster to take over the case, saying he did not believe McCulloch could be objective. Koster said Missouri law does not allow it unless McCulloch opts out. McCulloch spokesman Ed Magee said McCulloch has no plans to surrender the case.
Also Friday, the Justice Department confirmed in a statement that FBI agents had conducted several interviews with witnesses as part of a civil-rights investigation into Brown's death. In the days ahead, the agents planned to canvass the neighborhood where the shooting happened, seeking more information, the statement said.

A lot of Balls Cartoon

Fox News poll: Voters to Congress -- Do something! Anything! on immigration

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/08/15/fox-news-poll-voters-to-congress-do-something-anything-on-immigration/

Iraq's al-Maliki agrees to step down as prime minister

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/08/15/iraq-al-maliki-backs-new-prime-minister/

Transparent Cartoon

Disputes over Gaza conflict reportedly mark new low in US influence over Israel

Why wouldn't it with Obama constantly trying to throw Israel under the bus!

Disputes over the conduct of Israel's recent offensive in the Gaza Strip have left the Obama administration with little influence over Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu's government and kept the U.S. largely on the sidelines as Egypt attempts to negotiate a long-term truce between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to a published report. 
According to The Wall Street Journal, White House officials regard Netanyahu and key members of his security Cabinet as "reckless and untrustworthy." In response, the report claims that Israeli officials regard the Obama administration as "weak and naive," a view best expressed by Netanyahu's reported remark earlier this month that the U.S. should not "ever second guess me again" after an earlier cease-fire quickly collapsed amid a flurry of Hamas rockets.
Ties on the diplomatic front deteriorated late last month after Secretary of State John Kerry sent a confidential draft of a proposed cease-fire to Netanyahu's government for feedback. Instead, The Journal reported, Netanyahu sent back no comments and put the proposal to a vote among his security Cabinet. The proposal was also leaked to the Israeli media, angering U.S. officials who saw the move as retribution for Kerry's outreach to Turkey and Qatar, two of Hamas' most prominent backers.
During the current ongoing cease-fire negotiations in Cairo, Egypt has taken over the mediating role customarily held by the U.S., most recently in 2012, when the most recent cease-fire prior to the present fighting was agreed under former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A five-day cease-fire reportedly agreed upon Wednesday appeared to be holding as of Thursday morning. 
Due to the ongoing friction with the White House and State Department, Israeli officials have reportedly turned to supporters in Congress and the Pentagon. The Journal reports that Israel's Defense Ministry moved last month to secure additional munitions, including mortar shells, through military-to-military channels and without the knowledge of U.S. diplomats or White House officials. 
When the White House found out that the weapons request had been approved, it instituted a review procedure that required the Pentagon to consult with the White House and State Department before approving any new Israeli requests. 
Similarly, the Journal reported that Israeli officials were lobbying Congress to accelerate a $225 million bill to replenish the country's Iron Dome missile defense system. U.S. officials claimed to the Journal that the Israelis told Pentagon, State Department, and White House officials that they had enough interceptors to see them through the current Gaza operation, and consented when the administration told them the White House would not seek immediate emergency funding. Consequently, U.S. officials told the Israeli counterparts to expect the bill to be approved sometime in the fall. 
By contrast, Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., told The Journal that Israeli officials had informed members of Congress that the money was desperately needed because the Iron Dome system was running low on interceptors and the military could not wait for Congress to return from its August recess. In the end, the bill passed Congress, and Obama signed it into law August 4.

Report: Companies desperate to avoid ObamaCare 'Cadillac tax' shifting costs to workers

You can thank Obama for this!

A national business group representing the nation’s large employers reported Wednesday that companies desperate to avoid a 40 percent ObamaCare “Cadillac tax” are finding ways to shift the costs to workers.
The so-called “Cadillac tax,” now four years away, will affect health plans that spend more than $10,200 per worker.
“The excise tax, when it hits in 2018, will affect both employers and employees,"said Brian Marcotte, president of the National Business Group on Health.
Employees will get incentives to reduce costs through such arrangements as wellness programs, including losing weight or stopping smoking.
Meanwhile, employers are shifting workers into plans with higher deductibles, just as ObamaCare does in the health care exchanges, and using health savings accounts to help defray the costs.
Another cost saver, Marcotte added, is to increase premiums for spouses who have access to other plans.
"If the spouse has coverage through their own employers, employers are beginning to charge more if they elect to stay on their employee’s plan rather than go with the spouse's plan."
Rosemary Gibson of the Hastings Center said, "Employees are going to be paying more and more of their income for health care. And the same with people even on these exchanges if they don't get subsidies."
The “Cadillac tax” was originally intended to take effect sooner, but unions and other groups convinced officials to delay it until 2018, reducing the anticipated income from $137 billion to $80 billion over ten years. But many analysts predict it will be far less than that.
Henry Aaron of the Brookings Institution said, "before then, it's expected that most of the businesses that offer that form of insurance will back off and make the insurance less generous, so the tax won't bite."
Robert Laszewski of Health Policy and Strategy Associates said he doubted many will end up paying the tax.
"What we're finding is almost no employers are going to be hit by this ‘Cadillac tax.’ You'd be stupid to get hit by this ‘Cadillac tax,’” he said. “They're all cutting their benefits right now."
One analyst noted the tax had less to do with health care than it did with revenue.
"The ‘Cadillac tax’ is not about health care, it's about the money.It's about getting the money," said Dan Mendelson of Avalere Health.
But if employers are able to avoid it and less than expected is collected, ObamaCare could fall tens of billions short in paying for itself as promised.
Meanwhile, the administration has sent letters to 310,000 people signed up for the exchanges threatening to cut off their insurance if they don't submit missing verification of their citizenship by September 5.
At the same time, Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services Wednesday noting that its own Inspector General had found "1.2 million applicants have unresolved inconsistencies related to income verification."
She pointedly asked if there was an action plan or a deadline to deal with them, noting $17 billion will be paid in subsidies this year alone.

Corporate Tax Cartoon

Alaska GOP senator to Dem counterpart: Stop using me in your ads

A Democratic Alaska senator facing a tough reelection is doing all he can to hold onto his seat, but his latest attempt to buddy up to his GOP counterpart has backfired spectacularly. 
Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, recently received a cease-and-desist letter from an attorney for Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski after the Democrat’s re-election campaign created a television ad touting them as a dynamic duo. 
“Senator Begich should run on his own record and not attempt to deceive the public into believing he has support that does not exist,” the letter said. 
The letter marks an unusual rebuke for Begich from the other half of the Alaska Senate delegation, as he prepares to face a tough Republican challenge following next week's GOP primary. 
The offending Begich ad, titled, “Great Team,” features Republican Navy pilot Skip Nelson, who claims his support of Murkowski is leading him to vote for Begich, despite the fact that Begich is a Democrat.
“Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich vote as much as 80 percent of the time together,” Nelson said. “I don’t think we ought to break up that team.”
However, Murkowski has a message for Begich: I don't even want you to win.
Last week, Scott Kendall, the attorney for Murkowski's campaign committee, demanded in a letter that Begich immediately stop using Murkowski in his ad.
“You attempt to use this image to somehow imply Senator Murkowski’s support," the letter reads. “This is far from true. Senator Murkowski has repeatedly made clear she wants a Republican elected to Alaska’s other Senate seat.”
However, Begich defended the ad to NBC News, saying it is a fact that he and Murkowski have voted together 80 percent of the time. A representative for Begich did not respond to requests for comment from FoxNews.com.
“And that is laying out what we've been saying and what Alaskans have been telling me they love, and that's a delegation working together,” he said.
According to PolitFact, Begich’s campaign calculated the 80 percent figure with data from Begich and Murkowski's voting records from 2014. Out of those 183 votes, the Alaskans agreed 148 times and disagreed 35 times.
Begich’s Senate seat is listed by Real Clear Politics as one of nine “toss-ups” in the November general election.
On the Republican side, the latest polling shows former Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan leading against Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, Joe Miller and John Jaramillo in the Republican primary on Aug. 19.
A recent PPP poll, though, showed Begich with a narrow lead over his potential GOP challengers.

Officials: Pentagon considering rescue mission for Iraqis trapped on mountain

The Pentagon sent additional military planners to Iraq on Tuesday to figure out a way to rescue and relocate the tens of thousands of religious minorities trapped on a mountain by Islamic militants, senior U.S. officials told Fox News.
A senior U.S. official said 130 military personnel arrived in Irbil, but the official did not know the exact time they landed.
The troops will work with State Department officials and USAID to develop plans to help the Yazidi people, a religious minority displaced on Sinjar Mountain.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced the deployment in remarks to Marines at Camp Pendleton, California.
"This is not a combat boots on the ground kind of operation," Hagel said.
The deployment comes as Defense officials openly voice doubts about the impact airstrikes alone can have, and as Kurdish forces struggle with the rescue mission.  
When President Obama authorized military force last week, it was for the dual purpose of protecting American personnel and helping Kurdish forces as they try to aid members of the Yazidi minority trapped in the Sinjar mountain range. They were driven there by militants with the Islamic State (IS), and have been relying largely on international aid drops for food and water.
Officials say any relocation effort likely would involve international partners.
The planning, though, is complicated by the administration’s directive not to send ground troops. Absent that, the U.S. would have to pursue an airlift mission.
One official told Fox News that even the most "Herculean effort" to lift the refugees off the mountains would take hundreds of flights and 10 days or more of constant missions.
An airlift of this sort would also come with considerable risk.
To date, the U.S. has not encountered any anti-aircraft fire, but that could change given the heavy weaponry the Islamic State has at its disposal.  
Earlier Tuesday, one Iraqi helicopter crashed shortly after picking up refugees.
The consideration of such a mission comes after several days of airstrikes on the IS militants. The Pentagon currently has 250 military advisers in Iraq.

Iraq Cartoon

Defense official: US airstrikes unlikely to hurt Iraqi militants’ ‘overall capabilities’

A top Defense Department official acknowledged Monday that U.S. airstrikes in Iraq are unlikely to affect Islamic militants’ “overall capabilities” or their operations elsewhere in Iraq and Syria but rebuffed calls to expand the mission.
Lt. Gen. William Mayville Jr., director for operations with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described a stay-the-course approach during a briefing with reporters Monday afternoon. He spoke four days into a renewed U.S. airstrike campaign in northern Iraq meant to drive back militants with the Islamic State (IS), the group formerly known as ISIS.
Mayville said Air Force and Navy aircraft have conducted 15 “targeted strikes” to date and “helped check” IS advances around the cities of Sinjar and Irbil.
He said the strikes have “slowed” the group’s “operational tempo and temporarily disrupted their advances towards the province of Irbil.”
However, he said, “the strikes are unlikely to affect [IS’] overall capabilities or its operations in other areas of Iraq and Syria.”
President Obama, who is in Martha’s Vineyard, reiterated shortly afterward that the U.S. is pursuing "limited military objectives" in Iraq, saying there is "no American military solution" to the larger crisis and stressing the importance of a new inclusive government in Baghdad. To that end, he praised the decision by the country's president to bypass incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and name a new prime minister-designate. 
Obama called this a "promising step forward," and hinted that if they "build off today's progress," U.S. efforts to join Iraqi forces in fighting IS will be "advanced." 
Defense officials said four airstrikes had been conducted against Islamic militants Monday, taking out several of their checkpoints and armed trucks as well as an armed personnel carrier.
Despite calls by some lawmakers to broaden the campaign, though, Mayville said Monday the principal task remains protecting American personnel and U.S. aircraft conducting a humanitarian mission for religious minorities fleeing IS militants.
“There are no plans to expand the current air campaign beyond the current self-defense activities,” he said.
It remains unclear where the U.S. campaign will go from here. The Obama administration has come under criticism from both sides of the aisle for not acting sooner to counter the Islamic State threat, with some urging the administration to now expand the U.S. military campaign.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., warning the militants’ next target may be Baghdad, said Friday that “it takes an army to defeat an army.”
The president, while pledging not to put boots on the ground, acknowledged Saturday before heading to Martha’s Vineyard that it would take more than “weeks” to “solve this problem.”
“I think this is going to take some time,” the president said.
Mayville indicated military planners are not yet sure what comes next.
“As for what we might do next, we'll have to wait and see and get a better assessment on the ground before we can offer some options to the president,” he said.
But Mayville said the targeting of IS militants is going to become “more difficult” in the days ahead, as the U.S. is already seeing them “starting to dissipate and hide amongst the people.”
Meanwhile, as the U.S. weighs its next steps, Iraq was engulfed in new political turmoil Monday as Iraq's new president snubbed the powerful al-Maliki and nominated the deputy parliament speaker to form the new government.
The move, while attracting support from the Obama administration, raised fears of more infighting in the government as the country faces the threat of Sunni militants in the north.
Al-Maliki's Dawa Party rejected the nominee, Haider al-Ibadi, as al-Maliki deployed elite security forces loyal to him in the streets of Baghdad to close two main avenues and hundreds of his supporters held a rally, raising fears that he may use force to stay in power.

Russia sends purported aid trucks to Ukraine as NATO secretary-general issues new attack warning

Russia said Tuesday that it had dispatched 280 trucks full of humanitarian aid to eastern Ukraine, after NATO's secretary-general warned that there was a "high probability" that Moscow would order troops to the war-torn region to aid separatist rebels. 
Russian television reported early Tuesday that trucks carrying 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid were headed to Ukraine. Reporters said the convoy of trucks, painted white and bearing a red cross, is part of an internationally agreed-upon mission under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
NTV television showed hundreds of white trucks gathered at a depot outside Moscow, and said they were carrying everything from baby food to sleeping bags. A Russian Orthodox Priest sprinkled holy water on the trucks, some of which bore a red cross, before their departure. They could take up to a day to arrive at their destination.
However, Andre Loersch, a spokesman for the Red Cross in Kiev, told The Associated Press by phone that despite the general agreement among all parties, he had "no information about the content" of the trucks and did not know where they were headed.
"At this stage we have no agreement on this, and it looks like the initiative of the Russian Federation," he said.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it was not immediately able to comment on the convoy.
Western officials have repeatedly expressed fears that any Russian aid mission would serve as a precursor to action by Russian ground troops. Late last week, U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and British Prime Minister David Cameron issued statements proclaiming that such action would violate international law. 
However, Ukraine said Monday that it had agreed to send aid to the city of Lunhansk, one of two major rebel enclaves that are still holding out despite being battered by fighting. After announcing the aid mission on Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko agreed that "any Russian intervention in Ukraine without the formal, express consent and authorization would be unacceptable and a violation of international law," according to a White House statement.
Also on Monday, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Reuters that there were no signs that Russia had withdrawn any of its troops amassed at the border with Ukraine. When a reporter asked him about the possibility of a Russian invasion, Rasmussen said, "There is a high probability.
"We see the Russians developing the narrative and the pretext for such an operation under the guise of a humanitarian operation, and we see a military build-up that could be used to conduct such illegal military operations in Ukraine," he added.
Also Monday, Ukraine's military claimed that the numbers of Russian troops along the border had risen dramatically. Spokesman Andriy Lysenko claimed to The New York Times that Russia had 45,000 troops at the frontier supported by 160 tanks, 1,360 armored vehicles, 390 artillery systems, 150 truck-mounted ground-to-ground rocket launchers, 192 fighter jets and 137 helicopters. Lysenko's estimates had not been independently verified. NATO has previously estimated that 20,000 Russian troops have gathered at the border. 
The United Nations has estimated that more than 1,300 people have been killed since April, when government forces launched a campaign to recapture eastern Ukraine from rebels who had gained control of two provinces under the banner of the Putin-coined term "New Russia."
The other major separatist-controlled city, Donetsk, has been under heavy bombardment from Ukrainian forces. Lysenko said that Ukrainian forces were moving closer to encircling the city. At least 300,000 civilians, encouraged by Kiev, are believed to have fled the city, which formerly had a population of 1 million. Residents who have stayed say that mortar and artillery fire can be heard daily. There have been civilian casualties, though estimates vary widely.

American People Cartoon

Israel, Palestinians accept new 72-hour cease-fire offer

Israel accepted an Egyptian proposal Sunday for a new 72-hour cease-fire with Gaza militants.
The move clears the way for the resumption of indirect talks on a long-term cease-fire arrangement in Hamas-ruled Gaza after a month of heavy fighting.
Egypt brokered a similar truce last week. But after the three-day window, militants resumed rocket fire on Israel and new fighting erupted.
The Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said they accepted Egypt's latest offer Sunday. But they said they were wary after last week's breakdown.
Palestinian negotiators said earlier Sunday they accepted the Egyptian proposal for the cease fire. 
The officials, representing various Palestinian factions, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing sensitive negotiations.
Egypt called on Israel and Palestinian factions to observe the cease-fire beginning within hours, and to resume talks on a more comprehensive Gaza agreement.
A statement from Egypt's Foreign Ministry said the cease-fire would begin at midnight Cairo time (2101 GMT) and would create the atmosphere to resume humanitarian aid as well as indirect talks, through Egypt, to reach a more lasting and comprehensive cease-fire.
Israel walked away from negotiations over the weekend after rocket fire resumed, saying it would not negotiate under fire.
Earlier, Hamas refused to extend the temporary truce that helped launch the Cairo talks last week, saying it wants guarantees from Israel first that Gaza's borders will open. Israel and Egypt have enforced the blockade, to varying degrees, since Hamas seized Gaza in 2007. Israel has said it will not open Gaza's borders unless militant groups, including Hamas, disarm. Hamas has said handing over its weapons arsenal, which is believed to include several thousand remaining rockets, is inconceivable.
Since the truce expired Friday, smaller Gaza militant groups -- though not Hamas, according to claims of responsibility -- have fired dozens of rockets and mortar shells at Israel, including two on Sunday.
"If Hamas thinks it has worn us down, it is wrong," Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said. "We will return to the table only after an end to the fire. ... We are not intending to compromise."
The diplomatic standoff, coupled with the ongoing cross-border attacks, signaled that a broader deal for battered Gaza, as envisioned by the international community, likely will remain elusive.
Various ideas have been raised to end Gaza's isolation, including deploying international inspectors at all crossings to address Israeli security concerns about smuggling weapons and militants. Europe has floated the idea of a link between ports in Gaza and Cyprus, with inspectors at both ends checking people and cargo.
Palestinian officials have said that Israel has so far rejected such proposals.
The Gaza war erupted on July 8, following weeks of escalating tensions between Israel and Hamas.
Israel launched an air campaign on the coastal territory, sending in ground troops nine days later to target rocket launchers and cross-border tunnels built by Hamas for attacks inside Israel.
Israel has targeted close to 5,000 sites, the army has said, while Gaza militants have fired more than 3,000 rockets into Israel.
On Sunday, Israeli aircraft hit about 20 targets, the army said.

Clinton critical of Obama foreign policy, says 'failure' to act in Syria created vacuum for jihad

                                       Do you really want a back stabber for president?

Hillary Clinton, the front-runner among potential 2016 Democratic presidential candidates, is sharply distancing herself from President Obama's foreign policy, particularly in Syria, as Americans appear to continue losing confidence in his handling of key international affairs.
Clinton, who as secretary of state was Obama’s top diplomat, suggested during an in-depth interview with The Atlantic magazine that the president’s foreign-policy mantra of “don’t do stupid stuff” lacked sufficient depth.
“Great nations need organizing principles,” she said in the roughly 8,000-word interview released Sunday. “And ‘don’t do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle.”
The interview comes as Americans’ opinion of how Obama is handling crises in Israel, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, continues to sink.
A Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll released Tuesday, three days before Obama ordered air strikes and humanitarian airdrops in Syria, showed a record-high disapproval rating. Sixty percent of those polled disapprove of Obama’s foreign policy efforts, compared to 36 percent who approved.
The interview also could help or hurt the former first lady’s effort to burnish her own foreign policy credentials ahead of an official 2016 campaign. 
Clinton declined to say whether the deadly, unexpected rise of the militant group Islamic State was the result of Obama several years ago not wanting to help build a moderate opposition to the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
However, she said the “failure” to help build up a credible fighting force from among those who started the protests against Assad “left a big vacuum, which the jihadists have now filled.”
Clinton also said in the interview, which appears to have been conducted before U.S. air strikes began Friday in Iraq against Islamic State, that Obama is “incredibly intelligent” and “thoughtful.”
On the conflict in Israel, Clinton was more closely aligned with Obama, saying the United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks by the terror group Hamas.
But Clinton suggested that international criticism of Israel for its deadly attacks on Hamas in Gaza, particularly one on an apparent United Nations school, is unfair, saying the civilian casualties happen in “the fog of war,” compared to the administration, which called the UN shelter attack "disgraceful."