Washington Lunatics And Various Foreign Policy Think-tanks Had Apparently Neither Looked At a Map Nor Studied History!

VHeadline’s Washington DC-based commentarist Chris Herz writes: At the very moment when the world was awaiting the arrival of US and European aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, and their maybe commencing there yet another war for oil, Russia struck down forever the brave new American empire. Read more

Why Obama Needs a Popemobile, By Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor,Santa Fe Sun News

For a long time, I have been supporting Barack Obama for President. Time will tell whether he agrees with a Cabinet slate to include William Blaine Richardson III as Secretary of State, California’s Attorney General Jerry Brown as U.S. Attorney General, and Howard Dean as the Secretary of Health.

Whoever Obama picks as Vice President is important in terms of winning the White House by piling up swing votes. It is also vital in terms of which powerful Democrat gets the job of being a “heartbeat away from the Presidency.”

In very recent correspondence to Obama, I recommended to him that he needs to travel when ever possible in a Popemobile, given the volatile and incomprehensible hostily that exists in parts of the American public, the same folks who killed Martin Luther King, John Kennedy, and others, particularly when it comes to race. This was even more clear upon reading Caroline Kennedy’s New York Times Sunday Editorial page endorsement of

Obama, and the endorsements which followed within the next two days by both Edward Kennedy and Jay Rockfeller, all three of whom I respect.

After positing this point of view, I conducted and concluded some terrifying research into the history of all of this in the United States and throughout world history. This is something that should never be swept under the rug nor taken for granted, even though the Secret Service is doing a credible and effective job thus far to protect the USA’s first African American Presidential nominee. I gratefully acknowledge my sources for their invaluable research, including Wikipedia and a Newsweek article by Daniel Stone on the Popemobile.

__________________________________

As the 20th century world lurched into modern history, killing powerful people became more than a tool in power struggles between rulers themselves and was also used for political symbolism, as in propaganda of the deed. In Russia, four emperors were assassinated within less than 200 years: Ivan VI,

Peter III, Paul I, and Alexander II. USA Presidents Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John Kennedy were all killed by assassins, while an astonishing number of other presidents survived attempts on their lives.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination by Serbian nationalist insurgents sparked World War I, while belligerents on both sides in World War II used operatives specifically trained for assassination.

Decoded transmissions allowed the U.S’s targeted retaliatory attack on the planner of the Pearl Harbor attack, killing Japanese Admiral Isoroku

Yamamoto while he was travelling by airplane. Adolf Hitler was almost killed by his own officers.

India’s “Father of the Nation”, Mohandas K. Gandhi, was shot to death on January 30, 1948 by Naturam Godse, for what Godse perceived as his betrayal of the Hindu cause in Gandhi’s attempts to shape a lasting peace between Hindus and Muslims, and the world lost it humanity’s very own conscience, in the words of USA’s George Marshall.

During the Cold War, there were increased assassinations due to the ideological polarization between the “First and Second worlds,” whose adherents were willing to both justify and finance such killings.

Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan was assassinated by Saad Akbar, a lone assassin in 1951. Conspiracy theorists believe his conflict with certain members of the Pakistani military or his suppression of Communists and antagonism, were reasons. During the Kennedy era (which ended in an assassination itself), Cuban President Fidel Castro escaped death on several occasions at the hands of the CIA. The KGB frequently used assassination to deal with defectors.

Morocco’s King Hassan II survived assassination attempts. On August 16, 1972, during an attempted coup d’tat, jets from the Royal Moroccan Air Force fired upon the King’s Boeing 727 while he was traveling back to Rabat, but failed to bring it down. General Mohamed Oufkir, Morocco’s defense minister, was the man behind the coup and was officially declared to have committed suicide after the attack, although he sustained several bullet

wounds. Others coup participants forced to jump out of a helicopter from a high altitude into the Atlantic Ocean.

Major powers repudiated Cold War assassinations, perhaps a political smokescreen; the covert and illegal training of assassins continues today, with Russia, Israel, and other nations accused of such operations. In 1986, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, himself an assassination attempt survivor, ordered the Operation El Dorado Canyon air raid on Libya. The primary target was the home residence of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi; Gaddafi escaped unharmed, but his adopted daughter Hanna was one of the civilian casualties.

Benino Aquino’s assassination in the Philippines ended the 20 years of autocratic rule of President Ferdinand Marcos. Aquino, former Senator and leading opposition figure, was assassinated in 1983 at the Manila Airport upon returning from exile; his death pushed his widow, Corazon Aquino, into the the presidency.

President of Pakistan Gen. M. Zia ul Haq died along with his staff and the American Ambassador to Pakistan when his C-130 transport plane exploded after taking off from Bahawalpur because of a bomb. The CIA, KGB and Indian secret service RAW were all implicated, depending who was doing the implicating….

During the 1991 Gulf War, the United States struck many of Iraq’s command bunkers with bunker-busting bombs trying to kill Saddam Hussein, who also used assassination to remove opponents, or to terrorize irksome groups. In post-Saddam Iraq, the Shiite-dominated government used death squads to perform countless extrajudicial executions of Sunni Iraqis, with some

alleging that the death squads were trained by the U.S.

In India, Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were assassinated in 1984 and 1991. The assassinations were linked to separatist movements in Punjab and northern Sri Lanka, respectively.

In Pakistan, former prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007, while in the process of running for re-election. Bhutto’s assassination drew unanimous condemnation from the international community.

Military doctrine assassination for military purposes have long been discussed. Around 500 B.C, Sun Tzu, praised assassination over war in his book The Art of War. 2000 years later Machiavelli lauded assassination in The Prince. In the Middle Age, nations were based around strong charismatic leaders, whose loss could paralyze the ability to make war.

Sometimes, the target is replaced by a more competent leader; sometimes an assassination will “martyr” the leader. Faced with brilliant leaders, this has been risked, such as in the attempts to kill the Athenian Alcibiades during the Peloponnesian War. The conclusion by Americans that Skorzeny was planning to assassinate Eisenhower during the Battle of the Bulge played havoc with Ike’s personal plans; Skorzeny later denied in an interview with the New York Times that he had ever intended to assassinate Eisenhower during Operation Greif.

During the Vietnam War, partly in response to Viet Cong assassinations of government leaders, the USA engaged in the Phoenix Program to assassinate Viet Cong leaders and sympathizers, and killed between 6,000 and 41,000 persons, with official ‘targets’ of 1,800 per month. From 1991 till 2006,

Russia targeted the top commanders of the separatist groups they were fighting in Chechenya, killing several.

During World War II, underground factions sympathizing with the Allies assassinated rival underground leaders in order to govern their nation upon liberation from the Axis. The reason given to the assassin would be that rival leaders were Axis sympathizers.

In the to-some-ill-founded “Global War on Terrorism,” American special operations forces and intelligence agencies employed man-hunting operations against Al Qaeda terrorst leaders.

The Irish Republican Army guerrillas of 1919-1921 assassinated many RIC Police Intelligence officers during the Irish War of Independence. Michael Collins set up the Squad, which intimidated many policemen into resigning. Their activities peaked with the assassination of 14 British agents in Dublin on Bloody Sunday in 1920.

Many years later, the IRA also attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher by bombing a Conservative Party Conference in a Brighton hotel. Loyalist paramilitaries retaliated by killing Catholics at random and assassinating Irish nationalist politicians.

Basque separatists ETA in Spain have assassinated many security and political figures since the late 1960s, notably Luis Carrero Blanco. They have targeted academics, journalists and local politicians who publicly

disagreed with them. The Red Brigades in Italy carried out assassinations of political figures, as did Red Army Factions in Germany in the 1970s and 1980s. Middle Eastern groups, such as the PLO and Hezbollah, have engaged in assassinations.

In the Vietnam War, assassinations were carried out by communist insurgents against government officials and individuals; these attacks almost brought the Diem regime to collapse, long efore the US intervention.

Entire organizations have sometimes specialized in assassination as one of their services, to be gained for the right price. Besides the original hashshashin, the ninja clans of Japan were rumored to do assassinations. In the United States, Murder, Inc., partner to the Mafia, was formed for the

sole purpose of performing assassinations for organized crime. In Russia, the vory (thieves), Russian organised crime syndicates, providing assassinations for the “right price.”

A major study about assassination attempts in the US in the second half of the 20th century arrived at the conclusion that most prospective assassins spend large amounts of time planning and preparing for their attempts. Assassinations are thus rarely a case of ‘impulsive’ action. However, about 25% of the actual attackers were found to be delusional, a figure that rose to 60% with ‘near-lethal approachers.’ This shows that whereas mental instability plays a role in many modern-age assassinations, the more delusional attackers are less likely to succeed in their attempt.

The first assassinations were stabbing, strangling or bludgeoning. Substantial planning or coordination would not have been involved, as tribal groups were small, and the connection to the leaders too close. As the concept of ostensible “civilization” took root, leaders had greater

importance, and become detached from the groups they ruled. The key technique was likely infiltration, with the assassination by stabbing, smothering or strangulation. Poisons also started to be used in many forms. Death cap mushrooms and similar plants became traditional, especially if they could not be perceived as poisonous by taste, and the symptoms of the

poisoning did not show until after some time. In ancient Rome, paid mobs were sometimes used to beat political enemies to death.

With the advent of firearms, the position of an assassination target was more precarious. Bodyguards were no longer enough to hold back determined killers, who no longer needed to directly engage the leader. William the Silent of the Netherlands was the first leader assassinated by firearms (July 10, 1584).

Gunpowder and other explosives also allowed the use of bombs or even greater concentrations of explosives for deeds requiring a larger touch; for an example, Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot, could have ‘assassinated’ almost a thousand, had it not been foiled.

Explosives become more common, with grenades and remote-triggered landmines, especially in the Middle East and Balkans; the initial attempt on Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s life was with a grenade. The rocket propelled grenade has became a tool given the popularity of armored cars, while Israeli forces have pioneered the use of aircraft-mounted missiles for assassination.

Despite their comparative disadvantages, hard-to-trace handguns are more commonly used thanrifles. Of 74 principal incidents evaluated in a major study about assassination attempts in the US in the second half of the 20th century, 51% were undertaken by a handgun, 30% with a rifle or shotgun, while 15% of the attempts used knives and 8% explosives .

A 2006 case in the UK concerned the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko who was given a lethal dose of radioactive polonium-210, possibly passed to him in aerosol form sprayed directly onto his food. Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, had been granted asylum in the UK in 2000 after citing persecution in Russia. Shortly before his death he issued a statement accusing Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, of involvement in his assassination, which Putin denies to this day.

One of the earliest forms of defense against assassins is the bodyguard, acting as shield for the target, keeping a lookout for all potential attackers; he is supposed to put himself ‘in harm’s way’. He is also, if possible, to neutralize an attacker as fast as possible. This function was often executed by the leader’s most loyal warriors, and was extremely effective throughout most of early human history, leading to attempts by

subterfuge, such as poison.

Examples of bodyguards include the Roman Praetorian Guard or the Ottoman Janissaries, although in both of those cases, it should be noted that protectors often became assassins themselves, exploiting their power to make the head of state a virtual hostage. The fidelity of individual bodyguards is an important question as well. Failure to realize divided loyalties leads to assassinations such as that of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards in 1984. They were angry over her prior attack on the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar, angry enough to kill her for desecrating their shrine with the attack by Indian Special Forces, according to my friend Dr. Sripati Chandrasekhar, Professor and former member of Indira’s Cabinet, as India’s Minister of Health.

With the advent of gunpowder, ranged assassination became possible. One reaction was to increase the guard, creating what at times might seem a small army trailing every leader; another was to clear large areas whenever a leader was present. As the 20th century dawned, the prevalence of assassins skyrocketed; so did measures to protect against them. Armored limousines were used, as were bulletproof vests.

Access to famous persons, too, became more and more restrictive; visitors would be forced through checks before being granted access to the official in question; it has become almost impossible for a would-be killer to get close enough to the person, especially with the use of metal detectors.

Most modern assassinations have been committed either during a public performance or during transport, both because of weaker security and security lapses, such as with US President John F. Kennedy and former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, or as part of coups d’tat where security is either overwhelmed or completely removed, such as with Patrice Lumumba and Salvador Allende. These last two are to me among the most tragic of 20th Century assassinations: both had been duly elected to reform the government, and the death of both plunged both nations into civil war and oppressive military juntas and kleptocracies.

Methods used for protection include the Popemobile of Pope John Paul II (built following an extremist’s attempt at his life). Politicians themselves often resent this need for separation - which has at times caused tragedy when they sent their bodyguards from their side, as President William McKinley did during the public reception at which he was assassinated. Other

targets go into seclusion, like writer Salman Rushdie, or use body doubles. Saddam Hussein is known to have used body doubles and so apparently did Fidel Castro.

In the last analysis, countermeasures will be as effective as resources allow. If the assassin is committed beyond reason or without concern for his own self-preservation, then the task of protecting the leader becomes far more difficult.

_____________________________________________

*

BRIEF SYNOPSES OF AMERICAN ASSASSINATIONS, ATTEMPTS, AND DEATHS LATER IMPLICATED AS ASSASSINATIONS *

Abraham Lincoln assassination: Good Friday, April 14, 1865, at 10 p.m. President Lincoln was shot by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre with his wife and two guests.

James A. Garfield assassination: in Washington, D.C., at 9:30 a.m. on July 2, 1881, less than four months after Garfield took office. Charles J. Guiteau was the assassin. Garfield died 11 weeks later, September 19, 1881.

William McKinley assassination: September 6, 1901, at the Temple of Music, in Buffalo, New York. President William McKinley, attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, was shot twice by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist.

John F. Kennedy assassination: Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 p.m. Kennedy was fatally wounded by gunshots while riding with his wife Jacqueline in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. The ten-month investigation of the Warren Commission of 1963-1964 concluded that Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee of the Texas School Book Depository in Dealey Plaza. The United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) of 19761979 determined that Kennedy’s murder was probably the result of a conspiracy that included Oswald.

___________________

*Attempted Assassinations (included here because they are so relatively unknown) *

Andrew Jackson: January 30, 1835: At the Capitol Building, a house painter named Richard Lawrence aimed two flintlock pistols at the President, but both misfired, one of them while Lawrence stood within 13 feet of Jackson and the other at point-blank range. Lawrence was apprehended after Jackson beat him with a cane. Lawrence was found not guilty by reason of insanity and confined to a mental institution until his death in 1861.

Theodore Roosevelt: October 13, 1912

After he left office, Roosevelt again ran for President as a member of the Progressive Party. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, John Schrank, a saloon-keeper from New York, shot Roosevelt once with a revolver. A 100-page speech folded over twice and the metal glasses case in Roosevelt’s breast pocket slowed the bullet. Roosevelt yelled out “Quiet! I’ve been shot,” and insisted on giving his speech with the bullet still lodged inside him! He went to the hospital, but the bullet was never removed. Roosevelt, remembering that William McKinley died after operations to remove his bullet, chose to have his remain. Schrank said that McKinley’s ghost had told him to avenge his assassination, and was was found legally insane and was institutionalized until his death in 1943.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: February 15, 1933

In Miami, Florida, Giuseppe Zangara fired five shots at Roosevelt. Four people were wounded and Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak, was killed. Zangara was found guilty of murder and was executed March 20, 1933. Cermak may have been the real target that day, as the mayor was a staunch foe of Al Capone’s Chicago mob organization.

Harry S Truman: In 1950, two Puerto Rican pro-independence activists attempted to kill Truman, resulting in the murder of one White House police officer and the death of one assassin;Truman was not harmed.

John F. Kennedy: December 11, 1960

While vacationing in Palm Beach, Kennedy’s life was threatened by Richard Paul Pavlick, a 73-year-old former postal worker. Pavlick’s plan was to serve as suicide bomber by crashing his dynamite-laden 1950 Buick into Kennedy’s vehicle, but the plan was disrupted when Pavlick saw Kennedy’s wife and daughter bidding him goodbye (an assassin with a kind heart?). Pavlick’s was arrested by Secret Service three days later, when he was

stopped for a violation, with the dynamite still in his car, and spent six years in federal prison and mental institutions, released in December 1966.

Richard M. Nixon, First assassination attempt: April 14, 1972: Milwaukeean Arthur Bremer arrived in Ottawa, Canada on April 10 spending five days in Canada’s national capital in an effort to shoot and kill President Nixon. On April 14, Nixon made an appearance in a limousine at Parliament Hill, which Bremer attended, carrying a loaded revolver in his pocket. Bremer did manage to get close enough, but the President was in his limousine with windows closed; the President sped past unharmed. The following month Bremer shot U.S. Democratic Presidential candidate George Wallace, lodging a bullet in his spine and leaving him paralyzed for life.

Nixon, assassination attempt 2, February 22, 1974

Samuel Byck planned to kill Nixon by crashing a commercial airliner into the White House. On the plane, he was informed that it could not take off with the wheel blocks still in place. He shot the pilot and copilot before killing himself.

Gerald R. Ford: Ford endured two assassination attempts during his presidency, occurring within three weeks of each other: while in Sacramento, California on September 5, 1975, Charlie Manson follower Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, pointed a Colt 45-caliber handgun at Ford. As Fromme pulled the trigger, Larry Buendorf, a Secret Service agent, grabbed the gun, inserting the webbing of his thumb under the hammer, preventing the gun from firing. Fromme was taken into custody; she was later convicted of attempted assassination of the President and sentenced to life.

The Secret Service started to keep Ford at a distance from anonymous crowds, a strategy that may have saved his life seventeen days later: leaving a hotel in downtown San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore, standing in a crowd of

onlookers across the street, pointed her pistol at him. Just before she fired, ex-Marine Oliver Sipple deflected her shot; she was sentenced to life in prison. She was paroled from prison on December 31, 2007, having served 32 years.

Jimmy Carter: May 5, 1979

Before Carter was about to speak at the Los Angelese Civic Center, Raymond Lee Harvey was arrested carrying a pistol, telling authorities he and another man were hired to create a diversion so that Mexican hit men armed with sniper rifles could kill Carter. Charges against him were dismissed for

lack of evidence.

Ronald Reagan: March 30, 1981

Reagan was shot in the lung by John Hinckley, Jr., who hoped that assassinating the president would earn enough notoriety to impress Jodie Foster. He also shot Press Secretary James Brady along with an officer and a security agent. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and sentenced to life in a mental institution.

George H.W. Bush: April 13, 1993

Sixteen men, in the alleged employment of Saddam Hussein, smuggled a car bomb into Kuwait with the intent of killing Bush as he spoke at Kuwait University. Kuwaiti officials found the bomb and arrested the suspected assassins. Bush left office in January 1993. On June 26, 1993, the U.S. launched a missile attack targeting Baghdad intelligence headquarters in retaliation for the attempted attack against Bush; Iraqi Intelligence Service was accused of being behind the plot.

Bill Clinton: October 29, 1994

Francisco Martin Duran fired 29 rifle shots at the White House from a fence overlooking the north lawn, thinking that Clinton was among the men in dark suits standing there. Clinton was in the White House Residence watching a football game. No one was hurt; Duran was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

George W. Bush: May 10, 2005

While President Bush was giving a speech in the Freedom Square in Tbilisi, Georgia, Vladimir Arutyunian threw a grenade towards the podium where he was standing near President Mikhail Saakashvili. It landed in the crowd 61 feet from the podium after hitting a girl, but did not detonate because of a chance malfunction in its detonator. Arutyunian was arrested in July 2005. He was given a life sentence.

*Presidential deaths strongly considered to have been assassinations: *

Zachary Taylor: On July 4, 1850, President Taylor was diagnosed by his physicians with cholera morbus. Cholera, typhoid fever, and food poisoning have all been indicated as the source of the president’s ultimately fatal gastroenteritis. A snack of iced milk, cold cherries and pickled cucumbers

consumed at an Independence Day celebration might have done him in. By July 9, Taylor was dead. In 1991, with permission from his descendants, Taylor’s body was exhumed and an autopsy conducted. Observers noted that Taylor’s body was recognizable as the 12th President his brow ridge remained intact.

Investigating deliberate poisoning, scientists detected traces of arsenic, but determined the quantity of arsenic present was several hundred times less than there would have been had he been poisoned with arsenic. Assassination theories regarding Zachary Taylor have not been put to rest. Michael Parenti in his book, History as Mystery, speculates that Taylor was

assassinated and that his autopsy was botched.

Warren G. Harding

In June 1923, President Warren G. Harding set out onhis “Voyage of Understanding,” to meet ordinary people and explain policies. During this trip, he became the first president to visit Alaska. Corruption rumors circulated; Harding was shocked by a message he received in Alaska detailing illegal activities previously unknown to him. At the end of July, while traveling south from Alaska through British Columbia, he developed what was thought to be severe food poisoning.

The President’s train proceeded south to San Francisco. Arriving at the Palace Hotel, he developed pneumonia. Harding died of either a heart attack or a stroke at 7:35 p.m. on August 2, 1923. The formal announcement, printed in the New York Times of that day, stated that “a stroke of apoplexy was the cause of death.” He had been ill one week. Physicians surmised that he had suffered a heart attack, but this diagnosis was not made by Surgeon General Sawyer who was traveling with the presidential party.

Mrs. Harding refused permission for an autopsy, which soon led to speculation that the President had been the victim of a plot, possibly carried out by his wife. Harding’s extra-marital affair was quite well known at the time.

Gaston B. Means, noted in his book The Strange Death of President Harding (1930) that the circumstances surrounding his death implied he had been poisoned. Several individuals attached to him would have welcomed Harding’s death, as they would have been disgraced in association of Harding’s “imminent impeachment.” Although Means was later discredited for

publicly accusing Mrs. Harding of the murder, enough doubts surround the President’s death to keep reputable scholars open to the possibility of murder.

One sidenote to presidential assassinations and deaths in office is Tecumseh’s Curse whereby presidents starting with William Henry Harrison who were elected in a year ending with a zero were assassinated or died while in office. The curse presumably ended with Ronald Reagan.

Popemobile Needed by Obama? Absolutely, but what precisely is the Popemobile?

Pope Benedict XVI’s Mercedes for his U.S. tour sat for several days at the Beltsville, Maryland training headquarters for the U.S. Secret Service, having been shipped from Rome two weeks earlier. It has a six-foot-tall glass enclosure built to showcase the pontiff, and is a custom Mercedes ML 430 donated to the Vatican in 2002. The car has no markings, other than the

Vatican coat of arms on each door and license plate “SCV 1,” an acronym for the Vatican’s name in Italian and the number of the Holy Father’s place in the church hierarchy. Pope John Paul II pleaded with journalists to stop using the term in 2002 because he thought it sounded “undignified.”

The seat from which the pontiff will bless crowds is upholstered with white leather and has bars for him to hold while standing. The windows are double- pane bulletproof glass, introduced after a failed assassination attempt on the late pontiff in 1981.

Popes of past centuries would be transported the same way any dignitary would: in a carriage with horses. Benedict’s Mercedes has a 272 horsepower engine, a full climate-control system, and a full stereo system with a tape deck. Papal drivers don’t exceed 10 mph along the parade routes, giving the pontiff enough time to interact with the crowds hoping for a glimpse. The vehicle’s security features include armored side panels and undercarriage.

[On June 6, 2007, a German man tried to jump into Pope Benedict XVI's uncovered Popemobile as the pontiff began his general audience. The Pope was not hurt and did not even appear to notice that the 27 year-old man had jumped over the protective barrier in the square and had grabbed onto the white Popemobile as it drove by. At least eight security officers who were

trailing the vehicle grabbed him, and he was arrested.]

CONCLUSION: OBAMA MOST CERTAINLY DOES NEEDS A POPEMOBILE!

At the very least, during certain events with enlarged crowd contact, Obama would be wise to require vastly increased physical protection, including a series of vehicles whose design would be patterns after the designs used for the Popemobiles.

America can ill afford to even consider the kind of tragedy and its implications if this brilliant man, so deserving of the Presidency, is not massively well protected during the rest of the campaign as Presidential candidate, and even more so during his Presidency, to the absolute best of our abilities as a Nation, regardless of what fiscal resources this requires.

Failure to do so could result in a catastrophe, especially with the proclivity towards violence and racial hostility in our nation’s short history, corroborated by the episodes and events taken from both American and World history which are described above.

The future belongs to those who have proven that they deserve it, by averting and avoiding all of such potential disastrous catastrophes.

by Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor,Santa Fe Sun News

Net News Publisher for World News

Australia’s Hidden Empire

When the outside world thinks about Australia, it generally turns to venerable cliches of innocence — cricket, leaping marsupials, endless sunshine, no worries. Australian governments actively encourage this. Witness the recent “G’day USA” campaign, in which Kylie Minogue and Nicole Kidman sought to persuade people in the US that, unlike the empire’s problematic outposts, a gormless greeting awaited them Down Under. After all, George Bush had ordained the previous Australian prime minister, John Howard, “sheriff of Asia”. Read more

Snow in Jerusalem, is It a Sign of Peace?

When I was a small kid, I used to hear people saying that snow brings peace and joy and they even considered it as a sign of joy and happiness from god. But is there any sign of peace in the Middle East and what is going on between the Israeli and Palestinian groups that are negotiating? Well actually nothing is improving, indeed the Gaza siege is becoming more serious every day and the new decisions made by Salam Fayad, the supposed to be “temporary” Prime Minister, are making it much worse in the Palestinian community. A week ago, he declared that every Palestinian citizen that has debt on him in any governmental institute or even private such as the electricity and the water companies, wont be able to do any governmental procedure such as a driving license or even get a license for any new business or work before paying all their debts. This decision raised up anger among the Palestinian employees that refused this decision with anger and questions about the money that are given by the West to pay and help and support the Palestinians that their income cant be enough to pay all the life expenses as Mr. Fayad is asking for. Again the Palestinian leadership is making the same mistake by not improving the life of the simple people and supporting the business projects that should have started a long time ago to improve the Palestinian economy and make them believe again that there is a chance for a Palestinian to live in respect, peace and joy. Before judging the people, Salam Fayad should start judging himself and his government that stole Millions of dollars that were supposed to reach every Palestinian, and by doing this they pushed the people to the miserable life that made them believe in violence and war instead of peace and good life. Abu Mazen, the Palestinian president Is busy at this time in making his son’s deal with Olmert to get the permission to start his communication company and forgot about the importance of stopping the suffering of the people in Gaza. Mahmoud Abbas keeps on talking about not negotiating with Hamas because of their criminal acts in Gaza, and forgot about gaining the support of the people in Gaza again by leaving them alone to face the Israeli siege. Isn’t it weird that until now, our leaders cant know how they should arrange their daily missions and tasks that they should work on, and keep on working on what they consider important for their selves and not the public. The history won’t forgive us for what is going on in the Palestinian lands, neither us nor the Israelis.

Source: Middle East Post

Net News Publisher

Is It a Reality That America is Ready for a Change?

Recently a lot of discussions are being held to discuss whether America is ready to elect a New Black President or even a woman to lead the strongest State in the world. Some were saying that yes this could happen and that the American people are ready to make this revolutionary change in the White House. Some others were not optimistic about it, in which they said that even if this woman would reach the White House, she won’t be ruling by her own self but indeed she will be affected by her X President husband, they even called them the “Clintons” for the Presidential elections. Others were talking about Obama and his white mother and black father, they said that he is not a one hundred pure black man so he wont make the dream become true even if he reaches the White House, others were even asking whether if he really would make a change, a simple change as increasing the employment chances for the black Americans if he reaches the White House or whether it would be hard enough for him only to deal with the matters that are waiting for him before entering the White House. Today someone close to his campaign was arrested by the Federal police and this is weird. Anyways even if Clinton works upon her husband’s program although I completely don’t believe that she is, she is still going to be the first woman to be in charge of the White House and this is a change in the history of America. And even if Obama is not a pure black American, his arrival to the White House could change the whole situation and bring new ways of dealing with the daily matters that are waiting for him. His way of speaking and lecturing among the people reminds us of Martin Luther King and the support he is getting from lots of Americans, not only black Americans shows that there is a chance for this man, unless he wont be fully supported by his own people. This is America, full of surprises and who knows who he or she would be to lead the most important house in the world, the white house!

Source: Middle East Post

Net News Publisher

Violence in Gaza

Recently, the situation in the south is becoming more serious; the Israelis are bombing Gaza day and night causing damage, destruction and also civilian casualties. Olmert and Ihud Baraq declared that they will keep on striking Gaza as long as the Palestinians will keep on firing what they call “Missiles” on the south of Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister even described the situation in Gaza as a WAR. The Palestinian resigned government in Gaza said that the main cause for the Israeli attack on Gaza is President Bush visit to Israel that meant the green light to attack and kill Palestinians in Gaza. From his side President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to resign if the Israelis keep on attacking and striking Gaza and also keep on building settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Tens of Palestinians were killed in the last three days as a result of the Israeli strikes that are claimed to be appointed towards the Hamas forces and the people who are responsible of shooting at the Israeli settlements in the south. Hamas threatened lately to launch a violent response to the Israeli attacks by attacking Israeli places inside the 1948 lands. Although many believed that President Bush could result in pushing the situation in Israel and Palestine towards peace, the reality shows that the coming events could be much worse, and violence become wider. The Jordanian King Abdullah and the Egyptian president Mubarak also demanding for the United States and Israel to stop attacking and striking Gaza because this could lead to more violence in the Middle East. The Iranian President Ahmadi Najad said in his last speech that President Bush visit to the Middle East can only be explained as a threatening to Iran, but from the other side he said that at the end also the Arabs who are considered as allies of Bush will return to follow Iran. Najad also described the last Israeli missile experiment as an unimportant event because Israel knows well the ability of Iran to strike back any attack it could make.

Source: Middle East Post

Net News Publisher

Next Page »