Video footage of a passenger on Gaza-bound flotilla stabbing Israeli soldier with a knife

This is the footage that the liberal mainstream media refuses to air. It shows - from up close - passengers on the Gaza-bound flotilla attacking Israeli soldiers with clubs and tossing a firebomb at them. The soldiers - to their own detriment - initially used paintball guns to futily defend themselves from the onslaught. They carried paintball guns with them when they went on board the flotilla. Real guns were only to be used as a last resort.

The video also shows an attacker drawing a knife and stabbing an IDF SEAL, who luckily managed to turn around just in the nick of time, hence the attacker only managed to stab him in the arm. Incredibly, in what was certainly an amazing display of self control, the IDF SEAL did not use a weapon against his attacker after he was stabbed!

But the question arises: Will the UN and Obama condemn these pro-Hamas thugs? I highly doubt it.




Also see previous post: Eyewitness account from IDF Soldier: Passengers on Gaza-bound flotilla shot at us the entire time

Also see: Gaza Freedom Flotilla Organizers Linked To Al Qaeda and Worldwide Terrorism

Eyewitness account from IDF Soldier: Passengers on Gaza-bound flotilla shot at us the entire time

One of the Israeli soldiers injured while intercepting the Mavi Marama ship gives an eye witness account of how his group was beaten and lynched. “We came to speak, they came to fight."

From the Israeli Defense Forces' website:

One of the Naval Special Forces soldiers, who participated in the interception of the Mavi Marama ship and sustained a broken arm while under attack by the ship’s passengers, described the events. “Each soldier who descended was taken by three or four men and they simply exploded, beating him up. They lynched us. They had metal clubs, knives, slingshots, glass bottles… At one point there was also live fire.

“I was among the last to descend, and I saw that the group was dispersed, everyone in his own corner surrounded by 3 or 4 men, I saw a soldier on the floor with two men beating him. I peeled them off of him and they came at me and began beating me with the clubs. That’s how I broke my arm. At that moment I had no weapon in my hands, like everyone else who descended on the cables empty-handed. My paintball gun was behind me.

They were carrying paintball guns in their hands! Unbelievable!

“They came and attacked me, I brought them down to the floor, I took a few steps back, I took out my paintball gun, they came at me, and I shot at their legs. One of the clubs destroyed my paint gun and I moved on to my pistol which was the only thing to hold against them. At this point my arm no longer functioned.”

“From the opening of the corridor, they were shooting at us the entire time with live fire".

The naval soldier described how the soldiers were shot at from the entrance to the ship’s corridor: “I saw two from my group lying flat on the ground. From the opening of the corridor they were shooting at them the entire time with live fire, bullets. We identified a gun barrel, and one of us shot at the guy holding it. Afterwards we entered and he wasn’t there. About 30 men, they simply came for war. We came to straighten things out, to speak to those who went downstairs, but each of us who descended was simply attacked.”

“There were some from my group that were thrown to the lower floor, and the passengers took their equipment... We were told that if they didn’t listen, we should shoot at their legs with the paintball gun. 'The pistol is only for if you really feel your life is in danger, which shouldn’t happen. It would be extremely abnormal.' But in the end, that is what happened.”

“We came with the intention of stopping the ship and taking it to Ashdod, and we did not come with the weapons we usually have, we came for something entirely different.”

If the IDF deserves any condemnation for yesterday's clash, it would be for allowing its soldiers to enter a dangerous battle zone carrying paintball guns while the real guns were slung behind their shoulders. Foolish, indeed! The IDF was lucky that no soldiers were killed - although several were wounded. Next time around, they may not be so lucky.

The following video contains part of the aforementioned interview, it begins approximately 51 seconds into the video. I am not sure if there's a video out there that has the entire interview:



From Israel National News:

A crew member reportedly snatched a gun from an IDF soldier and then opened fire on the troops. Another soldier was stabbed in the stomach. The soldier is in moderate condition and was transferred for medical treatment by helicopter to Rambam Hospital in Haifa. Doctors there determined he would require surgery.

Also see: Video footage of a passenger on Gaza-bound flotilla stabbing Israeli
soldier with a knife

Also see: Gaza Freedom Flotilla Organizers Linked To Al Qaeda and Worldwide Terrorism

Israeli Military releases video showing passengers of the Gaza-bound Flotilla violently attacking the troops

Although President Obama failed - for several weeks - to provide the American people with all the facts surrounding the Gulf of Mexico oil spill - including the amount of oil that is being spilled and film footage of the spill - he, nevertheless urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to quickly gather all the facts surrounding the Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla on Sunday.

However, unlike the President's intentionally belated response to the oil spill, the Israeli government and military have already released a video showing the passengers on board the flotilla brutally attacking IDF Soldiers as soon as they arrived on the ship.

From the IDF:

Video taken by IDF naval boat shows the passengers of the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships in the 'Free Gaza' Flotilla, violently attacking IDF soldiers who were trying to board the ship after having sent repeated requests for the boat to change course.

Large groups of passengers surrounded soldiers and beat them with metal poles and chairs, and threw one soldier over the side of the ship. Some passengers grabbed pistols from the IDF soldiers and opened fire. During the boarding of the ships, the demonstrators onboard attacked the IDF Naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs. As a result of the attacks, seven IDF soldiers were injured, and nine of the passengers were killed.

The interception of the flotilla followed numerous warnings given to the organizers of the flotilla before leaving their ports as well as while sailing towards the Gaza Strip. In these warnings, it was made clear to the organizers that they could dock in the Ashdod sea port and unload the equipment they are carrying in order to deliver it to the Gaza Strip in an orderly manner, following the appropriate security checks. Upon expressing their unwillingness to cooperate and arrive at the port, it was decided to board the ships and lead them to Ashdod. IDF naval personnel encountered severe violence, including use of weaponry prepared in advance in order to attack and to harm them. The forces operated in adherence with operational commands and took all necessary actions in order to avoid violence, but to no avail.

The 'Free Gaza' Flotilla had publicly insisted on their non-violent intentions, however their violent attack on the IDF soldiers was clearly premeditated. They had knives, metal rods, firebombs and other items ready to use.

If you look closely, you'll see the passengers throwing dark objects at the troops, about 29 seconds into the video. These are the firebombs [which are clearly visible in a different video that the IDF posted on Monday]. It is quite evident that the lives of these troops were endangered. But I wonder if President Obama will be satisfied with the release of these videos, or whether he'll ask his good friends from BP to bring in their own video equipment to ascertain the facts.

In the meantime, the President, no doubt, will continue to send his cronies to negotiate with Hamas - covertly, of course, without anyone finding out about it.

Obama still reaching out to Hamas

In a recent interview with the Guardian UK, Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal revaled that the Obama administration has been reaching out to Hamas - albeit in a surreptitious and stealthy manner.

The United States is sending a succession of envoys to engage with Hamas but lacks the bravery to talk to the Islamist movement openly, its leader, Khaled Meshal, said in an interview with the Guardian.

Meshal praised President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia for meeting him in Damascus and the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, for hosting the discussion 10 days ago. He told Medvedev that the US was also talking to him. "I thanked him for that meeting and told him the Americans contact us, but are not brave enough to do so openly," said Meshal.

However, this is nothing new. Last year, Osama Hamdan, Hamas' top leader in Lebanon, told Time Magazine that there had been unofficial talks between Hamas and Barack Obama's Middle East special envoy, George Mitchell.

Similarly, the Arab weekly, Al-Ahram, confirmed that a meeting in Geneva between two senior Hamas officials and former undersecretary of state Thomas R. Pickering, in 2009, was coordinated and promoted by the US State Department, despite the Obama administration's claims to the contrary.

Likewise, in November of 2008, Hamas spokesman Ahmed Yousef said that the Hamas leadership had been in regular contact with the Obama team [over a period of several months].

"We were in contact with a number of Obama's aides through the Internet, and later met with some of them in Gaza," Ahmed Yousef [a Political advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniya] was quoted as saying, "but they advised us not to come out with any statements, as that may have had a negative effect on his election campaign and be used by Republican candidate John McCain."

During the presidential campaign, Robert Malley - at the time, Obama’s Middle East policy adviser - disclosed that he had held meetings with Hamas, which prompted Obama to [supposedly] sever all links with him. However, the divorce didn't last too long, for shortly after that firing, it was reported that Obama had sent Robert Malley to Egypt and Syria to outline his policies on the Middle East.

And, Last year, while Sen. John Kerry was visiting the Gaza Strip, a UN official handed him a letter from Hamas to deliver to President Obama. A spokesman for Sen. Kerry told Fox News that "the Democratic senator was not aware that the letter was from Hamas when he accepted it from the UN official." However, the Filastin daily reported at the time that the American delegation that visited Gaza brought with it a letter from President Obama to Hamas, and that the Hamas movement had authorized one of its ministers in Gaza to receive the letter and to respond. [Whether this account is true or not, I do not know].

Here's an excerpt from the Filastin daily's article translated by Google [Bear in mind, Google's translation, like all web based translations, makes the text a bit incoherent, however, the gist of the article is quite clear]:

The article is entitled: "Exchange of letters between the Department for Obama and Hamas, Is it a New Policy in the US?"

This comes in the context of the modern so-called "diplomatic exchange of letters", which was heading to visit a U.S. Senate delegation to the Gaza Strip, which was the first visit of its kind in the Gaza Strip, since the control of the Hamas in Gaza.

The State Department official said, on Friday, Senator John Kerry, who recently visited Gaza, received a letter from the "Hamas" addressed to U.S. President Barack Obama, and denied "Hamas" the news.

The private sources of "Palestine", yesterday, [said that] Obama sent a letter to the "Hamas" movement across the American delegation.

The Obama administration had reportedly been reaching out to Hezbollah too:

In June of 2009, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General, Sheikh Naim Qassem said that US officials close to the Obama administration had reached out to Hezbollah and had sought to initiate a dialog with the terrorist organization.

"Several US officials at different levels and more or less close to the administration have asked to speak with [us], but we have refused," Qassem said. "It is useless to have any dialog with the Americans since they regard us as terrorists."

The Washington Times revealed just a few days prior to that report that the Obama administration had "sent a letter to [Iran's] supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khomenei, calling for an improvement in relations," despite the fact that, until this very day, Iran is training Taliban militants in Afghanistan and providing them with weaponry that is being used against US troops.

On May 18, Reuters reported as follows:

John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, met with Lebanese leaders during a recent visit.

"Hezbollah is a very interesting organization," Brennan told a Washington conference, citing its evolution from "purely a terrorist organization" to a militia to an organization that now has members within the parliament and the cabinet.

During a press conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington last year, John Brennan offered similar words of praise for Hezbollah:

"Hezbollah started out as purely a terrorist organization back in the early ’80s and has evolved significantly over time,' he said. "And now it has members of parliament, in the cabinet; there are lawyers, doctors, others who are part of the Hezbollah organization."

Is it any wonder then that the Obama administration has dropped the words "war on terror" from its lexicon?

Terror link alleged as Saudi millions flow into Afghanistan war zone

From the Times Online:

Millions of dollars of Saudi Arabian money have flowed into Afghanistan over the past four years, the country’s intelligence officials say, with the sponsorship of terrorism its most likely use.

According to members of the Afghan financial intelligence unit, FinTraca, the funds, totalling more than £920 million, enter from Pakistan, where they are converted into rupees or dollars, the favoured currency for terrorist operations...

The revelations illuminate the... the continuing involvement of Saudi donors in sponsoring the insurgency...

The flow of Arab funds to the Taliban poses a strategic obstacle to the counter-insurgency campaign. It also suggests that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the offshoot, still has a potent and far-reaching financial ability.

A US government report last year said that private Saudi backers were the chief source of finance for the Taliban.

Depiction of Obama praying toward Mecca will not be included in Jakarta film

A new film depicting President Obama's childhood years in Jakarta - scheduled to be released during the President's visit to Indonesia next month - will not include scenes of the future US president praying in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, as well as reciting from the Koran, the film's creator, Damien Dematra, said Thursday.

Dematra, who also authored a book on the President's childhood years in Jakarta, entitled “Obama Anak Menteng” (Obama the Menteng Kid) - after interviewing about 30 of Obama's friends and neighbors from Jakarta - said several weeks ago that the film would likely include scenes - factual depictions - of the young Obama prostrating himself and praying in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, as well as reciting from the Koran.

However, on Thursday, Mr. Dematra announced on his website that, after receiving "input from various parties", he has decided not to include the aforementioned prayer scenes in the film. Mr. Dematra did not identify the "various parties".

Whether the decision to nix the prayer scenes was due to "outside political pressure" or not, is likely to remain unknown.

Obama on the Oil Spill: 'The Buck Stops With Me'???

Obama Delays Oil Spill Recovery Efforts For San Francisco Fundraiser With Oil Heirs

From the NRSC:

With millions of gallons of crude oil wreaking havoc on the Gulf of Mexico, the White House announced today that President Barack Obama will assess the efforts to stop the massive oil leak... but not until after he hosts a fancy fundraiser... with wealthy oil heirs Ann and Gordon Getty in San Francisco this evening.

As CNN reported today..., “The events are scheduled to be held at the Fairmont Hotel, in the city's affluent Nob Hill district, and at the home of Ann and Gordon Getty, wealthy philanthropists who head their family's billion dollar trust.”

The decision to hold a fundraiser with Getty – the heir to the multi-billion-dollar Getty Oil fortune – draws even further attention to the President’s misplaced priorities as he flies across the continent for a [political] fundraiser while a major man-made disaster damages the ecosystem and economy of the Gulf Coast...

Barack Obama - A Friend of Small Business?!

White House Oil Spill Cover-Up - 2

Oilgate? Obama and BP hiding the 'spill'?

White House Oil Spill Cover-Up - 1

Gulf Oil Spill - Obama administration still spinning the facts

The White House, Ken Salazar and the Oil Spill Cover-Up - Part 3

Gulf Oil Spill - Obama administration still spinning the facts

From Dan Froomkin - Huff Post:

The Obama administration is actively trying to dismiss media reports that vast plumes of oil lurk beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, unmeasured and uncharted.

But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, whose job it is to assess and track the damage being caused by the BP oil spill that began four weeks ago, is only monitoring what's visible -- the slick on the Gulf's surface -- and currently does not have a single research vessel taking measurements below.

The one ship associated with NOAA that had been doing such research is back in Pascagoula, Miss., having completed a week-long cruise during which scientists taking underwater samples found signs of just the kind of plume that environmentalists fear could have devastating effects on sea life of all shapes and sizes.

Meanwhile, the commander of the NOAA vessel that the White House on Friday claimed in a press release "is now providing information for oil spill related research" told HuffPost on Tuesday that he's actually far away, doing something else entirely.

"We are in the Western Gulf doing plankton research," said Commander Dave Score, reached by satellite phone on his research vessel, the Gordon Gunter. "So I really don't know. I'm just on orders."...

NOAA officials did not respond to repeated questions from the Huffington Post on Tuesday, and therefore did not explain how they could possibly assess or track underwater oil without having any vessels out taking measurements...

Doug Helton, the emergency response coordinator in Seattle who is NOAA's trajectory expert, answered his phone but wouldn't say much. "It's still a pretty dynamic situation as to what's in the field today, as opposed to yesterday," he hedged, before saying he would call back after getting clearance from NOAA's public affairs office. There was no call back.

"The fact that NOAA has missed the ball catastrophically on the tracking and effects monitoring of this spill is inexcusable," said Rick Steiner, a University of Alaska marine conservationist who recently spent more than a week on the Gulf Coast advising Greenpeace. "They need 20 research ships on this, yesterday."

Steiner explained: "This is probably turning out to be the largest oil spill in U.S. history and the most unique oil spill in world history," on account of it occurring not on or near the surface, but nearly a mile below.

"They should have had a preexisting rapid response plan. They should have had vessels of opportunity -- shrimp vessels, any vessel that can deploy a water-column sampling device -- pre-contracted, on a list, to be called up in an event that this happened. And they blew it. And it's been going on for a month now, and all that information has been lost... There have to be dozens of these massive plumes of toxic Deepwater Horizon oil, and they haven't set out to delineate them in any shape or form."...

"Truly, they really need 20 or 30 vessels out there yesterday," Steiner said. "And I think they know that. And so all the spin -- that they have this under control, that there's no oil under the surface to worry about -- they're wrong, and they know it."

Napolitano vs McCain on Arizona law

Obama's Aunt Zeituni Onyango Granted Asylum in the U.S.

An immigration court in Boston has granted asylum to Pres. Obama's Kenyan aunt, Zeituni Onyango, setting her on the road to citizenship after years of legal wrangling. Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father, was ordered deported in '04 but stayed illegally in the U.S. - Source - Investors' Business Daily

The Times Online broke the story about Onyango on October 30, 2008 and reported that she had been living in a rundown public housing estate in South Boston. The Times also reported that Ms. Onyango had "made a $260 campaign contribution to her nephew's presidential bid from a work address in the city." The Times mistakenly assumed that because Ms. Onyango had made a campaign contribution to Obama's Presidential campaign, this "would indicate that she is a US citizen." Two days after the Times broke the story - on November 1, 2008 - the Obama campaign hastily reimbursed the money to Ms. Onyango.

But of course, this seemingly minor, and perhaps unintended, infraction pales in comparison to the myriad of contributions that Obama had received from foreign donors all across the Globe, as Pamela Geller noted earlier this year in a post on the Big Government blog:

...Gaza was not alone. The contributions came from over 50 nations. And many seemed intent on skirting campaign finance laws: Obama’s foreign contributors were making multiple small donations, ostensibly in their own names, over a period of a few days, some under maximum donation allowances — but others were aggregating in excess of the maximums when their contributions were all added up. Other donations came in from donors with names such as “Hbkjb,” “jkbkj,” and “Doodad.” Also, thousands of Obama’s foreign donations ended in cents. This was evidence of foreign contributors sending in donations in foreign currencies that exchanged into odd amounts. Americans living overseas would almost uniformly be able to contribute dollars, in set amounts.

The Obama campaign received a substantial amount of money from countries that have an interest in seeing a weak American President: $366,708.22 from China; $25,259.00 from the United Arab Emirates; $7,062.60 from Russia; and $6,716.28 from Saudi Arabia. Obama also took in $6,350.00 from Indonesia; $5,000.00 from Kenya; and $1,750.00 from Egypt.

The FEC alleges that Obama also illegally took donations from Tamil Tiger leaders. The Tamil Tigers are, according to the FBI, the most successful terrorist group in the world...

There are many other questions and mysteries regarding Obama’s campaign finances. The Puma P.A.C. blog notes: “Obama spent a record $744 million on his campaign but has disclosed donors for only $485 million of his windfall.”...

And now the influence peddling has manifested itself in Obama’s catastrophic first year.

The FEC generally takes several years to process a complaint, and their statutory limit is five years. The commission still needs to vote on any action, but if they decline, the complainant can sue the FEC. So the complaint is ongoing.

If justice is to be done, Barack Obama will have to own up to his violations of campaign finance law, and pay the political price. An audit of Obama’s campaign finances is long overdue.

Obama colluded with BP to hide video of the oil spill

This is old news already, but just in case you haven't heard about it yet, here it is.

From Global Research:

The White House allowed BP to hide its video feed of a gushing oil pipe in the Gulf of Mexico from the public for three weeks, all the while that same video played live in the White House Situation Room, ABC reports.

This startling revelation comes just as Obama prepares to get really angry in public about the spill – just in time to cover up his administration’s collusion with BP to hide the true extent of the massive disaster in the Gulf.

The article is referring to a press conference on Friday, where Obama cunningly feigned outrage at BP's handling of the oil spill crisis.

Brian Ross and John Soloman of the Center for Public Integrity discussed ABC’s quest to obtain the video of the oil pipe and revealed that the White House consented to the release of a 30 second clip of the pipe.

"At the end of the day, the White House finally acquiesced to the 30 second piece because they understood the political and media pressure," said CPI’s John Soloman. "Why not sooner? It’s been going on for three weeks. People have seen this internally within government almost every day. Why can’t the American people see it?"

The release of even the 30 second video clip showing the oil spewing uninhibited into the ocean immediately led outside observers to conclude the disaster was far worse than the 210,000 gallon estimate of the NOAA and Coast Guard. One scientist predicted to NPR that the rate is more in the range of almost 3 million gallons a day based on an analysis of the video released by BP.

The revelation that the White House and BP kept the true extent of the oil disaster from the public coincides nicely with last night’s news that Obama plans to get "angry" in front of the White House press corps tomorrow about BP’s role in the disaster and its clean up...

Laura Bush, Obama, Oil Spill, Katrina & the 'Bridge to Nowhere'

Laura Bush, during a Fox News Interview Sunday, was asked about the Media's bias in reporting President Obama's handling of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill - Plus - Obama, Katrina and 'The Alaskan Bridge to Nowhere':

Obama & Biden - To Bleep or not To Bleep?

Obama on the oil spill 'blame' game and 'inheritance'

AIDS Activists Demonstrate at Obama Appearance

From WNYC:

President Barack Obama is attending a Democratic fundraiser this evening at the St. Regis Hotel in Midtown [Manhattan]. Nearby, protestors have gathered and caused traffic disruptions.

The group is here to protest what they say is the Obama administration's failure to fund the effort to fight the global AIDS epidemic. And they say that, by contrast, former President George W. Bush did a better job at keeping the U.S. funding commitment as they think is required.

About 20 demonstrators were taken into police custody. They chained themselves together and sat in the middle of East 54th Street and Madison.

Related News: Obama Rips Wall Street But Hosts High-Dollar Fundraiser in Manhattan

White House Oil Spill Cover-Up?

Related Post: Oilgate? Obama and BP hiding the 'spill'?

White House Oil-Spill Cover-Up - Part 2

The White House, Ken Salazar and the Oil Spill Cover-Up - Part 3

Obama to cut NYC anti-terror funding even after Times Square bombing attempt

From the New York Post:

The Obama administration will announce tomorrow it has slashed anti-terror funds for New York City, despite the attempted Times Square bombing less than two weeks ago that underscored the enormous threat to the city.

The Department of Homeland Security informed New York officials yesterday that grants to the city were cut 27 percent for mass transit security and 25 percent for port security....

The timing of the announcement drew howls from New York lawmakers on Capitol Hill...

"For the administration to announce these cuts two weeks after the attempted Times Square bombing shows they just don’t get it and are not doing right by New York City on anti-terrorism funding," Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said. He urged the White House to reconsider its decision...

Rep. Pete King (R-LI), the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the cuts were "dangerous and unconscionable."...

"The Times Square attempt served as a wake-up call for many," said King, "but apparently not for the Obama Administration, which should be dramatically increasing New York City’s homeland security funding, not decreasing it."

It is not the first time President Obama has short-changed the city on homeland security dollars.

Obama has moved for the second year in a row to eliminate a $30 million program called "Securing our Cities."

It would create a ring of radiation detectors around the city to monitor for nuclear and dirty bombs.

Last year, Schumer and King succeeded in fighting to restore $20 million for the nuke detectors along highways, toll plazas, bridges, tunnels and waterways.

The administration also decided to redeploy the Coast Guard’s Maritime Safety and Security Team in New York to Boston Harbor.

The CBO must be disbanded Immediately!

In a May 11 letter to Rep. Jerry Lewis, CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf retracted his previous estimate of the cost of the health-care overhaul, and conceded that 'discretionary spending could add another $115 billion-plus to the 10-year cost of Obamacare.

Naturally, the CBO has offered up a lame excuse to explain the discrepancy between its latest estimate and the one it used prior to the passage of the health care bill. But it is quite obvious the CBO is nothing more than an arm of the Democratic Party whose sole purpose is to facilitate the Liberal, Left-Wing agenda of the President and his like-minded allies in Congress.

In November of 2009, I cited a post from Verum Serum who went into detail describing the intimate connection that exists between the White House and the past and present leadership of the CBO. Additionaly, Verum Serum noted that Douglas Elmendorf - the purported non-partisan and impartial CBO Director - co-authored a paper, in 2008, extolling the benefits of “establishing universal health insurance”.

From the Verum Serum blog:

The current Director of the CBO is Douglas Elmendorf, a highly-regarded, Harvard trained economist. As you may know, the CBO Director who preceded Elmendorf was Peter Orszag, who now heads up the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Both Elmendorf and Orszag were senior fellows at the Brookings Institution prior to joining the federal government, but they share something else in common as well.

As it turns out, Orszag was the founding director of the Hamilton Project at Brookings, a multi-year research initiative focused on economic policy to “benefit more Americans”. When Orszag left Brooking for the CBO in early 2007, economist Jason Furman took over the reigns of the Hamilton Project. Furman departed in June 2008 when he accepted a position as director of economic policy for the Obama campaign. Who took over for Furman? If you guessed Doug Elmendorf, then you are correct.

Notably, healthcare reform was a significant focus of the Hamilton Project. Furman ultimately authored a book (Who Has the Cure? Hamilton Project Ideas on Health Care), and Elmendorf co-authored a paper with Furman which argued the benefits of “establishing universal health insurance”.

So you have three successive directors of a liberal-leaning policy initiative. Two of them are now very close economic advisers to the President. Orszag at the OMB, and Furman who is now Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. And then you have Douglas Elmendorf in charge at the CBO....

Which is why I strongly believe that the CBO must be disbanded immediately! Truth be told, it should have been disbanded long before congress voted on the health care bill.

Special Interests - although they may be dutifully facilitating Barack Obama's left-wing agenda - should not be running a non-partisan congressional office - especially when they've advocated on behalf of the very piece of legislation whose costs they've been tasked to assess .

Obama’s Jakarta Life to Be Made into Movie

Indonesian author, Damien Dematra, said Tuesday he plans to make a film about President Obama's childhood in Jakarta in time for the President's scheduled visit to Indonesia in June:

The movie is expected to include scenes of the future US president prostrating to God in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, as well as reciting from the Koran.

The film is based on the novel “Obama Anak Menteng” (“Obama the Menteng Kid”), which author Damien Dematra claims to be a true account of “Barry’s” childhood in the Jakarta suburb.

The novel was reportedly written in five days after Damien spent five days interviewing 30 people.

He said he had proof that Obama prayed in the manner of a Muslim and recited the Koran...

[Obama's] father and Indonesian stepfather were Muslim, though he attended secular and Catholic schools in Jakarta. [The President] spent three years in Jakarta in the late 1960s and early ’70s...

“Tomorrow we’re going to finalize the movie script," Damien said, "including whether we’ll show Obama praying or reciting from the Koran."

“The movie is an account of the people around him, friends, neighbors, teachers, schoolmates," he said...

Damien said that he hoped to “rekindle the spirit of pluralism and the power of dreams” through the movie.

“Obama is an icon of pluralism who proved to the world that although he was different, and from the minority, he could aim for the top and beat the majority."

H/T - Free Republic

Biden: "Yeah, it does!"

Feds Won't Release BP Inspection Records

From CBS News:

The federal agency that oversees oil rig safety and leasing of federal lands for drilling [the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS)] has refused to release safety inspection records for Deepwater Horizon in the wake of the explosion that killed 11 people...

When CBS News asked to see those inspection reports on April 29th it took the agency a week and a half to decide that the public records could not be released because they were "considered part of an ongoing investigation."...

MMS has come under increasing fire, as critics say it "rubber-stamped" safety checks at BP's Deepwater Horizon rig...

The Washington Post reported last week the the MMS had exempted BP's "Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year." According to the Post, BP had recently [as recent as April 9] been lobbying the White House Council on Environmental Quality to provide categorical exemptions more often.

On Monday, the Guardian UK reported that "the Obama administration had waived environmental reviews for 26 new offshore drilling projects even as the BP oil disaster spewed hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico..."

The administration also seems to be downplaying the extent of the oil leak, putting the oil spill at 210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels) per day, while others have estimated the spill to be closer to 1.1 million gallons (26,500 barrels) per day.

President Obama has been the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years.

Previous Posts:

Oilgate? Obama and BP hiding the 'spill'?

BP Lobbyists, the Obama Cash Machine and the Gulf of Mexico calamity

Al-Qirbi: Yemen will not extradite Awlaki to US

Yemeni Foreign Minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, told the Kuwaiti Daily Al-Dar on Monday that Yemen would not extradite Anwar al-Awlaki to the U.S., if and when he is apprehended.

"Because of his recent terrorist activity, al-Awlaki is now wanted by the Yemeni government," al-Qirbi was quoted by the Yemen News Agency as saying. "Hence, he must be tried once he is captured and convicted in his homeland, but never by other governments."

"Yemen's position over handing the man to the U.S. is clear and firm because we refuse to hand our people to other countries," he affirmed.

Awlaki is an American-born US citizen who's been linked to recent terrorist attacks against the US, but, as al-Qirbi so eloquently explained, he is one of 'our people', hence, Yemeni officials can not, in good conscience, extradite him to the US, or any other infidel country, for that matter.

Last month, the AP quoted al-Qirbi as saying that Yemen would not seek Awlaki's arrest because Yemen did not consider him to be a 'terrorist':

Yemeni forces are not going after a radical U.S.-born cleric who has reportedly been added to the CIA's list of targets to be killed or captured, the foreign minister said.

Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said that al-Awlaki is not a terrorist and is not on Yemen's own wanted list...

"Anwar al-Awlaki has to us been always looked at as a preacher rather than a terrorist and shouldn't be looked at as a terrorist unless the Americans have evidence that he has been involved in terrorism," al-Qirbi said.

At the time I noted as follows:

When you stop and think about it, al-Qirbi has a legitimate point! If Barack Obama considers Jeremiah Wright to be a genuine preacher, rather than a radical demagogue, then al-Qirbi, too, has every right to look upon Anwar al-Awlaki as an authentic and bona fide preacher, rather than the blood-thirsty terrorist that the infidels allege him to be.

Nevertheless, if Awlaki is eventually apprehended, I have full confidence that US officials will be granted permission to interrogate him for an hour or two - before the Yemenis decide to read him his Miranda rights.....

But who knows, maybe al-Qirbi is right. As the Obama administration is wont to say after a terrorist attack occurs: "We shouldn't jump to conclusions." Awlaki, after all, may be just a lone wolf, who has no ties to Al Qaeda. He may have psychological problems, or he may simply be under duress due to a failed marriage or as a result of the slumping Global economy. Serious problems of this nature, if not dealt with immediately, could lead even the most sanest of minds to perpetrate the most horrific atrocities. Which leads to me to believe that the Obama administration and al-Qirbi are right:

We really shouldn't jump to conclusions....

Don't forget to check out the news headlines on the sidebar!

Oilgate? Obama and BP hiding the 'spill'?

The Washington Post reported last week the the Interior Department exempted BP's "calamitous Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year." According to the Post, BP had recently been lobbying the White House Council on Environmental Quality to provide categorical exemptions more often. In an April 9 letter, BP America's senior federal affairs director, Margaret D. Laney, wrote to the council that such exemptions should be used in situations where environmental damage is likely to be "minimal or non-existent."

Additionaly, Reuters noted last week that President "Obama has been the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years", which prompted me to ask the following question:

How much of an effect did BP's lobbying efforts have on President Obama and the subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?

But apparently, there's more to this story - much more!

From the Guardian Uk:

The Obama administration waived environmental reviews for 26 new offshore drilling projects even as the BP oil disaster spewed hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, environmental activists said today...

The Centre for Biological Diversity said that even after the disaster, the Obama administration did not tighten its oversight of offshore drilling. An investigation by the respected environmental group revealed that since 20 April, when an explosion the Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers, 27 new offshore drilling projects have been approved by the Mineral Management Service (MMS) the regulatory agency responsible for overseeing extraction of oil, gas and other minerals...

And from Oil Price.com:

WMR has been informed by sources in the US Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Florida Department of Environmental Protection that the Obama White House and British Petroleum (BP), which pumped $71,000 into Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign -- more than John McCain or Hillary Clinton, are covering up the magnitude of the volcanic-level oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and working together to limit BP's liability for damage caused by what can be called a "mega-disaster."

Obama and his senior White House staff, as well as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, are working with BP's chief executive officer Tony Hayward on legislation that would raise the cap on liability for damage claims from those affected by the oil disaster from $75 million to $10 billion...

[Snip]

The Obama administration also conspired with BP to fudge the extent of the oil leak, according to our federal and state sources. After the oil rig exploded and sank, the government stated that 42,000 gallons per day was gushing from the seabed chasm. Five days later, the federal government upped the leakage to 210,000 gallons a day.

However, WMR has been informed that submersibles that are monitoring the escaping oil from the Gulf seabed are viewing television pictures of what is a "volcanic-like" eruption of oil. Moreover, when the Army Corps of Engineers first attempted to obtain NASA imagery of the Gulf oil slick -- which is larger than that being reported by the media -- it was turned down. .

There is other satellite imagery being withheld by the Obama administration that shows what lies under the gaping chasm spewing oil at an ever-alarming rate is a cavern estimated to be around the size of Mount Everest. This information has been given an almost national security-level classification to keep it from the public, according to our sources...

From Sky Truth.Org - blog:

BP / Gulf Oil Spill How Big Is It?

Quite a lot bigger than the estimate being uncritically quoted throughout the media of 210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels) per day. That was the last "official" estimate made by NOAA...

At SkyTruth we estimate the spill rate is closer to 1.1 million gallons (26,500 barrels) per day, based on the size of the slick on satellite images and Coast Guard maps, and thickness estimates derived from visual descriptions of the slick. That puts us at a total spill of 21 million gallons so far.

From Apex News Network:

Ian McDonald, a biological oceanographer..., has categorically denied the estimates of NOAA [The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] and BP, which stands at 5000 barrels per day. According to his study and analysis, we are looking at a spill of around 25,000 barrels per day, rather than the 5,000 barrels estimated by BP.

Conclusion: We know that Climategate scientists have been "hiding the decline", but now, it seems as if BP, Obama and NOAA are "hiding the Spill"!

"Oilgate"?

H/T - Maryann Tobin

BP Lobbyists, the Obama Cash Machine and the Gulf of Mexico calamity

From the Washington Post:

The Interior Department exempted BP's calamitous Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year, according to government documents, after three reviews of the area concluded that a massive oil spill was unlikely...

BP has lobbied the White House Council on Environmental Quality -- which provides NEPA guidance for all federal agencies-- to provide categorical exemptions more often. In an April 9 letter [just eleven days before the catastrophic oil spill that started two weeks ago when a deepwater rig leased by BP exploded and sank], BP America's senior federal affairs director, Margaret D. Laney, wrote to the council that such exemptions should be used in situations where environmental damage is likely to be "minimal or non-existent." An expansion in these waivers would help "avoid unnecessary paperwork and time delays," she added.

How much of an effect did BP's lobbying efforts have on President Obama and the subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?

Well, suffice it to say that, while BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates over the past 20 years, the largest chunk of their money has gone to Barack Obama, according to Reuters:

During his time in the Senate and while running for president, Obama received a total of $77,051 from the oil giant and is the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years, according to financial disclosure records.

In Congress, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who last week cautioned that the incident should "not be used inappropriately" to halt Obama's push for expansion of offshore drilling, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of BP's largesse...

"Make no mistake: BP ranks among the most powerful corporate forces in U.S. politics," said Dave Levinthal, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics. "It donates hundreds of thousands of dollars every election cycle through its employees and political action committee..."

BP has also evolved in its corporate giving over the past decade, shifting more money to Democrats...

So, how much of an effect did BP's lobbying efforts have on President Obama and the subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?

Hmmm, that's an excellent question, and one that needs to be addressed urgently, and forthwith!

Related Video: Obama: The Lobbyists Conundrum: