Ukraine wants consultations with Washington and Bucharest on the location in Romania of some elements of the U.S. antimissile shield, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Konstantin Griscenko said on Wednesday. “We believe this policy should aim at strengthening the security of the whole Europe and should
take into account all the political aspects of this issue,” Griscenko said in a press conference in
Bucharest. “We express our interest to have consultations with our partners both Romanians and
Americans,” he emphasized, answering a question. The agreement dissatisfied Moscow, which called for “legal guarantees from the United States to the fact that the current missile systems to be installed in Europe are not directed against Russian nuclear strategic forces.”

On Wednesday, President Dmitry Medvedev warned that Russia might abandon the new nuclear disarmament treaty START signed with the United States, if an agreement with Washington will not be reached.

On Saturday, in a television show on TVR 1, foreign minister Baconschi of Romania said that Russia responded, as it is interested in discussing an offer and tries to increase its power of negotiation with the http://londonapartmentsrental.co.uk/holiday-apartments-in-london-for-rent/. We need to acknowledge that all those affirmations were made by message bearers and not by important politicians from the Russian elite.

At the question whether or not he expects other reactions from Russia, Baconschi said he can’t see any reason for that. He also emphasized that the American antimissile shield is only designed to protect and has no offensive aim that could destabilize the strategic balance that currently exists in the region.

Among the different people that were interviewed was Russian investor Stanley Sidorov who has invested in many different; he stated that the antimissile shield could be compared to historic tale of the “Trojan horse”.

Well, I’m all for supporting this project as the center for Peace and a place to bridge understanding that these Moslems tell us it will be. How wonderful.

However, I would forbid occupation of the completed facility until similar centers of Peace and understanding can be built in Mecca by Christians and Jews. Surely, if goodwill is at the heart of this act of Moslem outreach, that same goodwill will provide the opportunity for a Church and a Synagogue in Mecca to show Moslems how peace-loving Christians and Jews are. If, as Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf argued, [The Mosque would help] “’bridge and heal a divide’” among Muslims and other religious groups, then allowing Christians and Jews to build outreach centers in Mecca would further serve as a bridge to heal a divide.

Mayor Bloomberg is simply wrong to support this project. Those who support the project simply for “tolerance” and “understanding” are either naive or myopically politically correct. As presented, the project is insensitive, offensive and confrontational. It should not be accepted nor allowed. Of course, as I said, if Christian and Jewish outreach centers open in Mecca on the same day, I will support the Cordoba House completely.

The Government has promised to protect the overall budget of the NHS, which will continue to receive above-inflation increases, but said the service must make “efficiency savings” of up to £20 billion by 2014, which would be diverted back to the front line.

Mr Lansley said last month: “This protection for the NHS is protection for patients – to ensure that the sick do not pay for the debt crisis.”

Dr Carter said: “Andrew Lansley keeps saying that the Government will protect the front line from cuts – but the reality appears to be quite the opposite. We are seeing trusts making job cuts even when they have already admitted to being short staffed.

‘‘The statements he makes may be well intentioned – but we would implore him to get a grip on the reality, because these kinds of cuts are incredibly worrying.”

Katherine Murphy, of the Patients Association, said the cuts were “astonishingly brutal” and expressed particular concern at moves to ration operations such as hip and knee operations.

“These are not unusual procedures, this is a really blatant attempt to save money by leaving people in pain,” she said.

“Looking at these kinds of cuts, which trusts have drawn up in such secrecy, it particularly worries me how far they disadvantage the elderly and the vulnerable.

‘‘We cannot return to the days of people waiting in pain for years for a hip operation or having to pay for operations privately.”

She added that it was “incredibly cruel” to draw up savings plans based on denying care to the dying.

We are in DEEP do-do.

America, for decades the world’s Sheepdog, has put the Sheep in control and the rest of the world is reacting predictably. No matter how good the sheep’s clothing looks or how vehemently the BHO regime proclaims itself as just another lamb, the fact remains, the American Spirit is one of the Sheepdog.

As a Sheepdog, America will never be universally liked by the Sheep of the world. An effective Sheepdog can be respected by everyone, but never loved… it’s the way of nature. Even though BHO has dressed America in Sheep’s clothing, the world still sees the Sheepdog… and has lost respect for, and confidence in, the cross-dressing Superpower. Today, the world has no confidence in America being a good friend, and more importantly the world has lost all confidence in America as protector of western liberal democracy… a role it played for just about the entire 20th Century. For the past century the American Sheepdog, standing watch over a thriving herd, has provided for both Allies and former enemies to allow them to recover from the devastation of two world wars and develop into modern liberal democracies. Seventy years of occupation have made Germany and Japan economic powers and centers of political freedom. But the Sheepdog, only doing what he sees as his duty, won’t ever be thanked by the Sheep, nor loved by those he helps.

So I read Mr. Cohen’s lament that,

“Times have changed. America’s power is diminished — relatively, for sure, but absolutely as well. As a superpower, America invaded Iraq. Saddam is dust. But that brief war is now in its eighth year.”

, and I answer with, “It doesn’t have to be this way.” We don’t have to be, and should NEVER be, a Sheepdog in Sheep’s clothing. If we recognize our role as Sheepdog, and act accordingly, we can maintain respect and influence… the error is expecting love and gratitude for enabling the progress of liberal democracy. That love will never come.

Without knowing it, Mr. Cohen has described the phenomenon well… from the Sheep’s perspective.

It suggests inevitability, as if America was the empire of Rome or Britain and also that the past is fated to be the future. That, though, does not have to be the case. We can spend less, tax more, abjure wars of choice, reform Congress and stop confusing the celebrity of the presidency with actual power.

Obama presiding over the unpresidable, the president overseeing the incomprehensible, the full panoply of meaningless power — Air Force One, Marine One, the limo, the motorcade, the briefcase with the nuclear launch codes — all amounting in this case to man railing against the sea, a somber lesson for us all. The spill goes on. The war goes on. The debt grows — and so, for too many of us, does denial.

Mr. Cohen sees the same situation I do, but he seems hopeless. “Oh woe is US… our problems are too big and even the great One cannot make a difference. Oh vast herd of Sheep, hear my bleat.” But the fact is, the spirit of America can’t tolerate hopelessness, more importantly it WON’T tolerate it.

Ignoring the bleating and wailing of the Sheep, self-sufficient Americans will tighten their belts, roll up their sleeves and get back to work building a bright future for the generations that will follow. The fact that the Sheepdogs of the country have been stirred to action gives me great optimism. It matters not that the “movement” isn’t homogeneous, nor monolithic, nor beholden to one creed. It doesn’t matter that there is not a recognized national leader, nor a big bureaucracy to manage the message. The movement that the BHO Administration has been kicking awake is beyond definition. It is the stirring of the American Spirit.

Individualism, personal responsibility, personal liberty, self-reliance and optimism are the principles uniting the awakening voices. Faith in our Constitution and a distrust of big government are the hallmarks of the movement. Beyond that it will be impossible to codify the movement and every effort to classify this collection of individuals will only be seen as another kick.

The President and his sycophantic media can deride the phenomenon and label those stirred to action as Teabaggers. But calling those who are unhappy with growing government and out of control spending and out of touch politicians vulgar names only serves as another kick in the ribs. With each verbal barb, with every mention of more government spending and bigger government, they are kicking the Sheepdog that had been asleep. The American spirit is waking up… a little late perhaps, but it’s begun to reassert itself.

So, Mr. Cohen, if joining Europe as a loved member is your desire, I’m afraid you are correct in your pessimism. But if you love the idea of America as the shining city on a hill; if you recognize that people all over the world dream of coming to America to escape government and economic tyranny; if you believe that America is truly a unique and exceptional place; then you are probably worried, but still confident that the American Spirit lives on. Mr. Cohen, instead of rending your clothing, just roll up your sleeves, tighten your belt and show us what you can do to help us climb out of this funk. And if you’re unable to muster the strength or courage to help, just get out of the way and let the doers do.

It can’t be soon enough, but in the near future America will toss off the Sheep’s clothing. As we’ve seen in every election since the 2008 General Election, the Sheepdog is awake… the American Spirit is rising and it doesn’t care that we’re not universally loved. Respect is the important word.

The Arab state… the second Arab state to be carved from the Mandate, was not to be. Unwilling to recognize Israel, unwilling to live side-by-side with Jews, the Arabs responded, not with joy and dancing, but with hatred and war.

Today, 62 years later, that same situation exists. The Arabs, full of hatred, refuse to recognize Israel and continue to wage war against Jews and their State. Israelis, continue to govern themselves, and continue to build a prosperous and FREEE nation. Israel deserves our respect and the Arabs deserve our scorn.

So on a day when two complimentary Independence Days could be celebrated, we only have one.

Am Isreal, Chai!

Here’s Congressman Paul Ryan.

This presumptuous [healthcare] reform has put this nation … once dedicated to the life and freedom of every person … on a long decline toward the same mediocrity that the social welfare states of Europe have become.

The problem in a nutshell is this: Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, three giant entitlements, are out of control. Exploding costs will drive our federal government and national economy to collapse. And the recession plus this Congress’ spending spree have accelerated the day of reckoning.

Today, Medicare is $38 trillion short of its promised benefits. In five years, the hole will grow to $52 trillion. Your family’s share of this gap is $458,000. Medicaid will add trillions more in state and federal debt.

Social Security’s surplus is already gone, and its debt is mounting. Unless its finances are strengthened, the government will be forced to cut benefits nearly 25 percent or raise payroll taxes more than 30 percent.

Both Republicans and Democrats have failed to be candid about this. And we have only postponed the crisis by shaking a tin cup at China and Japan.

In case you missed it, let me repeat the essence of the problem facing us, that Congress and the President are oblivious to:

Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, three giant entitlements, are out of control. Exploding costs will drive our federal government and national economy to collapse. And the recession plus this Congress’ spending spree have accelerated the day of reckoning.

“I think Obama is possibly the most dangerous and destructive president we have ever had.”

“I am beginning to think that this guy is a phony. Obama seems to have no firm principles that I can discern that he will adhere to. His only principle is his own aggrandizement.”

“Obama is a bad man in terms of the Constitution.”

“So all in all, Obama is a disaster.”

“Obama has little, if any, principles except to aggrandize and make himself more and more important. You see that in his foreign policy. Obama lacks a backbone—both a constitutional backbone and a personal backbone. This is a man who is causing us and will cause us a great deal of harm constitutionally and personally. I say personally because I am 84 years old, and this is the first administration that has scared me in terms of my lifespan.”

“This is a dishonest administration, because it is becoming clear that the unemployment statistics of the Obama administration are not believable. I can’t think of a single area where Obama is not destructive.”

Maybe it shouldn’t be baffling, I should not be surprised by the juvenile way Obama and his Administration dismiss and ignore anything of value if it can be tied to George Bush. So what can one conclude about Obama as a result of the decision?

1. He has a knee-jerk reaction to erase Bush from all memory of anything that might be considered good or effective. Conversely he has a knee-jerk reaction to blame Bush for everything that isn’t perfect.

2. He has an unnatural and unhealthy need to be liked… and to be liked on his terms. He’s going to give birth to a new name for extreme narcissism… something like Barackissism.

3. He is either extremely naive about the nature of our Islamist enemy or he shares some of their agenda… The result is the same.

The decision is so wrong and so disturbing to me, but I’m not alone, some of Holder’s supporters agree.

A third signer of the letter [in support of Eric Holders’ appointment as Attorney General] who leaves no doubt about his opposition to the decision is Joseph DiGenova, former United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. “It’s insanity, absolute insanity,” says DiGenova. “I think it’s a reckless decision borne of ideology, absolutely bereft of any reason for it happening. It’s just mind boggling.” DiGenova cites a long list of reasons for not holding the trial in an American civilian court: “It’s going to be extremely difficult to make a case against him. The litigation involved in the case is going to be lengthy. You make New York a target again. The judge is going to have protection for the rest of his life. Some of the jurors may want protection for the rest of their lives.”
Both DiGenova and his wife, former Justice Department and Senate Judiciary Committee official Victoria Toensing, signed the letter endorsing Holder. While DiGenova does not say he would not sign the letter if he had it to do over again, the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed decision is troubling. “It would have raised serious questions,” DiGenova says. “This type of thing is really important — it’s very disturbing and so, so unnecessary.”

Yes it is… very disturbing and So Unnecessary.

Reading Mark Steyn over the weekend, I was struck by his final observation, and how it applies so perfectly to President Obama’s (pbuh) perspective:

Ezra Levant, my comrade in a long battle to restore freedom of speech to Canada, likes to say that the Danish cartoons crisis may one day be seen as a more critical event than 9/11. Not, obviously, in the comparative death tolls but in what each revealed about the state of Western civilization. After 9/11, we fought back, hit hard, rolled up the Afghan camps; after the cartoons, we weaseled and equivocated and appeased and signaled that we were willing to trade core Western values for a quiet life. Watching the decadence and denial on display this last week, I think in years to come Fort Hood will be seen in a similar light. What happened is not a “tragedy” but a national scandal, already fading from view.

We are… he is… weaseling, equivocating, appeasing, and trading core Western Values for a quiet life. Of course he and they will say, “Au Contraire! we are holding fast to core values.!” There’s the rub.

President Obamas’ core value seems to be “To Be Liked.” That’s all. To…Be…Liked. He seems willing to go to almost any extreme to be liked. He’s like a man feeling excluded from the most exclusive, most respected Country Club in the land. Only he’s not excluded… he’s the Club President, and instead of reaching out to more members he decides to destroy the club to make it’s members more like everyone else. Well Mr. President… the members are catching on.

Some members are still proud of the President’s decision to try KSM and his fellow terrorists in a civilian court, but even their eyes will be opened… let’s hope it’s soon enough.

The failure of Barack Obama to recognize the distinction is a monumental shortcoming. Whether it is naivety or whether it is part of his “fundamentally changing America” from the country he is endlessly apologizing for doesn’t matter. The damage is the same. Barack Obama has no appreciation for, no knowledge of, and absolutely no respect for the Profession of Arms. (The same might also be said of his position on our Intelligence services… which he seems to see as a political arm of the Executive Branch).

Simply put, Barack Obama is doing great harm to our National Security. I’m encouraged to see that James Webb is also critical of the decision, though not as completely critical as I am. This from Senator Webb’s web site:

The precedent set by this decision deserves careful scrutiny as we consider proper venues for trying those now held at Guantanamo who were apprehended outside of this country for acts that occurred outside of the country. And we must be especially careful with any decisions to bring onto American soil any of those prisoners who remain a threat to our country but whose cases have been adjudged as inappropriate for trial at all. They do not belong in our country, they do not belong in our courts, and they do not belong in our prisons.

I have consistently argued that military commissions, with the additional procedural rules added by Congress and enacted by President Obama, are the most appropriate venue for trying individuals adjudged to be enemy combatants.