Barack Hossein Obama

[Rasputin]

Barack Obama said on Saturday that, with the long U.S. presidential election campaign over, now was the time for Americans to put aside political differences and work together to solve the economic crisis.

Obama, a Democrat who won a decisive victory against Republican John McCain in Tuesday's election to become the first black U.S. president as of January 20, vowed to seek unity.

He noted Republican President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush had invited Obama and his wife Michelle to the White House on Monday and that the Bushes had offered to do all they could to help with Obama's transition.

"This speaks to a fundamental recognition that here in America we can compete vigorously in elections and challenge each other's ideas, yet come together in service of a common purpose once the voting is done," Obama said in the Democratic Party's weekly radio address.

"And that is particularly important at a moment when we face the most serious challenges of our lifetime," said Obama, who regularly attacked the Bush administration during the campaign for causing the now-global economic crisis.

Obama noted that figures released on Friday showed a 10th straight month of job losses, bringing the total number of unemployed Americans to about 10 million.

"Tens of millions of families are struggling to figure out how to pay the bills and stay in their homes," Obama said. "Their stories are an urgent reminder that we are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime and we must act swiftly to resolve them."

'CAN'T AFFORD TO WAIT'

Obama said he and his transition advisory board -- a well-regarded group of business leaders, former top Washington officials and economic experts -- discussed the challenges at a meeting on Friday and started developing a series of policies to address the crisis.

"While we must recognize that we only have one president at a time and that President Bush is the leader of our government, I want to ensure that we hit the ground running on January 20th because we don't have a moment to lose," said Obama.

In his own weekly radio address, Bush congratulated Obama on his historic victory.

"No matter how we cast our ballots, all Americans have reason to be proud of our democracy. Our citizens have chosen a president who represents a triumph of the American story -- a testament to hard work, optimism and faith in the enduring promise of our nation," Bush said.

But he warned of the difficulties awaiting the president-elect.

"Our country faces economic challenges that will not pause to let a new president settle in," Bush said.

"This will also be America's first wartime presidential transition in four decades," Bush added. "We're in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us -- and they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people."
Bush said his administration would work hard to ensure that that Obama and his team can "hit the ground running."

Obama vowed to help working class families and to stem the problems before they get worse.

He said the United States "can't afford to wait" to move forward with his priorities like clean energy, health care reform, improvements to the education system and tax relief for the middle class.

"I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead," said Obama.

"We've taken some major actions to date, and we will need further actions during this transition and subsequent months," he said.

"Some of those choices will be difficult, but America is a strong and resilient country. I know that we will succeed if we put aside partisanship and work together as one nation. And that is what I intend to do."

[Rasputin]

The head of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team said Sunday that the incoming administration is conducting an extensive review of President Bush's executive orders.

Asked about reports that the transition team already has identified a number of areas where Obama could issue executive orders as soon as he takes office, John Podesta said he would not "preview decisions that [Obama] has yet to make."

"I would say that as a candidate, Sen. Obama said that he wanted all the Bush executive orders reviewed and decide which ones should be kept and which ones should be repealed and which ones should be amended, and that process is going on. It's been undertaken," Podesta said Sunday on "Fox News."

Podesta pointed out that there is a lot the president can do without waiting for Congress, and voters can expect to see Obama do so to try and restore "a sense that the country is working on behalf of the common good."

"I think that we're looking at -- again, in virtually every agency -- to see where we can move forward, whether that's on energy transformation, on improving health care, on stem cell research," he said.

Podesta, chief of staff under President Clinton, is president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank that he founded.

Podesta said Sunday that preparations for Obama's transition have been in the works since early August.

Asked what members of the team have learned from past administrations, Podesta said they knew they had to act quickly.

"I think one of the most critical things ... that we focused on was it was important to name a White House chief of staff early and build a White House staff right from the beginning to go along with the Cabinet's [selection] process," he said.

Tom Ridge, the former secretary of Homeland Security, said Friday that he thinks Obama deserves "expeditious handling of his appointments in the Senate of the United States."

"I would do everything I could to encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle," he said on CNN's "Larry King Live." "It's a difficult time enough, as it is, with transition. You've got 4,000 to 5,000 appointments to fill."

Podesta said he thinks Obama "intends to move very quickly" in naming other members of his senior leadership.

"I think we're moving aggressively to try to build out that core economic team, the national security team, and you'll see announcements when they're ready," he said, pointing to Obama's Friday comments that he plans to move with "all deliberate haste."

Transition spokesperson Stephanie Cutter said there would be no Cabinet announcements this week.

Podesta said to expect a Cabinet that "looks like the way President Obama ran his campaign."

"He brought millions of people in. They weren't all Democrats. He reached out to independents and Republicans. And I think we want to see that reflected at every level of government," he said.

Obama's first pick brought criticism from some Republicans who said they thought Emanuel contradicted Obama's message of change and bipartisan cooperation.

Emanuel insisted Sunday that he would help the president-elect work in a bipartisan fashion, brushing off criticism that he would be a "hyper-partisan" chief of staff.

"President Obama is very clear, as you look at his career, both in the [Illinois] state Senate, U.S. Senate and the campaign, that we have to govern in a bipartisan fashion," he said on ABC's "This Week."

"The challenges are big enough that there's going to be an ability for people of both parties, as well as independents, to contribute ideas to help meet the challenges on health care, energy, tax reform, education."

After Obama's selection of Emanuel, the Republican National Committee put out a press release that said, "Obama's Broken Promise: After promising change, Obama selects hyper-partisan wedded to special interests." Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, called Emanuel an "ironic choice" for a president-elect who promised to "govern from the center."

However, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, called Emanuel a "wise choice."

Graham said he and Emanuel worked together during the presidential debate negotiations, and "when we hit a rough spot, he always looked for a path forward."

Emanuel, who has a reputation as a tough political infighter, is credited with helping Democrats take control of the House of Representatives in 2006.

He was elected to the House in 2002 and is the fourth highest-ranking member of the chamber's Democratic leadership. He worked on Clinton's first presidential campaign and was a White House adviser to Clinton. iReport.com: What's your message for Obama?

The Chicago, Illinois, politician said Sunday that it will take a joint effort from leaders of both parties to tackle the challenges facing the country.

Emanuel also said he thought Sen. John McCain would be a "partner" in working to solve those problems.

Obama has yet to make any Cabinet appointments, but several names have been floating around as top contenders.

Senior Democrats say Sen. John Kerry is jockeying to be secretary of state -- and has a good case after endorsing Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel also may be in the hunt.

Health care is another priority, with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota a possibility. But Democratic sources say Howard Dean, a doctor who had a strong run as the Democratic National Committee chairman, is hungry for the job.

Speculation about Obama's treasury secretary has centered on Lawrence Summers, though he's faced controversy over alleged sexist comments as president of Harvard University. Another name being mentioned is former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Plugged-in Democrats say there's also serious talk of Obama briefly keeping Robert Gates, President Bush's defense secretary, onboard.

Podesta would only say Sunday that "there will be announcements forthcoming."

[Rasputin]

علاقه ایران برای کمک به پیام تغییر اوباما

حسن قشقاوی درباره قضاوت سریع درباره سیاست های اوباما هشدار داد
وزارت امور خارجه ایران از علاقه این کشور برای کمک به تحقق شعار "تغییر" باراک اوباما، رئیس جمهوری منتخب آمریکا خبر داده است.

حسن قشقاوی، سخنگوی وزارت خارجه ایران در یک کنفرانس مطبوعاتی در تهران، نامه هفته گذشته محمود احمدی نژاد به باراک اوباما را بیانگر مواضع اصولی این کشور درباره انتخابات ریاست جمهوری آمریکا دانست.

آقای قشقاوی با اشاره به اقدام مشابه ایران در گذشته در پاسخ به بسته پیشنهادی گروه ۱+۵ گفت: "بر اساس این نامه ایران اعلام کرده است چنان چه اراده جدی برای تغییر در سازوکارها و مناسبات ناعادلانه جهانی وجود داشته باشد، برای کمک به این تحولات اساسی و مناسبات در جهت استقرار مناسبات عادلانه در سطح جهانی آمادگی دارد."

محمود احمدی نژاد، رئیس جمهوری ایران، هفته گذشته در پی پیروزی باراک اوباما در انتخابات ریاست جمهوری آمریکا در پیامی موفقیت او را تبریک گفت.

این نخستین تبریک یک رئیس جمهوری ایران به برنده انتخابات ریاست جمهوری آمریکاست و آقای اوباما گفته در فرصت مناسب به نامه آقای احمدی نژاد پاسخ خواهد داد.

پرهیز از عجله
حسن قشقاوی در سخنان خود خواستار پرهیز از عجله برای روشن تر شدن مواضع رئیس جمهور منتخب آمریکا شد و گفت: "شما هم اظهارات اوباما و نکته ای که ایشان درباره گسترش سلاح هسته ای گفتند را شنیدید که باید دید مراد او از این سخن چه بوده است؟ چرا که تاکنون هیچ کس از وجود سلاح اتمی در ایران سخن نگفته و همه می دانند که تهران در امر خلع سلاح پیشتاز بوده است."

او در پاسخ به سئوالی درباره احتمال مذاکره آقای اوباما با دولت محمود احمدی نژاد یا صبر برای مشخص شدن نتیجه انتخابات ریاست جمهوری سال آینده ایران، تاکید کرد اصول اساسی جمهوری اسلامی با تغییر دولت ها، عوض نمی شود.

آقای قشقاوی همچنین در بخش دیگری از سخنان خود بدون اظهار نظر درباره تکرار دوباره "طرح تعلیق غنی سازی در برابر تعلیق تحریم ها" از بررسی نامه خاویر سولانا، رئیس سیاست خارجی اتحادیه اروپا خبر داد.

[donsaeid]

to dige chera middle name barack obama ro estefade mikoni? nakone republican bodi khabar nadashtim!!!!! doroste babash mosalmon bode va esme khodesho roye pesaresh gozashte ama vaghti khodesh mige barack obama sedam konin shoma ham begin barack obama mage man migam siamake khomeinidoste rafsanjaniparaste ardabili

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Barack Obama won the US elections last night in a landslide victory that had us all glued to our TV sets until the wee hours of the morning. When he was declared president, we started dancing around the living room and shouting from the windows. Parties were going on all over Manhattan, from midtown to Harlem, everyone had a reason to sing and dance.

It was indeed a historic night speaking volumes for the possibility of change in a country that has been a world leader for the better part of the last century. Domestically, Barack appealed to so many. He is smart, he is young and he is “African-American”.




But Barack is a lot more than that to the rest of the world. He is everything. He is white, he is black, he is Christian, he is Muslim, he is African, he is American, he is Indonesian, he is Kenyan and he is an intelligent person who has made the world notice him and not the labels society has given him. He is everything to everybody and in an increasingly multicultural world, where most kids in school have a mother from here and a father from there, Obama is the definition of the new generation.





I was so moved last night by his speech and by the millions of smiling faces on television from around the world. It’s quite ironic because as an Iranian I was brought up to mistrust politicians and as a young girl growing up in revolutionary Iran I could not help but carry a healthy level of skepticism around with me all my life. And now, that has changed.





Obama has restored my hope and he will overnight heal the world’s view of America, a move that is nothing short of miraculous.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

President-elect Barack Obama is considering Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be U.S. Homeland Security secretary, heading a sprawling agency formed to bolster civil defense in the wake of the September 11 attacks, a senior Democrat said.

"She's in the mix. She may be the front-runner," the Democrat told Reuters.

Napolitano, 50, is a former U.S. Attorney for Arizona and state attorney general, giving her law enforcement experience that the current secretary, Michael Chertoff, has said was a key qualification.

As governor of a state bordering Mexico, she also is closely involved in immigration issues which also come under the Homeland Security department's purview.

She was the first U.S. governor to call for the National Guard to assist with border security, at federal expense.

The Democratic source said Napolitano has also been under consideration for U.S. Attorney General -- a job Obama is said to favor giving to former Justice Department official Eric Holder. Obama decided that Napolitano would be "a good fit" at Homeland Security, the source said.

The department began operations in 2003, combining 22 federal agencies responsible for emergency management, customs and immigration, airport security, presidential protection and numerous other security-related activities.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday named former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker as chair of a new panel to advise him on stabilizing financial markets and averting a painful recession.

The move is another step toward tackling the problems ailing the U.S. economy and is part of an aggressive effort by Obama to demonstrate that his administration will face the global financial crisis head-on when he takes over on January 20.

The new board is modeled on an advisory panel that gives the president nonpartisan advice on national security matters, Obama said.

"Sometimes policymaking in Washington can become a little bit too ingrown, a little bit too insular. The walls of the echo chamber can sometimes keep out fresh voices and new ways of thinking," Obama said at his third news conference in as many days.

"This board will provide that fresh perspective to me and my administration," he said.

Financial markets were essentially unchanged by the news of the appointment, which had leaked overnight.

Volcker, 81, has been an important economic adviser to Obama on economic issues. As Federal Reserve chairman in the early 1980s, he was credited with taming inflation through policies that also contributed to a recession at the time.

Obama also named campaign adviser Austan Goolsbee as the panel's staff director. Obama said the University of Chicago professor had "shaped his thinking" on economic matters.

Obama, who will succeed President George W. Bush, seems already to be taking the reins as financial market players increasingly tune out the current president and focus instead on the next U.S. leader.

Other members of the board, who will be named later, will be drawn from business, labor and academia, Obama said.

The drumbeat of bad news continued on Wednesday, as the Commerce Department reported consumers cut spending during October at the steepest rate in more than seven years and orders for costly manufactured goods plummeted.

In addition to naming his top economic advisers, Obama has come closer to forming his national security team, with reports saying that current Defense Secretary Robert Gates will remain in his post and retired Marine Gen. James Jones will take over as national security adviser.

Those appointments, along with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, are likely to be made early next week, after the November 27 U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

FOCUS ON THE ECONOMY

For now Obama has put his focus squarely on the economy, pledging a costly stimulus package that he urged the next Congress to pass quickly.

[Rasputin]

Soon after his inauguration of January 20th President-Elect Obama is anticipated to charge his seemingly competent and diverse cabinet to tackle the lingering economic and security issues of national and international significance. The investigative journalism, that has by and large remained complacent in the past nearly eight years when the abuse of power led to some of the most tumultuous civil, economic and foreign policy quagmires, is now focusing, rightly so, on the incoming administration; this is typified by the current Illinois Governor’s allegation of “selling to the highest bidder” the vacant senatorial seat that has, in turn, inextricably put a damper on Obama’s momentum. Meanwhile, the possibility of Bush’s presidential pardons and clemency, extended to a few hundred ideologues in his close-knit circle, sends shivers down the backbone of our democratic principles and quiver the pillars of our nation. Outgoing presidential pardons, as stipulated in the Constitution and practiced prudently by the ethically lawful presidents of the past, was meant more as a symbolic goodwill gesture to serve justice to a few ordinary citizens whose rights had not been duly served through the general judiciary proceedings. Such a noble idea has, however, been deteriorated under political expediency and partisan reciprocity in recent decades when a president, as typified by Clinton of 2000, and now Bush, abuses his executive power when he, right before leaving Office, superficially immunes from, and/or hastily exonerates most of his cronies and political lackeys who have, or may be otherwise convicted for the crimes and violation of the statues and laws as ordinary citizens. Nonetheless, Congress has the jurisdiction to proactively enact laws so as to preemptively circumvent this last quagmire of the Bush administration for its excessive abuse of executive power. The Office of Attorney General must instead be demanded to fully prosecute the culprits, i.e., wolves and foxes in the sheep clothing both in government and in Wall Street, especially those who have inflicted the current economic terrorism and military calamities upon our nation. If we are genuinely committed to regaining the full trust, cooperation and empowerment of our broad citizenry, in order to move the country forward and beyond its tumultuous juncture, the establishment of a Presidential Pardon Commission under the auspices of the Supreme Court, charged to make recommendations to the subsequent president for pardon, is in order.

[Rasputin]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvlM1vR0-1E[/ame]

[Rasputin]

اعضای تشکل "ایرانیان حامی صلح" در نامه سرگشاده ای به باراک اوباما، رئیس جمهوری آمریکا، از او خواسته اند تا در رویارویی با چالش های سیاسی منطقه خاورمیانه، حق حاکمیت، امنیت و منافع ملی ایران را در نظر داشته باشد.

ایرانیان حامی صلح، شبکه ای از افراد و انجمن های داخل و خارج ایران است که خواهان بهتر شناساندن فرهنگ و جامعه ایران در جهان است.

باراک اوباما، رئیس جمهوری آمریکا، روز 27 ژانویه گفت: "برای ما مهم است که تمایل به گفتگو با ایران داشته باشیم، تا به طور روشن هم اختلافاتمان را بیان کنیم و هم راههای ممکن را برای پیشرفت بررسی کنیم".

اعضای تشکل "ایرانیان حامی صلح" که دفتر آنها در لندن مستقر است در نامه ای به آقای اوباما نوشته اند: "تاکنون نحوه برخورد با انرژی هسته ای ایران، غیرمنصفانه و بی ثمر بوده و به پیامدهای معکوس انجامیده است. دولت شما به دلیل موقعیت ویژه اش می تواند این جریان عمل را دگرگون سازد و به راه حلی هماهنگ با ارزش هایی که شما مطرح کرده اید، دست یابد".

اکبر اعتماد، که در دوره پهلوی رئیس سازمان انرژی اتمی ایران بوده و در حال حاضر رئیس شبکه "ایرانیان حامی صلح" است، در گفتگو با بخش فارسی بی بی سی گفت: "بعد از انتخاب آقای اوباما به عنوان رئیس جمهوری آمریکا، ما امیدواریم که تغییری در سیاست خارجی آمریکا ایجاد شود".

به گفته آقای اعتماد ایران و آمریکا دو قدرت بزرگ حاضر در منطقه خاورمیانه هستند و تا اختلافات این دو کشور حل نشود، خاورمیانه همیشه در اغتشاش خواهد بود.

در بخشی از این نامه آمده است: "برنامه انرژی هسته ای ایران تاکنون در چارچوب قرارداد تامینات آژانس بین المللی انرژی اتمی و زیر نظر بازرسان این آژانس برپایه قرارداد عدم گسترش سلاح های هسته ای انجام می شود. ولی در اثر سیاست های یک جانبه آمریکا و بعضی از کشورهای اروپایی، ایران از همکاری های لازم که در قرارداد نام برده تصریح شده، بی بهره مانده و چاره ای جز این ندارد که برنامه خود را به تنهایی اجرا کند، امری که پیامدش بدگمانی و عدم تفاهم است".

پیروز مجتهدزاده، استاد دانشگاه در تهران، با اشاره به صحبت های اخیر باراک اوباما، رئیس جمهوری آمریکا در باره ایران گفت: "این ها همه علایمی است که دولت جدید آمریکا می خواهد تغییر در سیاست های این کشور را به خاورمیانه هم بکشاند".

به گفته آقای مجتهدزاده، "به رغم نظر بسیاری از ناظران طرفدار اسرائیل که می گویند تغییر در سیاست های آمریکا شامل سیاست های خاورمیانه ای آمریکا نخواهد شد، من فکر می کنم که آقای اوباما سرگرم این کار است و صحبت های اخیر او هم اشاراتی است به این که سیاست های خاورمیانه ای هم شامل برنامه تغییرات او خواهد بود".

در قسمت پایانی این نامه همچنین آمده است که: "سرانجام باید به یاد داشت که وجود سلاح های هسته ای در هر کجای جهان تهدید بزرگی برای همه انسانهاست. اگر بر این امیدیم که پیمان عدم گسترش سلاح های هسته ای به وسیله همه کشورها گرامی داشته شود، کشورهای دارای سلاح های هسته ای می بایست با قاطعیت تعهدات خود را در بند ششم این معاعده رعایت کنند".

[Rasputin]

To refresh everyone's memory, Hillary Clinton gave orders when she was in the White House that NOBODY was to look directly at her nor into her eyes. Meaning that everyone had to lower their eyes in submission when passing or talking to her.

Obama is the other side of the coin. He is afraid to look at anyone for very long as his deceit and glimpses of his nastiness show and give him away. And his gleeful, arrogant humor.

Someone tried to suggest that this is a natural African American trait of lowering eyes when "talking to elders".

But they forget that Obama is an Arab-American by blood and birth NOT an African American and does not even have the 12% African bloodline to merit the Federal standard of being an African ethnicity minority.

And how many African Americans do you know who emulate their new hero? None of the ones I know or have met. Even the most polite ones. They are far more inclined to stare you down than drop their gaze - unless highly embarrassed.

In the meantime, this "people's" socialist President, rooting, so he says, for the small guy and telling us all to be frugal and spend less and give more to others (pay higher taxes) and let his administation spend it, pays an unbelievable $100 a pound for his steaks!! He complained how the price of Arugulo (how many of you know what that is?) - a fancy green leaf used in high end salads has increased in price.

How many of you ever buy Arugulo? Costs many times more by weight than our usual lettuce.

When you consider that being a multi-millionaire, Obama does not help his own family, even a brother living on some $12 a YEAR in a Kenyan slum, or an aunt illegally in the USA he places in public housing so as to not have her pay rent, provides an insight into his Communist mind set.

Communist governments always have those at the top live in luxury, with luxury vacation homes, eat luxuriously and spend your money - by claiming all the money that is available in their country - and paying you the citizen, the lowest possible amount they can to prevent you from immediate starvation. Though starve you will in the long run while they dine on $100 per pound steaks and Arugulo.

And heat their offices (like the Oval Office) hot enough to grow orchids, as Obama's Hitler look-alike advisor happily admits.

And let their factories grind to a halt because their Communist "factory bosses" (our unions) create so much red tape and work rules rather than reward productivity that they are soon running deficits.

I'm not sure "Eli. Eli. lama sabkatani" (forgive them father for they not what they do) as Jesus cried out during his crucifixion, can even be applied to the totally naive masses who voted for this apology for a leader. And who have thrown our country and all of us into a hell on this earth that Obama is creating on a daily basis.

Some of you have already begun to realize this and his approval rating has fallen by about 15% in just the few days he has been in office.

Give him a chance? For what? To create more destruction?

Put more of us out of work as he creates executive orders to support the Unions and hurt the workers who want to pitch in and try to help save our plight?

What a farcical situation you have created, while accepting that people like Chris Dodd, who received sweetheart mortgages (but cannot find the documents) even when the chairman or Country Wide publicly admits this? That this Congresman DID receive a special deal for supporting the mindless loans FreddieMac, FannyMae and other lenders were giving out (on executive orders signed by Bill Clinton and supported/protected by Democrats Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank) to unqualified borrowers.

If this sounds like a sorrow chant, it is. Just as "Amazing Grace" originated in the bowels of slave ships, mine comes from the depths of the sinking America ship. Scuttled by Obama and his greedy Democrats like Pelosi, Murtha and cattle rustler descendant Harry Reid. With slaver Soros at the helm of their efforts to destroy us.

Note the similarity of Bill Clinton's pro-China activities, executive orders and corruption which sold out our country to the Chinese.

The attorney in charge of the China Gate defense of Clinton is the one preventing Obama having to produce his Birth Certificate (though the fat lady has not sung on this yet):

Highlights:


(a) participation in the U.S. Department of Commerce foreign trade mission to China from August 25, 1994 to September 2, 1994, led by then- Commerce Secretary Ron Brown (id. at paras. 63-70);


(b) a waiver signed by President Clinton on February 6, 1996 allowing Loral to launch a commercial communications satellite from China (id. at para. 137);


(c) the transfer on March 14, 1996 of export licencing authority from the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Department of Commerce, which had more lenient licensing requirements than did the State Department (id. at paras. 117-132);


(d) a second waiver signed by President Clinton on July 9, 1996 allowing Loral to launch additional communications satellites from China (id. at para. 13;


(e) a third waiver signed by President Clinton on February 18, 1998 that not only allowed Loral to launch even more communications satellites from China, but also effectively forestalled any criminal prosecution of Loral and/or Loral officials as a result of an grand jury investigation by the U.S. Department or Justice into the unlawful transfer of highly sensitive, missile technology to the Chinese (id. at paras. 172-180); and


(f) an export licence granted by U.S. Commerce Department on March 23, 1998 allowing Loral to export a commercial communication satellite for launch in China. (3) Id. at 181.


Since Plaintiffs filed their Amended Complaint, they have uncovered additional payments by Schwartz to the DNC, DSCC and DCCC between August 1998 and June 1999 totaling another $595,000.00. According to FEC records, Schwartz also made the following payments during this time period:


(a) On August 11, 1998, Defendant Schwartz paid $250,000 to the DNC.


(b) On October 26, 1998, Defendant Schwartz paid $50,000 to the DNC.


(c) On November 6, 1998, Defendant Schwartz paid $100,000 to the DNC.


(d) On February 16, 1999, Defendant Schwartz paid $50,000 to the DSCC.


(e) On March 23, 1999, Defendant Schwartz paid $20,000 to the DNC.


(f) On April 20, 1999, Defendant Schwartz paid $25,000 to the DNC.


(g) On May 14, 1999, Defendant Schwartz paid $25,000 to the DNC.


(h) On May 14, 1999, Defendant Schwartz also paid another $25,000 to the DNC.


(i) On June 28, 1999, Defendant Schwartz paid $50,000 to the DSCC.


In addition, Schwartz and his wife just recently paid yet another $40,000 to a special fundraising account created to assist Mrs. Clinton in her bid for the U.S. Senate.

See Saffir, Barbara J., “Hillary’s Senate run gets a holiday boost: Big donors attend Washington Gala,” The Washington Times, January 15, 2000, attached as Exhibit 2.

In exchange, they were rewarded with an invitation to the President and Mrs. Clinton’s taxpayer-financed New Years Eve gala at The White House, where they sat at Mrs. Clinton’s table.

Id. Also improperly attending the “incestuous” event was Attorney General Janet Reno, whose Justice Department is supposed to be conducting a criminal investigation of Schwartz and Loral. See “White House Millennium Guest List,” Associated Press, December 31, 1999, attached as Exhibit 3.


Clearly, Schwartz’ payments to the DNC, DSCC and DCCC and other organizations affiliated with the Democrats and the Democratic Party continue even up to present.

These additional payments likely constitute compensation for past quid pro quos, or are compensation for additional quid pro quos that Loral already has received or expects to receive in the future, so long as the President and Mrs. Clinton remain in positions of authority where they can provide illicit favors to Schwartz and his corporate enterprises


Read more on the origin of Amazing Grace and watch and listen to the beautiful rendition video by Wintley Phipps and feel my pain and those about to go down the drain because of Obama and his administration. Not Bush! Obama.

We are becoming the new slaves of his Communism.

[siamak]

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"
-- George Santayana



Those who overlook the lessons of history are likely to repeat the mistakes of the past. President Barack Obama seems to be treading the same path on Iran that former President Jimmy Carter was on. That path led to the disastrous circumstances that are still being felt in today’s political sphere. Carter’s misstep was to turn on a key ally in the region the guise of promoting human rights, thereby assisting in the establishment of the current dictatorship.

Carter urged that Shah’s regime take up the cause of human rights, in effect accusing the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, of blatant human rights violations. This was in the midst of Pahlavi’s democratic and economic reforms. Carter fuelled the discontent of the Iranian people against the government in the context of promoting human rights, which in the end deposed the Shah. This betrayal is still remembered as one of the most damaging foreign policy blunders of the American government.

Now, President Obama is projecting the same approach in calling for talks with the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He even states that the talks will occur at the right time. But Obama is not correct in his approach as the President is only titular, the real power belonging to the unelected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini, Iran’s preeminent religious figure. The dilemma here is that the intended beneficiaries of the reforms are the true parties in conflict not the minority government in the country wielding little support.

The U.S. support of the British-sponsored overthrow of the democratically elected secular Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeqh in 1953 demonstrates this misplaced sense of value. The coup was planned by Great Britain, disappointed at the nationalization of the oil industry. The British propounded the idea to depose Mossadeqh and falsely project him as a communist. The Iranian people, reeling from decades of war with Iraq, must be given the opportunity the deal with their own issues, but want and deserve moral support. The Bush administration consistently reached out to the people of Iran and the fabrication behind the Axis of Evil speech was ill conceived.

Former Senator and present Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pilloried the Bush Administration for foot dragging on Iran and called for swift military action. In commenting on the action of Bush instating that he left the job to the Europeans. Clinton has just been true to her war stances since her days in the Senate. The enemies are not the people of Iran, but the theocratic hard-liners in control who in the guise of leading their respective countries are actually conducting widespread abuse of the people. President Obama’s mistake of perception is that he underestimates the intellectual capacity of the reigning hard-liners. Thus, negotiations with the people of Iran must be the tack pursued rather than negotiating with the theoretical dictators.

If the Obama administration were to pursue direct negotiations with the hard-liners, it will only seem that the United States is affording them some sense of recognition, and to a degree, recognition of their regimes and acts that they commit. If there is any party the government must pursue, it is the Iranian people, not the unelected leaders. If the administration were to heed a lesson from history, in light of the influence the United States in world affairs, akin to the Shah affair, it could lead to the unification of the parties in Iran to chart their own road to change simply by providing moral support.

War with Iran would be an atrocity and direct negotiations a resignation. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past and turn our back to one of the most pro-American populace in the world. Democracy needs the United States and resignation is not the answer.