What happens when the Church (any religion) keeps people down to keep them!
Catholic-Muslim turf war still resonates at Cordoba cathedral
The scuffle over La Mezquita is echoed throughout Spain these days as members of each faith tests the other's tolerance.
By Tracy Wilkinson, Times Staff Writer
March 28, 2007

CORDOBA, SPAIN — Mansur Escudero knew the answer before he asked.

Approaching the guard at Cordoba's majestic once-a-mosque, now-a-cathedral, Escudero posed the question: May I say Muslim prayers inside?

The slightly startled Spanish guard gave an emphatic no. This is a Catholic church, he said, and as such it is absolutely prohibited to pray in any other faith. Escudero persisted, but the guard was firm.

This is a cathedral, the guard repeated, growing more agitated: "A CA-THO-LIC CHURCH."

The 1,200-year-old architectural wonder that is one of Spain's most renowned landmarks is at the center of a turf war over religious space, cultural recognition and rivalries that are both ancient and contemporary.

Known as La Mezquita in Spanish and the Great Mosque in English, its spectacular forest of striped arches and jasper-and-marble columns constitutes one of ancient Islam's most iconic legacies. But La Mezquita has served as a consecrated Catholic church for nearly 800 years — ever since Spain's Catholic monarchs ejected Islamic forces that had ruled most of the Iberian Peninsula for more than five centuries.

The scuffle over La Mezquita is echoed throughout Spain these days as members of each faith tests the other's tolerance in this overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country with a fast-growing Muslim minority. Tensions were further inflamed when Islamic militants blew up commuter trains in Madrid three years ago, killing nearly 200 people.

The dispute has special resonance in Cordoba, an Andalusian crossroads that beginning more than a millennium ago was the capital of Moorish Spain and one of the Western world's greatest centers of intellectual and artistic culture.

Some of today's Muslims may long for Islam's glorious past, but Mansur Escudero insists he just wants a place to pray.

"We could be an example for the world," he said, "awakening the consciences of both Christians and Muslims and showing it's possible to put aside past conflicts."

Inspired by the pope

Escudero, a Spaniard who converted to Islam 28 years ago, has been fighting to gain prayer rights here for much of his life. He decided to try again, inspired by the journey to Istanbul last fall of Pope Benedict XVI, who stood alongside an imam in that Turkish city's famous Blue Mosque, faced Mecca and prayed.

Escudero and the Islamic Council of Spain that he heads took the case straight to the Vatican, writing the pope to suggest that the site in Cordoba become a "singular and unique ecumenical space" in which both Christians and Muslims could pray.

The pope did not write back.

However, the bishop of Cordoba, Juan Jose Asenjo, was more than happy to respond. Far from fostering peace, he said, the sharing of places of worship would only "generate confusion" among the faithful.

The stone compound that embraces the cathedral, with courtyards and fragrant orange trees, abuts Cordoba's old Jewish Quarter, testament to a community that flourished and lived in relative peace under the Muslim caliphate. A few narrow, winding streets away is one of only three medieval synagogues that have survived in Spain.

Muslims are not allowed to pray inside the Great Mosque, with its ornate, golden mihrab, or prayer niche, that points to Mecca. But Catholics can attend Mass every day. On a recent Sunday, soon after Escudero made his quixotic pitch to the guard, Cordoba's clerics donned purple robes and led a morning service for about 50 parishioners.

There is something a bit incongruous about a Catholic Mass inside what still looks like a mosque: a life-size crucifix hangs under a horseshoe-shaped Moorish arch; arches also frame the priests' red velvet chairs.

Christian elements were added as a church was in effect erected inside the mosque during the 16th to 18th centuries, including giant mahogany choir stalls and altars, numerous gated chapels along the walls, Gothic crosses and a baroque bishop's throne.

On this particular Sunday, perfumed smoke floated from silver censers toward the cathedral's vaulted ceilings while parishioners recited the Lord's Prayer and took Communion.


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Pathetic! Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was cleared to be installed on the Texas Supreme Court!
Aide: Prosecutors fired over priorities

By LAURIE KELLMAN and LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writers 11 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Eight federal prosecutors were fired last year because they did not sufficiently support
President Bush's priorities, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' former chief of staff says in remarks prepared for delivery to Congress on Thursday.

Separately, the Justice Department admitted Wednesday it gave senators inaccurate information about the firings and presidential political adviser Karl Rove's role in trying to secure a U.S. attorney's post for one of his former aides, Tim Griffin.

In a letter accompanying new documents sent to the House and Senate Judiciary committees, Justice officials acknowledged that a Feb. 23 letter to four Democratic senators erred in asserting that the department was not aware of any role Rove played in the decision to appoint Griffin to replace U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins in Little Rock, Ark.

Gonzales' former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, in remarks obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, spoke dismissively of Democrats' condemnation of what they call political pressure in the firings.

"The distinction between 'political' and 'performance-related' reasons for removing a United States attorney is, in my view, largely artificial," he said. "A U.S. attorney who is unsuccessful from a political perspective ... is unsuccessful."

Democrats have described the firings as an "intimidation by purge" and a warning to remaining U.S. attorneys to fall in line with Bush's priorities. Political pressure, Democrats say, can skew the judgment of prosecutors when deciding whom to investigate and which indictments to pursue.

Sampson, who resigned this month because of the furor over the firings, is to testify Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In his prepared testimony, he maintained that adherence to the priorities of the president and attorney general was a legitimate standard.

"Presidential appointees are judged not only on their professional skills but also their management abilities, their relationships with law enforcement and other governmental leaders and their support for the priorities of the president and the attorney general," Sampson said.

He strongly denied Democrats' allegations that some of the prosecutors were dismissed for pursuing Republicans too much and Democrats not enough in corruption cases.

"To my knowledge, nothing of the sort occurred here," he said.

The White House said it will withhold comment on Sampson's testimony until he testifies.

In a letter accompanying documents sent to lawmakers on Wednesday, Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Hertling said that certain statements in last month's letter to Democratic lawmakers appeared to be "contradicted by department documents included in our production."

The Feb. 23 letter, which was written by Sampson but signed by Hertling, emphatically stated that "the department is not aware of Karl Rove playing any role in the decision to appoint Mr. Griffin." It also said that "the
Department of Justice is not aware of anyone lobbying, either inside or outside of the administration, for Mr. Griffin's appointment."

Those assertions are contradicted by e-mails from Sampson to White House aide Christopher G. Oprison on Dec. 19, 2006, about a strategy to deal with senators' opposition to Griffin's appointment. In the e-mail, Sampson says there is a risk that senators might balk and repeal the attorney general's newly won broader authority to appoint U.S. attorneys.

"I'm not 100 percent sure that Tim was the guy on which to test drive this authority, but know that getting him appointed was important to Harriet, Karl, etc.," Sampson wrote. Former White House counsel Harriet Miers was among the first people to suggest Griffin as a replacement for Cummins.

In his written testimony to the Senate committee, Sampson also refers to the White House role in the firings, beginning with the quickly rejected idea of replacing all 93 U.S. attorneys after the 2004 election. He said he periodically provided to the White House over two years updated lists of U.S. attorneys whose dismissals were under consideration.

Sampson's testimony Thursday is voluntary, though committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record) told reporters he has kept a signed subpoena in case Gonzales' chief of staff backed out.

There was no indication of that happening. In his remarks, Sampson said he was pleased to appear and pledged to stay as long as necessary.

Nothing will stop the investigation, Leahy said Wednesday — not even Gonzales' resignation.

"In case anybody's thinking of shortchanging it that way, I have a message for them: We'll finish this investigation before we'll have any confirmation hearings for a new attorney general," said Leahy, D-Vt. "I want to know what the facts were."

The developments reflect the fragile hold Gonzales has on his job and the escalating tensions between Democrats in Congress and Bush over any testimony by White House aides and documents related to the firings.

Leahy indicated Gonzales' credibility had suffered from repeated attempts to explain contradictions between his account of his involvement in the firings and e-mails released by his department that suggest he may have done more than sign off on them.

"You can only do, 'What I really meant to say,' three or four or five or six times," Leahy said sarcastically. "Then people tend not to believe it."

Sampson said in his testimony that any inconsistencies were innocent mistakes.

"This is a benign rather than sinister story," he said.

Gonzales has refused to resign over the firings and the Justice Department's bungled response to questions about them from Congress. For now, he retains Bush's support — though the president has put the onus on Gonzales for resolving lawmakers' questions.

"I'm traveling a bumpy road these days," Gonzales said Wednesday during a brief lunch speech to about 1,000 members of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

In another sign that the saga was far from over,
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (news, bio, voting record) has signed a contract with the law firm Arnold & Porter worth up to $225,000 through the end of the year to help with the investigation.

Republicans said the contract, which was first reported by The Washington Times, was evidence Democrats were willing to invest taxpayer money in efforts to conduct political investigations of the administration.

There are too many sad ironies here to make a comment!
Arab lesbians hold rare public meeting

By DIAA HADID, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 36 minutes ago

HAIFA, Israel - Arab lesbians quietly defied Islamist protesters and a social taboo to gather at a rare public event Wednesday in a northern Israeli city.

Many of the attendees said they were sad that the only place safe enough to hold a conference for gay Arab women was in a Jewish area of Haifa, which has a mixed Arab-Jewish population.
Israel's Jewish majority is generally tolerant of homosexuality

"This conference is being held, somehow, in exile, even though it's our country," said Yussef Abu Warda, a playwright.

Driven deep underground for the most part, only 10 to 20 Arab lesbians attended the conference, organizers said. Most blended in with Israeli lesbians and heterosexual Arab female supporters without making their presence known.

"We'd like all women to come out of the closet — that's our role. We work for them," said Samira, 31, a conference organizer who came with her Jewish Israeli girlfriend. Samira agreed to be identified only by her first name for fear of reprisals.

Outside the conference hall, 20 women protesters in headscarves and long, loose robes held up signs reading, "God, we ask you to guide these lesbians to the true path."

Security was tight. Attendance was by invitation only, and reporters were not allowed to take photographs, use tape recorders or identify people.

Israel's secular metropolis, Tel Aviv, is home to a thriving gay community. Jerusalem, with its large proportion of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews, is strongly anti-gay.

Homosexuality, which is strictly forbidden by Islam, is considered taboo among most of Israel's Arab citizens, who make up 20 percent of the country's population.

Poetry readings, music and Arab women rappers entertained the conference, called "Home and Exile in Queer Experience," organized by Aswat, an organization for Arab lesbians with members in Israel, the
West Bank and
Gaza Strip.

"We are here to say they (Arab lesbians) are not alone," said Rawda Morcos, Aswat's spokeswoman, one of a tiny minority of Arab women who are openly gay.

Morcos said her car was vandalized repeatedly and she received threatening phone calls at her family home after her village in northern Israel found out she was a lesbian.

Even rapper Nahwa Abdul Aal, who performed for the gathering, didn't support it.

"Being at this conference hasn't changed my mind," she said. "I still think it's wrong."

Samira, who has a dozen brothers and sisters, said she told a sibling she was gay two years ago. The news quickly spread among the family, and her 70-year-old mother fell into a depression, begging her daughter to change her ways.

But she eventually accepted her daughter's homosexuality "in her own way," by packing large boxes of food for Samira whenever she came to visit.

"My mother said, 'take the food, for you and your girlfriend'," Samira recalled, agreeing to be identified only by her first name for fear of reprisals.

Some of her family never came around. A pregnant sister told Samira she would "never touch her children."

___

On the Web: http://www.aswatgroup.org/english/

Reinforcing Dark Age superstition is worse than sheltering child molesters, it's about POWER!
Nun in late pope's beatification named

9 minutes ago

Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre is the French nun whose testimony of a mystery cure from Parkinson's disease will likely be accepted as the miracle the Vatican needs to beatify Pope John Paul II, an official at the Paris maternity hospital where she works said Wednesday.

The identity of the nun has been one of the Catholic Church's most closely guarded secrets. The nun says that she was cured of Parkinson's after she and her community of nuns prayed to John Paul.

The nun, a member of the "Congregation of Little Sisters of Catholic Motherhood" in Aix-en-Provence in southeast France, works at the Sainte-Felicite hospital in Paris, the official said on condition of anonymity because an official announcement was expected Sunday.

In Rome, Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the Polish cleric spearheading the John Paul's beatification cause, said the bishop in the woman's diocese would announce details about her case during his Palm Sunday Mass this weekend.

French newspaper Le Figaro, in an unsourced report late Wednesday on its Web site, first identified the nun by name, saying she was 45 years old.

The nun is traveling to Rome for ceremonies Monday marking the second anniversary of the pontiff's death and the closure of a church investigation into his life which began after chants of "Santo Subito!" or "Sainthood Now!" erupted during John Paul's 2005 funeral.

The Vatican's saint-making process requires that John Paul's life and writings be studied for its virtues. The Vatican also requires that a miracle attributed to his intercession be confirmed, before he can be beatified — the last formal step before possible sainthood.

Pope Benedict XVI announced in May 2005 that he was waiving the traditional five-year waiting period and allowing the beatification process to begin. There is still no word on when any beatification or canonization might occur.

Only one document about the long-mysterious nun's experience has been made public: an article she wrote for "Totus Tuus," the official magazine of John Paul's beatification case.

She wrote of being diagnosed with Parkinson's in June 2001, having a strong spiritual affinity for John Paul because he too suffered from the disease and suffering worsened symptoms in the weeks after the pope died on April 2, 2005.

The nuns of her community prayed for her, and exactly two months after the pontiff's death, she awoke in the middle of the night cured, she wrote.

We don't care where you go, Yankee, but get the fuck out of Dodge, and Grow Up!
Militants attack Iraqi, U.S. forces with chlorine bombs

Wed Mar 28, 8:26 AM ET

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Insurgents with two chlorine truck bombs attacked a local government building in Falluja in western
Iraq on Wednesday, the latest in a string of attacks using the poisonous gas, the U.S. military said.

It said 15 Iraqi and U.S. soldiers were wounded in the blasts and many more suffered chlorine poisoning.

"Numerous Iraqi soldiers and policemen are being treated for symptoms such as labored breathing, nausea, skin irritation and vomiting that are synonymous with chlorine inhalation," a U.S. statement said.

It said no Iraqi or U.S. forces were killed in what it called a "complex attack" using mortars and small arms as well as the truck bombs.

Chlorine gas was widely used in World War One but its use in insurgent attacks in Iraq has particular resonance there.
Saddam Hussein attacked Kurdish areas with chemical weapons in the 1980s during the
Iran-Iraq war.

Earlier Iraqi police said two car bombs exploded near an Iraqi checkpoint outside a U.S. military base in Falluja, killing eight Iraqi soldiers.

U.S. spokesman Lieutenant Shawn Mercer said the U.S. statement referred to the same incident but he could not confirm the deaths of the Iraqi policemen.

"Iraqi police identified the first suicide attacker and fired on the truck, causing it to detonate before reaching the compound," the U.S. statement said.

"Iraqi Army soldiers spotted the second suicide truck approaching the gate and engaged it with small arms fire, causing it to also detonate near the entrance of the compound."

U.S. commanders and the Iraqi government have blamed al Qaeda militants for several recent attacks using chlorine gas in Anbar, a restive mainly Sunni Arab province in western Iraq.

"The extent of the injuries from the inhalation is varied. It was very light to more severe. As far as we know none life-threatening at this point," Mercer said.

On March 17, insurgents deployed three chlorine car bombs on one day near Falluja and Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province.

Chlorine, which is turned from solid or liquid form to a gas by the blast, causes severe burns when inhaled and can cause death.

The U.S. military said it discovered an al Qaeda car bomb factory last month near Falluja with chlorine tanks..

who is still stupid enough to believe governments represent their people!? Gates is a dick like Iran's President!
Pentagon chief warns against "illusions" on Iran

26 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday said the United States was open to high-level talks with Tehran, but warned against "illusions" about Iran's government and its intentions.

"We should have no illusions about the nature of this regime or about their designs for their nuclear program, their intentions for
Iraq or their ambitions in the Gulf region," Gates said at a speech to the American-Turkish Council in Washington.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran are high and at risk of worsening with Iran's capture and continued detention of 15 military personnel from Britain, America's closest ally.

The United States has repeatedly accused
Iran of fueling Sunni-Shi'ite violence in Iraq by providing arms and other support to Shi'ite militias. The United States and others also say Iran's nuclear energy program is being used as a cover to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.

Gates, who advocated U.S. dialogue with Iran before he took the
Pentagon job in December, said talks this month in Baghdad that included U.S., Iranian and Syrian officials were "a good start" toward improving cooperation.

"Our government is open to high-level exchanges," he said.

"But in dealing with a regime like Iran one has to be realistic. The American search for elusive Iranian moderates is a recurring and mostly fruitless theme since the (Iranian) revolution in 1979."

It is UNACCEPTABLE when the State victimizes the victim! Do something about this, Fred!
Bullock Film Company Sues Mental Health Agency
By WENN | Friday, September 22, 2006

HOLLYWOOD - Sandra Bullock is suing Tennessee's mental health agency to ensure it notifies her when her alleged stalker is released from a mental health institution.

The suit, which was filed last week on behalf of her film company Fortis Films, does not seek financial damages but calls for the agency's agreement to alert Bullock when Thomas James Weldon is released from Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute.

The lawsuit describes Weldon's "fixation on a certain employee of Fortis Films Inc."

Weldon is under court order in California to stay at least 200 feet away from Bullock since 2003, and the order has been extended until 2009.

Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities spokeswoman Jill Hudson claims not to have seen the lawsuit and declined to comment.

Article Copyright Entertainment News Network All Rights Reserved.
.

This looks to us to be a really good deal for John Deere...
GM offered Daimler GM stock in Chrysler bid: report

Mon Mar 26, 12:59 PM ET

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news) offered DaimlerChrysler AG (DCXGn.DE) a stake of less than 10 percent of its own stock in an early, "longshot" bid to acquire Chrysler Group, the Detroit News reported on Monday.

GM's bid for Chrysler, which was made in January before Daimler opened discussions with a range of bidders, did not include a cash transfer to Daimler, the newspaper reported.

GM's offer remains active as other bidders prepare to tender their own offers for Chrysler this week, but unnamed sources close to the sale process consider it a "longshot," the paper said.

GM has been in discussions with Daimler about an acquisition of Chrysler and on other areas of cooperation, including vehicle development, people familiar with those talks have said.

But the Detroit News report marked the first time that details of the GM offer for Chrysler have been reported.

Han Tjan, a spokesman for DaimlerChrysler, declined to comment.

Tony Cervone, a GM spokesman, declined to comment on the report, saying only that the automaker had frequent discussions about areas of potential cooperation with other companies in the industry. "Often they don't lead to anything," he said.

The Detroit News said GM had asked for more than $1 billion from Daimler to defray Chrysler's health-care costs and sought cooperation in negotiating concessions from the
United Auto Workers Union.

GM also offered Daimler an equity stake of less than 10 percent of its own stock, the newspaper said.

Chrysler, the No. 4 U.S. automaker and home to the Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge brands, was put into play in mid-February, when DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche announced that the company was keeping all options open for the unit.

The Detroit News reported that Daimler rejected GM's initial offer for Chrysler as too low, a move that prompted Zetsche's announcement of a potential sale.

GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner had first discussed a deal to acquire Chrysler with Zetsche in December, the Detroit News said, quoting unnamed sources.

Last week, analyst Bret Hoselton of KeyBanc Capital Markets said that auto supplier Magna International (Toronto:MGA.TO - news) had joined with an unnamed private equity partner to offer to acquire Chrysler for $4.7 billion.

Daimler is looking to get initial bids from potential buyers before the end of the month and ahead of an April 4 shareholder's meeting in Berlin.

Daimler executives are expected to be pressed for an update on progress in the Chrysler sale but are unlikely to offer new details, a person close to the process said.

Other private-equity bidders for Chrysler include Cerberus Capital Management and an alliance between Blackstone Group and Centerbridge Partners, people familiar with the talks have said.

Cerberus has reportedly hired former Chrysler Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Bernhard as an adviser.

Otherwise known as "Containment." We will never hear from her again!
Victim wears Mohammad bomb cartoon to Madrid trial

1 hour, 25 minutes ago

MADRID (Reuters) - A woman who lost her husband in the 2004 Madrid train bombings displayed an infamous cartoon mocking the Prophet Mohammad on her T-shirt in front of 29, mostly Muslim, suspects on trial for the attacks on Monday.

The woman's white T-shirt showed Mohammad wearing a bomb as a turban -- one of a series published by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten which unleashed violent protests by some Muslims last year.

Ten bombs ripped through four commuter trains on March 11, 2004, killing 191 people -- attacks which public prosecutors blame on a group of Islamist militants inspired by al-Qaeda.

The woman sat in the front row of the court wearing the T-shirt for around half-an-hour before getting up, walking up to the glass cage containing the defendants and finally walking out of the court, judicial sources said.

The lead judge in the case, Javier Gomez Bermudez, asked security staff to identify the woman as she left the court. She later received support from psychologists drafted to help victims' families through the trial, Spanish media reported.

Well crap, here goes the neighborhood...!
Iowa's Vilsack endorses Hillary Clinton for 2008

28 minutes ago

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who dropped his brief presidential bid last month, endorsed Democratic Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton's candidacy for the White House on Monday.

"This is the person to be the next president of the United States," Vilsack said at a news conference with Clinton. "She is tried, she is tested and she is ready."

Vilsack said the endorsement was in part a result of the former first lady's fund-raising efforts on his behalf during his first campaign for governor in 1998.

"In politics, loyalty is a commodity that is rare," Vilsack said.

His endorsement is a boost for Clinton in Iowa, which traditionally holds the first contest of the nominating race. Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York, leads a crowded Democratic field in national opinion polls but trails 2004 vice presidential nominee
John Edwards in many Iowa polls.

Vilsack dropped out of the 2008 White House race after finding he could not keep pace in raising money.

Former PM Barrak making comeback...?
Barak rallies supporters in bid for PM

By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer Mon Mar 26, 4:48 AM ET

JERUSALEM -
Ehud Barak, the former prime minister who was crushed in an election six years ago, led a rally of hundreds of supporters in his first major show of force since announcing his political comeback.

Barak, vying to win the leadership of the dovish Labor in a May primary, held the rally in the dining hall of a kibbutz near Tel Aviv on Sunday night, drawing some 1,500 supporters, according to media reports.

Barak unveiled his campaign slogan — "Barak will give us back our security" — and a new campaign jingle with the lyrics, "Barak is security, Barak is experience."

The reference to "security" is a jab at Labor's current leader, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who has been dismally unpopular since
Israel's war in Lebanon last summer. Peretz has been widely blamed for mishandling the war.

The nod at "experience" is meant to emphasize Barak's advantage over his main rival for Labor's top job, political newcomer Ami Ayalon. Ayalon is a former head of Israel's internal security service, Shin Bet.

Barak announced his political comeback in January.

In a speech Sunday night, Barak referred to himself as "someone who has learned from his mistakes and learned his lessons."

A decorated commando and former army chief of staff, Barak swept to power in 1999 on a dovish platform and led a series of dramatic moves — pulling Israel's troops out of Lebanon after an 18-year occupation, holding peace talks with
Syria and then trying to strike a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

But when those peace talks collapsed in 2000, the Palestinians began a bloody uprising that has claimed thousands of Israeli and Palestinian lives.

Discredited and unpopular, Barak was driven from power in a national election a few months after the outbreak of violence by hardliner
Ariel Sharon, and left politics.

With Peretz widely expected to lose the party leadership, Barak and Ayalon are the two front-runners to head Labor. While Barak enjoys an edge inside the party, polls show that Ayalon is more popular with the public.

When will these pricks realize every time they diminish program or funding they kill Vets?!
VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 03-24-2007 #1


VA Medical Malpractice Lawyer - Malpractice Cases for Veterans Against the VA - The Law Offices of W. Robb Graham, L.L.C. - Former Navy Judge Advocate


WILL CONGRESS REINSTATE VA HEALTHCARE FOR

PRIORITY GROUP 8 VETERANS? -- Not if Senator

Larry Craig has his way. Craig plays "new" vets

against "old" vets in effort to undermine

Senate budget resolution.


On January 17, 2003, the VA stopped enrolling Priority Group 8 veterans.

That move was made to save money.

In 2005 alone, more than 260,000 veterans, who by law should be receiving VA healthcare, were turned away. That story here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/housecvademsnews/
housecvademsnews01-24-06.htm

Now, in the Senate budget resolution passed on March 23, 2007, the VA could open the doors once again to Priority Group 8 vets.

But, Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), Ranking Minority Member on the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, doesn't want that to happen.

And, Craig is using the oldest and dirtiest political trick in the book...he's playing veteran against veteran.

Craig claims that if "old" vets are allowed back into the system, "new" vets will end up waiting in line.

This is an outright distortion. We all know that the "new" vets get priority care at the VA and will continue to be first in line.

And, if Craig and other members of Congress had adequately funded the VA, Priority Group 8 vets never would have been cut off.

Craig, by playing vet against vet, has shown that he is morally and intellectually unfit to sit on the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, or, for that matter, to even be a Member of Congress.

Note the revolting graphic Craig included in his latest press release...wheelchairs waiting in line for care.

If anyone waits in line at the VA, it is the fault of Craig and his fellow Members of Congress who have continually under-funded VA healthcare.

Craig press release here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/scva07/scva032207-1.htm

Craig press release below:

---------------

REPUBLICAN PRESS RELEASE

March 23, 2007

CRAIG WARNS FUNDING PLAN COULD HURT RETURNING TROOPS

“We must not put our war wounded in longer lines for care,” Craig says

Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093



(Washington, DC) U.S. Senator Larry Craig, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today thanked his colleagues for their efforts to help America’s warriors. But at the same time he issued a strong warning about the latest budget resolution passed today by the Senate.

"This is not about the quantity of money. This is about how they plan to spend the money that worries me," Craig said. "I am absolutely committed to providing the highest quality of care to our veterans. I've supported a 70 percent increase in VA medical care funding since President Bush took office. I've spoken frequently about not sparing any expense when it comes to getting the highest quality of care to our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and veterans with service-connected disabilities."

"But what I see in this resolution put forward by Democrats has me deeply concerned. It may harm the care provided to the very veterans who are our number one priority – our combat wounded."

Craig noted that under the budget resolution, VA’s health care system will be expected to be reopened to upper income veterans – those with no service connected disabilities – at a time when veterans in serious need are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"All I've been hearing from the Democrats for the last two years is how we must not make our veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan wait in lines for mental health care, traumatic brain injury treatment, or other specialty care. I agree. That is why their proposal puzzles me," said Craig, the top Republican on the veterans’ committee.

"Where is the sense of priority here? It's like we're trying to keep a ship afloat by pouring tons of water onto the deck. It doesn’t make sense. If everyone is a priority, then no one is a priority. We must not put our war wounded in longer lines for care."

Craig noted that four years ago, just as the nation was preparing to go to war, then-Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi suspended enrollment to those who were financially stable and who had no disabilities caused by their military service.

"At that time the Secretary warned us that we have a responsibility to ensure we have the capacity to treat men and women who may be disabled. This resolution assumes implementation of a policy that would break the trust that needs to be there for our men and women now returning from combat," Craig said.

There are 24 million veterans alive today and of those, 5.3 million currently use the VA health care system.

"There has been zero discussion about the long-term consequences of the Democrats proposal of opening up the system to every veteran. I’m afraid veterans with service connected injuries who need VA care, as well as taxpayers, will fall victim to the law of unintended consequences if, as I suspect, millions of veterans show up for care at VA hospitals which will soon be overwhelmed by the Democrats proposal," Craig said.

Senator Craig has proposed legislation – the Veterans Health Care Empowerment Act (S. 815) – which would allow veterans with service connected disabilities to receive treatment from the hospital or medical clinic of their choice.

"We need to ensure veterans get the top health care in a timely way. If some policies assumed in this resolution are adopted, there will be an even stronger reason for passing the Veterans Health Care Empowerment Act," Craig said.

"Frankly if the Democrats don’t have the courage to say who can’t come in, then I believe it is necessary to say who can get out."

---------------

Larry Scott --

No-one sane or moral buys the Bush doctrine of so-called Democracy!
Egypt rejects U.S. amendments criticism

By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Writer Sat Mar 24, 4:22 PM ET

CAIRO, Egypt - Egypt on Saturday sharply rejected American criticism over plans to change the constitution, reflecting the tensions between the two allies over demands for democracy here.

Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice's comments before a visit here were a rare U.S. public criticism against Egypt after months of near silence from Washington over reform. They came amid an outcry among Egypt's opposition groups and rights groups over the planned constitutional amendments, which they say are a setback to democracy.

President
Hosni Mubarak defended the amendments in a nationally televised speech on Saturday and said his government would not bend to outside "pressure, dictation or prerequisites."

Egyptian reformists have accused the United States of abandoning its calls for democracy in Egypt, where Mubarak has tightly held power for a quarter-century. In 2005, the Bush administration said Egypt was the cornerstone of its new priority of spreading reform in the region. During a trip to Egypt that year, Rice was outspoken in pressing for change.

Since then, public U.S. pressure on Mubarak has sharply decreased, though U.S. officials insist they have kept up their calls for reform behind the scenes. Earlier this year, Rice praised Egypt as an important ally during a similar visit to the country with little mention of reform.

Egyptian democracy advocates say the United States has decided it is more important to keep Egypt's support in a range of Mideast crises — including the
Iraq war — than to push its ally for change. They also believe Washington was worried that greater democracy in Egypt could bring greater power for the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, which made a surprisingly strong showing in parliamentary elections in late 2005.

Mubarak's ruling party lawmakers passed the 34 amendments to the constitution in parliament earlier this week, and the president hastily scheduled a referendum for Monday to give them final approval.

The opposition, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, has urged Egyptians to boycott the referendum and has threatened to hold protests on the day of the voting, despite a warning from the Interior Ministry that it would not allow demonstrations.

On route to Egypt, where she held talks Saturday with Arab foreign ministers on the Israeli-Arab peace process, Rice expressed concern about the proposed amendments, saying "the hope was that this would be a process that gave voice to all Egyptians."

"I think there's some danger that that hope is not going to be met," she said late Friday. "Right now I am concerned that it won't."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Gheit quickly denounced the comments, saying, "It is unimaginable that someone would speak about and judge an Egyptian internal political process before it even starts."

"Even if Egypt and the United States have a friendly, strategic relationship, Egypt can't accept interference in its affairs from any of its friends," he said.

Mubarak's government says the amendments are aimed at expanding democracy in Egypt, where the ruling party has a lock on nearly all the levers of power. But the opposition says the changes will only increase his hold.

One proposed amendment would ban parties founded on religious denomination, a move apparently aimed at preventing the powerful Muslim Brotherhood — which is banned but participates in elections through candidates running as independents — from becoming a legitimate political actor.

Another calls for the creation of an electoral commission, which opponents doubt will be independent and say will diminish the role of judges in monitoring elections. In 2005, some judges blew the whistle on vote fraud, and the opponents fear sidelining them will free the government to more easily fix voting.

A third controversial amendment gives the president strong security powers against terrorism that critics fear will be abused and used against political opponents.

"Egypt's security, stability and its citizens' safety are a red line. I will not permit anybody to cross it," Muburak said.

The 78-year-old president also said history had taught him "the dangers of mixing religion with politics," referring to the Muslim Brotherhood. The amendments would cut off those "attempting to strike at the unity of this nation's Muslims and Christians," he said.

Pope wants gratitude for perpetrating/precipitating the greatest horors in European history.
Pope criticises EU for excluding God

By Philip Pullella Sat Mar 24, 3:18 PM ET

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -
Pope Benedict strongly criticized the
European Union on Saturday for excluding a mention of God and Europe's Christian roots in declarations marking the 50th anniversary of its founding.

In a toughly-worded speech to European bishops, Benedict said Europe was committing a form of "apostasy of itself" and was thus doubting its own identity.

The Pope, who like his predecessor John Paul often calls for a mention of God and Christianity in the European Constitution, said leaders could not exclude values that helped forge the "very soul" of the continent.

"If on the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome the governments of the union want to get closer to their citizens, how can they exclude an element as essential to the identity of Europe as Christianity, in which the vast majority of its people continue to identify," he said.

"Does not this unique form of apostasy of itself, even before God, lead it (Europe) to doubt its very identity?"

Apostasy is a total desertion of or departure from one's religion.

One of the Pope's compatriots, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, aims to relaunch the EU constitution and last month made a plea for the bloc to include references to Christian roots.

Plans to include such a reference in the original EU treaty, rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, were blocked by French
President Jacques Chirac.

Merkel, as holder of the EU's rotating presidency, is now in the process of reviving the constitution. Comments from Merkel, the daughter of a pastor, have encouraged religious leaders around Europe to redouble efforts to modify the constitution.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said he had pushed for inclusion of Catholic roots in the document but that the main task ahead for Catholics was to carry on a dialogue with religions like Islam and Judaism.

But in another sign of disagreement between Europe's leaders, the conservative European People's Party included religious roots in its anniversary declaration, in contrast to the general EU declaration to be adopted on Sunday.

"Europe's Judeo-Christian roots and common cultural heritage, as well as the classic and humanist history of Europe and the achievements of the period of enlightenment, are the foundation of our political family," said the statement, adopted at a meeting attended by Merkel and other EU leaders.

Pope Benedict warned the bloc was headed up a slippery slope of indifference and said it could not deny its "historical, cultural and moral identity" that Christianity helped forge.

"A community that builds itself without respecting the true dignity of the human being, forgetting that each person is created in the image of God, ends up doing good for no one," he said.

(Additional reporting by Ingrid Melander in Berlin)

Tax, Tax, Tax those Cigarettes! Tax, Tax, Tax, Yourself to Death!
Senate approves budget, backs tobacco tax hike

By Donna Smith Fri Mar 23, 3:41 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Friday approved a $2.9 trillion fiscal 2008 budget that calls for an increase in the federal tobacco tax and gives popular middle class tax breaks priority for future tax cuts.

The Senate passed the Democratic-written budget blueprint on a 52-47 vote that was largely along party lines. Republicans called it a big tax and spend document while Democrats said it was fiscally responsible and puts the budget on track toward balance in five years.

"This budget resolution will lead to more spending, more tax increases and increased debt," Republican Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record) of Mississippi said, adding that "the budget is kind of a joke."

Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (news, bio, voting record), a North Dakota Democrat, argued in the Senate that the budget "takes us in a new direction. It takes us back to fiscal responsibility. It takes us toward a balanced budget by 2012."

The budget blueprint for fiscal 2008, which begins October 1, sets up overall spending and revenue goals and it will be up to individual committees to determine where the money goes.

Democrats resisted efforts by Republicans to force spending cuts for the Medicare health program for the elderly and other entitlement programs.

Conrad and Sen. Judd Gregg (news, bio, voting record), a New Hampshire Republican, have been trying to form a bipartisan plan to address the financial strains to Medicare and
Social Security posed by an aging baby boom generation and rapidly escalating health care costs.

The Senate embraced a Democratic amendment that gave children's health care and the child tax credit and other popular middle class tax cuts top priority for surplus revenues that might be generated in the future.

But Democrats resisted Republican efforts to add estate tax cuts and capital gains and dividend tax breaks to the list of priorities.
President George W. Bush's tax cuts expire at the end of 2010 and Republicans are pushing to make them permanent.

The Senate agreed to amendment by Sen. Gordon Smith (news, bio, voting record), an Oregon Republican, that calls for increasing the 39 cent a pack tobacco tax to finance and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health care coverage for poor children.

"It is inexcusable in the United States of America that millions of children go without health care coverage," Smith said in a statement.

A 61-cent increase would generate an estimated $35 billion for the health care program, Smith said.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider its version of the budget next week and the two chambers would have to work out their differences.