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POPS Putin Urges US To Share Missile Defense Data
"We have agreed to continue to discuss the topic of missile defense with Russia in a separate venue," he said. Putin's comments showed that the former Russian president is continuing to shape Russian foreign policy, which under the constitution should be set by his successor, Dmitry Medvedev. He said that the arms control talks were proceeding in a positive way and added that Medvedev and President Barack Obama will eventually decide whether to strike an arms deal. But Putin warned that a missile defense system would give the U.S. an edge and could erode the deterrent value of Russia's nuclear forces. "The problem is that our American partners are developing missile defenses, and we are not," Putin said. "But the issues of missile defense and offensive weapons are closely interconnected. ... There could be a danger that having created an umbrella against offensive strike systems, our partners may come to feel completely safe. After the balance is broken .....
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POPS US Refuses To Allow Monitoring Of WMD “I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent.” – Martin Luther King in his speech: Beyond Vietnam: A time to break silence
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POPSTime Mag On Why Obama's Iran Effort Failed ~ Tony Karon ….. Prize winning Mohammed Elbaradei? I’m being flip, but really what is the point of blaming the pressure on “skeptics” if the poster boy for Iranian anti-skepticism is now questioning their ambitions? Why not rather say that there is near universal agreement on Iranian intentions in the wake of the discovery of a secret processing site, Iran’s announcement of plans to build more similar sites, and the fact that they’ve been working secretly on nuclear detonators. How did all that stay out of this story?! Anyway, we’ve come to the key graph where the reasons for failure will all become clear: So how did Obama, for all his game-changing intentions, end up inheriting Bush’s Iran stalemate? Two key factors have combined to scupper his diplomatic efforts: Iran’s domestic political year of living dangerously…
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POPSIran, Obama and the Bipartisan Sanctions Bill “Suspicious aims.” New charges were also brought last month against Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh, who was already sentenced to at least 12 years in prison on espionage charges. The regime has been going after other foreign nationals, including French teacher Clotilde Reiss, who is living under house arrest in the French embassy in Tehran. Christopher Dickey notes in Newsweek that “since Ahmadinejad took over four years ago, some 35 foreign nationals or dual nationals have been imprisoned for use as chump change in one sordid deal or another.” Diplomacy. In October, the U.S. and its allies offered to enrich Iran’s uranium in facilities outside the country, supposedly for the production of medical isotopes. Tehran finally came back with a counterproposal late last week, in which no uranium would leave Iranian soil. Even Hillary Clinton admits it’s a nonstarter:
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POPSVintage Moonbattery: Copenhagen's A Battle To Humble And "Redefine Humanity" So this isn't the place for rationality. It's the place to reverse the Industrial Revolution. You do have to read this entire self-caricature, though, because there's just so much I couldn't include. There's an entire section on how the people who disagree with him - the bullies who call him bad names - are angry because he's just too decent. Then there was a part about how we have to reign in "adventurers," which a cynical person might read as a pointed version of banal Blue State nannyism. "I'm too priggish to have fun so you're not allowed to have any either." The Guardian (http://bit.ly/691nUu)
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POPS Obama's Legacy That far exceeds what's needed to turn on the lights, but it's also beyond what's needed for a basic nuclear weapons program. Consider North Korea, which manufactured two limited yield nuclear weapons using only a plutonium reactor, a plutonium reprocessing facility, and -- presumably -- some sort of weapons laboratory. Why is Iran pumping billions more into building and protecting triple the number of facilities required to build a basic nuclear weapon, akin to the Fat Man or Little Boy bombs detonated in 1945? The answer could be that Tehran is skipping basic weapons construction and moving towards an advanced thermonuclear design. Consider that they've already experimented with advanced weapons designs like two-point implosion, nuclear triggers, and have built their own facility at Arak that could be used to produce both tritium, which is a suspected boosting agent in hydrogen bomb designs, as well as weapons-grade plutonium.
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POPSA missile defense system might be nice now... I wish I could stop reading about this kinda' stuff. Every day it's something worse. At every turn Obama undermines the security of us and our allies....and those in Congress seem so fixated on passing a sinking Health Care Bill to realize that it's NOT our first priority. Those who do not see the horrific danger that a nuclear Iran poses have their heads in the sand.
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POPSSecret Document Exposes Iran’s Nuclear Trigger
In September, Iran was forced to admit that it was constructing a secret uranium enrichment facility near the city of Qom. President Ahmadinejad then claimed that he wanted to build ten such sites. Over the weekend Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian Foreign Minister, said that Iran needed up to 15 nuclear power plants to meet its energy needs, despite the country’s huge oil and gas reserves. Mark Fitzpatrick, senior fellow for non-proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said: “The most shattering conclusion is that, if this was an effort that began in 2007, it could be a casus belli. If Iran is working on weapons, it means there is no diplomatic solution.” The Times had the documents, which were originally written in Farsi, translated into English and had the translation separately verified by two Farsi speakers. While much of the language is technical, it is clear that the Iranians are intent on concealing their nuclear military
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POPSAnti-US Feeling Running High as CIA Drones Take a Civilian Toll
Many Pakistanis see the US military presence in their region as the cause of militant extremism, not its cure. Reaction to Obama's speech was ambivalent, with rightwing commentators insisting his true aim is to invade Pakistan and capture its nuclear weapons. The hostility means that, in Pakistan, Obama relies more heavily on spies than soldiers. Obama's favoured tactic has been the use of CIA-operated pilotless drones, which have made over 80 strikes in the tribal belt since 2006, half of them this year. Targets included the Pakistani Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, killed last August, and al-Qaida leaders. Today the New York Times said the CIA is pushing to extend drone strikes into Balochistan province, further west along the Afghan border. While the drones put few American lives in danger, they still carry substantial risks. Strikes that have killed at least 750 people in the past two years have provoked public hostility. Any move into Balochistan is likely to spark a fierc
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POPSIt's All About OIL! More from the post below: "I did not recall until you posted this just how close Turkmenistan is to both Afghanistan and Iran not to mention Kazakstan, and Uzbekistan. "Now we know then REAL reason we are putting more troops in Afghanistan, why they left Iraq and why we will probably Invade Iran. It's not about Weapons of Mass destruction,, Nuclear ambitions, Terrorism or Religion, Hell, it's not even about the collapse of Wall street,, the big three needing money, Social Security running out of money in 30 years, having to pay for 'Socialized medicine for Americans' with 1/20th of the budget for WAR or even the news of 'GM' opening up a bank in China. IT'S ABOUT OIL" ROBERT L. HANAFIN Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired GS-14, U.S. Civil Service-Retired Editorial Board Veterans Today News Network
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POPS10 Reasons Nuclear Iran is No Joke One is enough. While the World is busily playing word-games, Iran (and it's allies) are bursting forward with their nuclear weapons growth and spreading their influence around the globe. They're not even pretending anymore...they're telling the wold, flat-out, that they are seeking domination! I'm convinced that if tiny Israel takes the Shot, the rest of the so-called free world will line itself up *behind* Israel. Surely, in whatever reality they possess in their minds, they know that Iran is the biggest threat to peace. And when Iran moves, it's going to be huge.
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POPS Obama's Judenfrei Policies What has since resulted from Obama's ill-informed, grandiose pronouncements is Abbas threatening to quit due to Obama's failure to achieve a settlement freeze, Palestinians contemplating a unilateral declaration of an independent state with U.N. backing, and the likely hardening of positions on both sides of the conflict. It looked like the administration had awoken to reality when, for a brief period of time, it began to ease up on previous statements. However, this week, Obama made it perfectly clear where he stands on this completely misguided position. In an interview with Fox News, Obama condemned the construction of nine hundred new apartment units in Jerusalem, stating: I think additional settlement building does not contribute to Israel’s security. I think it makes it harder for them to make peace with their neighbors. I think it embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous.
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POPSIsraeli Vice Prime Minister warns against our policy of "engagement" with Iran FTA: "He called for the West to impose crippling economic sanctions on Iran, as well as isolating the nation diplomatically. But also noted quite emphatically: “Without defeating the Iranian regime " not the people, but the regime " there is no way to bring peace and stability to the region.'” Those who willfully and knowingly ignore the rapid progress that Iran is making with their nuclear program AND their arming of militant Islamic organizations surrounding Israel are seeking the destruction of the Israeli State. I believe Obama's "dithering" with Iran (as elsewhere) vastly contributes to the instability in the area and the lose of lives lie at the feet of the current Administration.
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POPSHeading to Oslo in Weeks, Facing Tough Days on the Diplomatic Front for a vote on the United Nations Security Council. Earlier on his trip, in Singapore, the Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Loekke Rasmussen, the U.N.-sponsored climate conference's chairman, formally announced that he did not think there would be an agreement coming out of Copenhagen, and more negotiations will be necessary. Then, after meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in a side meeting in Singapore, President Obama acknowledged that US-Russian negotiators would almost certainly not make the deadline for a new nuclear disarmament agreement to take the place of the START treaty that expires on December 5. More frustrations followed . On Monday, Chinese government officials refused to broadcast live President Obama's Shanghai town hall meeting on state-run television. Jake Tapper ABC news blog http://tinyurl.com/yc5bapc
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POPSHouston muslims feel like they are "under attack" They move into a good Houston neighborhood in droves. They watch al Jazeera during the war and pray for American defeat. They shelter extremist and militants. They pool their money and send it to Iran which plots against us. And they feel like they are under attack?! I say close all the mosques and send them all packing back to the rock they crawled out from
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POPSNUKE GAZA: A WORLD GONE MAD "Not since 1948 has this enclave of extremists mounted such a public relations offensive. Christian Zionist President Harry Truman trusted Jewish Zionist lobbyists when he solicited assurances that they would not become what they immediately became: a racist theocratic state with an expansionist agenda destined to create serial crises in the region. The merciless global agenda pursued by Colonial Zionists is the single greatest threat to world peace, as confirmed yet again by Lieberman’s warning. As the primary remaining ally of these Jewish nationalists, the risks to the U.S. increase with each passing day as Tel Aviv works behind the scenes to catalyze yet another conflict. This entangled alliance was destined to provoke resentments that would eventually endanger their super power ally and foremost arms provider. "
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POPSOBAMA and the NOBEL PRIZE Granting the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama provides legitimacy to the illegal practices of war, to the military occupation of foreign lands, to the relentless killings of civilians in the name of "democracy".
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POPSUS can give Iran space to accept atom deal: Official What a bunch of fools. The IAEA is a pawn of the Iranians and the majority of UN 'diplomats' are Muslim sympathizers. It's all about stalling and doing nothing while Iran steadily moves on with it's nuclear programs. Why not just give them the dang bomb, shut down the IAEA and the UN, eliminate all diplomatic positions and end the charade. Everyone knows that Iran is NOT going to stop its nuclear weapons development.
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POPSAhmadinejad Speaks at U.N.
This is a reasonable summary of the Iranian president's speech. Surprises? He says he wants to see the elimination of all WMD's -- and this would be a surprise if you believe propaganda that he wants nuke weapons and turn a blind eye to the fact that Israel has WMD's. 2. He doesn't want to drive Israel into the sea (more false propaganda). He wants a two-state solution. 3. He thinks the slow starvation of a million and a half people in the Gaza Strip is genocide. (This led to the walkout of many). 4. He doesn't deny the Holocaust (never has) but continues to annoy Zionist by asking why this is a topic of special concern to Arabs and Iran, pointing out there have been other great massacres and genocides and that 60 million were killed in WWII and he's sorry about all of that. 5. He thinks of U.S. actions in Iraq and Iran as invasions, doesn't like them and says there are still secret prisons, Gitmo, and bad deeds going on. (All true). 6. We need spiritual values. Too m
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POPSIsrael's nuclear capabilities - 25 Oct 09
"While Israel is one of the loudest voices calling for a tougher line on Iran's nuclear programme, its own nuclear capability has never been put to inspection Israel has two nuclear research centres - at Dimona and Soreq. The latest estimates suggest that Israel has produced at least 118 warheads with weapons grade plutonium. The Jericho ballistic missiles are capable of carrying such weapons The Jericho One, which is now obsolete, had a range of 500 kilometres, and could carry a 20 kiloton nuclear warhead - 20 times more powerful than the US bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 The Jericho Two has a range of 1500 kilometres. It could just reach Iran - and is believed to be able to carry a one megaton nuclear bomb, which is 1,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. It is believed a Jericho Three missile is now being developed - that will be able to travel around 5,000 kilometres, bringing all of Iran and Europe into its range Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports
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POPSSigning Away Our Sovereignty
We should be aware that Obama intends to roll out for Senate approval a series of international treaties that will further bind America to the will of the international community if they are ratified. Bit by bit, America's autonomous power is being taken away. The Boston Globe provides a public relations gloss by calling these treaties a means of fulfilling "Obama's vision of global cooperation." This is one view, I suppose. Another view would be that our policies will be tied down by these treaties -- and we will be judged by international bureaucrats and held to their interpretation of what our obligations are under the treaties. International treaties require only Senate approval. Obama will begin with treaties designed to achieve his vision of a world without nuclear weapons. But that is just the beginning. Efforts will begin to bind America to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea....This will hurt our nation's ability to mine the world's seas for oil and gas....
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POPSThe Washington Post's 2002 "reporting" on Iran
The issue isn't whether you believe Iran desires to develop nuclear weapons; it's obviously possible (even rational) that they do. The issue is the painfully reckless, transparently irresponsible, and Iraq-replicating "journalistic" methods for disseminating these war-fueling assertions. In perfect 2002 fashion, Warrwick does not have a single named source for these scary allegations; instead, this is who fed him these claims: "many U.S. and European intelligence officials" and "two former senior U.S. officials" and "intelligence officials from the United States and allied nations" and "a senior Middle East-based intelligence official" (one wonders, in vain, which "allied nation" and which "Middle-East based" country might have whispered these things?). And while Warwick provides a cursory paragraph devoted to denials by Iranian officials of these accusations, he does not include a single expert or named source to dispute these claims. It's a purely one-sided, unquestioning and en
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POPSThe World's Most Dangerous Job? He worked for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, an international agency charged with uncovering illicit nuclear tests. A UN spokesman in the Austrian capital said there were no "suspicious circumstances" surrounding the man's death, while a police spokesman said that no other person was believed to have been involved. No suicide note has been found.