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Greek Conservatives failed to cobble together a coalition on Monday (7 May), with leftist leader Alexis Tsipras set to try and form a government opposing the "barbaric" bailout, a move that would put into question the country's future in the eurozone. "I tried to find a solution for a government of national salvation, with two aims: for the country to remain in the euro and to change the policy of the bailout by renegotiation," Conservative leader Antonis Samaras said in a televised address on Monday. "We directed our proposal to all the parties that could have participated in such an...

The government will stand or fall in the next two weeks depending on what happens in the Israeli community of Beit El, north of Jerusalem. Ministers have informed Netanyahu that if the Ulpana neighborhood of Beit El is destroyed, his coalition will follow. The warning came during a cabinet meeting in which the timetable for Judea and Samaria demolitions was revealed. Ulpana is scheduled to be demolished on May 1, the Givat Assaf community several weeks later, and Migron on August 1. Ministers told Netanyahu that the timetable is irrelevant, because if the May 1 destruction of Ulpana were to...

Ralph Reed speaks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition event in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Members of the Jewish Home Party met on Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him that if any houses in Migron are forcibly evicted and demolished, they will pull out of the government coalition. They met with PM Netanyahu to discuss a new bill which would lead to the legalization of new development communities in Judea and Samaria such as Migron. Prime Minister Netanyahu informing them that he opposed legislation...

New Democrat Coalition to release white paper on health policy prioritiesBy KATE NOCERA | 12/09/11 9:27 AM EDT NEW DEM COALITION: CH-CH-CHANGEEESSS— A group of centrist House Democrats are set to release a white paper today laying out some policy priorities and goals they have for reforming pieces of the health care system. Among them: a new Medicare payment system that rewards quality, new delivery models that increase efficiency, an FDA approval process that moves more quickly and widespread adoption of health IT systems. New Democrat Coalition health care task force co-leader Rep. Allyson Schwartz said the goal “is to...

The latest Gallup report, based on a massive sample of more than 39,000 adults, contains troubling news for Democrats. Individuals identifying with the Democratic Party are a smaller share of the American people than they were early in 2008, and their views are less representative of the people as a whole. This means that the Obama team, which faces the crucial choice of either doubling down on its 2008 winning mix of professionals, young people, and minorities or rebuilding support among Independents in the heartland, should emphasize the latter option. Any general election strategy that relies solely on mobilizing the...

The Jewish Home party is facing growing pressure over the threat to Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria, with residents of the region calling on MKs to make their issue make-or-break for the coalition. The Yesha (Judea and Samaria) Council voted unanimously Thursday to call on Jewish Home MKs to make it clear that if a Jewish town or neighborhood is destroyed, they will leave Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government. Yesha Council head Danny Dayan called party head Minister Daniel Hershkowitz and faction head MK Uri Orbach to inform them of the council’s decision. Orbach and Dayan agreed to bring...

(Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry, already besting Mitt Romney in opinion polls, is likely to match or surpass him in the Republican presidential money race when new figures come out in coming weeks, backers say. Perry's meteoric rise in the polls since jumping in the race last month and his thick Rolodex of wealthy Texan backers as a three-term governor are key drivers making him a fundraising force against Romney. Brian Ballard, a Florida lawyer who raises money for Romney, acknowledged that Perry may well pull ahead in the third quarter, which ends next week. "I expect he'll raise...

Rick Perry scrambled for cash in upper Manhattan at what was supposed to be a quiet fundraiser with Hispanic businessmen - and instead turned into a local New York City political circus, replete with a gatecrashing appearance by Rep. Charles Rangel. The event, which was coordinated by local Hispanic activists and New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers head Fernando Mateo, was half fundraiser and half meet-and-greet at a restaurant in the Inwood section of Manhattan. Continue Reading Perry's people had expected the event to stay off record, including from any publicity. But instead, a media throng awaited Perry as...

Coalition of Moderate 'Blue Dog' Dems Shrinking FastAssociated Press Published August 19, 2011 WASHINGTON -- The Blue Dogs may be losing their bark. Despite polls showing a desire for more compromise in Washington, the political climate for moderate to conservative Democrats in the House has continued to deteriorate. The 2010 election dropped the number of so-called Blue Dogs from 54 to 25. And the shrinking continues. Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas will not seek re-election next year. Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma also plans to retire. Rep. Joe Donnelly of Indiana has opted to run for the Senate. Rep. Heath...

Many recent articles have been published and posted here on FR warning of a US default on its debt obligations. Other articles have hypothesized on post-default scenarios such as a second world-wide depression, the rise of a global currency (= Global Government), hyper inflation, social unrest and/or a general collapse of America society, and perhaps another world war. What has not been asked yet is what America’s creditors, holding hundreds of billions in treasuries that may be severely devalued, if not deemed worthless, might be willing to do to prevent any sort of default scenario. Geopolitically China and others may...

How dishonest has the left/media spin about The One’s alleged diplomatic triumph been? Go look at the sentence Jeffrey Goldberg pulled from Reuters’s latest excrescence. Somewhere Tony Blair is reading these comparisons of Obama’s League of Justice to Cowboy George having “gone it alone” and wondering if he hallucinated those years of endless screeching about him being “Bush’s poodle” for sending thousands of British troops to hold southern Iraq together. Anyway, here’s how triumphant our coalition-building triumph is: The Cable compiled a chart listing all the countries that contributed at least some military assets to the five major military operations...

WASHINGTON -- The United States welcomed a partial handover for the Libyan air campaign to NATO on Thursday, but the allies apparently balked at assuming full control and the U.S. military was left in charge of the brunt of combat. NATO agreed to take over command of the newly established no-fly zone over Libya, protective flights meant to deter Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi from putting warplanes in the air. That leaves the U.S. with responsibility for attacks on Gadhafi's ground forces and other targets, which are the toughest and most controversial portion of the operation. The U.S had hoped the...

Benghazi rally thanks coalition for air strikes People in Benghazi have held a rally in support of the allied air campaign against Colonel Gaddafi’s forces. Coalition air strikes are credited with stopping an advance by government forces in its tracks, and giving a huge morale boost to the rebels. Among the crowds were banners expressing thanks – in English and French – to the countries involved, and plenty of pre-Gaddafi era Libyan flags. As the UN prepares again to discuss Libya, there were also some words of advice for those who have not backed military action. “Russia and China, better...

There is a disturbing and glaring lack of a certain word from the people protesting and the 'rebels' actively fighting for change in these uprisings: democracy. You don't hear the revolutionaries demanding democracy. Unorganized as most of the opposition supporters are, one of the more stable groups involved is the Muslim Brotherhood which would like nothing more than to see these countries turn into staunch Islamic states complete with Sharia law. As has been noted, protesters are not chanting 'one person, one vote!', they are more often overheard praising Allah and yelling passages from the Q'aran.

Unemployment in Germany fell below 3m in October for the first time in 18 years, according to unadjusted figures released by the federal labour office. The government in Berlin greeted the news with delight and saw it as confirmation that its measures to revive the economy from last year’s recession had been timely and effective. Seasonally adjusted jobless figures showed rather less improvement, with a decline of just 3,000 in registered unemployed for a total figure of 3.153m, or 7.5 per cent of the labour force. The figures were leaked on Wednesday, a day early, by Ursula von der Leyen,...

President Barack Obama is taking his popular wife with him to three campaign stops in the pivotal swing state of Ohio Sunday, but a new Associated Press Poll shows that may be too little, too late with just over two weeks remaining before critical congressional elections. The survey found that the coalition of voters that swept Obama into the White House just two years ago — aching for change after the eight-year presidency of Republican George W. Bush — has crumbled. SNIP The Associated Press-Knowledge Networks survey found that one-fourth of those who voted for Obama two years ago are...

Wilders’ impact felt as Dutch coalition sworn in By Stanley Pignal in Brussels Published: October 13 2010 17:48 | Last updated: October 13 2010 17:48 A government supported by the anti-Islamic politician Geert Wilders is to take office in the Netherlands on Thursday, with plans to harden immigration rules and cut public spending. In a nod to tradition, Mark Rutte, the incoming prime minister, and members of his government will stand on the balcony of the royal palace in The Hague to accept a mandate from Queen Beatrix to form the country’s first minority administration since the second world war.

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"The Christian Democrats are pointing out that continuing encroachment by government into school admissions is an unwelcome move that approaches nationalization. The party says that if pursued, it would be a grave violation of parental rights as primary educators of their children." Our president is so enamored of the British health care system, could this move be tried in the U.S. soon, too??