Free Republic

Four leading House Republicans, citing national security concerns, are urging Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner to block the sale of a Wyoming-based uranium mine to an arm of the Russian government's main nuclear agency. The lawmakers are raising alarm over the proposed sale of a Powder River Basin, Wyoming-based uranium processing facility operated by Uranium One USA, a Canadian-based company, to Atomredmetzoloto, a subsidiary of the Russian government agency Rosatom, according to a letter obtained Tuesday by The Washington Times. The sale was first announced on Aug. 31, and the lawmakers claim that it could give Moscow control of up...

In a bizarre 1984 book, ex-KGB Major Anatoliy Golitsyn predicted the liberalization of the Soviet Bloc and claimed that it would be a strategic deception. Let's examine the facts. In his spy book Wedge, Mark Riebling claims that "of Golitsyn's falsifiable predictions, 139 out of 148 were fulfilled by the end of 1993 -- an accuracy rate of 94 percent" [1]. Riebling's statistic, compiled from Golitsyn's 1984 book New Lies for Old, has been used in several other books and articles (including here at AT) since Wedge was first published in 1994. New Lies for Old is not light reading,...

Consolidation among companies that resell and distribute tech goods and services is continuing apace, as larger players look for growth in new product and geographic areas. At the same time, new resellers are popping up to deal with emerging markets such as unified communications and online video. The tech distribution and resale business remains strong thanks to hot product types such as notebook computers, wireless networks and data storage products, says Tim Curran, chief executive of the Global Technology Distribution Council. The council is a trade group for this field.

Tisha b’Av is the Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the ancient Jewish temples, which both fell on the same day of the calendar. Last year, Tsh’a b’Av fell on August 14, the day Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza. This year August 14 marked the day when Israel’s cabinet accepted the UN’s cease fire in the current war. Because Judaism follows a lunar calendar, Tisha b’Av this year fell on August 3. I, nonetheless, believe that this year’s Tisha b’Av marks not only the end of the sacred temples but, with the withdrawal from Gaza and now the...

Most Israelis oppose Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plan to unilaterally withdraw from most of the West Bank, a public opinion poll released Monday showed. 50 percent of Israelis oppose the premier's realignment plan, whereby Israel would pull out of the vast majority of the West Bank while maintaining the large settlement blocs, while 46% of Israelis support the proposal, the Hebrew University poll found. While 54 percent of the Israelis polled said that the outcome of the last election grants Olmert a mandate to carry out his withdrawal plan, 58% believe a referendum should be carried out over the contentious...

The political outcome of Hamas' raid on Israelis at Kerem Shalom on Sunday is that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's convergence plan is being set aside for now. Three elements have foiled Olmert's scheme. First, the government and the Israel Defense Forces failed to formulate a convincing security response to the continued attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip. Under such conditions it is impossible to convince the public that there is logic in a pullout from the West Bank, which will bring the Hamas militants closer to Israel's population centers. Recent surveys have showed broad public opposition to the convergence....

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2006 – It is not enough to win tactical engagements in the war against terror -- the United States and its allies must win the peace, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the National Defense University's 2006 graduating class today. Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (left), congratulates a student at the National Defense University's graduation ceremony, June 7. Photo by Steven Donald Smith  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Cultivating international partnerships and facilitating strong cooperation throughout the U.S. government to maximize all of...

Last update - 03:17 24/05/2006 ANALYSIS / George Bush wants the convergence plan too By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent For Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, there were many good reasons to be satisfied with his first meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush. In the press conference that followed their first round of talks, Bush warmly adopted Olmert's initiatives for an extensive withdrawal in the West Bank, terming them "bold ideas" that "could be an important step" to peace. The president also pledged that the United States would hasten to Israel's defense in the event of an attack by Iran, and,...

Olmert, Rice discuss convergence PM meets with US secretary of state in Washington, introduces plan for unilateral pullout from West Bank. Olmert, Rice also discuss Iran's influence on Hamas government, joint Israeli-American policy towards Palestinians Yitzhak Benhorin Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met Tuesday with American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for a meeting later defined by the PM's associates as "excellent." Olmert introduced before Rice his vision for the convergence plan and has answered her questions on the subject.Despite the American objection to the plan at this point, Israeli officials said that Rice expressed great interest in the issue of...

Did you hear the one about the father of the Arab suicide bomber? "I'm so proud of little Mahmoud," he said. "You know, it's funny about kids – they blow up so fast!" I admit it. It's a sick joke. But it's a kind of metaphor for the madness taking place in the Middle East today. If it wasn't all a matter of life and death, it would be humorous. If it wasn't all a matter of preventing another holocaust, it would be laughable. If it wasn't all a matter of preserving Western Civilization from perhaps its gravest threat, it...

12th-Graders to Olmert: We'll Serve, But We Won't Help Retreat 12:43 May 22, '06 / 24 Iyar 5766 by Hillel Fendel A letter from 12th-grade students around the country has been sent to Prime Minister Olmert's office, declaring that they plan to serve in the army - but not to take part in his withdrawal plans. As of this morning, four days after the letter began to be circulated, some 250 students had signed it. One of the organizers, Malkiel (a fictitious name), said he expects the number to climb much higher after the English matriculation exams, which are being...

May. 19, 2006 1:59 | Updated May. 19, 2006 2:48 Official: Bush won't set a timetable for Israeli withdrawal By NATHAN GUTTMAN WASHINGTON President George Bush will ask Prime Minister Ehud Olmert if his convergence plan was compatible with the idea of a two-state solution when the two leaders will meet next week. According to a senior administration official, Bush will expect Olmert to explain how a unilateral move could be compatible with the US administration's wish for a negotiated final status agreement. The official told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that President Bush will not express his opinion on...

U.S. urges Olmert to take lower profile on convergence plan By Aluf Benn As Prime Minister Ehud Olmert prepares for his first official trip to Washington next week, he appears to be taking a step back from vocally advocating the convergence plan. Olmert told Kadima ministers yesterday that he plans to present his plan to the Bush administration, but that only after "three, or 10, months," will it be possible to announce there is no Palestinian negotiation partner and move on to unilateral steps. The plan involves withdrawal from large swaths of the West Bank, but not from major settlement...

Struggle against outpost removal planned Plans for 'civil disobedience' drawn up to prevent outpost clearing Efrat Weiss As Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is set to begin his official visit in the United States Sunday, in Israel the Right wing is already drawing up plans the struggle against the plan to clear illegal outposts. A convoy of buses, a march towards the West Bank outpost of Maale Rehavam, and other plans have already been formulated by a number of settler organizations in Judea and Samaria. The aim: "To prove Jewish ownership over the land and to identify the roads which lead...

EU wants US pressure against convergence European Union opposed to unilateral withdrawal in West Bank, hoping Americans will convince Israel to renew peace talks with Palestinians during Washington summit next week The European Union is hoping the United States will persuade Israel in talks next week to resume peace talks with the Palestinians instead of carrying out a unilateral pullout from the West Bank, EU officials said Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who arrives in Washington Sunday, has been hoping that the international community will recognize the lines to which Israel would pull back as permanent borders - but...

It’s a grand occasion when a new Israeli prime minister makes an inaugural visit to Washington. He typically meets with the president, addresses a joint meeting of Congress, appears on plum television shows, talks to influential audiences, and consults privately with a range of leading figures. Personality, pomp, and substance mix together as the two heads of government establish a working relationship, the U.S.-Israel bond is reconfirmed, and issues relating to the Arab-Israeli conflict are reviewed. When Ehud Olmert arrives in a few days, the key policy issue will concern what he refers to as the “convergence plan,” a follow-up...

May. 16, 2006 12:19 | Updated May. 17, 2006 5:51 US to Israel: Don't request funds for convergence By ETGAR LEFKOVITS Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks at Independence Day. Photo: AP A day after US National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said President George Bush will not discuss the details of the convergence plan when he meets Prime Minister Ehud Olmert next week, but would rather prefer to allow him to outline his vision, officials said the US has also informed Israel not to ask for funding for the withdrawal plan. This message was conveyed to the prime minister by the...

'Farewell to the land of our forefathers' Olmert's 'convergence' coalition made new government of Israel By Stan Goodenough May 4th, 2006 With its eyes wide open, Israel took a step closer to catastrophe Thursday as the Knesset (Parliament) gave its approval for Ehud Olmert’s convergence coalition to govern the Jewish state. Now installed, the Kadima-led government plans to voluntarily – and apparently willingly – relinquish forever all claims to territory Israel as a nation has for 4,000 years held to be its everlasting, God-given land. Before the Knesset vote, in what The Jerusalem Post described as a major policy speech,...

'You have been warned' Veteran Christian Zionist leader says 'convergence' plan will explode By Stan Goodenough May 4th, 2006 A long-standing leader in the international Christian Zionist movement Thursday sent a strongly-worded warning to the brand new Israeli government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Jan Willem van der Hoeven, a Dutch Christian and 40-year resident of Israel, who in 1981 founded the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and today directs the International Christian Zionist Center, said the “convergence” plan will “explode in [the] faces” of Olmert “and those who have chosen, often out of personal ambition, to sit with you in...

IDF commanders are to hold a disciplinary hearing Thursday morning for a soldier commended for excellence, who refused to shake hands with Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz on Wednesday, in protest over what he called the "expulsion" of the Gaza settlers, Army Radio said. Sergeant Hananel Dayan, who serves in the armored corps, was one of 120 soldiers who received commendations at Wednesday's traditional Independence Day ceremony at the President's Residence.

Apr. 4, 2006 0:50 | Updated Apr. 4, 2006 11:16 'Europe may consider convergence plan' By HERB KEINON If Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert consults the international community before implementing his "convergence" plan, one suggestion he is likely to hear is that Israel should lease the settlement blocs from the Palestinian Authority rather than annex them outright, a senior European diplomat said Monday. Olmert has said a number of times, including in his victory speech last week, that he hoped to reach a negotiated settlement with the PA, but that if this proved impossible he would - after holding consultations...

Mar. 30, 2006 13:12 | Updated Mar. 30, 2006 13:18 Q&A with David Horovitz Susan Blatt, Portland, Oregon: Did Israelis vote Kadima because of what it is, or what it isn't? Can Kadima lead an effective government with less than a quarter of the seats? David Horovitz: It seems that many people voted for the party or leader they least disliked, rather than most admired. With Kadima, they certainly knew what they were voting for more clearly than they would have done had Sharon led the party into the elections. Sharon was insisting he had no plans for further disengagement,...

The United States is in need of its own dose of perestroika, or restructuring, Mikhail Gorbachev, the man who brought such reforms to the Soviet Union, said Tuesday. The former Soviet leader said he had suggested the idea to a group of Americans at a speech last year and they agreed. Gorbachev, who has been critical of the Iraq war and what he has called a Western "superiority complex," did not specify what he believed needed changing in America. Speaking at a gathering of political and business leaders, Gorbachev said a global lack of leadership was to blame for many...

CHICAGO, June 25 (UPI) -- A hacker sits on a bench at Grand Central Station in New York City and, with his mobile phone and a Wireless Fidelity connection, deviously places a virus on the cell phones of unsuspecting commuters as they walk nearby, on their way to work. Within a few hours, the virus multiplies, infecting several hundred thousand phones, causing them to dial long distance numbers and run up millions of dollars in fraudulent telecom charges. Fantasy? No -- the coming reality. Viruses and worms on mobile phones are now considered by computer gurus to be a legitimate...

Hug Your Teddy Bear By Donnel Jones, November 9, 2003 Home   Search   Forum   Terms Now you've heard everything. Drop what you're doing and read. Did you know that world peace is coming our way? It's true. Because the stars said so. No, not Barbra Streisand or Richard Gere. I mean those luminous bodies out of which you and I are formed. They have a message for us and we should listen. Are you listening? Because if you're not, you'll miss the boat big time. Take our friend, Learning Tree, which is a sort of name you get when you believe last night's...

What's With The Adam Smith Tie-Dye? Sept 5, 2003 Us on the Right are accustomed to saying that the Left just doesn’t understand us. It’s easy to laugh at their talking heads, especially if you’re hip to a few things. Such as this: remember the slogan “you just don’t get it?” Why it was so jarring to the naïve mind? Television networks prefer people with a reactionary personality on the screen: it makes for more exciting debates. The patient man, or woman, doesn’t bring the kind of excitement that takes the typical viewer away from the football channel, so he...

Orwell Would Be Proud By Nick Nichols They travel around the country in tie-dyed T-shirts banging homemade drums and singing ear-crunching songs. They set up websites to organize themselves as they tour from city to city. Wherever they go, local police must mobilize to prevent rioting. If you guessed the fans of Ozzy Osbourne, you're way off. No, this is the new anti-corporate protest movement, one that has become so zealous, so diffuse and so devoted to full-time rabble-rousing they could make even Ozzy's fans blush. And soon they could be coming to a town near you. That's because this...