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Note: The following text is a quote: August 21, 2009 Former IRA militant deported to Ireland Pol Brennan was convicted of transporting firearms and explosives for the Irish Republican Army HARLINGEN, Texas - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported a former Irish Republican Army (IRA) militant and convicted criminal to Ireland on Friday. Pol Brennan, 56, was deported following a series of criminal convictions in the United Kingdom and the United States. Brennan's case received full review and consideration by the immigration court system. On order of the Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals, Brennan was detained...

The Tall Ashier water station manager inspects the flow of clean water from his station. Ribbon cutting ceremonies were held for two water stations built in the Qayyarah sub-district of Ninewa province, south of Mosul, July 23. Photo courtesy of 1st Cavalry Division. MOSUL — Ribbon cutting ceremonies were held for two water stations built in the Qayyarah sub-district of Ninewa province, south of Mosul, July 23. These projects will dramatically increase the amount of homes that receive water and are a part of an ongoing campaign to provide the people of Iraq with essential goods and services.The first ribbon...

You’ll be hearing a lot in the next six months about Roth Individual Retirement Accounts — but not as much as you should about a long-term threat that hangs over them. ... Why would you want to [swap a regular for a Roth IRA]? Because you think you or your heirs could end up with more money over the long haul by investing in a Roth instead of a regular I.R.A. ... It all seems pretty simple, until you consider this: The tax laws might change substantially, throwing all of your careful planning into utter disarray. We’re currently staring down...

Obama IRAs Could Raise $100 Billion in Five YearsBy Money Management Executive July 8, 2009 One of President Obama’s proposed financial reforms would require employers that do not offer a 401(k) to automatically enroll their employees into an IRA. If implemented, it would give the biggest boost to the retirement savings industry since the creation of the 401(k) in 1980, enrolling 40 million new investors, and attract more than $100 billion within five years, The Wall Street Journal reports. It would require companies with 10 or more workers that have been in business for at least two years to participate....

Kendall Myers, 72, who appeared in federal court in Washington on Wednesday charged with spying for Havana for nearly 30 years, had a fascination with Northern Ireland. The Daily Telegraph has established that as well as seeking the envoy's post, which carried the rank of ambassador, Mr Myers travelled to the British Isles and met British and Irish officials, senior Northern Ireland politicians and intelligence officers. .... "Anything this guy could have found from his European responsibilities he might have funnelled to the Cubans for them to sell off," said John Bolton, a former top State Department official in the...

Note: The following text is a quote: Former State Department Official and Wife Arrested for Serving as Illegal Agents of Cuba for Nearly 30 Years Couple Allegedly Conspired to Provide Classified Information to Cuban Government A former State Department official and his wife have been arrested on charges of serving as illegal agents of the Cuban government for nearly 30 years and conspiring to provide classified U.S. information to the Cuban government. The arrests were announced today by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Channing D. Phillips, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Joseph Persichini, Jr.,...

As painful as it is to pay taxes, tax effective strategies for those 59 1/2 and older should now consider IRA conversions to Roth IRAs in order to avoid oppressive future Obama tax rates. If you are unemployed with or without a rollover 410k, if your 2009 income will be significantly reduced, or if you beneficiaries would be subject to a significant future tax hit you may be particularly well suited for such a strategy. Please consult your tax advisor....

Blog Note: The following blog entry is a quote: Larijani In Yemen On Reassurance Visit The London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports that Iranian Majlis speaker Ali Larijani is visiting Yemen to reassure it regarding fears of Iranian involvement in rebel activity in southern Yemen, and regarding activity by the Houthis in the Sa'ada district in northern Yemen. Senior Yemeni officials have accused Iran of supporting the Houthis (see Yemeni Official: Iran Clearly Involved In Al-Houthi Rebellion). According to the report, Larijani told Yemen President Ali Abdallah Saleh that his country supported Yemen's stability and security. Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, May...

Army Spc. Adam Feldon talks with an Iraqi boy May 4, 2009, as a patrol of Pennsylvania Army National Guard Soldiers and Iraqi Police officers moves through Taji Market, north of Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Doug Roles. TAJI — Iraqi Security Forces and U.S. Soldiers have been hitting the streets, working together to maintain security in Taji Market, one of the busiest sectors of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team’s area of operations north of Baghdad. The market is a lynchpin in the security effort because it’s where the lives of locals intertwine. “Being the main market area, that’s...

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2009 – Coalition and Iraqi forces swept up weapons and insurgents during three days of operations in Iraq this week, military officials said. During operations May 5 in southern Iraq’s Maysan province, Iraqi forces found a weapons cache containing more than 300 munitions and various military equipment. Troops discovered the contraband inside a house in the city of Amarah. The Iraqi security units are partnered with the 1st Cavalry Division’s 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, in Maysan in efforts to rid the region of illegal weapons and criminal activity. In the Mansour and...

DIYALA — Coalition leadership recently gathered to bid farewell to former Diyala provincial Governor Ra’ad Hameed Al-Mula Jowad Al-Tamimi here at Forward Operating Base Warhorse. The event was planned as a way to thank Tamimi for his service to the province and country while serving as the Diyala governor for the past four years. Soldiers from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division worked for the last seven months with Tamimi, who has also partnered with four other Coalition brigades and interacted with countless servicemen and women, as well as members of the State Department, during his tenure...

PHOTO CAPTION: "A second al-Qaeda terror cell is believed to be planning carnage in the UK." SNIPPET: "Senior security sources last night revealed they are hunting extremists aiming to bomb a location such as a nightclub or shopping centre. They believe the cell will target London rather than the North- West, where 11 men were arrested on Wednesday, as the capital holds more "international significance"." Evidence gleaned from the arrests was revealed to Cobra, Whitehall's emergency committee of intelligence chiefs and ministers.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams Thursday denounced the Israel-led blockade on Gaza as having turned the coastal strip into an "open-air prison," news agencies reported. "This is a total denial of the rights of the people of Palestine. This is an open-air prison," The Guardian quoted the Sinn Fein president as saying during a visit to the Hamas-ruled territory. "People can't travel out of here, they can't travel in." Adams met with the head of the internationally-shunned Hamas government during a two-day visit to Gaza, and said he plans to brief President Obama's special Mideast envoy about his contacts. "Mr....

LONDON: The security cover for Britain's Princes William and Harry has been stepped up over fears that IRA terrorists are plotting to assassinate the royals, a news report said on Sunday. Scotland Yard fears the Princes, who are officers in the British Army, are prize targets for Irish Republican Army (IRA). The number of close protection officers guarding the two royals on each shift has been increased, Britain's Sunday Express reported today. The threat level has been upgraded following the murders of two soldiers and a police officer in Northern Ireland. "The Princes are regarded as legitimate targets by these...

DUBLIN, Ireland – A security alert has been issued today in the Northern Ireland town of Ballykinler, the site of a British Army base.

IF the Mafia were handed power in New York, would anyone expect them to go straight? It’s the same with the IRA and Northern Ireland. The price of Tony Blair’s appeasement of the IRA was that terrorists were allowed to share power. And now the terrorists have fallen out among themselves. That’s why two British soldiers have been murdered. We’ve all been worrying about Islamic attacks. Yet suddenly we face a renewed terror campaign on our own soil. It must come as a shock to anyone who doesn’t remember how Ulster violence dominated the news for decades. Blair’s Ulster peace...

The attack took place while the officer was investigating suspicious activity David Sharrock, Ireland Correspondent A police officer died tonight after being shot in an attack in Northern Ireland, the third member of the security forces to die in the last 48 hours. It marked a dangerous and sudden escalation in violence in the province which threatened to draw a counter-reaction from loyalist paramilitaries. “We are tonight staring into the abyss,” said Dolores Kelly, a member of the nationalist SDLP who sits on the province’s policing board. “I would appeal to people to pull back. “I certainly would want to...

A police officer has died following a shooting incident in Craigavon, County Armagh. The incident is understood to have happened near Lismore Manor in the Brownlow area as police investigated reports of suspicious activity. The attack follows the weekend murder of two soldiers outside an Army base in Antrim. The Real IRA said they were responsible for that shooting. Politicians have condemned the latest killing of a security force member. DUP assembly member David Simpson described the attack as an "outrage" and said those behind it were "vermin". "What we have seen over the last 36 hours is a deliberate...

Suspected IRA dissidents opened fire on British troops and pizza delivery men outside a Northern Ireland army base, killing two soldiers and wounding four other people. Police said Sunday the attackers fired on their victims again as they lay wounded on the ground. Saturday night's attack at the entrance to Massereene army barracks in Antrim, west of Belfast, was the first killing of British troops in Northern Ireland since 1997. Its callousness, in targeting soldiers and civilians alike, appeared calculated to inflame community tensions and undermine Northern Ireland's Catholic-Protestant administration. "The whole country is shocked and outraged at the evil...

I know that there are several knowledgeable people on this board, so I'm coming to you with a decision that I've been wrestling with for weeks. Conventional wisdom dictates that, unless absolutely necessary, you should leave your 401K/IRA alone. In normal times, I understand the reasons why that is wise, and agree whole-heartedly. But does that apply to our current economic environment? I have an IRA and a 401K. The IRA is in an index 500 account (closely tied to the S&P) and I have not paid anything into it for over 10 years. I still pay enough into the...

A wide range of sweeping changes to the 401(k) system were proposed Tuesday at a hearing on how the market crisis has devastated retirement savings plans. Chief among them was eliminating $80 billion in tax savings for higher-income people enrolled in 401(k) retirement savings plans. This was suggested by the chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. “With respect to the 401(k), it appears to be a plan that is not really well-devised for the changes in the market,” Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said.

A wide range of sweeping changes to the 401(k) system were proposed Tuesday at a hearing on how the market crisis has devastated retirement savings plans. Chief among them was eliminating $80 billion in tax savings for higher-income people enrolled in 401(k) retirement savings plans. This was suggested by the chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. “With respect to the 401(k), it appears to be a plan that is not really well-devised for the changes in the market,” Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said. “We’ve invested $80 billion into subsidizing this activity,” he said, referring to tax breaks...

Powerful House Democrats are eyeing proposals to overhaul the nation's $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, are looking at redirecting those tax breaks to a new system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers would be obliged to contribute. A plan by Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic-policy analysis at The New School for Social Research...

For those who don't know, here's what it is in a nutshell: Employee 401k contribution are automatically deducted from their paycheck each pay period. This money is taken out before the employees paycheck is taxed. The contributions are invested at the employees direction into one or more funds provided in the plan. Employers often "match" employee contributions, but are not required to do so. While the investments grow in the employees 401k account, they do not pay any taxes on it. The individual is using his or her property to ensure a prosperous future before the government has a chance...

House Democrats Contemplate Abolishing 401(k) Tax Breaks Powerful House Democrats are eyeing proposals to overhaul the nation’s $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-California, and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Washington, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, are looking at redirecting those tax breaks to a new system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers would be obliged to contribute. A plan by Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic-policy analysis...

Powerful House Democrats are eyeing proposals to overhaul the nation’s $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive..... “The savings rate isn’t going up for the investment of $80 billion,” he [Democratic Congressman George Miller] said. “We have to start to think about ... whether or not we want to continue to invest that $80 billion for a policy that’s not generating what we now say it should.” “From where I sit that’s just crazy,” said John Belluardo, president of Stewardship Financial Services Inc. in Tarrytown, New...

McCain -- go after them the Democrates. The Democrats want to end the private retirement system that has allowed Americans to become a vast investor class and put them back in thrall of the federal government. This is nothing more than a second welfare system that would sit on top of the crumbling Social Security entitlement. It would leave the American working and middle classes with no retirement option other than a government handout. If the Democrats control both Congress and the White House, kiss your 401(k)s goodbye, and get into the bread lines first before the crowd arrives. (via...

Biden lashes out at corporate greed at Colo. stopCOLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Wednesday it's unfair that executives of failed corporations are paid millions of dollars while their employees lose their pensions. Biden vowed that he and Barack Obama would attack corporate greed if they're elected. Biden took direct aim at executives who draw big salaries while leading failed companies. "Their pensions go first," he told a roaring crowd.

House Democrats Contemplate Abolishing 401(k) Tax Breaks Powerful House Democrats are eyeing proposals to overhaul the nation’s $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-California, and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-HAMAS (Washington), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, are looking at redirecting those tax breaks to a new system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers would be obliged to contribute. A plan by Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic-policy...

Powerful House Democrats are eyeing proposals to overhaul the nation's $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, are looking at redirecting those tax breaks to a new system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers would be obliged to contribute. A plan by Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic-policy analysis at The New School for Social Research...

McCain suggests Democrats will tax 401(k) contributions, Dems say that's 'ridiculous'Posted by Stephen Koff/Plain Dealer Washington Bureau Chief October 30, 2008 14:45PM Never mind Barack Obama's tax plan, which would raise taxes for people earning more than $250,000. We already know that John McCain says that Obama wouldn't likely stop there, while Obama says he would. But this morning in Defiance, Ohio, McCain appeared to try to ramp up worries for any worker saving for retirement: Under Democrats, your 401(k) contributions might be taxed, too. "This Democratic Congress -- this -- this Reid-Pelosi group of liberals, including Congressman Barney Frank,...

McCain: "This Democratic Congress -- this -- this Reid-Pelosi group of liberals, including Congressman Barney Frank, is planning all sorts of new taxes this week," McCain told the Ohio crowd. "This week, we're hearing they want to tax your 401(k) contributions."

Powerful House Democrats are eyeing proposals to overhaul the nation’s $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-California, and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Washington, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, are looking at redirecting those tax breaks to a new system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers would be obliged to contribute. A plan by Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic-policy analysis at the New School for Social Research...

You have to give Rush Limbaugh a perverse kind of credit. At least when he is demonizing Barack Obama, fabricating Obama policies, blaming Obama for single-handedly causing the recession and the stock market crash, he doesn't pretend to be fair. Opening his first post-election rant against the president-elect, Limbaugh launched in with a certain relish. "The game," he told his radio listeners, "has begun," the LA Times reports. Sean Hannity, on the other hand, insisted on feigning a post-election detente, telling his Fox News television audience last week, "I want Barack Obama to succeed." Didn't he think anyone would notice...

There is no proposal in Congress to take away your 401(k) savings account. In any case, the stock market has already done a pretty good job of wiping out several trillion dollars worth of 401(k) savings without any help from Congress. At that hearing, one of the witnesses, Teresa Ghilarducci, an economics professor at The New School for Social Research, made an interesting observation. By her calculations, the government spends as much as $80 billion a year in tax breaks to subsidize 401(k) savings plans. In her opinion, that money could be better spent offering a tax credit for a...

Obama's retirement plan proposalsRetirees and workers with 401(k) savings may see changes. By DAVID PITT Associated Press Writer November 09. 2008 6:59AM The election is over and the message is clear — the economy is priority one. The big question now is how some of President-elect Barack Obama's campaign proposals will affect retirees and workers with 401(k) and other retirement accounts. Looking at them a bit closer may reveal some clues. What are some of the ideas Obama has proposed that could impact my retirement planning? One issue Obama has endorsed may get serious consideration before he takes the oath...

RALEIGH Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers' personal retirement accounts including 401(k)s and IRAs and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration. Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly. The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House Committee...

You may have heard about Argentina's plan to nationalize private retirement accounts. Some Democrats on Capitol Hill are inspired, and with their big election victory they may get the chance to test Peronist ideas in America. Meet Congressmen George Miller and Jim McDermott, who are eager to change the way Americans save for their golden years. They'll also be powerbrokers in the next Congress. Mr. Miller, who came in with the Class of 1974 from California, chairs the House Education and Labor Committee. Mr. McDermott, who has represented Seattle the past two decades, runs a House Ways and Means subcommittee...

Calls grow to overhaul 401(k) retirement plans The financial crisis, which has caused a dramatic decline in the value of the average worker's account, has undermined confidence in the system. By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 7:03 PM PST, November 15, 2008 Reporting from Washington -- For nearly three decades, working Americans have been part of a huge experiment with their future well-being: Old-fashioned pensions that guaranteed specific retirement benefits have given way to old-age benefitsthat depend on personal investing in the financial markets. But now, with those markets in crisis and the value of workers' investments plunging,...

Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts — including 401(k)s and IRAs — and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration. Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly. The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House...

RALEIGH — Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts — including 401(k)s and IRAs — and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration. Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly. The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for...

Teresa Ghilarducci: The 401(k) Retirement System Has FailedJanuary 30, 2009 03:51 PM ET | Emily Brandon **SNIP** Under Ghilarducci's plan, outlined in her book When I'm Sixty-Four: The Plot Against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them, all workers who don't have a traditional pension would be required to contribute 2.5 percent of their income to a government account with a 2.5 percent employer match. A 3 percent return above inflation would be guaranteed by the government. U.S. News asked Ghilarducci about her controversial retirement plans. Excerpts: **SNIP** How will GRAs fix the retirement system? After 30 years of experience...

George Mitchell wants us to believe that the peace process in Northern Ireland holds insights for other areas of conflict in the world. In June-July 1972, top IRA operatives were flown to London in order to meet senior British politicians, leading the IRA to believe its violent campaign had forced the British to the negotiating table. After the talks failed, on 21 July 1972, the IRA exploded 22 bombs in Belfast in the space of 75 minutes - killing 9 and injuring another 130 on what became known as "Bloody Friday." By the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Republic...

I was made aware of this by my Mom's financial guy... Thought Id' share this message from my broker, in case you haven't heard about this: "Congress and President Bush signed legislation that suspends the rule requiring retirees over 70 ½ to take withdrawals (RMDs) from tax-deferred retirement accounts, such as traditional IRAs and 401(k)s. This suspension currently lasts for one year, 2009. The intention is to give retirement accounts time to rebound from the difficult economy/market conditions. Please note that you can still take distributions from your IRAs during 2009; they are just not required. Customers who turned 70...

Volunteer suicide bombers seek to attack Israel By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran – Hard-line Iranian student groups have asked the government to authorize volunteers to go carry out suicide bombings in Israel in response to the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip. The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had not responded to the call by Wednesday. Five hard-line student groups and a conservative clerical group launched a registration drive on Monday, seeking volunteers to carry out suicide attacks against Israel.

Police have recovered a so-called 'coffee jar bomb' following a security alert in west Belfast on Wednesday....

RAYMONDVILLE -- The question of whether a former IRA militant will be deported after living in the United States for 25 years now rests in the hands of a federal immigration judge. Two and a half days of hearings in the case of Pol Brennan, 55, ended Friday morning with U.S. Immigration Judge William Peterson saying he would review the evidence and issue his decision at a later date. Brennan has been fighting deportation in the small courtroom of a federal immigrant detention center here, thousands of miles from his homeland or his new home in California's Bay Area. Brennan...

Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers' personal retirement accounts - including 401(k)s and IRAs - and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration. Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly. The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House...

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House discuss confiscating 401(k)s, IRAs Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts - including 401(k)s and IRAs - and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration. Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly. The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7...

RALEIGH — Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts — including 401(k)s and IRAs — and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration. Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly. The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for...