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PITTSBURGH - A federal judge does not have the jurisdiction to second-guess security clearance decisions and should throw out a lawsuit by a Muslim scientist who claims he wrongly lost his clearance — and his job — at a nuclear warship plant, U.S. Justice Department attorneys said in court documents. Lawyers for the Department of Energy contend the lawsuit filed by Egyptian-born scientist Abdel Moniem Ali El-Ganayni is an effort to publicize the security review process, which could pose a threat to the U.S. The American Civil Liberties Union helped El-Ganayni sue this year, saying he was wrongly fired for...

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Army wants every Iraqi Soldier to receive ethics training just like he receives marksmanship or drill and ceremony training. Since 2003, the primary focus for the Iraqi Army has been building the force. Getting Soldiers trained to fight took precedence over many other military functions. Iraqis came from all locations and all walks of life to join the fight to secure their country from terrorists. Every one of those Soldiers brought a unique set of values with him: personal values, family values, community values and religious values. Creating a culture of ethical behavior means that each...

WASHINGTON — Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel said his party’s vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, lacks foreign policy experience and called it a “stretch” to say she’s qualified to be president. “She doesn’t have any foreign policy credentials,” Hagel said in an interview published Thursday by the Omaha World-Herald....

Like it or not, the reality is that we live in an extremely self-centered society. If you take issue with this statement just watch how pedestrians enter into crosswalks during rush hour. Ignoring that pedestrians only have the right of way when they are within the crosswalk, today’s bipeds don’t hesitate at all to walk directly in front of moving vehicles, expecting to be protected from trauma by their imagined “right” to occupy a space versus a 4,000lbs vehicle. While this example illustrates how being self-centered – or arrogant...or vacuous – can cause personal harm, these same character flaws can...

Supreme Court justices take an oath promising to "faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties . . . of the Supreme Court of the United States under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God." They do not take an oath to "faithfully and impartially perform all duties . . . except when personally offended, or when having pangs of empathy for the poor or trying to be a standup guy or gal." Listening to Barack Obama, you may think they do. And though the Bush administration cared little for the Constitution, the next...

Ever since Sam was a puppy, he rarely left his owner's side. When owner Teddy Crockarell lost his battle with cancer last Monday, his wife Marcene believes Sam must have sensed something was wrong...

My wife and I recently decided to look through the myriad pictures, mementoes and papers we have gathered over our 46 years together. We found pictures of my father (who I barely remember since he passed when I was 15). Of course there are pictures of our 40+ vacations, many not labeled so they are nearly impossible to truly identify. There are too many memories to mention but one stood out. It is a pamphlet, given to me by my dad's brother in the early 60's. Now he was a Christian Scientist (as was my dad) and since it looked...

When voters cast their ballots during Virginia's Feb. 12 Republican presidential primary, they'll be required to sign a document stating they intend to support the party's nominee for president in a strategy one conservative leader called a "bullying tactic" but a nonpartisan election official dismissed as just "a piece of paper."

Ohio No Stranger to Radical Islam http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/252977.aspx CBNNews.com - COLUMBUS, Ohio - One traditional Middle Eastern grocery is painted to match the distinctive red, white, black and green of the Palestinian flag. Over the meat counter hangs a flag often flown at rallies for the terrorist group Hamas.But this grocery store isn't located in Gaza or the West Bank. It's in Hilliard, Ohio: a sleepy suburb of Columbus. It seems an unlikely battleground in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but support for the Palestinian cause runs deep."We are critical of our government policy in the Middle East, and its blind support of...

To be a "good" Muslim References -  'Palestinian' child abuse -  Evil 'Joy' -  'Blessing' Hitler -  Mourning the wicked -  Australia - Muslim land -  Jihad on all Buddhists -  Spain - Muslim land -  Europe - Muslim land -  Arabs DON'T care about 'Palestinians' -  72 virgins - Loyalty -  'Pallywood' -  (use of) Ambulances for terror -  (use of) Women for terror -  Human Shields -  Middle east background -  September 11 terror plot on London -  Myth on: 'Terrorists are desperate' -  Beheadings -  Ilan Halimi [an example of monsterous wild prolonged torture motivated by hate only] -  Muslims attacking Jews in France -  Ahmadinejad ' Islamic Hitler' -  Cutting -  'Honor killing' -  Jews & Christians as "Apes & Pigs"? - ...

High-risk employees in the American workplace outnumber those who are truly loyal, according to Walker Information’s most recent national study of employee loyalty. Although the percentage of truly loyal employees – 34 percent – is unchanged from two years ago, the percentage of employees categorized as high risk now exceeds those who are loyal, creating a widening gap for employers struggling to improve retention. The Walker Loyalty Report for Loyalty in the Workplace, examining trends in both employee loyalty and business ethics, reveals 36 percent of employees are high risk – a spike of five percentage points from 2005. Based...

Serving America's 'Muslim army' Arab-Americans have been fighting in Iraq since the very beginning of the conflict there. Many simply see it as their duty to serve their homeland, America. Others who have ended up on the frontlines in the so-called "war on terror" have suffered a crisis of conscience, having had to fight fellow Arabs and Muslims as the "enemy". Three Arab-American marines tell their stories.

On the 60th anniversary of VJ-Day in 2005, Marine Capt. Randy Stone, a military lawyer serving in Iraq, became a presidential poster boy. Capt. Stone's two grandfathers fought at Iwo Jima, so President Bush, in a celebratory speech, turned the whole family into a gold-braided rhetorical flourish to depict the continuity of American character and courage from one war to another. "Captain Stone proudly wears the uniform just as his grandfathers did at Iwo Jima," said Mr. Bush. "He's guided by the same convictions they carried into battle. He shares the same willingness to serve a cause greater than himself......

Question: I've been dating the same guy exclusively since high school. I'm now 26, and we've been talking about marriage. I'm crazy about him, but I worry that I will regret limiting my dating experience to just one man. Should I explore other options? Her Take: If you've been with your boyfriend that long and are still "crazy about him," that's pretty promising. But you're smart to ask these questions. I think you could have regrets -- dating around often shows you just how many wrong men are out there, which makes the right one feel that much righter.

Israeli Arabs are split on whether Badir (c) should play for Israel This Saturday the England football squad take on Israel in the two sides' first official encounter.This Euro 2008 qualifier will, according to the Israeli press, test the loyalties of English Jews who live here. Which side will they cheer for, the papers ask? But it is not just the Anglo-Israelis who may choose not to wave the Israeli flag this weekend. One in five Israelis is a so-called Israeli Arab. They are the families of Palestinians who stayed in Israel after its war of independence in 1948....

WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama ridiculed Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday for saying Britain's decision to pull troops from Iraq is a good sign that fits with the strategy for stabilizing the country. Obama, speaking at a massive outdoor rally in Austin, Texas, said British Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision this week to withdraw 1,600 troops is a recognition that Iraq's problems can't be solved militarily. "Now if Tony Blair can understand that, than why can't George Bush and Dick Cheney understand that?" Obama asked thousands of supporters who gathered in the rain to hear him. "In...

Muslims face hatred in US heartland http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=42559 CINCINNATI: Tala Ali, 25, has seen the good and the bad of being a Muslim in heartland America. People have leaned out car windows to scream at her: “Terrorist go home.” But strangers curious about her headscarf have also approached her apologetically to ask about Islam. “I love it, actually, when people ask me questions,” said the pink-scarved Ali, who came to the United States with her Jordanian father and Palestinian mother when she was five. “Out here, I’m the only Muslim some people may meet,” said Ali, waiting for friends after Friday...

Britons suspected of fighting with Islamic forces in Somalia http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/12/europe/EU-GEN-Britain-Somalia.php Britons suspected of fighting with Islamic forces in Somalia returning home The Associated PressPublished: February 12, 2007 LONDON: Four Britons seized in Kenya and suspected of fighting alongside Somalia's ousted Islamic movement were preparing to be deported Monday, Britain's Foreign Office said. The men were seized in January on the Somali border after escaping advancing Ethiopian troops who, together with Somali government troops, ousted the Islamic militants. At least 10 foreigners were held in Kenyan custody, including the Britons, two Americans, a Frenchman and a Tunisian woman, according to Kenyan...

SACRAMENTO — Rolling out his agenda last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proudly elevated his eclectic approach to a kind of political doctrine: Republicans and Democrats might be invested in the fight for supremacy, but voters aren't. Seeing that party loyalties are dwindling, Schwarzenegger is confident that he faces no real repercussions if he disappoints the state's GOP leadership. Siphoning ideas from both major parties, he remains a Republican by registration, but he is acting, speaking and governing increasingly like an independent. Like a party of one. In the first week of his new term, Schwarzenegger's moves were nearly impossible to...

DETROIT — Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) leads the auto industry in retaining new vehicle buyers, according to a study released by JD Power and Associates on Wednesday. The automaker's Toyota brand replaced the Lexus in the annual survey, which measures the percentage of new vehicle buyers and lessees who replace a vehicle with another from the same brand. [Snip] Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s Honda brand retained third place, with 60.3 percent retention. GM's Cadillac ranks highest among American brands and sixth overall, with a 55.5 percent retention rate. GM earlier this year said the way its vehicles were perceived...

Muslims For A Safe America conducted a survey at the Islamic Society of North America’s 43rd Annual Convention in Chicago from September 1, 2006 to September 4, 2006. 307 Muslims who are American citizens participated in the survey at the Muslims For A Safe America booth at ISNA. The purpose of the survey was to better understand the views of American Muslims on issues relating to Islam, Muslims, and American national security. It is important to let Muslims articulate their varied opinions on these issues in order to encourage dialogue within the Muslim community and with the rest of American...

Treason charge to be brought against U.S. citizen for aiding terrorists, The anti-terrorism program run by State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security has been authorized to pay for information leading to the apprehension of Adam Yahiye Gadahn, known also as Azzam al-Amriki or Azzam the American. State Department Seeks Leads on U.S.-Born al-Qaida Spokesman,Washington – Under its Reward for Justice program, the State Department is offering up to $1 million to anyone providing information leading to the arrest or conviction of an American citizen who has served as an al-Qaida spokesman. The California native is wanted for treason after appearing in...

LOS ANGELES -- During two tours of duty in Iraq, Navy corpsman Melson J. Bacos said he experienced everything combat had to offer -- fire fights with insurgents, soldiers dying in his arms, thoughts of whether he'd live another day. Now he's got another unnerving assignment. On Friday, the 21 year old is scheduled to give testimony that military prosecutors hope will help them convict seven Marines accused of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man in the town of Hamdania. Bacos, a medic who patrolled with the Marines, will have similar charges dropped in exchange for testimony during his court...

_ Tuesday, the President will participate in a National Security Council and Homeland Security Council briefing at the National Counterterrorism Center in McLean, Virginia. He will have a meeting with the counterterrorism team, attend lunch with the counterterrorism and homeland security teams, and also meet separately with the homeland security team. According to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, these are long-scheduled meetings, and are not a reaction to the recently discovered plot to blow up flights between Britain and the United States. However, the investigation will be part of their discussion. _ Wednesday, the President will travel to York,...

By FRANK MIELE Loyalty is generally considered a virtue. Disloyalty is generally considered a vice. But one must sometimes choose between conflicting loyalties, and one’s choices on such occasions go a long way toward defining a person’s character. For instance, a person might have a great love for his or her country, and yet have a greater love for God. If such people hold in their heart a religious belief that war is immoral, then they are granted a conscientious objector status and exempted from combat duty. Are these people disloyal to the United States? Not at all, but they...

The Pentagon has banned security clearance to Americans with relatives in Israel. Government sources and attorneys said the Pentagon has sought and succeeded in removing security clearance from dozens of Americans, mostly Jews, who either lived, worked or have relatives in Israel. Official documents report that American Jews were asked by Pentagon examiners whether they would join a U.S. attack on Israel if the Jewish state was threatened. [Note - this is all that is available to non-subscribers to Insight.]

Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of the Multinational Force, Over the last three years, your sacrifices and those of your comrades before you brought the Iraqi people freedom, a democratically elected government, and a chance for a new future. The Multinational Force is now at the point where we can move from the forefront of the effort to secure freedom to a position where we assist the Iraqis in securing and governing their own country. One important way for us to assist the Iraqis is to demonstrate the discipline and values that mark us as professional armed forces of free...

Pace Calls Iraq Investigations Chance to Recheck Moral Compass By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service SINGAPORE, June 4, 2006 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told U.S. Marines stationed here today the ongoing investigations of events in Haditha, Iraq, present an opportunity for all servicemembers "to revisit ourselves and see where we are on our moral compass." Gen. Peter Pace, the first Marine to become the highest-ranking U.S. military officer, shared his thoughts with members of Marine Corps Detachment Singapore after stopping between sessions at a security conference here to thank them for their service. Asked...

Returning to her camp near Baghdad, Sgt. 1st Class Juanita Wilson's last supply run turned out very differently than the other missions in her seven-month tour in Iraq.

...to many immigrants today, U.S. citizenship is not an object of patriotism. To these people, U.S. citizenship means the convenience of having a U.S. passport that enables them to come and go without worrying about immigration problems. Though on paper they are U.S. citizens, in practice they are foreigners. They refuse to assimilate, following customs that are clearly incompatible with Western traditions. In other words, they may be U.S. citizens, but they are not Americans...

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February 24, 2006 19:30 PM Australian treasurer calls for Muslim hardliners to lose citizenship SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Treasurer Peter Costello, favourite to become the country's next leader, has called for Muslim extremists to be stripped of their citizenship while denouncing multiculturalism as "mushy and misguided". The comments from Prime Minister John Howard's anointed successor have outraged Australia's Islamic minority, with leaders saying it is the latest in a stream of unfair criticism from a conservative government out to marginalise their community. Costello demanded new citizens accept Australian laws rather than attempt to live by alternative codes such as sharia...

It has been nine days since President Bush shocked the world with his nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court of the United States. Like so many, I have spent the past week trying to get a take and establish a position on this out-of-left-field selection. Many "conservatives," whatever that term means, have pointed out reasons to oppose the nomination. Whether it be cronyism, lack of a paper trail, poor legal qualifications, past political contributions, the reasons to not support her are varied and valid. As all of the cable news shows have ramped up their coverage of the...

Man is a social animal – utterly dependent on forming and maintaining relationships with other people. A person who has always been truly alone is one who will be emotionally dead. Of all of the relationships into which people enter, the family is the most important. We are raised by parents, confronted with siblings, and introduced to peers through our familial roots. Indeed, human character arises out of the very commitments people make to others in their family or outside of it. Marriage, of course, is the supreme form of that commitment. When we make marriage less important, character suffers....

A word about loyalty in Wartime September 27th, 2005 There is a school of thought that believes the idea of loyalty to one’s country is a crass, outmoded concept not worthy of consideration by thinking people. Rather, loyalty, if given at all, should be reserved for nebulous and ethereal entities like “humanity” or “the family of man.” International socialism has long advocated this global view of loyalty – except, of course, when the old Soviet Union was in trouble for one of its frequent deviations from civilized behavior. It was at this point that Moscow would crack the whip and...

SEVEN thousand furious Kilkenny people have penned letters to Waterford City Council warning it to keep its hands off their land. The letters, petitions and coupons from the Kilkenny People Newspaper and statements of anger were delivered to City Hall in Waterford yesterday by a delegation led by Kilkenny-based Fine Gael TD Phil Hogan and Fianna Fáil councillor Bobby Aylward. A further 600 submissions, the bulk of which oppose the extension, have been logged by City Hall officials. Under the extension proposal, 5,000 acres, 20 townlands and about 5,000 people would now find themselves living in a suburb of Waterford...

Posted on Thu, Aug. 04, 2005 R E L A T E D C O N T E N T Rafael Palmeiro in his Texas Rangers uniform in 2003. JEFFERY WASHINGTON, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Rafael Palmeiro in his Texas Rangers uniform in 2003. Bush's loyalty raises doubts about his political judgment By William Douglas Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON - Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent wasn't surprised this week when President Bush supported embattled Baltimore Orioles slugger Rafael Palmeiro after he tested positive for steroids by saying the star first baseman was a trusted friend. When Bush owned the...

Long before there was "New York Myke," the motorcycle dealer running for mayor of San Diego, there was "Uncle Mike," a scrappy Brooklyn kid fighting a different sort of battle on the other side of the world. It was winter 1966, and Michael Shifrel, who enlisted in the Air Force and trained as a paratrooper, was a radio operator working alongside Army units in Vietnam. His job was to communicate the needs of soldiers on the ground to bombers in the sky. That wasn't enough to keep him busy, though. So in his spare time, Shifrel volunteered for counterinsurgency work,...

The recent votes in France and the Netherlands against the proposed constitution of the European Union are not merely political phenomena. They represent significant actions in the development of Fourth Generation war. Why? Because the root cause of Fourth Generation war is a crisis of legitimacy of the state, and the two referenda saw the French and Dutch people rebel against their elites’ efforts to empty the state of its content. Understanding what happened in these two votes requires a counterintuitive mindset. Normally, we would think of elites as representing the state and the common people rebelling against the state....

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who promised a bipartisan approach to government, has kept his word in at least one area: judicial appointments, where party label doesn't seem to matter. Schwarzenegger's approach to the judiciary has received little attention so far, but it's about to move into the spotlight with the prospect of his first appointment to the state Supreme Court. The vacancy would be created by the departure of Justice Janice Rogers Brown, a member of the court since 1996 and its most outspoken conservative. --snip-- Her successor will join a court with awaiting hearings on important issues already on the...

Man Fired By Bud Distributor For Drinking Coors Sip Of Coors Costs Man Job At American Eagle Distributing Company POSTED: 6:38 am MDT May 17, 2005 UPDATED: 7:23 am MDT May 17, 2005 MILLIKEN, Colo. -- A former employee of a Budweiser distributor said a sip of Coors cost him his job. Ross Hopkins, 41, said he was fired as a supervisor at American Eagle Distributing Company after he was seen by the son-in-law of the company president with a Coors at a Greeley bar. His apparent disloyalty led to his dismissal two days later. And now Hopkins is suing...

Hello all, I am asking for a quick favor from everyone... We have a student here at Roanoke Catholic, where I teach, who has osteosarcoma. He is a Senior and the Senior Class and school have truly rallied around him to support him. His mother is our school nurse and all of his siblings either go or have gone to this school. He is an amazing young man whom I admire. Andrew's story is incredible, but, I will try to simplify it and only hit on the highlights... He was diagnosed with cancer right after spring break and underwent chemo...

".....China last month released a new circular, "Regulations on Religious Affairs," which, among other things, reiterates that all churches must be registered with the government. Most underground Catholics—China has about 5 million of them—have resisted. Police last month detained an underground bishop in Wenzhou city. And authorities have stepped up monitoring of underground congregations in the central province of Hebei, according to Catholics there. On the whole, though, local Catholic leaders are enjoying more contact with Rome than ever before. According to the Vatican, all but about 10 of China's 70 official bishops have been recognized by the Pope. Even...

To plug themselves into the American Dream, Indians are on an unstoppable quest to reach the shores of the New World. The modern day Eldorado is sandwiched between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and Indians are dying to reach there. Now an oxymoron. The contradiction surfaces when after earning fame and fortune, when the good life is finally theirs’, when they can sit back, kick off their shoes and relax they, surprisingly, come back to India to, well, chase the Indian Dream. While they are content to make their millions abroad, it seems Indians have no love lost for their...

/begin my translation The Coming Collapse of N. Korean Regime [Analysis by Kim Young-hwan, (the author of) 'On N. Korean Democratization'] Ideology and organization greatly weakened, 80% chance of collapse in 10 years[04/08/05 19:42] A scene from Romanian uprising in '89 The prediction of N. Korean collapse was made twice already. The first was in 1989, when communist regimes in Eastern Europe went down in a series, and the second, in 1994, when (N. Korean) president Kim Il-sung died. However, these two predictions had a serious flaw. At the time, N. Korea had few internal factors to cause a collapse....

DefenseWatch "The Voice of the Grunt" 03-21-2005 Hack's Target Open Letter to a Marine General Lt. Gen. John E. Sattler Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force Somewhere near Fallujah, Iraq General, Congratulations on your splendid Marines’ retaking of Fallujah last November. The mission was accomplished in the proud tradition of Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reservoir and Hue City. During the past four months, your force also cleaned the clocks of some of the baddest guys going in Anbar Province, one of the toughest killing fields in Iraq. I’m convinced that if other units mirror your performance and the American people...

Norway, a major oil exporter, is prepared to help Iraq build up its oil industry by sharing experience, training and technology, a deputy minister said Tuesday. "There is real interest in doing this and getting it going this year," Norwegian Deputy Minister of International Development Leiv Lunde told The Associated Press. (snip)

When President Bush discusses immigration policy with Mexican President Vicente Fox in Texas tomorrow, he should challenge the purpose and legitimacy of Mexico's promotion of dual citizenship. To understand the significance of this issue, let us examine the case of Manual de la Cruz. Mr. de la Cruz emigrated from Mexico in the early 1970s. Eventually, he became an American citizen and took the Oath of Allegiance in which he "absolutely and entirely renounced all allegiance and fidelity" to any "foreign state." Yet in 2004 Mr. de la Cruz was elected to the Zacatecas state legislature and declared loyalty to...

 Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch famously embraced a management style where the bottom 10 percent were fired every year.      Patriots coach Bill Belichick might go even further, as evidenced by the recent departures of lineman Joe Andruzzi, linebacker Roman Phifer and jack-of-all-trades Troy Brown. The coach will part with players, no matter how productive or popular, if they've become too expensive.      The issue isn't, What have you done for me lately? For the Genius of Foxboro it's more like, What can you do for me tomorrow - and under budget?      ``(Belichick) has adopted a business model,'' said Dianne Durkin,...

Elissa Guralnick is a tenured English professor at the University of Colorado. She holds two advanced degrees from Yale and has served the university honorably for nearly 32 years. But if she doesn't sign a loyalty oath by 5 p.m. today, she says, the university promises to fire her. Never mind that she signed it three decades ago. Never mind that she's not required to sign again. This is the utter madness of the Ward Churchill hullabaloo. Churchill, the CU professor who likens 9/11 twin-tower victims to Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, signed a loyalty oath when he was hired,...