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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The anti-Muslim leader of a tiny Florida church says he was lied to and is rethinking his decision to cancel burning Qurans to mark 9/11. Pastor Terry Jones earlier Thursday had backed off his threat to burn the Quran after he said he was promised that a planned Islamic center and mosque would be moved away from New York's ground zero. Muslim leaders denied there was such a deal. Later outside his church he said that the imam he thought he made the deal with "clearly, clearly lied to us" about moving the mosque.

The United States government in no way condones such acts of disrespect against the religion of Islam, and is deeply concerned about deliberate attempts to offend members of religious or ethnic groups. The embassy wants to emphasize that we strongly condemn the offensive messages, which are contrary to U.S. government policy and deeply offensive to Muslims especially during the month of Ramadan. President Obama made clear in Cairo in his speech on June 4, 2009 that he considers it part of his responsibility as President to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they occur. And during his recent Iftar...

Members of the Congressional Muslim Staff Association (CMSA) hosted a panel discussion on Capitol Hill Tuesday to discuss the perception of Islam among Americans in the wake of the current debate over the proposed Park51 Islamic center and mosque project to be located just two blocks from Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. The primary point of agreement among all three panel participants was that those who oppose Muslim initiatives — such as the so-called “Ground Zero” mosque — are Islamaphobic and ignorant. A recent CBS poll revealed that 71% of Americans believe it is inappropriate to build a mosque so...

I searched all over and didn't see a live thread on tonight's speech soooooo here it is! (Be gentle on me, in all my years here this is my FIRST LIVE THREAD!)

U.S. Wants Report Card for Cars System Would Rate Fuel Economy, Emissions; Industry Says Government Veers Into Issuing Opinions By JOSH MITCHELL WASHINGTON—The government proposed labeling each new passenger vehicle with a letter grade from A to D based on its fuel efficiency and emissions, part of a broader effort by the Obama administration to promote electric cars and other advanced-technology vehicles. Journal Community The proposed new rules, released jointly Monday by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department, would be the most substantial change in 30 years to the familiar price-and-mileage labels affixed to the windows of new...

Not every American who marches behind a hateful crackpot is a hateful crackpot. The peaceful, thoughtful throng that assembled for Louis Farrakhan at the Million Man March in 1995 -- including a young Barack Obama -- proved that point. Notwithstanding some commentary, I tend to feel the same way about the much different (and rather smaller) assemblage that gathered at the behest of Glenn Beck in Washington last Saturday. Certainly, if you’re president of the United States, the most prudent course is to draw a distinction between the leader and the anonymous masses and treat the latter with at least...

ABC: Men arrested at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport were preparing terrorist attack Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 9:23 pm | Monica Lawrence | By Monica Lawrence AMSTERDAM (BNO NEWS) -- Two men were arrested aboard a United Airlines flight after landing at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on Monday, ABC News reported. The network, citing Dutch public prosecutor Ernst Koelman, said the men were arrested at the request of American authorities after the flight landed in Amsterdam. ABC said the men were subsequently charged with "preparation of a terrorist attack." The two were allowed to board the flight at O'Hare International Airport in...

Obama says he ignored Beck rally He seemed intent on casting himself as above the political fray, saying he had more important work to do than to engage in the back and forth of the political “silly season.” For example, Obama said he did not watch any of Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally Saturday on the National Mall. “It’s not surprising that somebody like a Mr. Beck is able to stir up a certain portion of the country. That's been true throughout our history,” he said. But “I’m making decisions that are not necessarily good for...

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Federal agents have been called out to investigate a possible arson case at the construction site of a controversial Islamic Center of Murfreesboro in Rutherford County. Officials said four construction vehicles were doused in some kind of flammable liquid accelerant early Saturday morning. Firefighters were alerted to the situation by a passerby who saw flames at the site. Only one large earth hauler was set on fire before the suspect or suspects left the scene. Investigators believed the people responsible for the fire was spooked and ran off before igniting the other three pieces of machinery. Agents...

In a repeat of a week ago, the First Family this morning went to a private beach in Edgartown. The Obama motorcade - with the president, first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia, 12, and Sasha, 9 - left the family's Martha's Vineyard vacation retreat at Blue Heron Farm in Chilmark at 11:07 this morning. The family is now at a private beach off Pohogomot Road, according to White House press pool reports. The area is on the opposite side of Oyster Pond and the Oyster Watcha Road area where the family spent last Saturday at a private beach. (snip)...

Rev. Jesse Jackson says Michigan needs to get over its anti-Detroit sentiment Published: Wednesday, August 25, 2010, 9:56 PM Ron Cammel | The Grand Rapids Press Ron Cammel | The Grand Rapids Press GRAND RAPIDS -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson had a word for West Michigan: There is an anti-Detroit sentiment in the state, but Detroit is "the largest organ in Michigan's body. ... If Detroit suffers, Michigan suffers." That was just one of the points Jackson made as he gave a pep talk in Grand Rapids Wednesday as part of Rainbow PUSH's campaign "Rebuild America: Jobs Justice Peace." During...

If you want to know what someone is like…look at who their friends are! As People Question Obama's Faith they again look to those Around him First there was Jeremiah Wright, then Jim Wallis, and now Joel Hunter (pictured), a spiritual advisor for Barack Obama who is defending the president's Christianity. Hunter, pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed, however, has some curious ties to anti-Semitic groups and individuals. Should his endorsement of Obama be considered credible in light of these associations? Ted Shoebat has done significant research into the background of Hunter (article below) and insists that while the pastor...

America has long been an exporter of terrorism, according to a secret CIA analysis released Wednesday by the Web site WikiLeaks. And if that phenomenon were to become a widely held perception, the analysis said, it could damage relations with foreign allies and dampen their willingness to cooperate in "extrajudicial" activities, such as the rendition and interrogation of terrorism suspects. That is the conclusion of the three-page classified paper produced in February by the CIA's Red Cell, a think tank set up after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by then-CIA Director George J. Tenet to provide "out-of-the-box" analyses on "a...

Last night President Obama and First Lady Obama dined at State Road Restaurant in West Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard. Their dinner companions were family friends Dr. Eric and Cheryl Whitaker, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, and lawyer and business executive Vernon Jordan and wife Ann Dibble Jordan. As they departed the restaurant at 9:55 pm ET, reporters asked the president if he was enjoying his vacation even with the rain. "I'm having a great time,” the president said. “Doing a lot of reading" Among the president’s reading materials is Jonathan Franzen’s “Freedom,” which is not yet on shelves. During a weekend...

The developer of a controversial Islamic center planned to be built near ground zero is expected to attend an Iftar dinner hosted by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The guest list for the annual dinner Tuesday includes Sharif el-Gamal, the developer of a lower Manhattan complex that includes a mosque, and Daisy Khan, a co-founder of the group planning the mosque.

Just when we thought President Obama had reached the ultimate in seizing extravagant power by appointing a Health Care Czar (Donald Berwick) to exercise life-and-death surveillance over Medicare and Medicaid, Congress is now trying to give him a Czar with global powers. It would be a Czar over women's issues, worldwide. Based in the State Department, her statutory title will be "Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues." Her task will be to assure a "gender integration" perspective in all State Department policies and programs. The breath-taking reach of her powers is openly stated in the bill's first section: "The Ambassador...

Obama can end the "birthers" controversy in one single day by releasing the original documents, but for some inexplicable reason he refuses, and the love-struck media never ask him why... Trust but verify.-- Ronald ReaganIt's good practice to take a person at his word until someone shows you proof he is lying. Barack Obama says he was born in Hawaii, and since no one has shown any proof he was born in Kenya or elsewhere, it's OK to conclude he was born in Hawaii. Sure his grammar school records show that he was enrolled as an Indonesian Muslim, but some...

Washington (CNN) - President Obama used his weekly internet and radio address to once again call for passage of legislation regarding political advertising. "[W]e cannot allow the corporate takeover of our democracy," Obama says in the address. "So we’re going to continue to fight for reform and transparency. And I urge all of you to take up the same fight. Let’s challenge every elected official who benefits from these ads to defend this practice or join us in stopping it."