Syria Weapons Inspectors Miss Deadline for Visiting All Declared Sites

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Dusan VranicInternational inspectors overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile have missed an early deadline in a brutally tight schedule after security concerns prevented them from visiting two sites linked to Damascus’ chemical program.

The chief of the global chemical weapons watchdog disclosed for the first time in a report obtained by The Associated Press that Syria has declared 41 facilities at 23 chemical sites where it stored approximately 1,300 tons of precursors and agents, and over 1,200 unfilled munitions to deliver them.

Ahmet Uzumcu said in his first report to the U.N. Security Council that inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had corroborated the information provided by Syria at 37 of the 41 facilities.

But the OPCW said inspectors were only able to visit 21 of the 23 sites because of security risks — which means the tight timeline for visiting all declared sites by Oct. 27 was missed.

While there are no consequences for missing the deadline, the group’s failure to meet it underscores the ambitious timeline as well as the risks its inspectors face in carrying out their mission in the middle of Syria’s civil war.

Read more from this story HERE.

Dispelling Liberal Myths: The Tea Party is Not Racist and the Right is Not the Realm of Homophobes and Misogynists

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Photo Credit: Irish Central When Niall O’Dowd invited me to be the voice of the right at IrishCentral, I was met with complaints from those who didn’t like having a different opinion disturbing their peace and quiet…. But I was also greeted with welcome from those who felt they had not previously been given a voice. One priest even commented “praise God for Ed Farnan,” after I came aboard.

I have seen the myths put forth by my liberal colleagues, repeating stereotypes to paint all on the right with. If you repeat something often enough, it becomes the truth, even if it is not.

The myths that are particularly galling though, are the ones claiming the Tea Party is a racist organization and the right is a breeding ground of homophobia and waging a “war on women.”

Of course, in any group there will be fringe elements, but that should never be a basis to label an entire political movement with.

For me there is nothing better than to talk to those who are directly involved in a subject in order to get their opinion…..Especially the ones that would be feeling the brunt of the racism and discrimination, if there was any.

I called Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, someone I have deep respect for. Reverend Peterson is the founder of BOND Action and The South Central LA Tea Party, which self-identifies as “a black-led organization that loves and supports America,”

During our phone call Reverend Peterson, couldn’t be more emphatic that the Tea Party is composed of regular American citizens, who only want to see a responsible government and fiscal sanity restored to our country. His Tea Party chapter is:”not only popular in my own community;” he said: “I was surprised at the number of members throughout the US who joined, including many Hispanics and African Americans.”

Reverend Peterson was recently outraged when he saw claims made by Democrat Congressman Alan Grayson, comparing the Tea Party to the Ku Klux Klan. Reverend Peterson demanded that the “race baiting Grayson apologize to Black Americans and the Tea Party for his outrageous lies.”

“Alan Grayson is playing on the worst fears of Blacks in an attempt to continue the brainwashing tactics of the Democratic Party. He knows that for more than 160 years it has been the Democrats who have used the Ku-Klux-Klan, Jim Crow, and failing liberal policies to keep many blacks on the liberal Democrat’s plantation.” Read more here.

My next contact was Richard Grenell. Richard is a conservative, registered Republican, openly gay and appears frequently on Fox News as a foreign policy/security expert. He has been interviewed on CNN, Fox News, ABC News, NBC News and many other media outlets.

I asked Richard for his opinion as a gay man in the conservative world, if he faces discrimination:

“First of all, I classify myself as a consistent conservative. I consistently want government out of my life. I recognize that government must act when there is no market force but should stay out when there is a desire from the private sector to do something.”

“But generally I say that the far left and the far right are both intolerant. I have experienced it first hand. The far left hates the fact that I am a gay conservative. They want to keep gays in an ideological box. They alone get to decide when we get to speak up and on what issue.”

I contacted Jana Neweley. Jana has co written articles with me in the past and has helped research for upcoming interviews. Jana is a freelance writer of conservative political commentary. Follow her political tweets at PimpingtheUS.

“As a Black, Conservative woman, I have experienced racism and intolerance over the years, encountering both White and Black racists. So, how is it possible for any one group to say to another, “You’re racist?” Yet, the Democratic Party has accused The Right of just that. Well, I accuse The Left of being intolerant, because Liberal-Dems have zero tolerance for me. Sure, they’re okay with the color of my skin, but not with the fact that my conservative values are in direct conflict with their political agenda. If there was anything I could share with the American People, it would be Blacks ARE NOT automatically liberal.”

I had calls in to Carly Fiorina, Melissa Meyers and Meg Whitman, all former and present CEO’s of top American corporations. I wanted to get a first hand account of the conservative’s war on women intended to keep them “barefoot and pregnant”….but their busy schedules prevented a comment in time for this article.

A woman is considering a run for president; hopefully she’s a conservative. Women are governors, senators, members of congress and very powerful in the Republican Party. Women have assumed leadership roles in all strata’s of society, there is no one telling them they can’t do something. It is just another liberal fallacy to claim there is a war on women.

It’s easier to call someone a name or label them as an extremist instead of having to answer real questions about your failing policies.

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Ed Farnan is the conservative columnist at IrishCentral, where he has been writing on the need for energy independence, strong self defense, secure borders, 2nd amendment, smaller government and many other issues. His articles appear in many publications throughout the USA and world. He has been a guest on Fox News and a regular guest on radio stations in the US and Europe.

‘Hostage Talker’ Invited to White House (+video)

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photo credit: _skender_Recent estimates that Iran may be just one month away from producing enough enriched uranium to facilitate a nuclear weapon are likely on target, and the likelihood of Iran achieving success is enhanced by an insincere charm offensive by new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Rouhani was touted as a surprise winner in Iran’s recent presidential elections. Since then, he has projected a desire to soften the tone with the United States and open a new dialogue between the two nations. But the man who first warned the world of Iran’s latest quest for nuclear weapons told WND this public relations campaign by Iran is just a giant smokescreen.

“President Rouhani is actually more dangerous than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad because he creates the perception as though he’s going to be someone different, as though he’s willing to talk to the West and come into some kind of an agreement meaning that he would abandon some aspects of the Iranian nuclear program and that he would come clean,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, or NCRI, which is the formal name for the Iranian parliament in exile.

“If we look at the whole structure of the Iranian regime, Rouhani is just the player that only carries out the mission of the supreme leader. All the issue related to national security, particularly the nuclear file, are totally in the control of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei,” said Jafarzadeh, who also noted that Rouhani is no innocent newcomer to the international chess game over Iranian nukes.

Rouhani was one of the first Iran negotiators once the NCRI exposed the nuclear program in 2002. Jafarzadeh said Rouhani’s duplicity has been evident since the start of this impasse.

Read more from this story HERE.

Trick or Treat – The 142 Trillion Pound Monster is Back from the Grave

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Photo Credit: Joe BalyeatAs Halloween approaches, an old familiar monster rises from the grave like Freddy Krueger in “Nightmare on Elm Street.” But, unlike the famous fictional character, this beast is real and threatens to choke off our children’s future, consigning our great grandchildren to lifetimes of bondage. The 142 trillion pound monster in the room is America’s mushrooming national debt, and the October surprise is that Congress must once again raise the debt limit only 6 months after raising it to $17.3 trillion.

Consider these alarming facts: the $17.3 Trillion national debt employs Enron-style accounting and ignores government’s major unfunded liabilities including Social Security, Medicare, and government pensions. As a practicing CPA, I assure you that private sector companies would be forced to include these obligations on their balance sheets. So, the true national debt including unfunded liabilities is really $142 Trillion dollars. $142 trillion divided amongst every single taxpayer in America is $1.25 million dollars each. If you thought your family was debt-free… surprise! – you really owe $1,250,000 for every taxpayer in your household.

As your young son or daughter enters the workforce, excited to start building their nest-egg; they’re not starting from ground zero, they’re starting with a 1,250,000 pound weight about their neck – an enormous burden dragging down America’s economy and our children’s future. Sadly, our generation elected spineless politicians who simply didn’t have the backbone to say no to wasteful, excessive government spending.

Alaska Senator Mark Begich, while insisting that he doesn’t vote party-line, has repeatedly voted straight Democrat on numerous party-line votes which defeated US House attempts for lower spending on the continuing budget resolution… Including voting against attempts to simply delay Obamacare (with its $1.8 Trillion pricetag) for one year. Our elected officials are by-and-large still asleep during this living nightmare. According to OECD data, America’s deficit to GDP ratio was second worst worldwide in 2010 and 2011 and fourth worst in 2012. The World Economic Forum also ranked America’s debt to GDP ratio as 140th out of 144 nations, 5th worst in the entire world!

Prior to 2009, historically, 17% of federal government spending was deficit spending. Since 2009, a whopping 53% of government spending is now debt-financed deficit spending. The $3.5 trillion spent annually is almost $28,000/yr for every household in America. Is all this spending necessary, or have zombie-like politicians simply become so dollar-drunk and power-mesmerized that they’ve lost all self-control?

Consider these boondoggles:

·$376 million in White House renovations, including construction of a temporary pseudo Oval Office for the President to use only temporarily while the regular Oval Office is being renovated.

·US Navy spent $681,387 on one “scientific” study confirming that men look taller, stronger, and manlier when carrying a firearm, $300,000 to conclude the first bird on earth was probably black-feathered, and almost a half-million to determine that unintelligent robots can’t hold a baby’s attention.

·$188 Million wasted by the TSA on 5,700 pieces of security equipment sitting unused in storage.

·The IRS spent $4.1 Million on an extravagant conference for 2,600 IRS employees, including $50,000 for line-dancing and Star Trek parody videos, $135,350 for outside speakers, $64,000 in conference “swag” for the employees, free meals, cocktails, and hotel suite upgrades… Meanwhile, IRS discriminates against TEA-Party groups which oppose this wasteful spending.

Is profligate spending by “Washington Gone Wild” enough to tank history’s greatest economic engine – the American economy? Consider this: In roughly the same time period in which politicians ramped up deficit spending to more than half of the federal budget from 2008 to 2012, the median household income in America dropped 8.1%. That’s $4,400 less income per household annually. In that same timespan, a 21% increase in number of Americans in poverty, a 70% increase in number of people on food stamps, and the median net worth of American families plunged 39%.

It’s time America wakes up and realizes that excessive, wasteful government spending is seriously deteriorating our future economic stability. Stand up for our grandchildren’s future; petition Washington for real spending cuts now that will eventually balance the federal budget.

“Government is like a baby: an alimentary canal with a big appetite at oneend and no sense of responsibility at the other end”. (Ronald Reagan)

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Joe Balyeat is a National Merit Scholar, national award-winning CPA, and former Chairman of the MT Senate Business and Economic Affairs Committee. He is a part-time Alaskan residing near Anchor Point, and is an acting Co-Director for Americans For Prosperity- Alaska. ([email protected]).

Obamacare Site Designer CGI Federal Executive Spent ‘Christmas with the Obamas’

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Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton, facebook.com/tonitwhitley
Michelle Obama’s relationship with Princeton classmate Toni McCall Townes-Whitley, whose company earned the no-bid contract to design the disastrous Healthcare.Gov Obamacare website, continued after the Obamas moved into the White House.

Townes-Whitley and her husband even enjoyed “Christmas with the Obamas” at the White House in December 2010, according to a Facebook album created by Townes-Whitley.

Although neither Michelle Obama nor Townes-Whitley has discussed their relationship, the Christmas event took place just seven months after Townes-Whitley joined CGI Federal as a senior vice president.

Read more from this story HERE.

‘Extortion’: Holder Abuses Law to Enrich Former Employer, Target Republicans

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Photo Credit: AP

We are going to punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us. –President Barack Obama, October 2010.

The Obama Justice Department has increased Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions over 65% compared to the prior administration, a dramatic shift that stands to benefit Attorney General Eric Holder’s former law firm Covington & Burling—the firm that helped write the law and describes itself as “a leading voice” on FCPA enforcement and compliance. Several FCPA investigations by the Obama Justice Department have included companies headed by top Republican donors including Koch Industries, Las Vegas Sands, Inc., Walmart, News Corporation, and Hewlett-Packard.

Government Accountability Institute (GAI) President and Breitbart News Senior Editor-At-Large Peter Schweizer makes the stunning charges and lays out the evidence in his new book, Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets. Schweizer appeared last week on 60 Minutes and Hannity after the New York Times published two articles on the book’s investigative findings.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was created in 1977 to ban American companies doing business overseas from bribing foreign officials. Executives found guilty of violating the law can face up to 20 years in prison. The law was written with the help of lawyers at Covington & Burling, the former law firm of Attorney General Eric Holder and former DOJ Criminal Division head Lanny Breuer.

On its website, the firm boasts, “Covington lawyers have a unique command of anti-corruption laws, in part due to our role in helping draft the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in 1977.” The firm describes itself as “a leading voice in the private bar on US legislation and policy guidance relating to FCPA enforcement and compliance.” Breuer has since left DOJ and gone back through the revolving door to Covington where he makes nearly $4 million as vice chair of the firm. His duties, of course, include helping clients navigate “anti-corruption matters.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Reid: Rich Want to Pay More in Taxes (+video)

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Photo Credit: Townhall The rich don’t mind high taxes, in fact, they want to pay more, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) claimed during a radio interview with KNPR radio Thursday.

The host asked Reid if he would be willing to make concessions on Medicare and Social Security in a long-term budget deal. Not only did Reid instruct to “stop talking about that” and “get something else in your brain,” he also had these words of wisdom:

“…the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The rich know that. The rich are willing to pay more. They’re not the ones out here saying, ‘please don’t tax me.’ The only people who feel there shouldn’t be more coming in to the federal government from rich people are the Republicans in the Congress. Everybody else, including rich people, are willing to pay more. They want to pay more. So, yeah, but we’re going to have to have mainstream Republicans step up again.”

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Middle Class Get ObamaCare Sticker Shock

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Thousands of Californians are discovering what Obamacare will cost them — and many don’t like what they see. These middle-class consumers are staring at hefty increases on their insurance bills as the overhaul remakes the healthcare market. Their rates are rising in large part to help offset the higher costs of covering sicker, poorer people who have been shut out of the system for years.

Although recent criticism of the healthcare law has focused on website glitches and early enrollment snags, experts say sharp price increases for individual policies have the greatest potential to erode public support for President Obama’s signature legislation.

“This is when the actual sticker shock comes into play for people,” said Gerald Kominski, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. “There are winners and losers under the Affordable Care Act.” Fullerton resident Jennifer Harris thought she had a great deal, paying $98 a month for an individual plan through Health Net Inc. She got a rude surprise this month when the company said it would cancel her policy at the end of this year. Her current plan does not conform with the new federal rules, which require more generous levels of coverage.

Now Harris, a self-employed lawyer, must shop for replacement insurance. The cheapest plan she has found will cost her $238 a month. She and her husband don’t qualify for federal premium subsidies because they earn too much money, about $80,000 a year combined.

“It doesn’t seem right to make the middle class pay so much more in order to give health insurance to everybody else,” said Harris, who is three months pregnant. “This increase is simply not affordable.”

Read more from this story HERE.

‘SNL’ Hits Sebelius, HHS for Abysmal Healthcare.gov Launch (+video)

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller On Saturday’s broadcast of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” Kate McKinnon played Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in the show’s cold open and took on this month’s Obamacare rollout, which has been plagued by website troubles since its launch.

“Hi, I’m Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health under President Obama. Now, a lot of folks have been talking about our new health care enrollment website — how it’s been crashing and freezing and shutting down and stalling and not working and breaking and sucking,” McKinnon’s Sebelius said. “Well, tonight, I have a number of friendly tips to help you deal with those technical problems.

Read more from this story HERE.

World’s Anger at Obama Policies Goes Beyond Europe and the NSA

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Photo Credit: CLAUDIA HIMMELREICHWhether miffed over spying revelations or feeling sold out by U.S. moves in the Middle East, some of the United States’ closest allies are so upset that the Obama administration has gone into damage-control mode to ensure the rifts don’t widen and threaten critical partnerships.

The quarrels differ in their causes and degrees of seriousness. As a whole, however, they pose a new foreign policy headache for an administration whose overseas track record is seen in many quarters at home and abroad as reactive and lacking direction.

In Europe and the Middle East, rifts that once would’ve been quietly smoothed over have exploded into headlines and public remonstrations.

The uproar in Europe over revelations from fugitive former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that the United States spied on as many as 35 government leaders, including Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, has become so great that early Friday 28 European leaders said Merkel and French President Francois Hollande would open negotiations with the United States over a “no-spying agreement.”

In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, already fed up with U.S. reluctance to get more deeply involved in the Syrian civil war, has become alarmed by Obama’s overtures to the Saudis’ archenemy, Iran, with which the Saudis are locked in a battle for regional supremacy. Reports indicate it is considering breaking over cooperation with the Obama administration on a range of issues, including training for so-called moderate Syrian rebels.

Read more from this story HERE.