Obama « The Irate Nation

Obama administration recalls list of the items Israel requested to stand up to a four-front assault by Iran

On March 13, debkafile disclosed that the Obama administration was pondering withholding from Israel military hardware that could be used for an Israeli attack on Iran. In late February, we reported that defense minister Ehud Barak had submitted to defense secretary Robert Gates a list of the items Israel required urgently to stand up to a four-front assault by Iran and its allies - mainly air force ordnance, certain types of missile and advanced electronic devices.

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Obama signs one-year extension of Patriot Act

President Barack Obama has signed a one-year extension of several provisions in the nation's main counter terrorism law, the Patriot Act.

Provisions in the measure would have expired on Sunday without Obama's signature Saturday.

The act, which was adopted in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, expands the government's ability to monitor Americans in the name of national security.

Three sections of the Patriot Act that stay in force will:

_Authorize court-approved roving wiretaps that permit surveillance on multiple phones.

_Allow court-approved seizure of records and property in anti-terrorism operations.

_Permit surveillance against a so-called lone wolf, a non-U.S. citizen engaged in terrorism who may not be part of a recognized terrorist group.

Obama's signature comes after the House voted 315 to 97 Thursday to extend the measure.

The Senate also approved the measure, with privacy protections cast aside when Senate Democrats lacked the necessary 60-vote super-majority to pass them. Thrown away were restrictions and greater scrutiny on the government's authority to spy on Americans and seize their records.

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More AIG Bonus Outrage

Both Democratic and Republican politicians have strongly criticized another round of pay bonuses for the financial products division at AIG, which received funds from last year's bailout. Chip Reid reports.

By:CBSNewsOnline

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Preparing for nuclear provocations

clipped from www.debka.com

The Obama administration took the unusual step Saturday night, Jan. 30, of leaking word to major US media that the United States, Saudi Arabia and Gulf allies - the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain - have accelerated the deployment of new defenses against possible Iranian missile attacks. They are preparing for Iran, or its surrogate Hizballah, to hit back for a possible US or strikes on Tehran's nuclear facilities.

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High Speed Rail + Obama = Epic Fail

I was originally going to do this post on my own blog - but - just didn't have room for it.

As you all heard - Obama and Biden were in Tampa this past week to announce they were giving Florida $1.25 Billion to put in a high speed rail system that runs between Tampa and Orlando. This is a major major clusterfuck of a mistake and will end up being a huge boondoggle. This may as well be the train to nowhere.

I am a Tampa area resident. As I type this, I am currently on a weekend vacation in Disney in Orlando. I know the route this train will take. Oh - did I happen to mention that from downtown Tampa to downtown Orlando is only 80 miles? What the hell do we need a 200mph high speed bullet train for that short distance? We don't.

Last November - the people of Florida voted against this bullet train. This has been on our ballets every election cycle since 2000 and every election - we the people keep saying no. However, this year - since those idiots passed that stimulus spending bill - our RINO Governor urged our state senate to pass it anyway so he can get that stimulus spending bill money. I'm going to lay this out very clearly why this is just another epic fail for Obama - and will be an epic fail for Crist come November.

1. We don't have any commerce between Tampa and Orlando

2. The people of Florida have said NO to this for well over a decade

3. There will be very few riders on this train. Essentially, the only people who might actually use it are vacationers from Tampa to Disney. There aren't that many of us.

4. After 5 years of federal government subsidies to cover the losses (Amtrak sound familiar?) The people in the state of Florida will be responsible - our taxes are going to skyrocket.

5. Did I mention there is only 80 miles of track needed?

6. The average speed of a high speed rail train is only 150 mph to begin with. So - with having a set departure time and all the check in time and having to go slow to leave the city and then slow down to enter the destination city then all the deboarding etc (and they added stops in between)...you can actually get from one city to another in less time. The speed limit on the I-4 corridor is 75mph. Most of us drive it doing 90mph+.

7. People who live in Tampa don't work in Orlando and vice versa. This is not expected to change with this train either.

All-in-all this is a huge waste of taxpayer dollars AGAIN. This will guarantee that Crist won't be elected as Senator this November - and - when he loses that - he won't win reelection for Governor either. This boondoggle train to nowhere can and will be used against Obama in 2012 since this train isn't expected to be operational until 2014 - yet - the taxpayer outlay begins immediately.

While there might be 1000 jobs created to build this thing - once it's complete - you will need - what? 2 or 3 people on each end to work the gates. 2 or 3 janitors on each end to clean the terminals and 2 or 3 engineers to run the train and maybe a crew of 5 or 10 maintenance personnel on each end to keep it up and running. Since its such a short ride you won't need any cabin personnel. This is hardly a job creating project. When I think of jobs - I think long term. Long term full time jobs on this will be less than 50 for sure - all being government taxpayer supported employees.

The only people who make money on this are the developers, contractors, and engine builders. In the meantime American taxpayers, and especially the Florida taxpayers, all lose.