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Apparently not content by merely insulting Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by suggesting that the Palestinians be given territory as it was before 1967, President Obama and hapless Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have given Israel several private warnings telling them not to take military action against Iran and the 'Madman of Tehran' Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. At a time where Obama should be giving unconditional support to our allies in the Middle East, he again chooses to rebuke them and snub his nose at them.

The bombing attack in Tehran which killed Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan last Wednesday, Jan. 11, generated an angry phone call from US President Barack Obama to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the next day, DEBKAfile's Washington and intelligence sources report. Washington is increasingly concerned, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, that Israel is preparing to strike Iran's nuclear sites over US objections and has bolstered the defenses of US facilities in the region in case of a conflict. Obama, Defense and Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been sending private messages to their Israel contacts...

WASHINGTON — As the housing bubble entered its waning hours in 2006, top Federal Reserve officials marveled at the desperate antics of home builders seeking to lure buyers. The officials laughed about the cars that builders were offering as signing bonuses, and about efforts to make empty homes look occupied. They joked about one builder who said that inventory was “rising through the roof.” But the officials, meeting every six weeks to discuss the health of the nation’s economy, gave little credence to the possibility that the faltering housing market would weigh on the broader economy, according to transcripts that...

They don't make humanitarians like they used to. Ten years ago, if someone were asked for an example of a humanitarian, chances are Mother Teresa, who devoted her life to helping the poor, would come to mind. Fifty years ago, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, who brought modern medicine to a remote area of Africa, was a humanitarian icon. When he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 he used the $33,000 to expand his hospital and build a leper colony. One hundred years ago, Andrew Carnegie was busy giving away a fortune, much of it to public libraries and education....

SHANGHAI, China - China's navy has commissioned the first in a new class of domestically designed and built warships, official media reported Tuesday. The missile frigate Wenzhou, named after a port city in eastern China, entered service Monday at a ceremony attended by East China Fleet commander Zhao Guojun, according to a brief report on the official Wenzhou Newsnet. The report gave no other details about the ship, but Western military experts have described it as the first in the 054 Ma'anshan class, representing China's most advanced missile frigates. Along with superior electronics, anti-submarine capabilities and air defenses, the ships...

Astronomers have discovered four new planets in a week's time, an exciting end-of-summer flurry that signals a sharper era in the hunt for new worlds. While none of these new bodies would be mistaken as Earth's twin, some appear to be noticeably smaller and more solid — more like Earth and Mars — than the gargantuan, gaseous giants identified before. Planet-hunting is the hottest field in astronomy, with hundreds of researchers joining a race that just a decade ago was reserved for a few dreamers. This past week has been a dizzying one with three teams in the United States...

CHANTILLY, Va. - NASA (news - web sites) on Thursday introduced a new class of 11 astronauts, a group that includes three teachers who are giving up the classroom for the chance to fly into space. The teachers, selected from a field of more than 1,000 applicants, will live, work and train with more than 100 other astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The new astronauts could be scheduled for space flights by 2009. No teacher has flown on a shuttle since Christa McAuliffe, who died in the 1986 Challenger explosion. The teacher who served as McAuliffe's alternate...