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Obama travels to Japan without the first lady, and Japanese tongues are wagging about what that says about Japan's place on the US priority list. After all, Michelle Obama and daughters recently went to (gasp!) China. ... Now on the eve of Mr. Obama’s state visit to Tokyo this week, Japan is back to openly fretting about its place on America’s priority list – particularly in comparison to rising rival China. The reason? When Obama arrives Wednesday evening, he’ll disembark Air Force One solo – without first lady Michelle Obama. Obama will be the first US president to come to...

Happy Easter, Happy Passover. On this Good Friday, we mark the tenth anniversary of Mel's movie, and over the weekend we'll have something with a lighter touch. Caroline Glick, my old colleague from The Jerusalem Post, has a column using a very Steynian word, "The Disappearance of America's Will": The most terrifying aspect of the collapse of US power worldwide is the US's indifferent response to it. In Europe, in Asia, in the Middle East and beyond, America's most dangerous foes are engaging in aggression and brinkmanship unseen in decades.

A judge has granted a temporary protective injunction against U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, after his wife filed paperwork accusing the Orlando congressman of shoving and injuring her during an incident this weekend. Lolita Grayson's petition for the injunction, dated Monday, says her husband pushed her against a door, causing her to fall to the ground, during a confrontation Saturday at their home on Oak Park Road, near Windermere. /snip After she refused, retrieved his mail and asked him to leave, Alan Grayson "then deliberately and with force pushed [Lolita Grayson] very hard against the front door, causing [her] to fall...

The behind-the-scenes turbulence of U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson's family life continued to spill into public view Wednesday as his attorneys worked to combat his wife's recently revealed domestic-violence allegations. The congressman's lawyers revealed video of the domestic incident that played out at the Grayson home Saturday, which they said proved that Lolita Grayson committed an attack, not her husband. "He was hoping that this matter would stay in the courts and outside of the press, but since horrendous accusations have been made against him ... he believes that the truth must come out," Grayson's attorney Mark NeJame told reporters during...

One of our favorite unhinged Democratic Congressmen, Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida, has been accused by his wife of allegedly assaulting her during a domestic dispute. More from the AP: Florida U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson's wife has accused him of pushing her during an argument over the weekend, but he claims the allegations are a lie. The Orange County Sheriff's Office confirmed Tuesday that it was investigating a reported domestic violence incident between Grayson and his wife, Lolita, but no charges have been filed. Grayson's office released a statement denying his wife's accusations. Grayson says he never touched his wife,...

A judge has granted a temporary protective injunction against U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson after his wife filed paperwork accusing the Orlando congressman of shoving and injuring her during an incident this past weekend. Lolita Grayson's petition for the injunction, dated Monday, says her husband pushed her against a door, causing her to fall to the ground, during a confrontation Saturday at their home on Oak Park Road near Windermere. In a statement, Alan Grayson's press secretary, Lauren Doney, wrote that the allegations "are absolutely false, completely unfounded, and clearly designed to vilify and harm Congressman Grayson. "Congressman Grayson firmly denies...

Rep. Alan Grayson's wife, Lolita, filed for divorce in Orange County today (Tuesday).Read the filing here.The news was confirmed by Grayson's spokeswoman."Although the Congressman and Lolita have been together for many years, they are now separated. This has been a very difficult transition for everyone involved," read a statement. "Congressman Grayson's priority remains caring for his five children and protecting their well-being, particularly during this difficult period. To that end, we ask that you respect the privacy of all members of the Grayson family as they work through this challenging time, and we thank you for your support."It's been a...

(Reuters) - Britain's economy could grow by 1.3 billion pounds if it left the European Union due to less regulation and more trade with emerging economies, a British diplomat who dreamt up a prize-winning blueprint for the country's EU exit said on Tuesday. Britain's free market Institute of Economic Affairs on Tuesday awarded a 100,000-euro prize to Iain Mansfield, a British diplomat based in the Philippines, who it decided had come up with the best blueprint for a 'Brexit,' a British departure from the EU. Amid widespread public disenchantment in Britain about the EU's perceived over-bearing role in everyday life...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Suspended state Sen. Leland Yee pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to bribery and gun charges two weeks after he was arrested as part of an FBI sting targeting political corruption and an alleged organized crime syndicate based in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Yee entered his pleas in federal court to one count of conspiracy to traffic in firearms without a license and illegally import firearms; one count of conspiring to defraud citizens of honest services; and six counts of engaging in a scheme to defraud citizens of honest services. The San Francisco Democrat is accused of conspiring...

DALY CITY (KPIX 5) — A Daly City dentist was among the 26 people indicted in a corruption scandal involving State Sen. Leland Yee. Dr. Wilson Lim is accused of setting up an arms deal that involved militants in the Philippines. **SNIP** Lim allegedly asked for a list of weapons the agent wanted, and said they would come from the Philippine military in Mindinao through his nephew. Lim also allegedly claimed he could hook the agent up with leadership from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a group well known to Lim’s Filipino patients.

Considering the Obama administration’s implicit and explicit support in ousting Egyptian Hosni Mubarak, Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi (both whom were subsequently replaced by Muslim Brotherhood governments), and the administration’s ongoing attempts to force Bashar Assad to cede control of Syria to al Qaeda rebels, the transgressions of Senator Yee highlight yet again a disturbing trend in the American government to provide aid and comfort to al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. (And, lest we forget Fast & Furious, Mexican drug cartels, including the infamous Sinaloa cartel.) If Senator Yee is found guilty of his crimes, he should be charged with...

Shocking enough are the allegations that a long-perceived unassuming state senator tried brokering an international arms deal with military-style rifles and rocket launchers, but Leland Yee may have narrowly escaped an even more ominous label: supporter of terrorism. Yee, whose arrest after an FBI undercover sting shook the California political world last week, would likely have been charged with aiding terrorists if not for a bureaucratic label missing from the militant Filipino group that he is accused of sourcing for an international arms deal, counterterrorism experts told this newspaper. His ties to the group, whose leader has said he personally...

China should not doubt the U.S. commitment to defend its Asian allies and the prospect of economic retaliation should also discourage Beijing from using force to pursue territorial claims in Asia in the way Russia has in Crimea, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. Daniel Russel, President Barack Obama's diplomatic point man for East Asia, said it was difficult to determine what China's intentions might be, but Russia's annexation of Crimea had heightened concerns among U.S. allies in the region about the possibility of China using force to pursue its claims. "The net effect is to put more pressure...

The stunning arrest of veteran Democrat Leland Yee will erode, at least temporarily, Democratic dominance in the very blue Golden State. Yee, arrested after a five-year FBI sting operation, faces federal charges related to conspiracy to traffic in firearms without a license and accepting campaign funds in exchange for political favors. An LA Times headline read, “Even old hands are stunned by Yee allegations.” “If there ever has been a more nauseating corruption scandal in Sacramento, I’m not aware of it, writes one observer. “The notion of a legislator masquerading as a gun control crusader while offering to help a...

Eighteen countries, including five of the world’s leading arms exporters, ratified a landmark treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade on Wednesday, giving a significant boost to the campaign for the treaty’s entry into force. […] Five of the world’s top 10 arms exporters—Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain—turned in their ratification documents at the ceremony. The other 13 were Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Among the hold-outs is the United States, the world’s largest weapons exporter. The Obama administration has signed the treaty but there is strong resistance in...

SAN FRANCISCO – A California state senator who authored gun control legislation asked for campaign donations in exchange for introducing an undercover FBI agent to an arms trafficker with links to separatist groups in the Philippines, court documents revealed Wednesday. Investigators said Sen. Leland Yee discussed helping the agent get weapons worth $500,000 to $2.5 million, including shoulder-fired missiles, and explained the entire process of acquiring them from a Philippine military captain and separatist groups to bringing them to the US, according to an affidavit by FBI agent Emmanuel Pascua....

VIDEO California state Senator Leland Yee, a staunch advocate of gun control, was arrested on Wednesday by the FBI for illegally trafficking firearms and multiple counts of public corruption. Yee supposedly asked for campaign donations in exchange for introducing an undercover FBI agent to an arms trafficker and told him how to obtain shoulder-fired automatic weapons and missiles from a Muslim separatist group in the Philippines, according to court documents opened Wednesday. The charges against Yee were outlined in an FBI affidavit that accused Yee of conspiracy to deal firearms without a license and to illegally import firearms. He was...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://www.frontpagemag.com - Leland Yee: An Anti-Gun Democrat Jihadists Can LovePosted By Robert Spencer On March 28, 2014 @ 12:25 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | No Comments California State Senator Leland Yee is the very model of a modern public servant.Yee, a Democrat, has amassed a well-deserved reputation as an anti-gun crusader: shortly after Adam Lanza’s murderous rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, Yee helped spearhead one of the toughest gun laws in the entire nation, banning the “bullet button” that allows shooters to change magazines on assault weapons quickly and easily. California Governor...

Manila (AFP) - The biggest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines signed an historic pact Thursday to end one of Asia's longest and deadliest conflicts, promising to give up their arms for an autonomous homeland. Following four decades of fighting that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed the peace deal with President Benigno Aquino's government at a high-profile ceremony in Manila. "The comprehensive agreement on Bangsamoro is the crowning glory of our struggle," MILF chairman Murad Ebrahim said at the signing ceremony, using a local term that refers to a Muslim homeland....

A day after his stunning arrest on corruption charges, State Sen. Leland Yee withdrew from the Secretary of State's race. His attorney, Paul DeMeester, made the announcement about the withdrawal during a brief Thursday press conference in front of the federal building. Yee notified current Secretary of State Debra Bowen of the decision in a brief letter. "I hereby withdraw my candidacy for election of Secretary of State, effective immediately," said Yee in the letter, which ends "With best regards." State Sen. Leland Yee leaves Federal Court in San Francisco, Calif., after posting $500,000 bail Wednesday March 26, 2014, following...