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RADICAL Islamist al-Shabaab militants linked to al-Qa'ida and based in Somalia plotted to kill US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her trip to Africa last month, it was disclosed yesterday. A planned series of bomb attacks set to take place in Nairobi, the capital of neighbouring Kenya, while Mrs Clinton was there - one in the hotel where she was staying - was foiled at the last minute, media reports, citing senior security officials, said. "Al-Qa'ida wanted to strike at the heart of Nairobi (while Mrs Clinton was here)," the senior security official was quoted as saying, adding that...

Happy Labor Day, hope you got the day off because chances are, you've really earned it. Productivity, the amount of output per hours worked is at a six-year high in America--it was up 6.6% in the second quarter and shows no signs of abating. It's the direct result of all the cost-cutting that brought the pleasant earnings news and helped fuel the summer's low-volume stock rally. Profits are up because companies have cut jobs, and for those who remain employed, wages have fallen. Sometimes productivity comes from technology, and sometimes it comes from clever new management techniques that help people...

The following Dutch news story reports on the increase of Salafist extremism in the Netherlands. It was translated by our Flemish correspondent Y_not and subtitled by Vlad Tepes

Saint Peter, 5th or 6th century icon from St. Catherine's Monastery at Sinai. In my home library (overflowing, alas, the eight-foot bookshelves lining my home-office walls into double rows on the shelves and spills out into stacks covering the floor) are a couple dozen or so books by Eastern Orthodox writers, at least two of which are dedicated to the exploring the meaning of Peter's primacy and the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. Some Protestants are surprised to discover this, because they have the idea that the Eastern Orthodox "deny the primacy" of Peter and/or of Rome; but this...

Is torture un-American? Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson lays it on the line: “The more Dick Cheney defends torture, the more we Americans must end our tortured ambivalence. Either we are above using the same interrogation practices that police states use, or we are are not” [sic]. ... Americans have made their feelings on the issue quite clear, but Jackson just can’t handle the truth. He insists that “as Cheney continues to defend the dark side - even without conclusive proof that waterboarding coughed up critical intelligence - he is daring Americans to come out of the shadows to demand...

Gee... For some reason the permit information for this event has just been made available. I wonder why it took so long for them to publish this information. Washington, D.C. - On September 25th there will be a national prayer gathering of Muslims on the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building. They are expecting at least 50,000 to attend from mosques all across America. They will gather to pray from 4:00 AM until 7:00 PM. The gathering will take place by the site where U.S. Presidents have been inaugurated since 1981. The organizers say that it was Obama's inauguration...

Restrictions on the prescription of osteoporosis drugs defy belief, says a leading doctor.Professor David Reid, a world expert in brittle bones, said that Government guidelines are so stringent that GPs are often prevented from giving alternative treatments to those who have suffered side-effects on the first pill they've been prescribed.What is more, a once-a-year jab that could protect thousands from the misery of broken bones is not going to be assessed for use on the NHS in England and Wales for at least three years, despite being free to those who need it in Scotland.As a result, they are being...

Wikipedia claims, "A cult of personality arises when a country's leader uses mass media to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise." As this typically occurs in a totalitarian nation, that country's ruler, with complete control of the media, is able to mandate what images of him or herself are being disseminated thereby furthering his cult-like status. As Barack Obama did not become president until January 20 of this year, it seems irrefutable that his cult of personality was bestowed upon him by so-called journalists who in order to help him get elected abdicated...

CINCINNATI -- President Barack Obama shifted into campaign mode Monday, declaring that the time for debate on health care is over and vowing to move fast to enact a sweeping overhaul of the system this year. Speaking at a boisterous Labor Day rally of AFL-CIO members, Mr. Obama led the first "fired up, ready to go" chant of his presidency, reaching back to a hallmark of his presidential campaign. He recounted a low moment from his quest for the White House to try to seize control of a health-care debate that strayed from his grasp this summer. "Every debate at...

A radical Islamic sect based in Somalia and linked to al-Qaida and based in Somalia plotted to kill US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her trip to Africa last month, according to The Australian newspaper. The plot was to be carried out through a planned series of bomb attacks set to take place in Nairobi, the capital of neighboring Kenya, while Clinton was there - one in the hotel where she was staying. The plot was foiled at the last minute, media reports, citing senior security officials, said. According to yesterday's reports, al-Shabaab, which is viewed as increasing regional...

A 26-year-old commando has become the 20th Dutch soldier to die in Afghanistan since the Dutch mission began in 2006. Corporal Keven van der Rijdt was killed in a gun battle with suspected Taliban fighters. A number of them were also killed, the defence ministry said. Van der Rijdt is the first member of the elite commando corps to be killed in Afghanistan.

After what I'm sure were several trips back to the drawing board after the administration got caught with its intentions out there for all to see, President Obama's speech to the school kids is available for public consumption. I don't for a moment believe that this is the speech that the president originally intended to give. I also don't believe in Santa, the Great Pumpkin or any desire to negotiate on the part of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The speech in its current form is fairly innocuous. As Michelle Malkin reminds us, however, there is more going on here than mere words...

Baruch Vega's cellphone hardly rings these days. It's not like 10 years ago, when the Colombian photographer of models was an intermediary between the Drug Enforcement Administration and powerful drug traffickers, and his phone rang off the hook with calls from federal prosecutors and attorneys in South Florida while he discussed poses with European models at his Miami Beach penthouse. Now Vega, 61, seems to be tired of living on the razor's edge. He wants to put behind him the world that in 2000 took him to jail in the United States on charges of obstruction of justice and money...

This is just a great pass-around youtube for friends and opponents a like, a funny youtube musical-comedy set to the theme from Chorus Line. It makes the point, but not in a mean way. Highly recommended.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) - A Cape Girardeau woman was such a good friend, she played right into the hands of a hacker who took over her friend's Facebook account. "I'm going to try really hard to forget it, but it was $3,914.20," Jayne Scherrman said. She says it all began when she got a cryptic message from her friend Grace online. "It was just a message. Jayne are you there? I need help. I answered her - "I'm here." She says "Mike and I are stranded in London, it's a bad situation, we need help.'" Little did Scherrman know,...

It is time my children to wake up to your calling ! My voice , my will in you . I shall make a way where there is no way and I shall supply your needs in a supernatural way and means as Job and Elijah ( The Lord is my God ) for I " AM " your Creator of all and it is my sustaining hand that bears your very breath . Do you hear me calling you as Samuel yet you do not need an Eli to make me known to you for I am here for...

The battle-scarred gangsters of Japan's most infamous underworld group, the Yamaguchi-gumi, are being forced to study for an exam covering the key aspects of their trade. Gang bosses have introduced the written tests for their subordinates since the Anti-Organised Crime Law was revised last year, making the group's leaders responsible for the actions of street-level members. In September 2008, two top members of the Sumiyoshi-kai underworld group agreed to pay Y97.5 million (£640,000) to the relatives of a man shot dead when three gunmen opened fire in a bar in Gunma Prefecture.

two of five working-age Californians do not have a job, underscoring the challenges in one of the toughest job markets in decades. "The recession has been so severe that California now has approximately the same number of jobs as it did nine years ago, when the state was home to 3.3 million fewer working-age individuals," Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, recommended Congress adopt a second extension of unemployment insurance benefits. Ross also urged California lawmakers not to make deeper budget cuts that could exacerbate the recession. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration has projected the state will face...

Nice Slap Down Vid.

America has been greatly blessed by God and has stood as the greatest country in the history of the world for over 200 years. America has many foreign and domestic enemies that are seeking her destruction.This thread is a daily call and reminder for people of faith who believe in God and in the power of prayer to make a commitment to intercede for America at this critical time in her history2 Chronicles 7:14If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I...