Congress Check

Obama’s healthcare bill clears first Senate hurdle

Congress Check — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:44:20 +0000

Paul Gallagher
London Guardian
Sunday, November 22, 2009

Barack Obama’s healthcare reform bill cleared a crucial hurdle last night when the Democrats secured the 60 votes needed in the US Senate allowing debate to begin on 30 November.

Two Democratic senators whose support had been in doubt said they would back the move, which was one of President Obama’s key election pledges. The measure is designed to extend health coverage to an estimated 31 million Americans who lack it and crack down on insurance industry practices that deny benefits.

(ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)

In the first Senate test for President Obama’s top domestic priority, Democrats in the 100-member chamber unanimously backed a procedural motion to open debate over the opposition of 39 Senate Republicans; one Republican did not vote.

Victory was assured earlier in the day when the last two Democrats holding out, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, said they would support the motion but would not commit to backing the final bill without changes.

Full story here.

Stolen e-mails reveal venomous feelings toward climate skeptics

Congress Check — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:43:54 +0000

Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post
Sunday, Nov 22nd, 2009

Electronic files that were stolen from a prominent climate research center and made public last week provide a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes battle to shape the public perception of global warming.

While few U.S. politicians bother to question whether humans are changing the world’s climate — nearly three years ago the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded the evidence was unequivocal — public debate persists. And the newly disclosed private exchanges among climate scientists at Britain’s Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia reveal an intellectual circle that appears to feel very much under attack, and eager to punish its enemies.

In one e-mail, the center’s director, Phil Jones, writes Pennsylvania State University’s Michael E. Mann and questions whether the work of academics that question the link between human activities and global warming deserve to make it into the prestigious IPCC report, which represents the global consensus view on climate science.

“I can’t see either of these papers being in the next IPCC report,” Jones writes. “Kevin and I will keep them out somehow — even if we have to redefine what the peer-review literature is!”

In another, Jones and Mann discuss how they can pressure an academic journal not to accept the work of climate skeptics with whom they disagree. “Perhaps we should encourage our colleagues in the climate research community to no longer submit to, or cite papers in, this journal,” Mann writes.

Full article here

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here

Inhofe to Boxer – We Won, You Lost, Now Get a Life!

Congress Check — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:42:36 +0000

Youtube
Sunday, Nov 22nd, 2009

Herman Van Rompuy: Europe’s first president to push for ‘Euro tax’

Congress Check — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:40:57 +0000

Bruno Waterfield and Justin Stares
London Telegraph
Sunday, Nov 22nd, 2009

Herman Van Rompuy, Europe’s first president, is to join forces with the European Commission to push for sweeping new tax raising powers for Brussels.

Within days of taking office in January, the former Belgian prime minister will put his weight behind controversial proposals already floated by the commission’s head, José Manuel Barroso, for a new “Euro tax”.

He will add credence to Mr Barroso’s plans, to be formally tabled in the New Year, by arguing for a Euro-version of a “Tobin Tax” – a levy on financial transactions already floated by Gordon Brown as a solution to the international banking crisis. It would result in a stream of income direct to Brussels coffers, funding budgets that critics say are already rife with waste and overspending.

Mr Van Rompuy, 62, who was appointed to the newly-created £320,000-a-year post at last week’s special EU summit, set out his stall on direct Euro-taxes during a private speech at a recent meeting of the Bilderberg group of top politicians, bankers and businessmen. The group officially meets in secret, but when selected details of his remarks leaked out, his office was forced to issue a public statement on his behalf.

“The financing of the welfare state, irrespective of the social reform we implement, will require new resources,” he said. “The possibility of financial levies at European level needs to be seriously reviewed.”

Full article here

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here

Iraq report: Secret plans for war, no plans for peace

Congress Check — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:39:55 +0000

Andrew Gilligan
London Telegraph
Sunday, Nov 22nd, 2009

In the bitter aftermath of the Iraq invasion, Tony Blair was many times accused of sending British troops to war on a deceit.

Today’s leaked documents shed no new light on the most oft-rehearsed of those charges – that he lied about, or exaggerated, the threat from Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. But they will make uncomfortable reading for the former prime minister in the light of some of his other claims.

In President George W Bush’s January 2002 State of the Union address, fresh from what then looked like a victory in Afghanistan, he ratcheted up the rhetoric against Saddam Hussein. He named Iraq as one of three states in an “axis of evil”, promising: “I will not stand by as peril draws closer and closer.”

It was seen, correctly, as a statement of intent. The American people backed a war on Iraq. But in sceptical Britain, the idea threatened to cause problems for President Bush’s closest foreign ally.

Throughout most of 2002, Mr Blair’s consistent line was that – though military action could not be ruled out – no decisions had been made, no British military preparations were in train, and any action had to be pursued through the UN. That, today’s documents make clear, was not correct.

Full article here

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here

The Road to Copenhagen part III: A “Planetary Regime” in the Making

Congress Check — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:38:48 +0000

Jurriaan Maessen
Infowars
November 22, 2009

“It is the sacred principles enshrined in the United Nations charter to which the American people will henceforth pledge their allegiance.” George H.W. Bush addressing the General Assembly of the U.N, February 1, 1992

The machine of mass media is working overdrive now that the Copenhagen summit is approaching. All major media outlets have by now obviously received their talking-points which have an strangely similar ring about them all across the board. Even a superficial comparative study in the overall reporting reveals not only a stunning disregard for national sovereignty, but a willingness to support carbon-taxes imposed by a- as John P. Holdren puts it- “planetary regime”.

Oxford professor Dieter Helm: “I’m in favor of quite a low carbon tax to start with – for political economy reasons, to get it in place.”

Last month experts told the Second Committee Panel Discussion of the UN General Assembly that “a new regime of governance was under way in the global financial system.” The same is being said about global climate measures, global resource management and global development.

The mass media is not only setting the agenda themselves, they more often than not simply parrot the globalists that are being shoved in our face on a daily basis. Many of whom have a Ph.D. behind their name. Under the header ‘Carbon Tax’ is sensible, and perhaps inevitable, advocate says‘, the Los Angeles Times quotes Oxford professor Dieter Helm stating:

“(..) I’m in favor of quite a low carbon tax to start with – for political economy reasons, to get it in place, (…). Across Europe, my guess is within five years everybody will have a carbon tax…”

This, according to Helm, will make sure that the United States will eventually be forced into the global carbon tax policy as well:

“(…) is everybody else doing it? That’s a very good protection for politicians. The answer is yes, they are.”

Back in December of 2001, the Africa division of the UN Development Programme apparently already seriously considered such a tax:

“The main energy sources that would be affected by a carbon tax include coal, petroleum, kerosene and natural gas. The tax would be reflected in an increase in their price, at a level based on the capacity of each type of fuel to emit carbon dioxide.”

Answering the question who would collect the taxes and enforce such a global tax policy, the UN panel was quite clear:

“The panel said a new international tax organization should be created to assume all functions performed by existing institutions. It would serve as a global intergovernmental forum for international cooperation on all tax issues. It would also help resolve conflicts between countries and help them to increase tax revenue by fostering information exchanges and measures that could reduce tax evasion on investment and personal income earned at home and abroad.”

This sounds a lot like John P. Holdren doesn’t it, exclaiming in Ecoscience that “a Planetary Regime- sort of an international superagency for population, resources, and environment” could impose global policy and enforce it. “Such a comprehensive Planetary Regime”, said Holdren, “could control the development, administration, conservation, and distribution of all natural resources, renewable or nonrenewable, at least insofar as international implications exist.”

Furthermore, the UN panel advocated in 2001:

“We thus endorse the Commission’s proposal to create a global council at the highest political level to provide leadership on issues of global governance. The proposed council would be more broadly based than the G7 or the Bretton Woods institutions.”

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

In 2007, Reuters quoted Mr. Global Warming Himself, Al Gore as saying that a global carbon trading scheme could be “quite efficient if the world’s top polluters, the United States and China, fully joined.” Gore also stated that a direct tax on carbon would certainly be “an even simpler and more direct measure.”

It was the Bilderberg-appointed Herman Van Rompuy- the new EU-president- who stated recently that “The Climate Conference in Copenhagen is another step towards the global management of our planet.” He also announced that 2009 would be the “first year of global governance.” And he’s not the first to call for such global management. All people who occupy a position of power in the infrastructure of the New World Order have called for it since its very conception shortly after World War II.

As a preface to the coming Copenhagen summit in December, the United Nations Population Fund in a recently published ‘ State of the Population 2009‘ is pushing for global reproductive health services. This means not only universal access to ‘family planning’ but also better access to abortion facilities. Humans, after all, are supposed to be the prime driver of climate change and therefore: less humans means honouring Mother Earth.

In the foreword, the executive director of the UNFPA, Thoraya Obaid addresses the fake global warming hype, saying that “floods, storms and rising seas” will soon envelope the planet if not for quick, decisive and global efforts to combat these calamities.

“A Copenhagen agreement that helps people to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and adapt to climate change by harnessing the insight and creativity of women and men would launch a genuinely effective long-term global strategy to deal with climate change.”

Global strategy. That’s the talking point we hear over and over again from all agencies, UN or otherwise, who have an interest in profiting from the deal they are proposing. Never mind that all nation-states who sign on to the Copenhagen treaty will effectively forfeit their representative systems to this global authority, deciding which taxes will be paid by which nation-state. In the end, all roads seem to lead to a “planetary regime” envisioned by the elite long before “global warming” was even heard of.

Cuba: military exercise braces island for US attack

Congress Check — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:37:41 +0000

AFP
Sunday, Nov 22nd, 2009

Nearly 50 years after a botched US-directed invasion of Cuba, the communist nation said Saturday it is holding a military exercise next week to boost preparedness against any future US attack.

“It is a necessity of the first order given the political-military situation that now defines relations between Cuba and the empire,” Major General Leonardo Andollo warned, referring to the United States.

told the official Granma newspaper that the “Bastion-2009″ exercises will “raise the deterrent capacity to prevent a military confrontation, under the principle that there is no better way to win a war than by avoiding it.”

The military exercise, Cuba’s largest in five years and the first since Barack Obama’s inauguration as US president in January, will be held Thursday through Saturday, followed by Sunday’s armed forces day to be marked nationwide.

The government of President Raul Castro, a longtime defense chief, expects that as many as four million Cubans may take part in Sunday’s events, in this Caribbean country of 11 million, the Americas’ only one-party communist regime.

Full article here

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here

Call Your Senator, Demand Debate On HR 3590

Congress Check — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:36:31 +0000

Infowars
November 21, 2009

Read the entire bill. Click on the above image to download a PDF.

Editor’s note: The Obamacare bill, HR 3590, is now in the Senate and faces a “cloture” on the “motion to proceed” today. Call your representative and tell him or her to vote against “cloture” (a motion to bring debate to an end). You can call your Senators toll-free at 1-877-762-8762. The alternate, non toll-free, number is 202-224-3121.

The following information is provided by Americans for Tax Reform

Read the full bill

Read the tax revenue score from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT)

Read the budget and tax score from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) PDF of this Document

Individual Mandate Tax (Page 324/Sec. 1501/$8 bil): Starting in 2014, anyone not buying “qualifying” health insurance must pay an income surtax according to the following schedule

(capped at 8 percent of income)

Single Single +1 Single+2<

2014 $95 $190 $285

2015 $350 $700 $1050

2016 etc. $750 $1500 $2250

Exemptions for religious objectors, undocumented immigrants, prisoners, those earning less than the poverty line, members of Indian tribes, and hardship cases (determined by HHS).

Employer Mandate Tax (Page 348/Sec. 1513/$28 bil): If an employer does not offer health coverage, and at least one employee qualifies for a health tax credit, the employer must pay an additional non-deductible tax of $750 for all full-time employees. Applies to all employers with 50 or more employees.

If the employer requires a waiting period to enroll in coverage of 30-60 days, there is a $400 tax per employee ($600 if the period is 60 days or longer).

Excise Tax on Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans (Page 1979/Sec. 9001/$149.1 bil):

Starting in 2013, new 40 percent excise tax on “Cadillac” health insurance plans ($8500 single/$23,000 family). Higher threshold ($9850 single/$26,000 family) for early retirees and high-risk professions. CPI +1 percentage point indexed.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

From 2013-2015, the 17 highest-cost states are 120% of this level.

Employer Reporting of Insurance on W-2 (Page 1996/Sec. 9002/Min$): Preamble to taxing health benefits on individual tax returns.

Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 1997/Sec. 9003/$5 bil): No longer allowable to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin)

HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike (Page 1998/Sec. 9004/$1.3 bil): Increases additional tax on nonmedical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

FSA Cap (Page 1999/Sec. 9005/$14.6 bil): Imposes cap on FSAs of $2500 (now unlimited).

Corporate 1099-MISC Information Reporting (Page 1999/Sec. 9006/$17.1 bil): Requires businesses to send 1099-MISC information tax forms to corporations (currently limited to individuals), a huge compliance burden for small employers

Excise Tax on Charitable Hospitals (Page 2001/Sec. 9007/Min$): $50,000 per hospital if they fail to meet new “community health assessment needs,” “financial assistance,” and “billing and collection” rules set by HHS.

Tax on Innovator Drug Companies (Page 2010/Sec. 9008/$22.2 bil): $2.3 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to share of sales made that year.

Tax on Medical Device Manufacturers (Page 2020/Sec. 9009/$19.3 bil): $2 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to shares of sales made that year. Exempts items retailing for <$100.

Tax on Health Insurers (Page 2026/Sec. 9010/$60.4 bil): $6.7 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to health insurance premiums collected that year.

Eliminate tax deduction for employer-provided retirement Rx drug coverage in coordination with Medicare Part D (Page 2034/Sec. 9012/$5.4 bil)

Raise “Haircut” for Medical Itemized Deduction from 7.5% to 10% of AGI (Page 2034/Sec. 9013/$15.2 bil): Waived for 65+ taxpayers in 2013-2016 only

$500,000 Annual Executive Compensation Limit for Health Insurance Executives (Page 2035/Sec. 9014/$0.6 bil)

Hike in Medicare Payroll Tax (Page 2040/Sec. 9015/$53.8 bil): Current law and changes:

Wages

Self-Employment

(Employer/Employee)

Net Income

Current Law and New

Rate on First $200,000

($250,000 MFJ)

1.45%/1.45%

2.9%

New Rate on Amount

Which Exceeds $200,000

($250,000 MFJ)

1.45%/1.95%

3.4%

Lessons from Saturday’s vote

Congress Check — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:35:20 +0000

Matt Hawes
Campaign For Liberty
Sunday, Nov 22nd, 2009

Saturday’s night Senate vote is only the beginning of a long, complicated road Harry Reid’s legislation has to travel.

The vote on cloture passed 60-39, with Republican George Voinovich not present for the vote. There’s a couple points I want to make in light of today’s events:

#1- It demonstrates the need to turn up the pressure on those senators who publicly state they’re on the fence. The argument that you’re “going to vote to start debate on a bill but you still may not vote for it in the end because you’re not happy with it” is a cop-out – plain and simple.

You hold a much more considerable position of power when you prevent the bill from even being brought to the floor than you do when you allow it to be considered. If you claim to be unhappy with provisions in the bill, then you should work with leadership behind the scenes to change the bill so you can support it in good conscience.

Some senators have made headlines stating how they’re going to take a bold stand by bucking the party if the party delivers something they can’t agree with. Tonight demonstrates how easily those type of people cave in. Make no mistake, when you’re contacting your senator, if they voted for cloture, their vote should be treated as a vote in support of this plan. Don’t let them give you a bunch of bull in response about how they will block the final vote if they don’t agree with it; I’m pretty sure their excuse next time will be, “Well, I’ll just try to make sure these problems are fixed in committee, but this bill is too important to be stopped here.” Call them on it.

To reiterate, if they want to truly take a bold stand, then they will follow through on all their threats and oppose this bill until what they disagree with is fixed. The public debate has already started. We’ve been debating this bill for the last week. No matter what’s in the bill, you should have the courage to vote to bring it to the floor only if you actually believe in the legislation’s contents.

But that requires taking a truly principled stand. That requires courage.

Help C4L turn up the attention on these swing votes by donating to our television ad campaign. We’re already running ads in Nebraska urging Senator Ben Nelson’s constituents to call him, and we want to expand to Arkansas and beyond.

#2 – Don’t let this bother you too much while enjoying time with your family this week. As previously mentioned, this is the beginning of a long, long process in the Senate. There’s still a lot of time to fight, and I have a feeling that this vote tonight will only build frustrations.

Another vote will have to be taken to even end debate and move for a final vote. Senators are coming home for the holidays soon. I think we should be there to deliver some Season’s Greetings.

Wells Fargo Says It Doesn’t Have to Reserve Against Its Off-Balance Sheet Residential Exposure Because the FHA (Meaning the Taxpayers) Will Pay For It

Congress Check — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:34:06 +0000

George Washington’s Blog
Sunday, Nov 22, 2009

Chris Whalen has a must-read essay at Zero Hedge:

In the case of WFC [Wells Fargo], the bank has taken the position that NONE of its conforming residential exposures should be brought on balance sheet despite the FASB rule change. As we discussed in The Institutional Risk Analyst this week, “Why? Because the loans inside these securitization vehicles are insured by FHA, so goes the thinking of WFC and its auditor, thus the bank has no liability to these entities or the securities they have issued to investors. Pretty neat trick, eh?”

Thus WFC is basically saying that none of the bank’s $1.1 trillion in conforming OBS [off balance sheet] exposures need to be represented or reserved against.

A “conforming loan” is one that meets lending guidelines, including loan amounts as set by the government sponsored enterprises, such as Fannie as or Freddie.

As part of the 2008 stimulus bill, Congress temporarily increased the conforming amounts available through the FHA.

Bottom line: Wells Fargo is saying that since the FHA – that is, the government, that is, the taxpayers – will bail out Wells for loans that go bad, the giant bank doesn’t have to reserve against these possible losses.

Yes, Wells is as bad as the other too big to fails. See this, this, this and this.

New EU President Rompuy announces 2009 as “first year of global governance”

Congress Check — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:33:08 +0000

Daniel Taylor
OLd-thinker News
November 21, 2009

The new EU President, Herman Van Rompuy, has proclaimed 2009 as the “first year of global governance.” During Rompuy’s intervention as President on November 19th, he stated,

“2009 is also the first year of global governance, with the establishment of the G20 in the middle of the financial crisis. The climate conference in Copenhagen is another step towards the global management of our planet.”

Rompuy attended a Bilderberg dinner at Hertoginnendal, Brussels on November 15th, during which he announced a plan to implement EU wide taxes that will be paid directly to Brussels. Recently Mario Borghezio (Italy), member of the European Parliament, spoke openly against the influence of globalist organizations such as the Bilderberg Group and the Trilateral Commission. “Is it possible that no one has noticed that all 3 (EU Presidential candidates) frequently attend Bilderberg or Trilateral meetings?,” asked Borghezio. Rompuy will undoubtedly serve globalist interests during his reign of the European Union.

Batch of H1N1 vaccine recalled for severe reactions

Congress Check — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:30:19 +0000

Joanna Smith
Healthzone.ca
Saturday, Nov 21st, 2009

OTTAWA – A batch of swine flu vaccine is being pulled back for investigation after it appeared to cause higher rates of severe allergic reactions than other lots.

GlaxoSmithKline Inc., which is producing the Canadian order of H1N1 influenza vaccine at its plant in Ste-Foy, Que., said it asked provincial and territorial health authorities Wednesday to stop using doses from a specific lot shipment distributed late last month.

“(GlaxoSmithKline) is taking this cautionary action because (the Public Health Agency of Canada) has received a higher than expected number of reports of anaphylaxis in this lot number compared to other lots,” company spokeswoman Megan Spoore said in a statement. “On an ongoing basis (GlaxoSmithKline) is working with Health Canada to ensure that each vaccine lot released to the provinces and territories consistently meets quality and safety standards.”

The batch under investigation by the federal government and GlaxoSmithKline bears the lot number A80CA007A brand name Arepanrix, which is the version that contains adjuvant, a chemical additive that stretches supply and boosts immunity.

Full article here

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here

Fox News Poll: Worries About Safety of Swine Flu Vaccine Persist

Congress Check — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:29:02 +0000

Tami Buhr
Fox News
Saturday, Nov 21st, 2009

The H1N1 flu vaccine has been rolling out more slowly than many public health officials had hoped. But a recent Fox News poll suggests that even when the vaccine becomes more widely available, concern over its safety may prevent many at-risk Americans from getting vaccinated.

Nearly equal numbers are more afraid of the side effects from the swine flu vaccine as are afraid of getting the flu itself (35 percent vaccine compared to 37 percent flu). Americans under age 35, who are more likely to catch and suffer from the effects of the swine flu, are more worried about the vaccine side effects compared to older adults (43-32 percent).

Click here to see the poll.

Many Americans also feel the testing of the swine flu vaccine was done too quickly so its safety is uncertain (40 percent). Only slightly more, 45 percent, feel the testing was done as quickly as possible while still making sure the vaccine is safe. People with children are more likely to say the testing was done too quickly than those without (43-38 percent).

The poll was conducted for Fox News by Opinion Dynamics Corp. from November 17 to November 18, 2009 among 900 registered voters and has a 3 percentage point margin of error.

Full article here

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here

Signs That Swine Flu Has Peaked

Congress Check — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:26:09 +0000

DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
NY Times
Saturday, Nov 21st, 2009

Although federal health officials decline to use the word “peaked,” the current wave of swine flu appears to have done so in the United States.

Flu activity is coming down in all regions of the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday, though it is still rising in Hawaii, Maine and some isolated areas.

The World Health Organization said Friday that there were “early signs of a peak” in much of the United States.

On Wednesday, the American College Health Association, which surveys over 250 colleges with more than three million students, said new cases of flu had dropped in the week ending Nov. 13. It was the first drop since school resumed in the fall, and it was significant — new cases were down 27 percent from the week before.

Full article here

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here

U.S. Enlists Allies in New Surge

Congress Check — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:24:34 +0000

PETER SPIEGEL and STEPHEN FIDLER
Wall St Journal
Saturday, Nov 21st, 2009

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is in advanced talks with its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies for a coordinated rollout of a new Afghan war strategy, which U.S. officials hope will include a commitment by European allies to send several thousand additional troops.

U.S. and European estimates of the new troops they may get from NATO allies vary from 3,000 to 7,000. Those would complement the additional U.S. forces Mr. Obama is considering; those options range from 10,000 to 40,000, but U.S. officials have said a combination of combat troops and training forces totaling 35,000 has gained the most momentum.

Arrangements haven’t been finalized, but coordinated announcements of new troops could come as soon as the week of Nov. 30. They are likely to include an address by the NATO secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, shortly after President Barack Obama unveils his strategy.

According to officials familiar with the talks, Mr. Rasmussen would attempt to send a clear signal that the U.S. isn’t alone in its plans to confront the Taliban. Officials said that Mr. Obama’s review of Afghan strategy and U.S. troop levels, which some had thought would be completed last month, was extended in part to solidify NATO support.

NATO foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Brussels starting Dec. 3, and European diplomats said they expect Mr. Obama to make his announcement ahead of the meeting.

Full article here

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here

Congress Check

Obama’s healthcare bill clears first Senate hurdle

Related Posts

Stolen e-mails reveal venomous feelings toward climate skeptics

Related Posts

Inhofe to Boxer – We Won, You Lost, Now Get a Life!

Related Posts

Herman Van Rompuy: Europe’s first president to push for ‘Euro tax’

Related Posts

Iraq report: Secret plans for war, no plans for peace

Related Posts

The Road to Copenhagen part III: A “Planetary Regime” in the Making

Related Posts

Cuba: military exercise braces island for US attack

Related Posts

Call Your Senator, Demand Debate On HR 3590

Related Posts

Lessons from Saturday’s vote

Related Posts

Wells Fargo Says It Doesn’t Have to Reserve Against Its Off-Balance Sheet Residential Exposure Because the FHA (Meaning the Taxpayers) Will Pay For It

Related Posts

New EU President Rompuy announces 2009 as “first year of global governance”

Related Posts

Batch of H1N1 vaccine recalled for severe reactions

Related Posts

Fox News Poll: Worries About Safety of Swine Flu Vaccine Persist

Related Posts

Signs That Swine Flu Has Peaked

Related Posts

U.S. Enlists Allies in New Surge

Related Posts