Obama pledges co-operation to Brazil’s Marxist Leader

Another great post from New Zeal. New Zeal is a blog from down under, and picks up some great stuff we often miss here in the States. With all thats going on here, a good reminder that we have a  real fight on our hands. Click to enlarge: Dilma Rousseff security File:

Rosseff Security File- note the word Terrorist

Here’s the official November 1 2010, press release on President Barack Obama’s message to newly elected President of Brazil and former Marxist-Leninist terrorist Dilma Rousseff.

Earlier this afternoon, President Obama called Dilma Rousseff, President-elect of Brazil, to congratulate her on her historic victory in yesterday’s election. He commended the people of Brazil for their faith and commitment to democracy. He also underscored the excellent working relationship between the United States and Brazil, and his commitment to deepening this cooperation and exploring new areas of collaboration.

President Obama told President-elect Rousseff that he looks forward to meeting with her soon, and working more closely on areas such as clean energy, global growth, reconstruction assistance for Haiti, collaborative development efforts, and other issues of global importance.

Rouseff also spoke to Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, leftist Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Mexico’s Felipe Calderon, the same day.

New Zeal

Eric Holder given control over State secrets back in 9/09

You wonder how we are, where we are, with the WikiLeaks? Let’s go down memory lane- here is an old post of ours back in September 2009 from the Washington Post:

The Obama administration will announce a new policy Wednesday making it much more difficult for the government to claim that it is protecting state secrets when it hides details of sensitive national security strategies such as rendition and warrantless eavesdropping, according to two senior Justice Department officials.

The new policy requires agencies, including the intelligence community and the military, to convince the attorney general and a team of Justice Department lawyers that the release of sensitive information would present significant harm to “national defense or foreign relations.” In the past, the claim that state secrets were at risk could be invoked with the approval of one official and by meeting a lower standard of proof that disclosure would be harmful.

“What we’re trying to do is . . . improve public confidence that this privilege is invoked very rarely and only when it’s well supported,” said a senior department official involved in the review, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the policy had not yet been unveiled. “By holding ourselves to this higher standard, we’re in some way sending a message to the courts. We’re not following a ‘just trust us’ approach.”

The heightened standard is designed in part to restore the confidence of Congress, civil liberties advocates and judges, who have criticized both the Bush White House and the Obama administration for excessive secrecy. The new policy will take effect Oct. 1 and has been endorsed by federal intelligence agencies, Justice Department sources said.

Obama to Set Higher Bar For Keeping State Secrets- New Policy May Affect Wiretap, Torture Suits.

In a stunning move, Holder to be given even more control. At the same time we are arresting terrorists all over the U.S., Obama still doesn’t get it. We are at War– yes, the word he hates so much. They want to kill us! Get it?

That claim was asserted dozens of times during the Bush administration, legal scholars said.

The shift could have a broad effect on many lawsuits, including those filed by alleged victims of torture and electronic surveillance. Authorities have frequently argued that judges should dismiss those cases at the outset to avoid the release of information that could compromise national security.

Washington post 9/22/09

Bunkerville: Holder to be given control over state secrets

States, Business rocked again financially with Unemployment Compensation Extension UPDATE

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has a great analysis over at Town Hall:  Small Biz killers-who pays for jobless benefits

State unemployment insurance funds have gone broke in nearly half the states. As of April 2010, unemployment tax analyst Douglas Holmes testified before the Senate, 35 states and jurisdictions had unemployment fund-related debts worth $39.5 billion.

The dirty little secret no one is talking about. Having a family in business  I can tell you, the employer for the most part will pay the load. The employer pays into an “insurance pool” based on  past history. The more folks  laid off, the higher rate. Sooner rather than later, the pool runs out and the States are on the hook. Another Federal Mandate. Just tell us how it is please. At least that is how it was… this just in from a Federal website:

Costs are Truly Shared by Federal and State Government
Operating as a federal-state partnership, UC is based on federal law, but administered by the states. The UC program is unique among U.S. social insurance programs in that it is funded almost totally by either federal or state taxes paid by employers.(I thought you just said that costs shared by the states and feds? Oh, just the administration.yea, unique is an understatement).

Currently, employers pay federal unemployment taxes of 6.2 percent on the first $7,000 earned by each of their employees during a calendar year. These federal taxes are used to cover the costs of administering the UC programs in all states. In addition, the federal UC taxes pay one-half of the cost of extended unemployment benefits (during periods of high unemployment) and provide for a fund from which states may borrow, if necessary, to pay benefits.

State UC tax rates vary from state-to-state. State UC taxes may be used only to pay benefits to unemployed workers. The state UC tax rate paid by employers is based on the state’s current unemployment rate. As their unemployment rates go up, the states are required by federal law to raise the UC tax rate paid by employers.  http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/federalbenefitprograms/a/ucprogram.htm

Pearl Harbor 69 years ago. Roosevelt’s Address

Have we learned nothing? We were in “conversations” with Japan at the time of the attack. That is the part of his speech they never quote. Take a listen and remember: Peace through strength.

They fought together as brothers-in-arms. They died together and now they sleep side by side. To them we have a solemn obligation.
– Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

That was the most horrible scene you could ever think of. Shipmates there, you can’t save them.
– Ship Cook George Brown

When you go home, tell them of us and say for your tomorrows they gave their todays.
– John Maxwell Edmonds