Boots on the Ground 072614

Israel agrees to extend Gaza cease-fire by four hours, Israeli official says 

12 hour humanitarian cease-fire began at 8:00 a.m.; unnamed government source earlier said Israel would not object to longer truce if IDF could continue its work on tunnels; not clear if Hamas agrees to extension.
Israel has agreed to extend by four hours a humanitarian truce agreed with Hamas and other armed groups in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, an Israeli government source said, declining to be named.
It was not immediately clear if Hamas Islamists, who control Gaza, had also agreed to prolong the original 12-hour ceasefire and continue the quiet until midnight.
Related:Israel Rejects Kerry's Ceasefire Proposal



The Dirty Little Secret: Palestinians Don’t Exist!

There is no such group as the Palestinian people. They have never existed, do not exist now, and will not exist in the future. They are the only people in all history that came into existence in a single day! This was admitted by Walid Shoebat, a former PLO terrorist: “Why is it that on June 4th 1967 I was a Jordanian and overnight I became a Palestinian?” He added that he did not mind Jordanian rule.

He and his compatriots were Jordanians “until the Jews returned to Jerusalem. Then all of a sudden we were Palestinians.” Shoebat was saying that when the Jews re-took their historic and biblical homeland, the myth of an Arab Palestinian nation was created out of thin air and promoted worldwide. The gullible media, too lazy to do the research, still spout the PLO line about the “Palestinian people.”

It is political humbug. Those people who are identified as “Palestinians” are simply refugees from Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. However, there are millions of these people who were born in refugee camps and have been taught they are “Palestinians.” But they are not. In 1948 and the1950s, displaced Arabs lived in abject squalor in refugee camps (supposed to be temporary) under the custodial care of the United Nations. Muslim leaders did not care about them until it became politically expedient to do so. There are no Palestinian people, or history, or culture, or coinage, or language, or uncovered artifacts. Palestinians don’t exist and never have. Muslims and media that promote “Palestinians” are repeating a falsehood and resisting the facts.

Hamas Militants Destroy Church Of Holy Sepulchre In Retaliation For Recent Attacks

After a bloody week of clashes that has left several hundred Palestinians dead, Hamas has exacted revenge by leveling the revered Church of The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Several hundred Hamas extremists have funneled into the city via a network of underground “terror tunnels“.
Israel soldiers only recently discovered these tunnels and have worked diligently to disable as many as they could. It has been discovered that a number of these tunnels lead directly to Holy sites all over Jerusalem. It is clear that the goal of Hamas is to destroy as many of these monuments as possible.
Overnight hundreds of heavily armed Hamas soldiers stormed the church, looting everything in sight before installing explosives and completely demolishing the structure. “It has been reduced to rubble”, a despondent Amir Yutz said as he observed the wreckage Hamas left in its wake. “This is a tragedy that will reverberate across many continents. Palestinians are obviously frustrated with the US refusing to aid them in their fight against Israel, so now they have vowed to destroy holy landmarks. It’s horrific.”
The Church Of The Holy Sepulchre, is known for being the site where Jesus was crucified. It is said to also contain the place where Jesus was buried. Because of this, the Church has been a significant Christian pilgrimage destination since at least the 4th century.
This isn’t the first time the church’s been destroyed. On October 11th, 1001, Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah leveled the church during his campaign to destroy Christian worship sites in Egypt and Palestine.

After leveling Iraq’s Tomb of Jonah, the Islamic State could destroy ‘anything in the Bible’

Jonah’s main appearance in the Old Testament is short, but none too sweet.
As recounted in the Book of Jonah, God asked Jonah to preach. Not thinking himself cut out for the evangelizing game, Jonah ran away to sea.
But then Yahweh sent a great storm. When Jonah’s shipmates found out he was running from the Man Upstairs, they regretfully threw him overboard. Rather than let Jonah drown, God sent a great fish (or a whale, depending on the translation) to swallow him and — yuck — vomit him on dry land. Once saved, Jonah did preach to the people — but then got angry with God when He spared the wicked.

The U.S. should push for the disarming of Hamas in Gaza-Israel cease-fire

THE DISTINGUISHING feature of the latest war between Israel and Hamas is “offensive tunnels,” as the Israeli army calls them. As of early Wednesday, 28 had been uncovered in Gaza, and nearly half extend into Israel, according to Israeli officials. The tunnels are the reason that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu decided last weekend to launch a ground invasion of Gaza, and they explain why that operation has strong support from Israelis in spite of the relatively heavy casualties it has inflicted. Most significantly, the tunnels show why it has been difficult to reach a cease-fire and why any accord must forge a new political and security order in Gaza.

Hamas’s offensive tunnels should not be confused with the burrows it has dug under Gaza’s border with Egypt to smuggle money, consumer goods and military equipment. The newly discovered structures have only one conceivable purpose: to launch attacks inside Israel. Three times in recent days, Hamas fighters emerged from the tunnels in the vicinity of Israeli civilian communities, which they clearly aimed to attack. The ­concrete-lined structures are stocked with materials, such as handcuffs and tranquilizers, that could be used on hostages. Other tunnels in northern Gaza are designed for the storage and firing of missiles at Israeli cities.

Obama Considering Flying Immigrants From Honduras Straight To The U.S. So They Don’t Have To Sneak Over Border 

Hoping to stem the recent surge of migrants at the Southwest border, the Obama administration is considering whether to allow hundreds of minors and young adults from Honduras into the United States without making the dangerous trek through Mexico, according to a draft of the proposal.
If approved, the plan would direct the government to screen thousands of children and youths in Honduras to see if they can enter the United States as refugees or on emergency humanitarian grounds. It would be the first American refugee effort in a nation reachable by land to the United States, the White House said, putting the violence in Honduras on the level of humanitarian emergencies in Haiti and Vietnam, where such programs have been conducted in the past amid war and major crises.
Critics of the plan were quick to pounce, saying it appeared to redefine the legal definition of a refugee and would only increase the flow of migration to the United States. Administration officials said they believed the plan could be enacted through executive action, without congressional approval, as long as it did not increase the total number of refugees coming into the country.

New bill ties Obama's hands on illegals at border

Senator: 'Quite frankly, I don't trust the administration'

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., is spearheading a legislative approach to the border crisis, one that he says will result in far more deportations in less time and slam the door shut on the Obama administration’s ability to use its own discretion in enforcing existing laws.
The plan calls for expediting the deportation process, greatly reducing the grounds for asylum in the U.S. and requiring those in violation of immigration laws to be detained until they are sent home.
The senator also said his bill, S. 2632, is far more aggressive than the bipartisan plan sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, which also promises to speed up the processing of those in the country illegally.
“(There are) two main differences,” Vitter said. “First of all, we raise the standard for anything like an asylum claim. They do not. Secondly, we absolutely ensure that these illegals are detained and not given over to anyone, like family members, until they’re deported out of the country, assuming that’s appropriate. They do not.”
Vitter said his legislation also gives the president far less wiggle room in using the law to advance his political agenda. He said he doesn’t trust the administration to enforce the law, so he believes tying its hands through this new legislation would also be an improvement.
“Quite frankly, I don’t trust the administration with regard to enforcement in general, and that’s why my bill doesn’t give them room to maneuver. It doesn’t leave much, if anything, to their discretion. That’s another big difference between our legislation and some other alternatives out there in Congress, even among Republicans,” he said.

Obamacare Suffers Another Major Defeat After Losing This Bet To State Governments 

Words mean what they say. That’s the basis for the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Halbig v. Burwell invalidating the Internal Revenue Service regulation approving subsidies for Obamacare consumers in states with federal health insurance exchanges.

The law passed by Congress, Judge Thomas Griffith explained, provided for subsidies in states with state-created exchanges, but not in states with federal exchanges. That’s factually correct; and under the Constitution, the government can’t spend money not authorized by Congress.
This has not prevented Democrats from calling the decision “judicial activism,” which makes as much sense as the claims that the Supreme Court decision overturning the Obamacare contraception mandate cuts off all access to contraception.
“We reach this conclusion,” wrote Judge Griffith, “with reluctance.” Judge Roger Ferguson, writing for the Fourth Circuit whose King v. Burwell decision upholding the IRS was announced the same day, wrote that those challenging the government “have the better of the statutory construction arguments.”
One has a certain sympathy with both judges. They’re being asked to overturn a regulation that has paid most of the cost for health insurance for some 4.7 million Americans. But the problem arose not from sloppy legislative draftsmanship.
Under previous court decisions, Congress can’t force state governments to administer federal laws. So congressional Democrats, seeking to muscle states into creating their own health insurance exchanges, chose to provide subsidies only for those states. Those opting for the federal exchange would have to explain to voters why they weren’t getting subsidies.
This attempt to muscle the states failed. In August 2011, when the IRS issued its regulation, only 10 states had created their own exchanges, and 17 states explicitly refused to do so. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius kept extending deadlines to force states to create their own exchanges.
Congressional Democrats and the Obama administration bet that they could force the states to do their will. When they lost their bet, the administration ignored the Constitution and ordered the spending of monies that Congress never authorized.

WH doubles down on impeachment 

The White House on Friday doubled down on its talk that Republicans could try and impeach President Obama, hours after a top White House aide said they were taking these calls more seriously.  
“I think there are some Republicans, including some Republicans running for office, hoping to get into office to impeach the president,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, which he described as “political sideshows.”

Earnest was asked to identify who those Republicans are, and he only mentioned Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, but added there’s “no doubt” there are other voices also calling for impeachment. Earnest also acknowledged that impeachment calls are being tied to fundraising. 
White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer told reporters Friday that the White House is taking calls for impeachment more seriously.
A CNN poll released Friday, however, indicated nearly two-thirds of the public oppose calls for impeachment.
One reporter noted that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) recently rejected the idea of impeachment, but Earnest suggested anything can happen, noting Boehner's promise not to shut down the government over healthcare, which wound up happening last October.
Congress is approaching a “pivotal week,” Earnest said, in which lawmakers could consider Obama’s $3.7 billion supplemental request to respond to the border crisis and proposals to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t seen action from House Republicans on that,” Earnest said.
Instead, House Republicans were busy being “giddy” Thursday about Boehner’s lawsuit challenging Obama’s executive authority advancing,” Earnest said. 
The House Rules Committee voted along party lines to approve a resolution that would authorize the lawsuit. The House is expected to approve it next week.
Earnest suggested lawmakers spend the weekend speaking to their constituents about what really needs to be accomplished.
“House Republicans don’t have a clue about the priorities of the American people,” he said.
Related :New poll shows one third of Americans support the impeachment of Obama

-
Republican Maine Governor LePage Will Make “Able-Bodied” Welfare Recipients Work For Their Food Stamps 

The welfare mentality is one of the biggest problems we’re facing in this country right now — too many people are getting free handouts from the government, thereby giving them no reason whatsoever to work and better their situation. Hopefully, Maine Governor Paul LePage will be changing that in his state, with a new push to require able-bodied welfare recipients to work for their freebies.
Maine’s Republican governor on Wednesday launched a push to make more “able-bodied” people work for their food stamps.
“People who are in need deserve a hand up, but we should not be giving able-bodied individuals a handout,’’ said Gov. Paul R. LePage.
LePage will reportedly stop seeking a federal waiver — issued at the height of the Great Recession — allowing some food stamp recipients to bypass requirements that they work or volunteer, according to local news channel WCSH.

Issa panel rebukes WH for ignoring subpoena

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee voted Friday to rebuke the White House after a top aide twice refused to testify before the panel.
Behind Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the Republicans voted to reject the administration's claims that David Simas, head of the White House Office of Political Strategy and Outreach (OPSO), is immune from congressional subpoena.

Issa said Simas's position denies “committee members and the American people an opportunity to hear from the head of an office that has, under several previous administrations, misused public resources for political purposes.”The vote was 19-14, along strict party lines.
Democrats have pushed back hard against the GOP probe, which focuses on potential Hatch Act — formally An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities of 1939 — violations within the administration. They note that Issa and the Republicans have no evidence of wrongdoing by Simas or his office — something Issa was quick to acknowledge Friday.
“We are accusing neither the president nor this four-person office of any wrongdoing,” Issa said, in response to questions from ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).
In a letter to Cummings, U.S. Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner said Thursday that she has "not received any allegations that Assistant to the President David Simas or anyone in OPSO has violated the Hatch Act.”
Issa defended the subpoena, however, citing a "past history” of abuse in office, focused primarily on the 2014 elections, that Obama just re-established in January after a three-year closure.
“Inherently, when an office is closed … and then reopened, it is probably … the most important oversight we can do is say, ‘In the past this didn't work properly; how do we know it will work properly going forward?’” Issa said. 
Democrats on the panel have long-charged Issa of conducting witch-hunts against the administration. One of them, Rep. Tony Cárdenas (Calif.), took that accusation a long step forward after Friday's vote, proposing that Issa erect an above-ground pool in the committee's hearing room to conduct Salem-style witch trials.
“Voting by members has reached the limit of its usefulness. We are picking winners and losers, when it is clearly obvious that witches can only be found by dunking them in water,” Cárdenas said in a statement. “If they float they’re a witch. If they don’t, installing a pool will allow us to retrieve the non-witch before he or she drowns.”
The pool, Cardenas quipped, could be called the “Senator Joseph R. McCarthy Memorial Truth Pond.”
Issa said he'll continue to give Simas an opportunity to testify as the panel enforces its subpoena.
-

Canada Revenue Agency: 'Preventing Poverty' Not Allowed As Goal For Charity

OTTAWA - The Canada Revenue Agency has told a well-known charity that it can no longer try to prevent poverty around the world, it can only alleviate poverty — because preventing poverty might benefit people who are not already poor.
The bizarre bureaucratic brawl over a mission statement is yet more evidence of deteriorating relations between the Harper government and some parts of Canada's charitable sector.
The lexical scuffle began when Oxfam Canada filed papers with Industry Canada to renew its non-profit status, as required by Oct. 17 this year under a law passed in 2011.
Ottawa-based Oxfam initially submitted wording that its purpose as a charity is "to prevent and relieve poverty, vulnerability and suffering by improving the conditions of individuals whose lives, livelihood, security or well-being are at risk."
The international development group, founded in 1963, spends about $32 million each year on humanitarian relief and aid in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America, with a special emphasis on women's rights.
But the submission to Industry Canada also needed the approval of the charities directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency, and that's where the trouble began.
Agency officials informed Oxfam that "preventing poverty" was not an acceptable goal.

Democrat wasteland getting charity from Canadians in water crisis; what the US has become?

A caravan of Canadians descended on Detroit Thursday with 1,000 liters of tap water to rescue residents after city officials shut off water to thousands of homes because the bills were overdue, according to ABC News.

The Canadian benefactors drove 11 vehicles to Michigan’s cash-strapped city to protest Detroit’s decision to cut off water service to 7,200 residents. After stopping at City Hall to vent their frustration, the crew delivered the water to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, where it will be dispersed to residents.

Once the Canadian water supply runs out, “we’ll be filling gallon jugs from our tap,” the Rev. Bill Wylie-Kellerman of St. Peter’s told ABC News. Until then, the water will be stored behind the church’s sanctuary and will be available to anyone whose water service was terminated.

In an effort to increase revenue to the bankrupt city, Detroit Water and Sewage Department ramped up its payment collection efforts by cutting the number of days bills can go unpaid before service is shut off. The 7,200 shutoffs in June are up dramatically from just 500 in March, ABC News reported.

RCMP sells sleek plane for half of asking price

RCMP paid $8 million for plane many considered a vanity purchase by then commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli

The RCMP is getting far less than its asking price at the online auction of a controversial Italian-made plane ordered by former commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli.
The Piaggio P180 Avanti luxury turboprop was listed for sale on the government of Canada's surplus website last spring with bids starting at $2.5 million.
A spokesperson at the department of Public Works tells CBC News it accepted a winning bid of $1.3 million for the Piaggio on July 17. The identity of the buyer is protected under the Privacy Act and the number of bids will not be released until the sale is formally closed.
The RCMP paid more than $8 million for the nine-seater executive aircraft when it bought the plane in 2002. At the time, many viewed the plane as a vanity purchase. Zaccardelli hand-picked the spiffy-looking turboprop aircraft.

Niche marketA source in Canada's aviation industry, who did not want to be identified, calls the P180 a niche aircraft, "You've really got to want an Avanti. The market is very limited," he said. 
He added that the aircraft is not very desirable because it has a short range of roughly 1,500 kilometres and is noisy. Even so, he said, someone got a deal, because according to the plane's age, history and specifications, it should have sold for around $2 million.
The RCMP retired the Piaggio on April 1, 2014, as part of its efforts to cut costs. A spokesperson for the Mounties told CBC News the decision was made after "an evaluation of maintenance costs and operational requirements."

 Ford Fest Draws Supporters, Protesters In Scarborough

TORONTO - A beaming Rob Ford shook hands, posed for pictures and signed autographs as his annual "Ford Fest" drew hundreds of supporters and a handful of protesters Friday night.
The Toronto mayor's annual public party took over the lawns of a park in the city's east-end, with ardent Ford fans turning out to catch a glimpse of the controversial politician.
The event was supposed to be a campaigning-free zone, due to its location in a public park, but that didn't prevent strong pro and anti Ford sentiments from emerging.
There were a few tense moments when six demonstrators protesting what they termed Ford's homophobia turned up. They held up signs and called for the mayor's departure from office.
"He needs to be held accountable," said Poe Liberado, who faced loud jeers from Ford fans.
"His buffoonery is dangerous, his positions are dangerous and he needs to be taken seriously."
Ford raised eyebrows in recent weeks when he remained seated while city council gave a standing ovation to organizers of Toronto's World Pride festival.

John Baird Maligns UN Human Rights Council On Gaza Resolution

OTTAWA - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is once again maligning the United Nations, accusing its human rights council of singling out Israel and making no mention of Hamas in its resolution on the Gaza conflict.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) voted 29-1 on Wednesday to authorize an international commission of inquiry to investigate all alleged abuses since mid-June in the Gaza Strip.
The U.S. was the only opposing vote. Canada is not a member of the UNHRC.
The UN's top human rights official, Navi Pillay, has also demanded that all sides in the two-week war in the Gaza Strip refrain from indiscriminate attacks on civilians, warning that violations may amount to war crimes.
In a statement, Baird accused the council of ignoring Hamas's terrorist acts as it "continues to indiscriminately fire rockets into Israeli communities, striking fear in millions of Israelis.
"Canada is frustrated and deeply disappointed that the UNHCR decided to completely ignore the abhorrent terrorist acts of Hamas," he added.
"This resolution turns a blind eye to the facts on the ground and that one party is responsible for the suffering of the Palestinian people, and that is the international terrorist group Hamas."

Pipelines safer than trains for moving oil, Canadians believe

Canadians think pipelines are safer than trains or ships for transporting oil and gas – but they have little confidence the government is prepared to cope with a potential spill, according to public opinion research commissioned by the federal government.
The study, which tapped Canadians through focus groups and a comprehensive telephone poll by Ipsos-Reid, also found 50.4 per cent of Canadians think building infrastructure such as pipelines, ports, roads and railways for resource development trumps potential impact on the environment. While 39.8 per cent believe the risk is too high.

Most confidence in pipelines

The survey found one out of two Canadians (48.9 per cent) are confident pipelines can transport oil safely – that means giving a score of seven or better on a scale where 10 means very confident.
That compares to just one of three Canadians (37.5 per cent) who believe tankers and ships can carry oil safely and less than a third (31.7 per cent) who believe trains can transport oil safely.
The study of public opinion on energy issues was commissioned by Natural Resources Canada and included 10 focus group studies in five cities and a telephone survey of 3,000 adult Canadians between Jan. 8-20, 2014, but was just released publicly. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
Keith Stewart, an energy and climate change campaigner for Greenpeace Canada, said it's not a case of choosing the safest of transport options for oil; industries must invest in safety improvements as a necessary cost of doing business.
"The industry – and frankly the Harper government, because it's difficult to tell the difference – want to say pick your poison: pipelines or rail? But the real choice is between clean energy and dirty energy when you're building new stuff," Stewart told CBC News.
"You also have to improve the cleanup and safety of existing infrastructure which is going to be around for years. You're not going to get off oil for years, but we actually need to make the investments today to get off oil tomorrow."

Ongoing protests against pipelines

Research for the Ipsos-Reid poll was carried out amid ongoing protests against controversial pipeline projects, including the proposed Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipelines, and six months after the tragic train derailment in Lac Megantic.
Forty-seven people in the Quebec community were killed on July 6, 2013, when a 74-car freight train carrying crude oil ran away, derailed and several tank cars exploded. Dozens of buildings were destroyed in the downtown area.

N.W.T. ready to host unwelcome pipelines: Industry Minister

Politicians in the Northwest Territories say they are ready to host oil pipelines that are unwelcome in B.C. or the United States.

David Ramsay is N.W.T.'s Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. (CBC)

Northwest Territories Industry Minister David Ramsay is in Whistler this week for the Pacific Northwest Economic Region summit and he says moving oil north from Alberta — rather than south or west — makes a lot of sense.
Ramsay says pumping oil through the N.W.T. could also benefit the Trans-Alaska pipeline system which is currently at about 25 per cent of capacity.
Pipeline issues are a major focus at the high-powered summit — with Gary Doer, Canada's ambassador to the U-S, telling delegates that scientific evidence supports the Keystone X-L pipeline from Alberta to Nebraska, despite strong opposition south of the border.
-

NEB: Work On Enbridge's Line 3 Pipeline Must Stop 

CALGARY - The National Energy Board has ordered Enbridge Inc. to stop work along an oil pipeline in Manitoba because of safety and environmental concerns.
The federal energy watchdog says an inspection earlier this month on the company's Line 3 pipeline, which runs between Alberta and Wisconsin, revealed numerous problems.
It says wetlands and agricultural land near Cromer, Man., were damaged and open excavations posed safety hazards.
Enbridge announced plans earlier this year to replace Line 3 in its entirety — a $7.5-billion undertaking that would be the largest project in the company's history.
Company spokesman Graham White says the stop-work order was not related to that project, but to regular maintenance work on the existing 46-year-old pipeline.
White says the company has already started working on some of the issues raised by the NEB and that safety concerns will be dealt with immediately.

Arctic Oil Spills In Canada Likely To Spread Across Borders: Study

New research suggests that any type of significant oil spill in Canada's western Arctic would likely spread quickly and foul oceans around Alaska and possibly as far west as Russia.
"Spills originating from the Canadian Beaufort and resulting coastal oiling could be an international issue," says the report from RPS Applied Science Associates, a global environmental consultancy.
The research, funded by the World Wildlife Fund, comes as the National Energy Board prepares to consider blowout prevention plans in two separate proposals for offshore energy drilling.
"The need for this information is very urgent," said David Miller, president of WWF Canada.
"The National Energy Board is considering these questions now. Decisions are being made."
The consultants considered 22 different oil-spill scenarios in the Beaufort Sea, off the northwest coast of the Northwest Territories.
They included a fuel or oil spill from a tanker, a pipeline release and blowouts in shallow and deep water. The scenarios also varied the time of year, length and size of spill, as well as the type and timing of the cleanup.
-