Drew Zahn: Martial Law In the US?

Drew Zahn is a former pastor who cut his editing teeth as a member of the award-winning staff of "Leadership, Christianity Today's professional journal for church leaders. He is the editor of seven books, including Movie-Basea Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching, which sparked his ongoing love affair with film and his weekly WND colur "Popcorn and a world view." The White House's late-week release of an executive order has sent the online community into an uproar, worried that President Obama had secretly provided himself means to institute martial law in America. In the common practice of dumping government documents on a Friday afternoon, just as the news cycle is wrapping up for the week, a move critics say allows the administration to avoid widespread coverage of embarrassing actions, the White House released an executive order on "National Defense Resources Preparedness." Filled with language about "government-owned equipment" and a "defense executive reserve," among other vague statements, rumors began to spread that the executive order expanded the president's power to do everything from seizing whole industries to drafting private armies. A Canada Free Press article titled "Obama Executive Order: Peacetime Martial Law!" spread concerns of gasoline ration cards; while an Examiner article declared the order would "nationalize everything" and "allow for a civilian draft." Facebook, email and Twitter were suddenly abuzz, and even the extremely popular Drudge Report posted a link to the White House release under the title "Martial Law? Obama Issues Executive Order." But are the cries of martial law and expanding executive power justified? No, says William A. Jacobson, associate clinical professor at Cornell Law School. "If someone wants to make the argument that this is an expansion of presidential powers, then do so based on actual language," warns Jacobson. "There is enough that Obama actually does wrong without creating claims which do not hold up to scrutiny." Discover how deep Obama's violation of Constitution really does go with David Limbaugh's "Crimes Against Liberty." Then tell America you've had enough with these shenanigans. Get the AVOID OBAMA TRAUMA magnetic bumper sticker!

Visible Origami: Mr Apocalypse is Banging on the Judgment Drum!

Putin is president of Russia again. Iran just had a legal and successful election. Israel is completely out of control. The American system is entirely corrupt and owned by the central banks and multinational corporations. What does it all mean? It means that this world we live in is being scripted like a Hollywood movie. The big question is, who is the director? It stands to reason, metaphysically, that everything is moving toward a destined conclusion. In a purely material sense, none of it makes any sense. I'm going to go with the concept that those setting us up and tormenting the world for their own sick enjoyments, are being set up themselves and are going to stand as a lasting lesson about what happens when you overstep yourself, when your grasp exceeds your reach. We are seeing and experiencing because the satanic bankers have gotten themselves into big trouble because the fire of their greed has outstripped their good sense. They are desperate to create a world war in order to take the public's attention off the magnitude of their crimes. Mr Apocalypse is banging on the judgment drum and he's pointing his finger at them through the eyes of all awakening souls. It's a contagion of awakening and it will be brimming with payback. It's not as if everyone is as vengeful and violent as they are. What it is, is that there can be no balance or harmony until the bankers have been dealt with one way or another. They are behind all of the chaos and harm of our times. Yes, the boys from "Filthy Lucre LTD" have been very bad: They have maimed, crippled and killed millions. They've poisoned the landscape of both foreign and domestic lands. The magnitude and scope of their crimes is off the charts. 

The Independent: Israel Has a Right to Pre-emptive Attackon Iran.

Taking sharply different stands, President Barack Obama urged pressure and diplomacy to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasised his nation's right to a pre-emptive attack. Even in proclaiming unity, neither leader gave ground on how to resolve the crisis. Seated together in the Oval Office, Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu at times tried to speak for each other, and other times spoke past one another. The president and prime minister are linked by the history and necessity of their nations' deep alliance, if not much personal warmth, and both sought to steer the Iran agenda on their terms. "I know that both the prime minister and I prefer to resolve this diplomatically," Mr Obama said. "We understand the costs of any military action." If he agreed, Mr Netanyahu said nothing about sanctions or talks with Iran, or Mr Obama's position that there still is time to deter Iran peacefully. Instead, Mr Netanyahu drew attention back to Mr Obama's acknowledgement that Israel is a sovereign land that can protect itself how it sees fit. "I believe that's why you appreciate, Mr President, that Israel must reserve the right to defend itself," Mr Netanyahu said. Israel, he added, must remain "the master of its fate". Israel has not yet decided whether to launch a unilateral strike on Iran, a point underscored in the White House meetings. Across days of comments, speeches and interviews, Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu left no doubt about where they stand on Iran, a point underscored in the White House meetings. Across days of comments, speeches and interviews, Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu left no doubt about where they stand on Iran.

Anne Penketh: Netanyahu Plays Down Rift with Obama!e

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played down a rift with President Barack Obama over the timing of possible military strikes against Iran, suggesting that Israel and the United States are so united that their policies are indistinguishable. "We are you. And you are us," said the Prime Minister in an unexpected remark designed to underscore the closeness of the two allies said Mr Netanyahu. "Iran's leaders know that too. For them you are the Great Satan and we are the Little Satan. For them we are you and you are us. We're together. Israel and America stand together." Echoing comments from his speech on Sunday to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), President Obama spoke about the "rock solid" commitment to Israel. "The United States will always Israel's back when it comes to Israel's security," he said. The public show of unity by both leaders is clearly aimed at raising the diplomatic pressure on Iran. They want to convince the Iranian leadership that the United States is not bluffing when Obama says that military force to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability remains an option. The President specifically mentioned that a "military effort" is part of US contingency planning, in a speech to the pro-Israeli group AIPAC on Sunday. However, the two leaders could not conceal their their policy differences. Netanyahu made it clear that Israel must remain "master of its own fate." He picked up on a reference in President Obama's speech in which he had appeared to accept the possibility of unilateral strikes on Iran by Israel. "It must have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat," Netanyahu stressed. 

Eric Blair: War Criminals Bush and Cheney Can No Longer Travel Outside the US!

Everyone in the world seems to recognize the obvious crimes perpetrated by the Bush/Cheney regime. Their overwhelming negative status in the world has now confined them to personal prisons where they can no longer travel abroad for public events. It appears that they're only welcome in heavily-secured private dragon lairs for the rest of their waking years, but even those locations are shrinking for these torturers and mass murderers. Cheney, scheduled to speak in Toronto with his daughter next month, had to cancel the speaking appearance due to "security concerns stemming from their experiences in Vancouver in September 2011," according to a press release about the event. The September event referred to in the press release was hardly a public event at all. It cost $500 a ticket to attend and took place at the Vancouver Club which the Canadian Press called "one of Vancouver's most exclusive clubs." Still, the public caught wind of the event and staged a rambunctious protest calling for Cheney's arrest. The angry crowd caused Cheney to be locked in the club for seven hours longer than he was scheduled. In February of last year, George W. Bush had to cancel a speaking engagement in Switzerland because human rights groups put pressure on the Swiss government to arrest him for torture allegations if he entered the country. Even though officials claimed Bush had diplomatic immunity because he was a former head of state, they recognized that torture is a legitimate crime under international law. Organizers of the event felt the "atmosphere had become too threatening" and the gala went on without Bush.   

RT.com: Bin Laden Not Buried at Sea, Body Moved to US!

The body of Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was not buried at sea, according to leaked emails od intelligence firm Stratfor, as revealed by WikiLeaks. Stratfor's vice-president for intelligence, Fred Burton, believes the body was "bound for Dover, Delaware, on a CIA plane" and then "onward to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Bethesda Maryland," an email says. The official version is that the body of Al-Qaeda's top man, who was killed by a US raid in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, was buried at an undisclosed location at sea in a proper Muslim ceremony. "If body dumped at sea, which I doubt, the touch is very Adolph Eichmann like. The Tribe did the same thing with the Nazi's ashes," Burton commented in another email. Eichman was one of the masterminds of the Holocaust by Nazi Germany. He was captured by Mossad agents in Argentina and tried in Israel, found guilty, and executed in 1962. His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea over the Mediterranean. "Eichmann was seen alive for many months on trial before being sentenced to death and executed. No one wanted a monument to him so they cremated him, but I don't know anyone who claimed he wasn't Eichmann. The US government needs to make body pics available like the MX's do, with OBL's pants pulled down, to shout down the lunatics like Alex Jones and Glenn Beck," Burton says in another message. In another missive Burton says Osama's body "is a crime scene and I don't see the FBI nor DOJ letting that happen." WikiLeaks began publishing Stratfor emails in late February. The archive was obtained by the hacker group "Anonymous, which successfully attacked one of the firm's servers.

Tania Branigan: North Korea Satellite Plan is Highly Provocative.

North Korea has announced its first satellite launch in three years, throwing into doubt a recent deal with the US that had aimed to end years of tension. The US state department said the trial was "highly provocative" and would breach North Korea's international obligations. Many see it as a test of missile technology. The bilateral deal, which involves food aid in exchange for nuclear concessions, was hammered out barely two weeks ago. Washington greeted it as a first step towards reducing regional strains. Relations deteriorated sharply after Pyongyang's last such launch in 2009, which prompted condemnation from the UN security council and a tightening of sanctions. While North Korea said it was engaged in a peaceful space program, others said it had breached resolutions against nuclear and ballistic missile activity. The launch technology for missiles and satellites is near-identical, say experts. Pyongyang announced the satellite would be launched between 12-16 April to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the country's founder and grandfather of its leader, Kim Jong-un. North Korea has promoted the anniversary as the point at which it emerges as a strong and prosperous country. But strikingly it pledged "maximum transparency" and vowed not to affect neighboring countries, in unusually emollient language. "Legally, Pyongyang is within rights to launch a satellite, but politically this announcement is a slap in the face to the Americans," said John Delury, a professor at Yonsei University. "If Pyongyang is serious about building a new relationship with the United States, they need to take concrete steps to demonstrate this is in fact a satellite launch, and that would include inviting monitors." State news agency KCNA said the launch of the indigenously developed Kwangmyongsong-3 "earth observation satellite" followed research "in line with the government's policy for space development and peaceful use", citing a spokesman for the Korean committee for space technology.