Egypt is a nation without external military threats to its sovereignty. None of its neighbors can threaten Egypt’s territorial sovereignty, yet the United States is arming Egypt at an alarming rate. The only reason Egypt would need a strong army is just in case it decides to go to war against Israel in the future.
This has been a long-standing issue for many, including open-eyed Israeli lawmakers and not a few US congressmen who just do not see the logic in pouring high-quality American arms into Egypt.
To repeat: Egypt has no need of a massive, US-equipped army except to conduct war against Israel, which is the only neighboring country that poses any kind of military challenge, but which has absolutely no designs on Egyptian territory.
So basically the US oversaw a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, but as part of the deal agreed to arm Egypt for the day that treaty breaks down. Does this make any sense?
Some will argue that as part of that deal, the US also began its massive military aid to Israel. The difference is that Israel does in fact face numerous regional military threats to its sovereignty, and is in great need ...   more »

By Stan Goodenough
They terrorized the rapidly shrinking Christian community in the little town of Bethlehem, and in 2002 took more than 200 priests and nuns hostage in the Church of the Nativity that marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
During their 39 days holed up in the church they desecrated Christian literature, including Bibles, allegedly using one for toilet paper and relieving themselves on the floors of some of the rooms.
They were eventually allowed to leave under a deal struck between the Israeli government and PLO chief Yasser Arafat.
But now, in the latest in a stream of "goodwill" gestures to the murdering Muslims who comprise the bulk of the PLO and its spawned terrorist groups, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reportedly told PL/PA chief Mahmoud Abbas in a meeting Tuesday that these banished terrorists are free to return home to Bethlehem.
This is according to a report in WorldNetDaily citing top "Palestinian" sources.
The killers are said to be overjoyed.
"This is a victory for the Palestinian people and for the Fatah militias. It is a very happy day," exulted Jihad Jaara, the exiled director of the Nativity siege and Bethlehem-area chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs ...   more »

By Andrei Piontkovsky
Last week, Russia and China held joint military maneuvers in the presence of both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤). But a new strategic alliance between the two countries is unlikely, as it is China that poses the greatest strategic threat to Russia, although many in the Kremlin seem blind to this as they rattle sabers at the West.
Indeed, China officially considers several regions in Russia's Far East to be only "alienated" from it. Beijing's territorial claims on Russia are often listed in Chinese grade school geography textbooks, which include a number of Russian Far Eastern regions within China's borders.
This ideology is consistent with the Chinese strategic concept of "vital space," which includes all spheres of a state's strategic activities -- on land, at sea, under water, in the air and in space. The dimensions of "vital space" are determined by a country's economic, scientific, technical, social and military capabilities -- in essence, its "total power."
Chinese theorists have said that the "vital space" of great powers extends far beyond a state's borders, whereas the "vital space" of weak countries is limited to strategic boundaries that do not always correspond to ...   more »

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated Tuesday that Teheran has achieved full proficiency in the nuclear fuel cycle and warned the West that dialogue and friendship - not threats - were the right way to deal with Iran.
"Today, Iran is a nuclear Iran," Ahmadinejad told a press conference in Teheran. "That means, it fully possesses the whole nuclear fuel cycle."
Ahmadinejad, however, said his country was committed to a "peaceful path" in pursuing its controversial nuclear program.
Ahmadinejad's comments followed an announcement Monday by the International Atomic Energy Agency which said that Teheran was offering some cooperation in the agency's probe of an alleged secret uranium processing project linked by US intelligence to a nuclear arms program.
The IAEA has said that Teheran also outlined its timetable for providing other sensitive information sought by the Vienna, Austria-based UN watchdog in its investigation of over two decades of nuclear activity by the Islamic republic, most of it clandestine until revealed more than four years ago.
The US criticized the deal with the IAEA, saying the agreement won't save Iran from a third set of UN Security Council sanctions for refusing to halt uranium enrichment.
Some in the IAEA have suggested Washington ...   more »

Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes issued his warning after it emerged that the Gresham Hotel in Dublin is the latest employer to introduce a 'biometric' system. Workers claim they were not consulted about the introduction of the system that reads handprints.
It was brought in just months after the Abbey Theatre came under fire for launching a system that reads fingerprints.
The Data Protection Commissioner said he was "concerned" about the growing use of biometric systems in the workplace "regardless of the type of biometric information collected or the technology used".
And the hotel's SIPTU branch, which represents Gresham workers, said it was investigating the new clock-in method to see whether it infringed their rights.
A Gresham employee, who did not want to be named, said staff had no problem in clocking in and out but the new system had "gone too far".
"There was no dialogue between the union and management," he told the Irish Independent.
"I've been working for the Gresham for a long time and no one spoke to us about bringing this in.
"We were left completely in the dark.
"I'm not a trouble-maker and had no problem clocking-in and out, but this worries me. ...   more »

Two-Year Project to Include 200 Patients: 21 Patients Have Already Enrolled and Received the VeriMed Microchip; 85 Potential Enrollees to Attend Next Week
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VeriChip Corporation (NASDAQ:CHIP - News), a provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, and Alzheimer's Community Care, a local non-profit agency serving Alzheimer's patients and caregivers, announced today the official launch of the VeriMed(TM) Patient Identification Project. As previously announced on February 22, 2007, this project will evaluate the effectiveness of the VeriMed Patient Identification System in managing the medical records of Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers. The kick-off will take place at Alzheimer's Community Care headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida, on August 28, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Patients will have the opportunity to enroll in the project and receive the VeriMed microchip by a licensed physician. In the two-year, 200 patient project, participating individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, as well as their caregivers, will receive the VeriMed microchip, providing emergency department staff easy access to those patients' identification and medical information. 
Scott R. Silverman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of VeriChip, said, "We are very pleased to officially launch this important ...   more »

Bush's SPP power grab sets stage for military to manage flu threats
By Jerome R. Corsi
David Nabarro is new U.N. system influenza coordinator
The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America summit in Canada released a plan that established U.N. law along with regulations by the World Trade Organization and World Health Organization as supreme over U.S. law and set the stage for militarizing the management of continental health emergencies.
The "North American Plan for Avian & Pandemic Influenza" was finalized at the SPP summit last week in Montebello, Quebec.
At the same time, the U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, has created a webpage dedicated to avian flu and has been running exercises in preparation for the possible use of U.S. military forces in a continental domestic emergency involving avian flu or pandemic influenza.
With virtually no media attention, in 2005 President Bush shifted U.S. policy on avian flu and pandemic influenza, placing the country under international guidelines not specifically determined by domestic agencies.
The policy shift was formalized Sept. 14, 2005, when Bush announced a new International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza to a High-Level Plenary Meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, in New York.  
The ...   more »