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August 17 - August 23. 2009 
 News In Review
 Vol 4, Issue 15
In This Issue
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The News In Review newsletter is a service provided by Understand The Times that is a compilation of the news articles previously posted on our site .

 August 17 - Obama: Every move you make, I'll be watching you online
 Article: One World Government

The Barack Obama administration has announced plans to lift a government ban on tracking visitors to government websites, and potentially, collect their personal data through the use of "cookies" - an effort some suspect may already be in place on White House sites.
 
A ban on such tracking by the federal government on Internet users has been in place since 2000, however, the White House Office of Management and Budget now wants to lift the ban citing a "compelling need."
In fact, according to the Electronic Privacy and Information Center, federal agencies have already negotiated agreements and contracts with social networking sites like Google, YouTube, SlideShare, Facebook, AddThis, Blist, Flickr and VIMEO to collect information on visitors for federal web sites. All of these private companies are known to have agreements with federal agencies, but the public has never seen them.

According to Obama "technology czar" Vivek Kundra, the "compelling need" driving this major policy reversal is the administration's desire to create "more open" government and to "enhance citizen participation in government."

"According to the new technology czar, there is a 'compelling need' to do this," said O'Leary. "The only compelling need I can think of is for a failing Obama administration to compile an enemy list of gun owners, pro-lifers, tea-party participants, those opposed to illegal immigration, and anyone opposed to the Obama-Pelosi agenda of government control over Americans' lives."

Spy cookies can do more than merely recall the user names and passwords of visitors who return to their favorite web sites. They can also track, retrieve and report selected movements someone makes on the Internet. Through the use of cookies, the federal government could have the power to create an individual profile of anyone who visits a government website - right down to a person's recent online purchases, or even race, gender and income level.



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 August 16 - Catholics should imitate Mary and say 'yes' to God, Pope Benedict says
 Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

Inspired by Sunday's Gospel, Pope Benedict said, "One cannot but be affected by this correspondence, which revolves around the symbol of the heavens. Mary was ascended to the place from which her son descended. Of course, this language, which is biblical, expresses in a figurative way something one can only draw close to through certainly far from easy concepts."

"In turn, at the end of her earthly existence, the body of the Virgin Mary was assumed into heaven by God and allowed to enter the heavenly condition," the Pope continued. "It is a kind of exchange, in which God always has the initiative, but in a sense, in which he also needs Mary to prepare the matter of his sacrifice: the body and blood to be offered on the cross as an instrument of eternal life and in the Sacrament of the Eucharist as spiritual food and drink."

"What happened to Mary is also valid for every man and woman," he expounded. "God asks each of us to welcome him, to make available to him our hearts, our bodies, our entire existence, so that he can dwell in the world. He calls us to join ourselves to him in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, to form the Church together       by the very nature of our yes, that mysterious exchange also happens to and in us. We are assumed in the divinity of he who assumed our humanity."

"The Eucharist is the means, the instrument of this reciprocal transformation, which has God as the end and as a main actor," the Holy Father told the faithful. "He is the head and we the members, he the vine and we the branches. Who eats of this Bread and lives in communion with Jesus, allowing himself to be transformed by him and in him, is saved from eternal death. He will, of course, die like everyone else, participating in the mystery of the passion and cross of Christ, but he is no longer a slave of death and will rise on the last day to enjoy the eternal feast with Mary and all the saints."

"This mystery of eternal life begins here in the mystery of faith, hope and love, which is celebrated in the liturgy, especially the Eucharist, and is expressed through fraternal communion and in service to our neighbor," he concluded. "Let us pray to the Blessed Virgin to help us nourish ourselves in faith, with the Bread of eternal life, to experience already on earth the joy of heaven."
 


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 August 13 - Obeying Ahmadinejad like obeying God
 Article: Misc.

TEHRAN -- A senior Iranian cleric seen as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor said obeying the head of government was like obeying God, the moderate Etemad-e Melli newspaper said on Thursday.

Firebrand cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi believes the authority of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comes from God, not from the people.

"When a president is endorsed by the vali-ye faqih, obeying the president is like obeying God," the daily quoted Mr. Mesbah-Yazdi as saying.

Mr. Khamenei swiftly endorsed Mr. Ahmadinejad's re-election after the June 12 presidential vote which was followed by the biggest anti-government protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The losing candidates say the poll was rigged, a charge denied by Iran's authorities, including Mr. Khamenei, who has accused Western powers of fomenting the vote unrest.

Mr. Mesbah-Yazdi has long held that democracy and elections are incompatible with Islam. Mr. Ahmadinejad's allies deny the president takes orders from the cleric, who is a defender of the supreme leader's absolute power.

"When a president is ... endorsed by the supreme leader and becomes an agent of the leader, the leader's light is also shed on the president," Mr. Mesbah-Yazdi said.

Iran's display of intolerance of internal opposition has alarmed the West, which had hoped for new talks on what it suspects is an Iranian nuclear arms quest. Tehran denies this.

 


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 August 18 - Obama Flip-Flops Again on Gay Marriage
 Artilce: Perilous Times

Bowing to intense political pressure from the gay community, the White House has softened its support for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Justice Department (DOJ) has now gone on record expressing the Obama administration's support for repeal of the statute, Politico news service reports.

President Obama has said that as a Christian, he can't support gay marriage.

In a statement Monday about the latest DOJ brief, he said it "makes clear that my Administration believes that the Act is discriminatory and should be repealed by Congress. I have long held that DOMA prevents LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) couples from being granted equal rights and benefits.

"While we work with Congress to repeal DOMA, my Administration will continue to examine and implement measures that will help extend rights and benefits to LGBT couples under existing law."

As for the Justice Department, its brief reads: "This Administration does not support DOMA as a matter of policy, believes that it is discriminatory, and supports its repeal."

Obama is clearly trying to walk a fine line: keeping the gay community on his side, while seeking to avoid alienating those opposed to gay marriage.

"The administration listened to our concerns and removed some of the offensive approaches," Jenny Pizer, a lawyer for gay-rights group Lambda Legal, told the San Francisco Chronicle



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 August 20 - Lutherans adopt more open view on homosexuality
 Article: Perilous Times

Leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination have moved toward a more welcoming view of homosexuality. 

Delegates of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, meeting in Minneapolis, approved a "social statement on human sexuality" that acknowledges differing views on homosexuality. It says the ELCA is strong enough to accommodate such differences.

Shortly before the vote, strong winds toppled trees outside the convention center and damaged the steeple of a Lutheran church next door, prompting a speaker at the convention to quip, "We trust that the weather is not a commentary on our work."

Wednesday's vote was a prelude to votes scheduled Friday on whether to let people in same-sex relationships serve as Lutheran ministers



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 August 17 - Ayatollah sees global Islamic 'Mahdi' army
 Article: Wars And Rumors Of Wars

Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei yesterday called on Muslim nations around the world to unite militarily in response to the imminent coming of Islam's messianic savior - the Mahdi.

Khamenei, through his spokesman Ali Saeedi, specifically beckoned the nations of Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan to join together with Iran in preparation for the Mahdi's soon coming.

The purpose of uniting now, a report in Al Arabiya explained, is to fight Israel and the U.S. - seen as the two greatest obstacles to the coming of the Mahdi and the age of Islamic "justice" that would ensue.

"We have to train honest forces that can stop the obstacles that may hinder the coming of the Mahdi like the United States and Israel," Saeedi stated. Saeedi also emphasized that the Iranian revolutionary guard possessed a special religious authority to prepare the way for the Mahdi.

According to Al-Arabiya, Saeedi emphasized that obedience to the Ayatollah is the same as obedience to the Mahdi or the "guided one" - "who is the prophesied savior of Islam."

Opening the conference this year, was Dr. Mahdi Mostafavi, the chairman of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, who spoke against the dangers and evils of Christian Zionism. "Putting an end to the tyranny and brutality" of Zionism is one of the basic goals of Mahdism, he explained.



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 August 7 - Why is the National Guard recruiting for 'internment camp' cops?
 Article: One World Government

An ad campaign featured on a U.S. Army website seeking those who would be interested in being an "Internment/Resettlement" specialist is raising alarms across the country, generating concerns that there is some truth in those theories about domestic detention camps, a roundup of dissidents and a crackdown on "threatening" conservatives. 

The campaign follows by only weeks a report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warning about "right-wing extremists" who could pose a danger to the country     including those who support third-party political candidates, oppose abortion and would prefer to have the U.S. immigration laws already on the books enforced. 

The "extremism" report coincided with a report out of California that the Department of Defense was describing protesters as "low-level terrorists." The new ad says successful candidates will "provide external security to     detention/internment facilities" and "provide counseling and guidance to individual prisoners within a rehabilitative program." 


The ads list as "advanced responsibilities" issues such as supervision and administration, responsibility for the "prisoner/internee" population, "custody/control for the operation of an Enemy Prisoner of War/Civilian Internee (EPW/CI) camp," and work on "custody/control for the operation of detention facility or the operation of a displaced civilian (CD) resettlement facility." 

That followed by only weeks a Department of Homeland Security report that described as "right-wing extremists" those who oppose abortion and support secure national borders. 

But Thompson noted that the report also targeted as "potential terrorists" Americans who:

- Oppose abortion
- Oppose same-sex marriage
- Oppose restrictions on firearms
- Oppose lax immigration laws
- Oppose the policies of President Obama regarding immigration, citizenship, and the expansion of social programs
- Fear Communist regimes
- Oppose a "one world" government
- Bemoan the decline of U.S. stature in the world
 



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 July 22 - Congress eyes biometric authentication for job eligibility
 Article: Technology For A Global Monetary System

In a move likely to worry opponents of a national ID card, some lawmakers in Congress are proposing that biometrics be used to authenticate the identity of anyone seeking a job in the U.S. In a move likely to heighten concerns among opponents of a national ID card, some lawmakers are proposing that biometrics be used to authenticate the identity of anyone seeking a job in the U.S.

At a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship, lawmakers from both parties expressed broad support Tuesday for strengthening the E-Verify online employment eligibility verification program with biometrics.

The chairman of the subcommittee, Sen. Charles Schumer, (D-N.Y.), said that E-Verify only checks whether the name, date of birth, citizenship status and other details provided by a job applicant match those in official records from the Social Security Administration and the IRS. The process does little to stop identity thieves and those using identity credentials fraudulently from working illegally in the U.S.

"It is not difficult for illegal workers to scam the system," because there's no reliable way check identities, he said. What is needed is a "tough, fair and effective employment verification system" that relies on the use of a "non-forgeable" biometric identifier, such as fingerprints or palm prints and digital photos, to authenticate the identities of job seekers, he said. Only with such a system is it possible for employers to reliably check the eligibility of new hires, he said.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, (D-Ill.), urged Congress to ignore "naysayers" opposed to biometric authentication. With adequate security, privacy protections and care, a biometric-based employment verification system is the "only hope" for dealing with illegal employment, he said.

Adding a biometric component to the E-Verify program will only will further "invade Americans' privacy and create a new employment blacklist," the American Civil Liberties Union warned in testimony submitted to the subcommittee. "From a practical point of view, a biometric system is the worst of both worlds," ACLU counsel Chris Calabrese wrote. Under the biometric ID system, individuals would need to visit a government agency, provide proof of identity and then have their fingerprint or some other biometric recorded. That biometric would then either be put into a database or on an ID card. "This is a quintessential national ID system," Calabrese wrote.



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