Biden Doing The Dutiful Stooge Routine Says That Obama Is Big Supporter Of Israel. We Don't Buy It.

US Says it’s ‘Prepared’ for Military Strike on Iran; Israel Supporters are Skeptical

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Joe Biden and Barack Obama

 (White House Photo: 

Pete Souza)

US Vice President Joe Biden said the US is prepared to strike Iran if nuclear negotiations fail. Supporters of Israel are not convinced.

Vice President Joe Biden defended the nuclear negotiations with Iran, highlighting that they are part of a larger strategy to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, including by military force.

“Those who say the deal ‘paves Iran’s path to a bomb’, respectfully, they don’t get it,” Biden said in clear reference to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, at the Washington Institute’s annual gala.

Biden admitted that Iran was mere months away from actually acquiring a nuclear weapon.

He claimed that the Obama administration would push back on certain items that Iran 

has declared red lines.  These include: access to Iranian military sites to ensure they are 

not pursuing nuclear weapons; a gradual removal of UN sanctions contingent on verification 

that Iran is in accordance with the agreement; and a snapback mechanism to reinstitute all 

sanctions in the event Iran violates the nuclear deal.  Any deal would also ensure that 

breakout time to a nuclear weapon remains at least one year for at least the next decade.

PM Netanyahu meets with President Obama in the Oval office. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

The vice president further noted that the 

US military has already been order to

 prepare for a potential attack on Iran. 

 “No such policy existed before president

 Obama uttered it, that all instruments 

of American power to prevent — not 

contain — a nuclear armed Iran would 

be used.  He made sure that our military

 had the capacity and the ability to execute the mission if required,” he said.

Biden confronted the popular view among the pro-Israel community that President Obama

 has been one of the least supportive US presidents towards Israel:

“Let’s get something straight,” Biden said. “No president has done more for the security 

of Israel than Barack Obama. That’s not going to change.”

The majority of Israel supporters view Obama as no friend of Israel and are highly skeptical 

of pro-Israel statements coming from the Obama administration at this time. The US 

President has deliberately put much daylight between the United States and Israel.

Israel supporters hope to see significant change in the Obama administration’s 

attitude – and more importantly, policy – towards the Jewish State.

By United with Israel staff

The Left Is So Shallow! So Hypocritical! Such Frauds!

They're People, Not Political Statements

Bruce Jenner and Randy Boehning shouldn't be subject to political litmus tests because of their sexuality.

By Susan MilliganApril 30, 2015 | 10:55 a.m. EDT+ More

Here’s a question of individual freedom and choice: Should lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people be allowed to favor a party that does not believe they deserve protection under the law?

If that seems like an absurd query, it’s because it is. But it’s getting asked – as it has been before – by people who cannot comprehend why former Olympian Bruce Jenner, who is transitioning from male to female, is a Republican. Or, for that matter, how a North Dakota legislator who voted against a gay rights bill could do so when it turns out (“out” being the operative word here) that he himself is gay.

[SEE: Editorial Cartoons on Gay Marriage]

Part of the problem with the acceptance of LGBT people is that such individuals are too often seen not as, well, individuals, but as walking political statements. A gay man can’t just be a guy from Cleveland who likes the Browns, never had much use for plaid and prefers Cajun cuisine over French. Instead, such a hypothetical man is viewed as a Gay Man, as though his sexuality defines him entirely. The growing acceptance of not just LGBT people but gay marriage has developed because more and more people realized that they had children, friends and co-workers who were gay or lesbian, and the fact of their sexuality was just one thing about them – not something worth thinking much about, let alone judging. But when we impose a political party litmus test on people because of their sexuality, we are playing right into the disrespect and stereotyping the anti-gay contingent is accused of exercising.

So Jenner is a Republican. So what? As The Weekly Standard’s Philip Terzian noted, can’t Jenner just be a human being? Maybe Jenner wants lower taxes and less government regulation. He might not like what some people in his party say about transgender people, but should that be the only, or even defining, question in choosing a political party? Does anyone ask Roman Catholic women how they can bring themselves to worship in a church that tells them they must be incubators at will, not using birth control, and can never serve as priests?

[READ: Views You Can Use: Gay Marriage Gets Its Day in Court]

Then there’s Randy Boehning, a Republican state representative from Fargo, North Dakota. Boehning had voted against a bill that would have given legal protection to gays and lesbians. It turns out that Boehning had been trolling for (male) dates and sex on the social network app Grindr. A local gay man noticed Boehning’s photo in the paper and thought it looked remarkably like someone he had communicated with on Grindr. Boehning ended up having to come out as gay. Why? Is it more offensive if a gay person votes against basic human rights than if a straight person does? Why does the heterosexual get more freedom to think and vote as he or she pleases?

Hypocrisy is generally the word used to justify reducing non-heterosexuals to their sexual orientation, as though they are somehow betraying the cause by not being a vocal activist for LGBT people. Worse things are said about people still in the closet. Yet that actually makes some sort of sense. When former Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, was found apparently soliciting gay sex in an airport men’s room, he was denounced as a hypocrite for denying his sexuality and then voting against gay rights bills on the floor. In fact, Craig, if he is indeed gay (he denied it) was being painfully consistent with self-hatred. Someone who seeks out anonymous sex in a public restroom – gay or straight – is not someone who thinks very highly of himself. It’s not a huge leap that he would extend the same disrespect to his voting record.

Supporting human rights is a goal that should be shared by all of us, regardless of our sexual orientation. Demanding that LGBT people adhere to a certain political framework is not only insulting, but it undermines the very goal of universal acceptance.

50 Years Ago, A Military Exercise On US Soil Would Hardly Raised An Eyebrow. Now Texas Governor Has The Texas State Guard Monitoring Them And Citizens Are Deathly Afraid Of What Might Be The Intention Of The Army

WH Tries to Quell Fears of Govt Takeover in Military Exercise

Thursday, 30 Apr 2015 12:13 PM

By Melanie Batley

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The White House is trying to reassure the public and the governor of Texas that a special U.S. military training operation in the Southwest will not pose a threat to residents amid speculation that it could amount to a federal takeover.

"In no way will the constitutional rights or civil liberties of any American citizen be infringed upon while this exercise is being conducted," said White House press secretary Josh Earnest, according to The Washington Times.

Operation Jade Helm 15 is a special warfare exercise aimed at training the military for combat. It is scheduled to begin in July and continue through September, but critics and conspiracy theorists have cited a range of concerns, prompting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to order the Texas State Guard to monitor the operation.

In a letter to Major Gen. Gerald Betty of the Texas State Guard, Abbott said he was taking the action "to address concerns of Texas citizens," according to the Times.

"During the training operation, it is important that Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property rights and civil liberties will not be infringed," the governor wrote. "I am directing the Texas State Guard to monitor Operation Jade Helm 15."

The White House's comments came after U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria tried to assure Texas residents that the operation was routine and valuable in preparing soldiers for real missions.

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"The terrain is very challenging and it's going to make our soldiers sweat, and sweating in peacetime is what we want because it's going to reduce the bleeding in wartime," he said.

Residents, however, have continued to voice concerns and fears.

"It's the same thing that happened in Nazi Germany," Bob Wells of Bastrop, Texas, told the Austin American-Statesman, according to the Times.

"You get the people used to the troops on the street, the appearance of uniformed troops and the militarization of the police. They're gathering intelligence. That's what they're doing. And they're moving logistics in place for martial law. That's my feeling. Now I could be wrong. I hope I am wrong. I hope I'm a 'conspiracy theorist.' "

The operation will span 12 Texas counties and include all four branches of the military involving 1,200 special forces.

Lastoria said soldiers would either be wearing uniforms or an orange arm band to signal that they are part of the training exercise.

Earnest reinforced that message.

"My understanding is that the individuals who are participating in the exercise won't be traveling incognito, that they'll be wearing arm bands," he said, according to the Times.

Related Stories:

• National Guard Conspiracy Theories Make Americans Edgy
• Texas Gov. Abbott Tells State Guard to Monitor Army Training

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Did Freddie Gray Try To Injure Himself In Police Custody. Yesterday The Answer Was Yes Via A Fellow Prisoner, Today The Same Guy Says No. Sounds Like There Is A Bit Of Intimidation Going On.

WaPost: Freddie Gray Was Trying to Injure Self in Baltimore Police Van

Wednesday, 29 Apr 2015 10:25 PM

By Greg Richter

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Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who died of a spinal cord injury sustained while in Baltimore police custody, was banging against the walls of the police van he was being held in, according to testimony from another prisoner in the van, The Washington Post reported Wednesday night. 

The prisoner, who was the only other prisoner in the van, was separated from Gray by a metal partition, but told investigators he could hear Gray "banging against the walls" and believed he was was intentionally trying to injure himself," an affidavit obtained by the Post read.

The Post agreed not to name the individual out of fear for his safety. Gray's death has sparked protests and rioting in the streets of Baltimore; the most violence was seen Monday night following Gray's funeral earlier in the day.

Jason Downs, an attorney for the Gray family, told the Post that the family has not been informed of the statement in the affidavit.

"We disagree with any implication that Freddie Gray severed his own spinal cord," he said. "We question the accuracy of the police reports we've seen thus far, including the police report that says Mr. Gray was arrested without force or incident."

Also on Wednesday, CNN reported that a friend of one of the police officers who arrested Gray said that the suspect was not shackled or restrained in the van because officers were not able to bring him under control. The officers were afraid that Gray would attack or bite them so they kept their distance once he was in the van.

Gray had been arrested on April 12 after fleeing from police in a high-crime area and was carrying a switchblade knife. He died a week later.

CNN's source, who spoke with his identity hidden, said that it was common practice not to buckle prisoners into their seats. The Post account also seems to support this. One contention of Gray's supporters is that he may have been given an intentional "rough ride" by police to beat him up by throwing him around in the van.

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Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts has said officers violated policy by failing to properly restrain Gray. But the president of the Baltimore police union told the Post that the seat belt policy took effect April 3 and was emailed to officers as part of a package of five policy changes on April 9, just three days before Gray was arrested.

Gene Ryan, the police union president, told the Post that many officers aren't reading the new policies because they think they're the same rules they already know.

The previous policy was written in 1997, when the department used smaller, boxier wagons that officers called "ice cream trucks." They originally had a metal bar that prisoners had to hold onto during the ride. Seat belts were added later, but the policy left their use discretionary.

Police said on Wednesday that the new information would be turned over to the state's attorney's office and could not be made public because prosecutors still have to decide whether to bring charges. Also still unknown is what drugs, if any, were in Gray's system.

The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a separate probe into possible civil rights violations in Gray's death.

With police and National Guard troops patrolling Baltimore's streets on Wednesday, schools reopened and business resumed.

Baltimore's Major League Baseball team, the Orioles, played the Chicago White Sox in an empty stadium, a sign of the tenuous security situation.

Police have arrested close to 270 people since Monday, 18 of them on Wednesday. Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said more than 100 people had been released without being charged because officials could not keep up with the paperwork, but he said charges would be brought later.

Numerous stores were looted on Monday and 20 officers were hurt by rioters throwing stones and bricks.

The violence in Baltimore prompted national figures, from the new U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, to weigh in and vow to work on improving law enforcement and criminal justice in minority communities nationwide.

Lynch, sworn in as attorney general on Monday, called Baltimore's riots "senseless acts of violence" that are counterproductive to the ultimate goal of "developing a respectful conversation within the Baltimore community and across the nation about the way our law enforcement officers interact" with residents.

The Baltimore neighborhood that saw the worst of the violence was already filled with many burned-out buildings and vacant lots that had not been rebuilt since the 1968 riots that followed the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Related Stories:

• Marchers Protest Police Violence in Baltimore, New York
• Giuliani: Decades of Liberal Democratic Rule Haven't Helped Baltimore

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How Long Will It Be That Baltimore Mom Is Brought Up On Charges Of Child Abuse?

‘Embarrassed’ Son of Mom Who Slapped Him When She Saw Him With Baltimore Rioters Speaks Out

Apr. 29, 2015 7:30pm Oliver Darcy

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The “embarrassed” Baltimore protester who was yanked from the streets after his mother caught him with rioters spoke out Wednesday.

“I understand how much my mama really cares about me,” Michael Singleton told ABC News. “I just got to try to do better.”

Image source: Screen grab via ABC News

Singleton recounted the moment he saw his mother, Toya Graham, catch him on the Baltimore streets.

“I’m like, ‘Oh man. What is my mama doing down here?’” he said.

“I’m like, ‘Oh man. What is my mama doing down here?’”

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Video of Graham approaching her son and slapping him on live television went viral. Many online hailed her as the “mom of the year” for her actions.

Singleton said that all his friends saw him get slapped around.

“They was around,” he told ABC News. “Everybody knew my mama. All my friends knew my mama.”

Graham said she wasn’t going to allow her son to participate in the rioting.

“To see him down there, doing what he was doing, that’s — we are not doing that,” she told ABC News. “I’m not angry at him anymore. As long as I have a breath in my body, you will not be on the streets selling drugs — you’re just not going to live like that. Not with me.”

She explained that she caught him with a rock in his hand and became enraged.

“I did. You know, once he threw that rock down I said, ‘You weren’t brought up like this,’ ” Graham told CNN.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said Tuesday that he had seen the video.

“I wish I had more parents who took charge of their kids tonight,” he said, according to WJZ-TV.

Baltimore descended into chaos Monday as individuals upset with the recent death of a man in police custody rioted across the city, setting fires and attacking police officers.

(H/T: Mediaite)