Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day !

The Dreamer !

The DREAM !
B4B

OBAMA PROVES WHITES
NOT AS PREJUDICED AS WE THOUGHT !

By Greg Jones
(originally written/released March 24, 2008)

" There's no way America would vote for a black president !.....America's not ready for a black president." That has historically been the sentiment and attitude shared by the majority of blacks in America due in part to the fact that we have always been under the assumption that most whites are so prejudiced that a black president in America would just never happen. But one of the most incredible things that has arisen through Barack Obamas campaign has been the vision of mass numbers of white people at each of the Obama rallys showing great love and support for this credible, intelligent, gifted, strong leader....who happens to also be black. It has been incredibly eye-opening and uplifting, and it, for the first time, shows us blacks that we have actually been wrong in our assumption that most whites are prejudiced toward us. Guess what ? Although you do have the exceptions to the rule, the fact is....most whites ARE NOT racist toward blacks. This is a very important revelation. VERY !!!


We, as blacks have held on to our injured history, which we rightfully feel was caused by whites, to such a degree that we have never had the opportunity to see or learn that the prejudiced attitudes of whites does not exist today like it had in the past. We just didn't know. We knew that a lot of whites like black music. We knew that millions of white women love Oprah, but we thought that was just a 'woman thing'. But in all honesty, we had no idea, until now, that white people of all ages....even older ones...could be as supportive of a black candidate as they have shown in great mass. We, as blacks have been wrong !


And now, to my black brothers and sisters....It's time for us to acknowledge this extremely important revelation...In other words....all whites are not prejudiced !!! In fact, MOST whites aren't ! I know, it's hard to believe because of our lifetime of thinking differently....but these are the facts. Just look in the eyes of the whites at Obama's rallys. You see a true warmth, compassion and true support for this man....who is black. What this means is that most whites have risen above the racism of old. Now, it is time for us, as blacks, to rise up as well. Of course, we as blacks will have the specific cases of injustice and prejudice as displayed through examples like Jena 6, Genarlow Wilson, Katrina and the like....and specific cases like those should be dealt with accordingly. In regards to economic, educational and criminal injustices and institutional racism....we still have a long way to go. But we must not continue to allow certain negative occurances to misdirect our minds toward thinking that these negative examples speak for the entire white race. The majority of whites of today are actually on our side !

Obama's campaign has already won by proving that whites and blacks can not only get along....but can work TOGETHER....toward a better tomorrow...for us all. And guess what my black family....America IS ready !!!

Greg Jones
National Director
Blacks4Barack.org

Update: YES WE DID !

Israel declares unilateral Gaza cease-fire

JERUSALEM – Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire Saturday in its 22-day offensive that turned Gaza neighborhoods into battlegrounds and dealt a stinging blow to the Islamic militants of Hamas. But Israeli troops will stay in the Palestinian territory for now and Hamas threatened to keep fighting until they leave.

In announcing the cease-fire, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel had achieved its goals and more.

"Hamas was hit hard, in its military arms and in its government institutions. Its leaders are in hiding and many of its men have been killed," Olmert said.

Israel launched the offensive on Dec. 27 to stop years of rocket fire from Gaza at southern Israeli towns. But the rockets did not stop coming throughout the assault. Militants fired about 30 rockets into Israel on Saturday, eight of them around the time Olmert spoke.

More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive, about half civilians, according to Palestinian and U.N. officials. At least 13 Israelis have also died.

Olmert said the campaign will stop at 2 a.m. local time (7 p.m. EST).

If Hamas holds its fire, the military "will weigh pulling out of Gaza at a time that befits us," Olmert said. If not, Israel "will continue to act to defend our residents."

Israel's insistence on keeping troops in Gaza raises the specter of a stalemate with Hamas, which has repeated that it will not respect any cease-fire until Israel pulls out of the territory, with its population of 1.4 million.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum in Gaza said a unilateral cease-fire was not enough to end Hamas' resistance — echoing the stance taken earlier by Hamas leaders in exile.

"The occupier must halt his fire immediately and withdraw from our land and lift his blockade and open all crossings and we will not accept any one Zionist soldier on our land, regardless of the price that it costs," Barhoum said.

In the hours leading up to the vote by the 12-member Security Cabinet, and even as they met, Israel kept bombarding Gaza.

Earlier Saturday in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, Israeli shells struck a U.N. school where 1,600 people had sought shelter. One shell scored a direct hit on the top floor of the three-story building, killing two boys, U.N. officials said.

Gaza militants launched eight rockets into Israel around the time Olmert announced the cease-fire, the Israeli military said. There were no reports of casualties. Five long-range Grad rockets exploded near the city of Beersheba in the hour after Olmert's televised address, Israel Radio reported.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni indicated that Israel would renew its offensive if Hamas militants continued to fire rockets at Israel.

"This campaign is not a one-time event," she said in an interview with the Israeli YNet news Web site. "The test will be the day after. That is the test of deterrence."

Palestinians reacted with skepticism and called on world leaders attending a summit planned for Sunday in Egypt to put pressure on Israel to withdraw immediately.

"We had hoped that the Israeli announcement would be matched by total cessation of hostilities and the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza," said Saeb Erekat, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Hamas rival. "I am afraid that the presence of the Israeli forces in Gaza means that the cease fire will not stand and will so fragile."

The cease-fire vote comes just days ahead of Barack Obama's inauguration as president on Tuesday. Outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Bush administration welcomed Israel's decision and said the ultimate goal remains a lasting truce that is fully respected and will return peace to Gaza.

A summit set for Sunday in Egypt is meant to give international backing to the cease-fire will. Leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Italy, Turkey and the Czech Republic — which holds the rotating EU presidency — are expected to attend along with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and U.N. chief Ban.

It was not immediately clear whether Israel would send a representative, and Hamas has not been invited.

During its campaign, Israel said it destroyed roughly 60 percent of the hundreds of tunnels.

As it seeks a longer-term solution, Israel signed a deal Friday in Washington in which the United States agreed to commit detection and surveillance equipment, as well as logistical help and training to Israel, Egypt and other nations to monitor Gaza's land and sea borders.

But Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Saturday that his country would not be bound by the agreement. Egypt's cooperation is essential if the smuggling is to be stopped.

As Israel's Security Cabinet met Saturday evening, airstrikes continued. Walls shook and windows trembled in the southern Gaza border town of Rafah as fighter jets soared above head, apparently focusing their missiles on the no man's land with Egypt where many suspected smuggling tunnels lie.

But all was quiet after Olmert's announcement for the first time in three weeks, residents said, giving them a chance to sleep.

A total of 13 Palestinians were killed in battles throughout Gaza Saturday, Palestinian medics said.

John Ging, the top U.N. official in Gaza, condemned the attack on Beit Lahiya that killed the two boys — the latest in a series of Israeli shellings that have struck U.N. installations.

"The question that has to be asked is for all those children and all those innocent people who have been killed in this conflict. Were they war crimes? Were they war crimes that resulted in the deaths of the innocents during this conflict? That question has to be answered," he said.

The Israeli army said it was launching a high-level investigation into the shelling, as well as four other attacks that hit civilian targets, including the U.N. headquarters in Gaza. The army investigation also includes the shelling of a hospital, a media center and the home of a well-known doctor.

____

Ibrahim Barzak reported from Gaza. Associated Press reporter Alfred de Montesquiou contributed to this report from Rafah, Gaza Strip.

B4B

The Train for CHANGE is Coming !

To kick-off Inaugural Weekend, President Barack Obama and family have embarked on an historic whistle stop train tour from Philadelphia to Washington D.C.. This special journey is modeled after President Abraham Lincoln's train stop tour to his inauguration in 1861.

B4B

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !
To Our New First Lady
MICHELLE OBAMA

It's Official: Burris Sworn Into Senate,

Replaces Obama

WASHINGTON — Roland Burris took his place as Barack Obama's successor in the Senate on Thursday, ending a standoff that embarrassed the president-elect and fellow Democrats who initially resisted the appointment by scandal-scarred Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

"I do," Burris said with a grin as Vice President Dick Cheney administered the oath of office to the former Illinois attorney general who takes Obama's place as the Senate's only black member.

More than a week after his colleagues were sworn in, Burris was seated without objection or a roll call vote, even though Majority Leader Harry Reid had said senators would have their voices heard on whether to accept his appointment.

Illinois delegation members and members of the Congressional Black Caucus joined Democratic and Republican senators in giving Burris a congratulatory standing ovation, handshakes and hugs on the Senate floor.

Senate Democrats wanted to move beyond the distracting controversy and its racial undertones.

Both Reid and Illinois' senior senator, Dick Durbin, smiled broadly and praised Burris in speeches, insisting anew that their previous resistance wasn't about Burris personally but rather about how he was appointed.

"To Senator Burris, on behalf of all senators _ Democrats and Republicans _ we welcome you as a colleague and as a friend," Reid said.

B4B

VIDEO: Obama's Message Re: Inauguration
You Don't Have To Come

Click B4B if video did not appear

19th Day Under Attack: 997 Killed in Gaza
and 4525 Injured

The Israeli military continued its offensive targeting the Palestinian costal region for the 18th day on Wednesday.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that at least five Palestinians were reported killed by Wednesday midday; this brings the dearth toll in Gaza since the start of the Israeli operation 19 days go to 997.

The Ministry added that among those killed are 311 children, meanwhile the number of those injured reached 4,525 among them 300 in critical conditions.

Palestinian sources reported that the Israeli army shelled residential areas in Gaza City and in the nearby Jabalyia town, meanwhile Israeli tanks advanced from several areas deeper into the Costal region.

Witnesses and reporters said that a clouds of smoke covered sky over Gaza City in the morning due to the Israeli intense bombardment.

In Gaza City one of the targets was a local graveyard, Israeli jetfighters fired missiles at the tombs destroying them and leaving the buried bodies out in the open due to the explosions.

Palestinian resistance groups clashed with the Israeli ground forces in deferent location, the groups reported that they managed to injure 10 Israeli soldiers.

Israeli sources said that 5 soldiers were injured in the morning and overnight clashes, adding that one of them sustained critical wounds. Meanwhile home-made shells fired from Gaza continued to hit the Israeli, the Israeli army radio said that at least 10 home-made shells hit northern Israel towns and the Negev. Damage was reported but no injures.

The Israeli Army embarked on its military offensive on Saturday, December 27th, 2008. Israeli warplanes began the military operation by shelling every possible Palestinian security posts in Gaza. In the following days, the air raids were expanded; hospitals, homes, blacksmith workshops, schools, mosques, ambulances, media and UN relief efforts were targeted.

Day and night, the entire Palestinian coastal region has been under attack. On Saturday, January 3rd, 2009, Israeli ground forces entered the Gaza strip and have since divided Gaza into two sections. The Israeli government decided on Sunday night to intensify its operation in Gaza and extend hostilities to "phase three".

More NEWS FROM GAZA

B4B

Gazans Seek New Places To Bury The Dead !

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – One family buried a slain son over his grandfather. Another bundled up the tiny bodies of three young cousins and lowered them into the grave of a long-dead aunt. A man was laid to rest with his brother.

More than two weeks into the Israeli offensive that has killed more than 940 Palestinians, Gazans are struggling to find places to bury their dead. Cemeteries throughout Gaza City that were closed for new burials have now reopened.

"Gaza is all a graveyard," gravedigger Salman Omar said Tuesday as he shoveled earth in Gaza City's crammed Sheik Radwan cemetery, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Just six miles wide and 25 miles long, Gaza has always suffered from a shortage of burial space. But Gazans say Israel's shelling and ground offensive have made it impossible for residents to reach Martyrs Cemetery — the only graveyard in the area with space to dig fresh graves.

The offensive is aimed at crushing the militant group Hamas and ending its rocket attacks on southern Israel. But Palestinian medical officials say roughly half the dead are civilians.

Among them are the Samouni cousins, 5-month-old Mohammed, 1-year-old Mutasim and 2-year-old Ahmed, whose family hurriedly dug up the grave of an aunt to lay them to rest last week.

"We buried them quickly," said Iyad Samouni, 26, speaking from al-Awda hospital in Gaza City, where he was being treated for shrapnel wounds. "We were afraid we'd be shelled. My relatives were trying to open other graves to prepare for the other dead, but we didn't get time."

He said the family fled the graveyard after they came under fire from a warplane.

The three boys were killed Jan. 5 in what the family and the United Nations said was an Israeli shelling attack on a house in eastern Gaza where they had evacuated on soldiers' orders to avoid nearby fighting.

Many members of the clan were wiped out. The exact number is unknown — figures vary from 14 to 30 people. Medics believe there are still bodies buried under the rubble that cannot be reached because of fighting in the area.

Israel's military denies the account, but says the house may have come under attack in crossfire with Hamas militants.

At Sheik Radwan on Tuesday, mourners pulled away the slabs of concrete covering the graves of long-deceased relatives, pushed the bones aside and lowered in the newly dead.

"You have a martyr: you need an immediate solution," Omar, 24, said, using the term many Gazans use for Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and referring to Islamic law, which requires the dead be buried as soon as possible.

"You look for where your grandmother, uncle or mother was buried, and bury them there. If there's three or four, bury them in the same grave," he said, drawing on a cigarette as he dug.

Nearby, relatives hammered away at the concrete tomb of Moyhideen Sarhi, killed last May in an Israeli strike against Hamas militants. His brother Kamel, 22, also a Hamas militant, was killed Tuesday.

The family feared approaching Martyrs Cemetery and decided to lay Kamel next to his brother.

"As they were in life they are in death," said their cousin, Salim, 28, as other relatives pushed aside the slab protecting Mohyideen's remains and kissed his shroud before lowering his brother's body on top.

Even the pathways in the hilly cemetery were filled with graves. The older ones had marble slabs, a reminder of more affluent times. Relatives of the newly buried make do with a small tile or a name etched in concrete. For others, there was no name at all, just the tombstone of the relative buried there first.

One family arrived with their 14-year-old son, who they said was killed in an Israeli strike.

A gravedigger approached, asking if the family had a deceased relative whose grave they could reopen. Street children hoping for small change scrambled to look for graves the family could use.

Nearby, men in jeans dug up their grandfather's grave. The loud crashing sound of an airstrike nearby made some of them look up. Their relative, Mohammed Abu Leila, was a militant killed in the fighting.

"I've buried a policeman in his mother's grave," said Omar, the gravedigger. "I buried three brothers in one hole. I buried children with their mothers. You don't ask questions: it's just important to find a place and bury them."

B4B

Porn Bailout: Larry Flynt, Joe Francis

Seeking Government Money

(Huff)

An article in next month's Atlantic asks, "Is porn recession proof?" According to porn magnate Larry Flynt and "Girls Gone Wild" king Joe Francis, the answer is no.

TMZ reports that the pornographer pair is heading to Washington to ask for a $5 billion porn bailout:

"With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind," Flynt says. "It's time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America."

Francis sees his industry like the big three automakers, only BIGGER: "Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation's most important businesses; we feel we deserve the same consideration."

In the Atlantic article, Tom Johansmeyer reports that AdultVest, a hedge fund run by Francis Koenig that invests in porn-related assets, was up 50% in 2008 (a number that Joe Wiesenthal at ClusterStock says ought to be taken with a grain of salt). Johansmeyer goes on to discuss the recession effect on the porn industry:

Relatively small, fragmented, and unaccustomed to outside investment, the U.S. porn industry (which generated roughly $12 billion in 2007) is some­what buffered from today's credit crunch, but it has its own problems. Video sales have been falling by 15 percent a year since 2005, and online content doesn't deliver the returns it used to, now that Web sites such as RedTube and PornHub basically give it away. Struggling companies need investors to help right their operations, and those that are thriving in a brutal market need funding for growth.

Enter Koenig and AdultVest. He sees the porn downturn as temporary and believes that technological improvements will trigger a turnaround. One example: iPorn, a start-up in AdultVest's portfolio that is developing an application to deliver porn to the Apple iPod. "The industry's not going anywhere," Koenig says. "You've got 6 billion people on the planet," he laughs, "and they're all horny."

B4B

FLASH: Democrats To Seat Burris !
More to follow... UPDATE: Not Quite Seated Yet
****************************************

Related Story:
Jesse White: Senate Made Me The 'Fall Guy'

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White said this morning he has been made "the fall guy" by the U.S. Senate, which he said is using him as an excuse not to seat Roland Burris.

"They could have seated him without my signature; my signature is not required," he told WGN-AM 720's John Williams.

The Senate barrred Burris Tuesday, saying he lacked proper credentials in that his appointment was not signed by White.

But White said today that "my signature is mostly ceremonial, rather than a point of law."

"They played a little bit of a game with him [Burris] yesterday," he added.

Asked by Williams if he had been made "the fall guy," White responded: "You're absolutely correct."

(For the full interview, click here.)

White said he had pledged, shortly after Gov. Rod Blagojevich was accused of trying to make a deal for his appointment to the Senate seat, not to sign off on anyone selected by Blagojevich. And he said he will continue to honor that pledge unless ordered otherwise by a court.

Yet at the same time he said he thought Burris should be admitted to the Senate and said he had the highest possible regard for him. He predicted Burris eventually will be seated.

B4B

Why Does President Obama Get The
Ugliest Car in Presidential History ?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As a candidate, Barack Obama promoted hybrid cars.

As president, he'll be handed the keys to one. Sort of.

Shortly after taking the oath of office, Obama will climb into the Mother of All Hybrids -- part car, part truck and, from the looks of it, part tank.

In keeping with recent tradition, the Secret Service will place a brand-new presidential limousine into service January 20 to drive the new president on the 2-mile jaunt down Pennsylvania Avenue during the inaugural parade.

Already, spy photos of the limo -- with patches of gray primer -- have leaked out. And already, the reviews:

"Ugly as sin," says one car enthusiast on an auto Web site. "Can't we make a hotter ride for our pres?"

"Sheesh," says another, "why don't they just transport the president around in an Abrams tank."

One news agency, noting its 8-inch-thick doors, says the limo can withstand a "direct hit from an asteroid." But GM spokeswoman Joanne K. Krell laughed off the comments.

YUCK !

B4B

Obama: I'll Have Plenty To Say

On Gaza After Jan. 20th

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, breaking his silence about the Gaza war, expressed deep concern on Tuesday about civilian deaths in Gaza and in Israel and vowed to push for Middle East peace when he takes power.

Speaking after Israeli tank shells killed at least 40 Palestinians at a U.N. school where civilians had taken shelter, Obama said "the loss of civilian life in Gaza and in Israel is a source of deep concern for me."

Obama otherwise said he would adhere to his principle that only U.S. President George W. Bush would speak for American foreign policy at this time, but said he would have plenty more to say after his January 20 inauguration.

He expressed deep concern about the conflict but made no mention of a "durable, sustainable and not time-limited" cease-fire sought by the Bush administration.

Nonetheless, he gave his most extensive comments about the Gaza conflict, responding to criticism from some commentators in the region that he had been too quiet about a top foreign policy challenge that will greet him as soon as he walks into the White House.

Obama was accused by critics both of siding with Israel with his silence or of failing to stand with the Jewish state as it seeks to repel rocket attacks from the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Speaking to reporters, Obama pledged to work for a resolution to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an issue that has bedevilled several American presidents.

"After January 20 I'm going to have plenty to say about the issue, and I am not backing away at all from what I said during the campaign, that starting at the beginning of our administration, we are going to be engaged effectively and consistently in trying to resolve the conflict in the Middle East," he said. "That's something I am committed to."

B4B

Gaza Hospital Overwhelmed by Dead, Wounded

(Children)

By Ibrahim Barzal (AP)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Wailing in grief, Salah Samouni banged his head against a wall inside the hospital morgue where the bodies of his three young nephews lay on the floor Monday.

After 10 days of a relentless Israeli assault, Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest, is overwhelmed. Bodies were crowded two to a morgue drawer, and some — like 3-year-old Issa, 4-year-old Mohammed and 5-year-old Ahmad — were on the floor.

Shifa's shabby halls echoed Monday with the sounds of people screaming and the wail of ambulance sirens. Many of the wounded were being treated in hallways by harried doctors and nurses running on little sleep. The hospital was powered by emergency generators after shelling damaged power lines.

Since Israel began a ground offensive Saturday, most of the dead and wounded arriving at Shifa are civilians, as Israel's offensive shifts from airstrikes to artillery shelling and fighting close to densely populated areas.

Israel says it is targeting only the Hamas militants who control Gaza in an attempt to halt seven years of rocket fire at Israeli communities. But the 550 Palestinians who have been killed include at least 200 civilians, according to Dr. Moaiya Hassanein of the Gaza Health Ministry.

On Monday, 20 children between the ages of 2 and 15 were killed, he said. Since the military offensive began Dec. 27, three Israeli civilians and two soldiers have been killed.

Nurse Ahmad Abdul Salam, 34, red-eyed and smelling of sweat, his clothes stained with blood, said he couldn't sleep. "When my shift ends, I help my colleagues. These are our brothers and friends who are being harmed," he said.

The hospital's most gruesome scene was in its morgue, where blood pooled on the floor and refrigerators meant to hold 35 bodies were crammed with 70, laid side-by-side in drawers.

Lying on a gray mat on the floor, the three Samouni brothers appeared baby-faced and almost as though they were asleep, except for a large bandage wrapped around Issa's head.

The children's father was also killed in what relatives said was an Israeli strike on a house in eastern Gaza City where the family had fled to escape fighting nearby.

Relatives wept Monday and one man screamed for help for other family members he said were buried under the rubble of the house. "For God's sake, rescue them!" he pleaded.

No militants were seen at Shifa. Israel says its forces have killed dozens of Palestinian gunmen, but Hamas has not listed its casualties and it is unclear where militants are being treated or where their bodies were taken.

Shifa has been powered by generators since power completely cut out in Gaza City three days ago. Israel has not replenished Gaza's power station with industrial fuel since fighting began, and airstrikes have badly damaged power lines.

U.N. health official Mahmoud Daher said the generators were meant only as an emergency backup and he feared they would break down with the constant use, imperiling some 70 people hooked up to lifesaving equipment.

Throughout the day, exhausted medics rushed in with the wounded and the bodies of the dead.

Mohammed Salman, 26, a volunteer medic washing blood from the inside of an ambulance, said he had treated people with horrific injuries, including headless children and a woman whose stomach had been torn open.

The woman screamed, "Leave me and save my children," he said, and burst into tears.

Israeli aircraft have hit three ambulances in Gaza since the campaign began, killing seven medics, according to Gaza health officials.

A medical building owned by a relief organization not connected to Hamas was also bombed, said Daher. He said the building was destroyed, along with an ambulance, three mobile clinics and donated medicines.

The Israeli army says it has no records of any of those strikes.

Raed Arini, a Shifa hospital official, said he has stopped filling out the space on death certificates that says "reason for death."

"The reason for death is the Israeli army," he said, as medics rushed in with more wounded people.

B4B

Franken To Be Declared

WINNER !

By Todd Melby

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Democrat Al Franken will be declared the winner of the tight U.S. Senate contest in Minnesota, emerging from a ballot recount with a slim margin over Republican Norm Coleman, state officials said on Sunday.

But Coleman, the incumbent, has asked Minnesota's supreme court to require that a few hundred additional absentee ballots be included in the recount -- and he could then ask the court to investigate the contest all over again.

"At the moment, Franken has a 225-vote lead," after the weekend counting of what were deemed the last uncounted absentee ballots, said Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a Democrat who oversaw the process.

Ritchie said unless the supreme court acts on Coleman's request and orders more ballots to be counted, he will reconvene the state's Canvassing Board on Monday to certify Franken as the winner of the November 4 contest.

Even so, Coleman's campaign said it will likely challenge the result, which would require the state supreme court's chief justice to appoint three judges to investigate its claims.

Hundreds of absentee voters were "disenfranchised," other votes were double-counted, and still other ballots that went missing were counted anyway, Coleman's campaign manager Cullen Sheehan said in a statement.

"We remain convinced that this process is broken, and as a result, the numbers being reported will not be accurate or valid ... (It) clearly means that a contest is the only likely remedy to ensure a fair outcome," Sheehan said.

B4B

MUST WATCH VIDEO:
Learn TRUTHS About Israel's
Terrorism of Palestine
(even Americans !)

WHAT MSM DOESN'T WANT YOU TO SEE

Click B4B if video does not appear

Israeli Ground Troops Invade Gaza

Palestinian Death Toll 460 in Last 8 Days
...Many Women & Children !
(See Horrific Video Below)

Israeli troops have invaded the Gaza Strip by land, accompanied by helicopters and tanks, late Saturday night. Casualties of Saturday's invasion are unknown as of yet, but eight days of airstrikes have left 460 Palestinians dead.

Palestinian sources said that Israeli tanks and armored vehicles, supported by army helicopters invaded the Gaza Strip from several directions.

An Israel military spokesperson, Avital Leibovitch, stated that the objective of the attack is to destroy the Hamas infrastructure in Gaza.

According to local sources, thousands of Israeli soldiers are taking part in the attack including infantry, tanks, engineering forces, artillery and intelligence with the support of the Israel Air Force. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated, "It won't be easy and it won't be brief. We're continuing to expand the operation while being well aware that this move will include challenges, difficulties, and also victims."

Palestinian resistance fighters clashed with the Israeli invading troops, sources reported from Gaza.

Hours before the ground attack Israeli jetfighters shelled a local mosque located in Beit Lahyia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, killing 13 civilians. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Coastal Region said that the death toll in Gaza by Saturday evening due to the Israel's continued bombardment now stands at 460, most of whom are civilians.

The Ministry added that the week of airstrikes have alsoleft 2300 Palestinians injured, in a besieged, crowded Gaza Strip that is lacking even the most basic of medicines and medical care. Israel started its military offensive last Saturday, December 27th, 2008, a week and half after the six-month-long Egyptian-mediated ceasefire finished, on December 16th 2008. Although Israel accuses the Hamas government in Gaza of breaking the truce, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights documented hundreds of truce violations by the Israeli military, including three violations on the very day the truce began on June 19th, 2008.

Israeli warplanes started by shelling all the Palestinian security posts in Gaza. In the following days the air raids were expanded. Hospitals, homes, blacksmith workshops, a television station, schools and mosques were targeted. Day and night, the entire Palestinian coastal region has been under attack for the last week..

On Saturday morning, the Israeli Army announced that a full-scale ground offensive in Gaza is now a matter of hours.

B4B NOTE: 85% of Israeli Citizens are

AGAINST Israel's Invasion of Gaza

THIS DEADLY INVASION MUST BE STOPPED !

Learn Truths About Israel from Fellow Jews

Visit: www.If Americans Knew.org

CLICK: For More TRUTHS from the Palestinian Perspective

B4B

VIDEO:

Watch Horrific Footage following Israeli attack on Gaza 1/1/09

warning: extremely raw (graphic)

VIDEO: Obama's Favorite Chicago Places...
They'll Leave Behind

Click B4B if Video Does Not Appear

Cynthia McKinney:
"We Lived To Tell The Story"

Were Israelis Trying to Kill Everyone on
Humanitarian Aid Boat to Gaza

by Cynthia McKinney OpEdNews January 1, 2009

Yesterday, we met with the President of Lebanon, the Chief of the Military, and the Interior Minister who all thanked us for responding and risking our lives on a mission of mercy; we profusely thanked them for rescuing us. What would we have done, stranded out at sea, prohibited from reaching our destination, low on fuel, with a badly damaged boat if Lebanon had not accepted us? Lebanon sent their ships to find us. Lebanon rescued us. Lebanon welcomed us. And we are truly thankful. It`s official now. We`ve been told that the sturdy, wood construction of our boat, Dignity, is the reason we are still alive. Fiberglass would probably not have withstood the impact of the Israeli attack and under different circumstances, we might not be here to tell the story. Even at that, the report that came to us yesterday after the Captain and First Mate went back to Sour (Tyre) to inspect the boat was that it was sinking, the damage is extensive, and the boat will take, in their estimation, at least one month to repair. Tomorrow, we will bring the Dignity from Sour to Beirut. And now, we must decide what to do and from where we will do it and how we are to get back to wherever that might be. My personal, and I know the group`s, thanks must go to Al Jazeera, that allowed three of their reporters to be onboard with us on our voyage. As a result, Al Jazeera carried the story of the Dignity live, from castoff in Cyprus when our spirits were high, right up through the manacing maneuvers of the huge, super fast Israeli ships before they rammed us, the Israeli calls on the ship phone after the ramming calling us terrorists and subversives and telling us to return to Cyprus (even though the Israelis later claimed that they didn`t know who we were, they knew enough about us to tell us where we had come from), and the fact that we didn`t have enough fuel to follow their instructions, right up to their threat to fire at us if we didn`t turn around, ending with our beaten-up boat limping into Sour harbor in Lebanon. Al Jazeera carried our story as `breaking news` and performed a real service to its audience and to us. Al Jazeera called the Israelis to inquire about the incident right as it was happening and I am sure the Israelis were prepared to leave none to tell the story. Al Jazeera told the story and documented it as it was happening. One of those Al Jazeera reporters with us was Sami El-Haj, who was detained in Guantanamo by the United States for six incredibly long years. What an honor to even exchange glances with such a humble man who had endured so much pain at the hands of the U.S. government. I apologized to him that my tax dollars were being used in such a despicable way. And Sami`s crime according to the U.S.? Born in Sudan, and reporting for Al Jazeera in Afghanistan, Sami was the wrong color, the wrong nationality, the wrong religion, reporting for the wrong news outfit, telling us the truth about a wrong war. And for that he survived incarceration for six long years. Sami El-Haj, Guantanamo prisoner number 345. Another incredibly committed journalist who was with us was CNN`s Karl Penhaul. Karl reported the truth even when his own station was repeating Israeli disinformation. The fact that we were traveling with these alert journalists added to the flat-footedness and obvious crudeness of the Israeli response. Sadly, Israel has changed its story too many times to count, and that`s because they are not telling the truth. We lived to tell the story. Karl`s incredible reporting, just a portion of our story, can be seen on CNN at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/12/30/gaza.aid.boat/index.html

where there`s also video and a photo of our damaged boat. A little more of the story and film of the extensive damage can be seen at: (B4B NOTE: WATCH THIS VIDEO) http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/12/30/gaza.aid.boat/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

This video and the photos of Karl`s report is particularly interesting given that Israel claims that our boat was only scratched and that, in actuality, our captain, while trying to outmaneuver them, damaged their warship. I`m told that CNN only played my full statement once--and that`s the time that it aired live. Of course, they cut the reference to the U.S.S. Liberty. What are they afraid of? Last night I was on PressTV.com, along with others who were on the Dignity, and we debated a representative from WINEP, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. I reminded the audience that the Palestinians don`t have nuclear weapons, depleted uranium munitions, white phosphorous, or F-16s, but the Israelis do. The facts, however, tend to get garbled after being processed by the `Grand Wurlitzer` organ of state-sponsored disinformation utilizing the world`s press. With the truth clearly on our side, Israel has been reduced to releasing the ridiculous bombast below, given to me by a reporter who came to our hotel in Beirut for a visit. With their multiple, conflicting stories, it is clear that the Israelis did not expect us to live to tell the truth. On the drive from Sour through Saida to Beirut, we were welcomed like heroes because our ordeal had been seen by everyone on Al Jazeera. The mayor of Sour came to welcome us. The mayor of Saida insisted that we stop there, on our way to Beirut, for a special ceremony. But there was something else that was visible along our drive, and that is the devastation that Lebanon, itself, has received as a result of the Israeli war machine. The scars of the war are still evident everywhere. I will write more on that tomorrow. And one final note, President-elect Obama roared like a mighty lion onto the political scene, but now he is as silent as a lamb in the face of the death and destruction that is happening in Gaza. As we approach the birthday celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. let us remember what Dr. King said: `In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.` And after five days of aerial bombardment by Israel, the carnage in Gaza continues. Here is the palaver that the Israelis put out for public consumption. It is pitiful that a powerful and mighty country like Israel would be reduced to publishing something so petty and weak as the following press release dated December 30, 2008: Press Release Office of Media Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12.30.2008 Israel continues to take its humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza seriously. Border crossings into Gaza remain open, and every effort is being made to deliver aid to the Palestinian people. Nearly 100 trucks carrying relief supplies entered Gaza on the 28th & 29th of December and additional shipments are arriving. Israel is working closely with UNSCO, UNRWA, the Red Cross, and WHO to ensure the entry of the required aid, especially food and medical equipment. Unfortunately, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has taken it upon herself to commit an act of provocation, leading a small boat of supposed assistants into the conflict zone. She endangered herself, her assistants, and the vessel`s crew. The Israeli navy hailed Ms. McKinney but the former Congresswoman failed to respond, thereby leading to the incident. We regret that during this time of crisis, while Israel is battling with the terrorist organization of Hamas and defending its citizens, that we are forced to deal with Ms. McKinney`s irresponsible behavior. Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast 1100 Spring St NW, Ste 440 Atlanta, GA 30309-2823 Michael Printy Arthur Director of Media Affairs 404.487.6511 media@atlanta.mfa.gov.il

B4B NOTE: It is time for We The People to have a clearer understanding of the multiple wrong-doings of Israel toward the Palestinians. We are not getting truth from our media. IT'S RALLY TIME ! Time to unite to expose and put an end to the aparthied that currently exists against the Palestinians and the unjust killing of innocent Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza.

LEARN....SHARE THE TRUTHS: Visit this incredibly informative site developed by a number of our Jewish brothers and sisters which totally explains/exposes the horrific degree of Israel's wrong-doings toward Palestine.

Visit: If Americans Knew.org

Be Informed...Be Involved...
Time For CHANGE !
B4B

An Interactive Tour of
The Obama's Future Quarters

White House Residence Second Floor

The Family Residence The second floor of the White House Residence is the first family residence, where their bedrooms and private sitting rooms are located, as well as some guest bedrooms such as the Lincoln Bedroom. This floor has 16 rooms, 1 main corridor, 6 bathrooms, and 1 lavatory. The first family has overnight guests at the Residence, but visiting chiefs of state usually stay across the street at Blair House, which is the official guest facility for international leaders and is managed and operated by the Department of State. Click a hotspot on the floor plan to visit the room or continue your tour with the West Wing or continue your tour with another floor below

B4B

Time For Americans To WAKE UP:
The Truths About Israel...WOW !

As Israel continues it's military advance against the people of Palestine, an act which can only escalate to a disastrous degree, We the People need to become more informed on the Truths About Israel. Unfortunately, due to the fact that our media spoonfeeds us total propaganda through it's Jewish controlled media, truth is extremely difficult to learn regarding the Israeli/Palestine Conflict.

LEARN THE FACTS: Now is the time for ALL Americans to take time out to learn the facts. We, at Blacks4Barack invite you to visit an incredibly informative site developed by a number of our Jewish brothers and sisters which totally shares the absolute, propaganda-free facts regarding the Israel/Palestine Conflict. (and the multiple wrong-doings of Israel)

PLEASE VISIT THE SITE: Visit 'If Americans Knew'...browse through the many categories of information including the Origin of the Conflict...U.S. Interests...the Media Bias...Statistics...then

SHARE THE TRUTH !....EVERYWHERE !
www.IfAmericansKnew.org

Be Informed...Be Involved
B4B

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

B4B

Obamas Moving To D.C. This Weekend

Even in a town where the hotels are swamped for the inauguration, it turns out to be easy to get a room if you’re the one being inaugurated.

President-elect Barack Obama and his family will move to Washington this weekend in time for his daughters to start school, aides said Tuesday. With the White House still occupied and the official guest residence unavailable, the future first family will hole up in one of the city’s most exclusive hotels.

The decision to come to Washington early will put Mr. Obama in the very place he has avoided since his election and will increase the spotlight on him as he tries to prepare for the presidency without yet assuming its burdens. Except for an afternoon visit with President Bush at the White House on Nov. 10, Mr. Obama has stayed away from Washington during the transition, spending his time in Chicago and Hawaii instead.

Mr. Obama, who wraps up his Oahu vacation on New Year’s Day, will hold meetings in Washington next week on how to revive the faltering economy, according to the transition officials, who insisted on anonymity to discuss unannounced plans. On Wednesday Mr. Obama will attend a White House luncheon to which Mr. Bush also invited all the former president.

The president-elect will arrive just before the new Congress is sworn in Tuesday and begins work on the economic package he wants to sign after he is inaugurated Jan. 20.

Although Mr. Obama served in the Senate for the last four years, he spent little time out of session in Washington and never moved his family from Chicago.

Other new presidents arriving from out of town have waited until closer to their inaugurations. Jimmy Carter came the day before his swearing in and Ronald Reagan six days before his. Bill Clinton staged a day-long trip to Washington three days before his ceremony, retracing the route Thomas Jefferson took from his home outside Charlottesville, Va.

Mr. Obama too has arranged for a symbolic arrival, in his case on a train trip starting in Philadelphia on Jan. 17. But Sidwell Friends, the private school where he is sending his daughters, Malia and Sasha, begins classes on Monday after its holiday break, so the family decided to pack up and move Saturday or Sunday.

The Obama team inquired about staying in Blair House, the government mansion across Lafayette Park from the White House. But the White House said it was already booked for events until Jan. 15, when it traditionally becomes available to a president-elect.

The Obama team instead found a hotel with a suite large enough for the presidential family until they move to Blair House. Transition officials would not identify which hotel because of security concerns.

B4B

Experts: Democrats Can't Stop Blagojevich

Rod Blagojevich's decision to appoint Roland Burris to Illinois' vacant Senate seat, even as the governor faces intense criminal scrutiny, is being treated as a crazy political power grab. It also seems very likely to be permanent.

A legal scholar writes in to say that precedent surrounding the Senate's right to not seat certain members seems very likely to fall in Burris' favor.

"My reading of Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, is that the Senate probably can NOT constitutionally block Burris from being seated," writes the constitutional law professor. "Art. I, sec. 5 gives each House the power to judge the qualifications of its own members. Powell holds (inter alia) that the qualifications to be judged are those stated in the Constitution (see Art. I, sec. 3, cl. 3 and the 17th Amendment)."

"Burris has met all of those qualifications: he's over 30, been a US citizen for 9 years, he's an Illinois resident; he was appointed by the executive authority of the state to fill a vacancy, pursuant to Illinois law."

Even on the state level, Democrats seem fairly hamstrung when it comes to stopping Blagojevich. Secretary of State Jesse White's office has said it will not certify the Burris appointment. But, here again, the law may not be on their side. State charter holds that it is the "duty" of the Secretary of State:

1. To countersign and affix the seal of state to all commissions required by law to be issued by the Governor.

2. To make a register of all appointments by the Governor, specifying the person appointed, the office conferred, the date of the appointment, the date when bond or oath is taken and the date filed. If Senate confirmation is required, the date of the confirmation shall be included in the register.

Asked to assess the law in this case, legal scholars yet again say Burris is sitting in an enviable position.

"It looks to me that it is more or less a perfunctory act. And the refusal to do so will also be subject to litigation," said Ken Gross, the former associate general counsel of the Federal Election Commission. "If a certification of the Secretary of State is needed to qualify the senator, and that Secretary of State refused to offer the certification, you would likely see litigation in the state court."

As Gross sees it, the most likely path for attempts to block the appointment is as follows: Jesse White refuses to certify the appointment, only to have the decision overturned in the state courts. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would than refuses to seat Burris, only to be overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Senate does have the ultimate option of expelling Burris once he takes the oath of office. But that would require some extraordinary circumstances.

For several days in November, when it looked like Ted Stevens could be reelected, it was proposed that Congress would kick the Alaska Republic out of office over his ethical problems. But scholars considered that a stretch of legal reading. And if Stevens would have made it through the legal loopholes, it's hard to see how they ensnare Burris.

"I think there would have been problems not seating Stevens," said Gross. "But at least they had a reasonable option of expulsion. Here you don't have a very attractive expulsion option because Burris did nothing wrong.... You would have to say his misconduct was accepting the appointment. But from who? A guy who was innocent until proven guilty?"

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