Christian facing execution in Iran speaks publicly for the first time in nearly a year
Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who is in an Iranian prison facing a death for preaching Christianity, has written this open letter to the world.
May 7, 2012
Greetings from your servant and younger brother in Christ, Youcef Nadarkhani.
To: All those who are concerned and worried about my current situation.
First, I would like
to inform all of my beloved brothers and sisters that I am in perfect
health in the flesh and spirit. And I try to have a little different
approach from others to these days, and consider it as the day of exam
and trial of my faith. And in these days which are hard in order to
prove your loyalty and sincerity to God, I am trying to do the best in
my power to stay right with what I have learned from God's commandments.
I need to remind my
beloveds, though my trial due has been so long, and as in the flesh I
wish these days to end, yet I have surrendered myself to God's will.
I am neither a
political person nor do I know about political complicity, but I know
that while there are many things in common between different cultures,
there are also differences between these cultures around the world which
can result in criticism, which most of the times response to this
criticisms will be harsh and as a result will lengthen our problems.
From time to time I
am informed about the news which is spreading in the media about my
current situation, for instance being supported by various churches and
famous politicians who have asked for my release, or campaigns and human
rights activities which are going on against the charges which are
applied to me. I do believe that these kind of activities can be very
helpful in order to reach freedom, and respecting the human rights in a
right way can bring forth great results in this.
I want to appreciate
all those are trying to reach to this goal. But at the other hand, I'd
like to announce my disgust at insulting words or activities which make
stress and trouble, which unfortunately are done with the justification
(excuse) of defending human rights and freedom, for the final result is
so clear and obvious for me. Insulting the belief of other nations or
people, whether they be a majority or minority, is not accepted and is
an unworthy deed, specifically for those who have this teaching to love
and respect others more than themselves and treat them the same as you
want to be treated.
Then, burning and
insulting is not a reverent behavior for a Christian, but it's worthy to
be in obedience to the word of God and humble ourselves to glorify God.
I try to be humble
and obedient to those who are in power, obedience to those in authority
which God has granted to the officials of my country, and pray for them
to rule the country according to the will of God and be successful in
doing this. For I know this in this way I have obeyed God's word. I try
to obey along with those whom I see in a common situation with me. They
never had any complaint, but just let the power of God be manifested in
their lives, and though sometimes we read that they have used this right
to defend themselves, for they had this right, I am not an exception as
well and have used all possibilities and so forth and am waiting for
the final result.
So I ask all the
beloved ones to pray for me as the holy word has said. At the end I hope
this be prepared as soon as possible, as the authorities of my country
will do with free will according to their law and commandments which are
answerable to.
May God's Grace and Mercy be upon you now and forever. Amen.
Youcef Nadarkhani
Five tactics your campaign can’t afford to ignore
Newspaper ads, billboards and campaigning on the Internet may be cute, but they don’t win elections.
You have to make direct personal contact, either in person, on the phone or through the mail, with enough individual votes to collect the number of votes you need to win.
Campaigns and Elections reminds you of five essential campaign operations you can’t ignore.
General rule of thumb: Make sure you have the volunteers and resources to knock on the door of every likely voter before you ever do anything else. It’s the most effective form of campaigning and it’s virtually free.
1. Phone Banks. The use of phones on a campaign is becoming a lost art. Some campaigns believe that texting and mobile apps can replace the old-fashioned volunteer phone call. That’s not the case. Several campaigns that enjoyed the national spotlight last cycle didn’t operate phone banks at all—and they lost handily to opponents who spent less money but made more phone calls.
The campaign phone bank should be the heart of the voter identification, persuasion and turnout program. The phone bank will help the campaign target its manpower, direct mail and even television and radio buys. A well-organized phone program can win elections, as it allows the campaign to reach thousands of voters each week, track their choice in the election, and then encourage supporters to go vote on Election Day. These are things that email, text messages and mobile applications cannot achieve effectively.
2. Door-to-door operations. The use of an integrated door-to-door operation has followed the phone banks into obscurity in the campaigns of many first-time candidates. The American campaign style is strongly rooted in retail politics, and nothing is more retail than meeting voters at their door. Most campaigns can reach approximately 40-60 percent of their voters via phone, and significantly less online. This makes knocking on doors the most effective voter contact tactic in a campaign’s arsenal.
An effective door-to-door program should be incorporated into the phone program. The phone bank will identify clusters of undecided or unidentified voters for volunteers to visit. Delivering a message in-person significantly enhances a volunteer’s persuasiveness.
3. Early voting/absentee voting programs. Few campaigns get this right, because executing an effective early voting or absentee voting program is difficult to engineer and track. Republicans and Democrats, however, have both notched surprising wins in the past decade that were only possible by running strong early vote and/or absentee voting programs. Many campaigns simply ignore this tactic because it requires a long-term investment of manpower and money. But these programs can be worth up to 2-to-4 points in a tight race—more than enough to win.
4. Get-Out-The-Vote pushes. The election isn’t won until a campaign gets enough of its voters into the polling station. Each cycle, more than a dozen campaigns come up short on Election Day not because they lost the message war, but because they didn’t execute a solid GOTV program.
Effective GOTV programs can involve direct mail, phone calls, emails, texts and even door-to-door. That said, some modern campaigns fail to recognize that emails, texts, and even direct mail do not have the effect that calls and personal visits have when conducting GOTV operations—particularly on Election Day.
5. Planning. With modern campaigns facing so many communication and strategic options, many choose to skip the planning process altogether. These same campaigns often fail to make it over the finish line. Most reliable consultants and long-time operatives will tell you that winning campaigns means being proactive, not reactive. Unfortunately, it’s impossible for a campaign to be anything but reactive if it doesn’t have a plan. Planning doesn’t necessarily mean writing and following a 300-page campaign strategy memo. It does, however, mean thinking through the options, scenarios and environmental conditions of your specific race. That alone can help a campaign devise a superior strategy that will carry it to victory on Election Day.
Family escapes home set ablaze by their electric car
A Houston-area family escaped harm when their house suddenly went up in flames, and fire investigators say an electric car is to blame.
Jeremy Gutierrez pulled his Fisker Karma electric vehicle into his garage, parked it, and went inside. Three minutes later his garage, and home, were consumed in fire.
Gutierrez, his wife, his mother and a child escaped without injuries not, but his home suffered $100,000.00 in damage.
His child's bedroom burned in the fire.
“The Karma was the origin of the fire," said Fort Bend County chief fire investigator Robert Baker.
The Karma was a post-recall model. It was only a few days old and had just 200 miles. Gutierrez reports just before the fire began he could smell burning rubber.
Fisker, as you may recall, was given a $529 million taxpayer-financed loan by the Obama administration. Obama has hailed Fisker as an example of his successful U.S. economic policies.
However, Fisker builds its vehicles in Finland, not the United States. So far Fisker has sold poorly, was forced to recall vehicles and had its cars break down during Consumer Reports testing.
Fisker refuses to accept the findings of the fire investigator that their admittedly faulty vehicles were the cause of yet another electric car fire. What's downright stunning is their implication Gutierrez used fireworks to burn his child's bedroom with his family in the home, claiming "fraud or malicious intent" may be to blame.
An upset Gutierrez released the following statement:
On the afternoon of May 2, 2012, Mr. Jeremy Gutierrez’s brand new Fisker Karma hybrid electric vehicle caught fire while parked in his garage, setting fire to his home while his wife, mother, and child were inside. Thanks to the fast action of Mr. Gutierrez, he was able to evacuate his family from the home moments before portions of the house were engulfed in flames, including his child’s bedroom.
The Fort Bend County Fire Department immediately responded to the scene and as able to contain and extinguish the fire before total destruction of the Gutierrez’s family home. The fire department recently completed their investigation and determined the origin of the fire was, in fact, Gutierrez’s newly purchased Fisker Karma hybrid electric vehicle that he just took possession of two weeks earlier. Chief Investigator for the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office Robert N. Baker has concluded that the fire was accidental in nature.
Since the date of this incident, Mr. Gutierrez has been fully cooperative with public safety officials, as well as insurance adjusters and the vehicle manufacturer’s investigators. In fact, Mr. Gutierrez fully accommodated the precise and somewhat peculiar demands of Fisker Automotive, who sent their self-proclaimed “SWAT Team” of engineers and inspectors (that included their own forensic cause and origin investigator) to the Gutierrez home within 24 hours of the fire. They descended upon the Gutierrez home in alarming numbers and immediately demanded a 24-hour lock-down of his home, including the remains of the Fisker Karma vehicle. They also cordoned off portions of the Gutierrez home with non-transparent tarps to block the view from the public. Fisker even had access to eyewitnesses, who were interviewed by Fisker investigators and those investigators were shown video footage of the Fisker vehicle on fire before and other part of the garage. Mr. Gutierrez accommodated every request with the hope of have a full, fair and open inquiry into the cause of the Fisker vehicle fire that set his house ablaze and endangered his family.
Despite the fact public safety and law enforcement officials have determined Mr. Gutierrez’s home and vehicles are not a crime scene, Fisker Automotive released a public statement on May 8, 2012 implying fraud or malicious intent were open questions. The family is stunned by this implication. The Gutierrez family has afforded every accommodation to Fisker and access to all evidence that public safety and law enforcement official examined. Fisker’s statement is a grave disappointment, especially in light of the damages the family suffered and continues to suffer.
The Gutierrez family has suffered enough. They are temporarily displaced from their home, and have lost three vehicles. They value their privacy and wish to have this investigation completed immediately so they can return to their home.
Video: Rand Paul argues against reauthorizing Export-Import Bank
WASHINGTON - Sen. Rand Paul took to the Senate floor Thursday to
oppose the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.
The ordinary middle-class family is struggling to get a home loan. Tens of thousands of homeowners have lost their homes or are struggling to make payments on their home loans. Meanwhile, Congress steadily dishes out billions of dollars in taxpayer-subsidized loans to large, profitable companies. Eighty percent of these loans, these Export-Import loans, are given to companies that are in the Fortune 500. So we're giving taxpayer loans to very profitable companies.
I'm a great believer in capitalism, in the jobs that corporations create. I defend profit and the benefit that accrues from leaving that profit large any in the private sector. I'm not one who clamors for punitive taxes, I'm not someone who thinks we need to punish corporations, but at the same time don't construe that to mean that I believe we should be subsidizing profitable corporations.
I don't think taxpayer-subsidized loans should go to profitable companies. Now, President Obama has been passing out loans to his campaign donors. He's been using a campaign trough that he has set up over at the Department of Energy.
Very wealthy multimillionaires and billionaires are getting loans through the Department of Energy; Solyndra, Brightsource, people heavily involved in the President's campaign have been getting subsidized loans. Republicans have been rightly criticizing the President for these loans, for these Department of Energy loans; to Solyndra, Brightsource and others.
Republicans have been correct in criticizing the President for trying to pick the winners and losers in the energy production. Yet now a majority of the Republicans are poised to vote for their own set of taxpayer-subsidized loans through the Export-Import bank.
In fact, they want to increase the Export-Import loans by nearly 50 percent and pick the winners and losers now in the export business. The horse traders may disdain consistency, but the American people value principled and consistent opposition to deficit financing.
The American people know hypocrisy when they see it. The American people know corporate welfare when they see it. The Export-Import bank in fact provided an $18 million to a steel mill in China. Our steel industry has been in decline for decades, and I would loan $18 million to our competitors?
Who in their right mind would subsidize our Chinese competitors with loans? It makes no sense. Can you think of anything more insulting than loaning money to our competitors? Well, come to think of it, I might. We actually give foreign aid to china. We actually send china economic development assistance. Is it any wonder that Congress has an 11 percent approval rating?
Many Americans are trying to hang on to their homes, struggling to make their payments on their own home mortgage, while very profitable big business is being given subsidized loans by the government. It makes no sense. What gives?
To add insult to injury, we are borrowing money from the same countries that we are lending the money to. So we borrow money from India, because I would run a deficit of the over $1 trillion a year, we borrow known from India and then we're sending it back to them in the form of taxpayer-subsidized loans. It makes no sense.
Ex-Im loans like the loans to Solyndra and Brightsource are simply forms of crony capitalism. With trillion-dollar annual deficits, surely we can vote to end corporate welfare. If companies are making billions of dollars in profit, can we at least end the welfare that we're sending to these corporations?
I urge a vote against reauthorizing the Ex-Im bank, and I hope my Republican colleagues will see the inconsistency of criticizing the President on one hand for his capitalism and then turning around and doing the same thing.
So I support not reauthorizing the Export-Import bank, admitting it is corporate welfare and trying to save the taxpayers some of their hard-earned money.
The ordinary middle-class family is struggling to get a home loan. Tens of thousands of homeowners have lost their homes or are struggling to make payments on their home loans. Meanwhile, Congress steadily dishes out billions of dollars in taxpayer-subsidized loans to large, profitable companies. Eighty percent of these loans, these Export-Import loans, are given to companies that are in the Fortune 500. So we're giving taxpayer loans to very profitable companies.
I'm a great believer in capitalism, in the jobs that corporations create. I defend profit and the benefit that accrues from leaving that profit large any in the private sector. I'm not one who clamors for punitive taxes, I'm not someone who thinks we need to punish corporations, but at the same time don't construe that to mean that I believe we should be subsidizing profitable corporations.
I don't think taxpayer-subsidized loans should go to profitable companies. Now, President Obama has been passing out loans to his campaign donors. He's been using a campaign trough that he has set up over at the Department of Energy.
Very wealthy multimillionaires and billionaires are getting loans through the Department of Energy; Solyndra, Brightsource, people heavily involved in the President's campaign have been getting subsidized loans. Republicans have been rightly criticizing the President for these loans, for these Department of Energy loans; to Solyndra, Brightsource and others.
Republicans have been correct in criticizing the President for trying to pick the winners and losers in the energy production. Yet now a majority of the Republicans are poised to vote for their own set of taxpayer-subsidized loans through the Export-Import bank.
In fact, they want to increase the Export-Import loans by nearly 50 percent and pick the winners and losers now in the export business. The horse traders may disdain consistency, but the American people value principled and consistent opposition to deficit financing.
The American people know hypocrisy when they see it. The American people know corporate welfare when they see it. The Export-Import bank in fact provided an $18 million to a steel mill in China. Our steel industry has been in decline for decades, and I would loan $18 million to our competitors?
Who in their right mind would subsidize our Chinese competitors with loans? It makes no sense. Can you think of anything more insulting than loaning money to our competitors? Well, come to think of it, I might. We actually give foreign aid to china. We actually send china economic development assistance. Is it any wonder that Congress has an 11 percent approval rating?
Many Americans are trying to hang on to their homes, struggling to make their payments on their own home mortgage, while very profitable big business is being given subsidized loans by the government. It makes no sense. What gives?
To add insult to injury, we are borrowing money from the same countries that we are lending the money to. So we borrow money from India, because I would run a deficit of the over $1 trillion a year, we borrow known from India and then we're sending it back to them in the form of taxpayer-subsidized loans. It makes no sense.
Ex-Im loans like the loans to Solyndra and Brightsource are simply forms of crony capitalism. With trillion-dollar annual deficits, surely we can vote to end corporate welfare. If companies are making billions of dollars in profit, can we at least end the welfare that we're sending to these corporations?
I urge a vote against reauthorizing the Ex-Im bank, and I hope my Republican colleagues will see the inconsistency of criticizing the President on one hand for his capitalism and then turning around and doing the same thing.
So I support not reauthorizing the Export-Import bank, admitting it is corporate welfare and trying to save the taxpayers some of their hard-earned money.
Minnesota threatens to imprison moms for giving away fresh milk
Several Minnesota mothers who organize community access to local
fresh farm foods plan to risk criminal charges by openly and publicly
defying warnings from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA).
The MDA has threatened several mothers, conducted investigations
against them and sent them warning letters that if they continue helping
provide fresh food to their friends and neighbors, they will be subject
to criminal charges and prosecution. The MDA alleges the Mothers are
violating food-handling regulations.
Dozens of individuals who are disgusted with what they regard as MDA’s overly aggressive tactics are expected to join in the same activity as these mothers.
“It is absolutely outrageous that during this time of economic crisis our state government is investigating and sending warning letters to mothers and putting farmers on trial who are helping provide communities with fresh foods. It is my right to contract privately with a farmer for the food of my choice just as it is the right of every American,” says Melinda Olson a mother and recipient of one of the MDA’s letters.
“The MDA’s harassment against mothers will not work. We plan to ignore this warning and continue operating as we are. MDA should not waste taxpayer money investigating, prosecuting and jailing peaceful farmers and mothers for helping their communities secure fresh foods. Our time to stand up against this tyranny is now!”
In addition to the threatening letters the MDA sent the mothers, MDA has brought charges against two local farmers for supplying their communities with fresh foods. Mothers who rely on the food and delivery service of one of these farmers, Alvin Schlangen, are facing loss of their food supply if Schlangen is jailed on four misdemeanor charges for providing food to his community. The charges against Schlangen stem from alleged handling of food without a permit, mislabeling food, and handling unprocessed, fresh milk, which is a crime according to the MDA.
Customers and supporters from around the state and country have planned a rally for Schlangen on the first day of his criminal trial on Monday, May 14 at 7:00 a.m. outside the Minneapolis courthouse. At the rally supporters will sign a “Declaration of Food Independence” and demonstrate non-compliance against what they deem “unjust” regulations. The rally is expected to draw hundreds.
Dozens of individuals who are disgusted with what they regard as MDA’s overly aggressive tactics are expected to join in the same activity as these mothers.
“It is absolutely outrageous that during this time of economic crisis our state government is investigating and sending warning letters to mothers and putting farmers on trial who are helping provide communities with fresh foods. It is my right to contract privately with a farmer for the food of my choice just as it is the right of every American,” says Melinda Olson a mother and recipient of one of the MDA’s letters.
“The MDA’s harassment against mothers will not work. We plan to ignore this warning and continue operating as we are. MDA should not waste taxpayer money investigating, prosecuting and jailing peaceful farmers and mothers for helping their communities secure fresh foods. Our time to stand up against this tyranny is now!”
In addition to the threatening letters the MDA sent the mothers, MDA has brought charges against two local farmers for supplying their communities with fresh foods. Mothers who rely on the food and delivery service of one of these farmers, Alvin Schlangen, are facing loss of their food supply if Schlangen is jailed on four misdemeanor charges for providing food to his community. The charges against Schlangen stem from alleged handling of food without a permit, mislabeling food, and handling unprocessed, fresh milk, which is a crime according to the MDA.
Customers and supporters from around the state and country have planned a rally for Schlangen on the first day of his criminal trial on Monday, May 14 at 7:00 a.m. outside the Minneapolis courthouse. At the rally supporters will sign a “Declaration of Food Independence” and demonstrate non-compliance against what they deem “unjust” regulations. The rally is expected to draw hundreds.
Video: Ron Paul's hearing, "The Federal Reserve System: Mend It or End It?"
You can watch, in full, Congressman Ron Paul's hearing into six bills to either reform or abolish the job-killing, price-inflating Federal Reserve system.
Part One:
Part Two:
Part One:
Part Two:
Cap and Taxer Lugar loses re-election, blames his support for environmentalism
Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.,) who voted for cap and tax proposals in 2003 and 2005 and demands employers emit less carbon dioxide, was defeated by a 60% to 40% margin by State Treasurer Richard Mourdock.
“Lugar is among a dwindling number of GOP lawmakers who has spoken about the need to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Mourdock, in contrast, has slammed what he calls ‘junk science associated with global climate change alarmism,’” The Hill reports.
“On climate legislation, Lugar was among the minority of Republicans that voted for failed cap-and-trade proposals in 2003 and 2005 sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.)”
Which Cap and Taxing Republicans will be next?
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Obama: American military fights 'on my behalf'
In an interview with ABC News, Barack Obama framed his support for gay marriage as a way of supporting American soldiers who, he claims, are fighting on his behalf.
"When I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," Obama tells ABC News.
"When I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," Obama tells ABC News.
Thanks to Obama, number of women not working reaches record high
"This year (in both January and April), only 57.6 percent of the women in the civilian noninstitutional population were in the labor force. That is the lowest rate of labor force participation by American women since April 1993, according to historical data maintained by BLS," CNS News reports.
"For both males and females combined, the rate of participation in the labor force dropped to 63.6 percent in April—the lowest rate since December 1981.
"Recently, however, women have been leaving the labor force in larger numbers than men."
No wonder Julia needs cradle-to-grave government support. Obama won't let her out of the house to work.
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