Iran Returns to the Global Stage

By George Friedman – from Strafor.com

After a three-month hiatus, Iran seems set to re-emerge near the top of the U.S. agenda. Last week, the Iranian government congratulated U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on his Nov. 4 electoral victory. This marks the first time since the Iranian Revolution that such greetings have been sent.

While it seems trivial, the gesture is quite significant. It represents a diplomatic way for the Iranians to announce that they regard Obama’s election as offering a potential breakthrough in 30 years of U.S. relations with Iran. At his press conference, Obama said he does not yet have a response to the congratulatory message, and reiterated that he opposes Iran’s nuclear program and its support for terrorism. The Iranians returned to criticizing Obama after this, but without their usual passion.

The Warming of U.S.-Iranian Relations

The warming of U.S.-Iranian relations did not begin with Obama’s election; it began with the Russo-Georgian War. In the weeks and months prior to the August war, the United States had steadily increased tensions with Iran. This process proceeded along two tracks.

On one track, the United States pressed its fellow permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom) and Germany to join Washington in imposing additional sanctions on Iran. U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs William J. Burns joined a July 19 meeting between EU foreign policy adviser Javier Solana and Iranian national security chief Saeed Jalili, which was read as a thaw in the American position on Iran. The Iranian response was ambiguous, which is a polite way of saying that Tehran wouldn’t commit to anything. The Iranians were given two weeks after the meeting to provide an answer or face new sanctions.

Georgia congressman warns of Obama dictatorship

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican congressman from Georgia said Monday he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist or fascist dictatorship.

“It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he’s the one who proposed this national security force,” Rep. Paul Broun said of Obama in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. “I’m just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism.”

Broun cited a July speech by Obama that has circulated on the Internet in which the then-Democratic presidential candidate called for a civilian force to take some of the national security burden off the military.  More here

This is encouraging – someone in Washington who sees Obama for what he really is and openly expresses himself without fear.

CANADIAN TRUCK DRIVER SENTENCED TO 48 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT FOR TRAVELLING TO OHIO IN ORDER TO HAVE SEX WITH TEEN BOY

“Teen boy” was undercover Franklin County Sheriff’s Detective

COLUMBUS – Serge Beauseigle, age 60, of Belleville, Ontario was sentenced in United States District Court here to 48 months imprisonment for traveling in interstate commerce in order to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, and Franklin County Sheriff James Karnes announced the sentence handed down yesterday by United States District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.

Beauseigle contacted an individual, whom he thought was a 14-year old boy, in an online chatroom in November, 2007. The “boy” was actually a detective with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office conducting an undercover investigation. Beauseigle claimed to be a truck driver who traveled all over.  More from the Cincinnati FBI

The criminal actions of this “trucker” are not tolerated in our industry.  I don’t care if you are a child predator from Canada or a cornball pornographer from Nuevo Laredo – such activity should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Circuit City files for bankruptcy protection

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Facing pressure from vendors and consumers who aren’t spending, Circuit City Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection Monday as it heads into the busy holiday season with hopes that the move will help it survive.

Under Chapter 11 protection, the nation’s second-biggest electronics retailer can keep operating while it develops a reorganization plan. Its Canadian operations also filed for similar protection.

The company also said it cut 700 more jobs at its Richmond, Va., headquarters, after announcing a week ago that it would close 20 percent of its stores and lay off thousands of workers.  More from YahooFinance

Postal Service Looks To Cut 40,000 Jobs In First Layoff In History

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) – “We lost 2 billion dollars and like any other business we have to stay afloat.” And to keep from sinking, the United States Postal Service is considering cutting thousands of jobs nationwide.  Lavelle Pepper with the post office in Shreveport says they too are feeling the affects of the same disease hitting the country… a struggling economy. “We employ about 685,000 people. If we do layoffs it would include clerks, carriers, mail handlers across all crafts.”

Pepper says the postal service is looking to eliminate 40,000 jobs nationwide. There’s not an exact number on how many of those could be from the Ark-La-Tex. Pepper says workers who are not part of union with six or less years of service would likely be the first on the chopping block. “We’ve identified 16 thousand people that are not covered under contract. We’ll see what those numbers add up to.”   More from KSLA

Is the USPS days numbered?  The non-union workers will be the first to go.

The Path to the Final Solution

Big name Obama-bots

Does it come as any suprise that the racist, hate filled Farrakhan and Pfleger are speaking out now?  Come to think of it, they’ve been outwardly supporting Obama all along, it is just that the MSM decided after the election to make it news.

Rush Limbaugh Talk About Post-Election Attacks On Governor Palin

Part One

The word is given

The word is “given”.

DHL to Halt Express Deliveries in the U.S

Deutsche Post’s U.S. division will also close its 18 main distribution hubs and lay off most of its workers in the country

Package delivery company DHL may have conquered the world, but it admitted on Nov. 10 that it couldn’t conquer the U.S. The unit of Germany’s Deutsche Post (DPWGN.DE) announced it will stop making express deliveries within the U.S., close all of its 18 main distribution hubs there, and lay off all but a few thousand of its remaining 13,000 U.S. workers.

Although DHL will continue to make deliveries to and from the U.S. and other countries, its withdrawal from the domestic express business is another setback for a blue chip German company in the world’s biggest market. Last year carmaker Daimler (DAI) sold its stake in Chrysler after it was unable to turn around the No. 3 American automaker.

DHL has lost nearly $10 billion in the U.S. in the five years since it purchased Airborne Express in an attempt to challenge FedEx (FDX) and United Parcel Service (UPS). Despite its dominance in the rest of the world, DHL was never able to take enough share from the two major carriers in their home market. The company’s decision to largely withdraw from the U.S. will push parent Deutsche Post to an estimated $1 billion loss for the full year as it books writedowns totaling $3.9 million to cover severance payments to workers and other restructuring.   More from BusinessWeek