Poll: Debate watchers say Obama wins

Fifty-eight percent of debate watchers questioned in the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll said Democrat Obama did the best job in the debate, with 31 percent saying Republican Sen. John McCain performed best.

McCain, Obama get tough, personal in final debate

John McCain repeatedly assailed Barack Obama's character and campaign positions on taxes, abortion and more Wednesday night, hoping to transform their final presidential debate into a launching pad for a political comeback. "You didn't tell the American people the truth," he charged.

Dow plunges 733 on new disheartening economic data

A board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the closing number for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008. Despair over the economy sent Wall Street plunging again Wednesday, propelling the Dow Jones Industrials down 733 points to their second-largest point loss ever. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The economy lurched deeper into the doldrums Wednesday and took the stock market down with it, sending the Dow Jones industrials to a staggering 733-point loss and erasing any hopes that the convulsions that have shaken Wall Street for a month were over.

US confronts possibility of long, deep recession

A homeless man sorts through his belongings on concrete banks of the Los Angeles River. The head of the San Francisco branch of the US Federal Reserve has said the country appears to be in a recession as the US government, for the first time since the Great Depression, took moves to partially nationalize major banks. (AFP/Getty Images/File/David Mcnew)

"In thinking about recessions, people will naturally think back to the last couple" in the early 1990s and in 2001, said Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto. "What they should be looking back at is further."

Israel's democratic facade erodes

A Palestinian home torched during the Acre riots. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Recent riots in the Israeli town of Acre have attracted unwanted attention towards its Arab residents, Palestinian citizens of Israel who make a third of the city's population. The disturbances began after Jewish extremists attacked a Palestinian man for driving during the religious holiday of Yom Kippur, when traffic in Israel largely comes to a halt. This was followed by an outbreak of violence during which Jewish mobs attacked the Palestinian neighborhood in Acre's old city, throwing stones and torching homes.

US taxpayers suffer from deployment of radar to Israel

At a cost of $89 million to taxpayers, the U.S. Senate, with no hesitation, recently passed a bill that was attached by Republican Senator Jon Kyl to the federal defense budget for the deployment of another sophisticated long-range radar system in Israel.

Muslim scientist wants review of security case

Feds say man lost job, security clearance because he was a threat

Abdel Moniem El-Ganayni, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, a civil rights group, sued the department earlier this year, saying he was wrongly fired for speaking out against U.S. foreign policy and the alleged mistreatment of Muslims by the FBI.

Budget deficit in 2008 surges to all-time high

The federal red ink rises to $454.8 billion as economic woes mount

The federal budget deficit soared to $454.8 billion in 2008 as a housing collapse and efforts to combat the economic slowdown pushed the tide of government red ink to the highest level in history.

Children of immigrants reshaping America

Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau paint a clear picture: By as early as 2023, more than half of all children will be members of what are now minority groups, an evolution fueled significantly by a baby boom among recent immigrants. By 2050, they will make up more than 60 percent of all American children.

Which means that Zionism in America is a dying phenomena... - Strange, only through immigrants can America regain her true American values...

Rights group condemns Saudi beheadings

Under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery can be executed. It has routinely been criticized by rights groups for its stand on capital punishment and for ignoring a U.N. call last year for a moratorium on executions.

Considering the nature of the crimes and the fact that the punishment for those convicted of such crimes is well known, I'm not sure why this is a story...

Haredi Jews bans women from Succot event

A haredi woman pushes a stroller in Jerusalem [file].

"The Talmud teaches that even in the time of Temple men and women were strictly separated and this was called 'the big tikkun.' I am happy that this year we will have this tikkun in Jerusalem."

Hmmm - women are required to cover their hair, wear loose fitting garments, cover their legs, separate themselves from men - sounds like another religion we've heard alot about lately...

"Will the IDF arrest Jews for eating during Ramadan?"

MK Ahmed Tibi.

"The Israel Police has caved in to Jewish hooligans," continued Tibi, adding, "I wonder if they will start to arrest Jews who eat and drink during the month of Ramadan." Taufik was arrested Monday evening following a police investigation. He is suspected of driving dangerously and insulting religion.

Jesse Jackson: "Zionists Control US, to Lose Clout Under Obama"

"Bush was so afraid of a snafu and of upsetting Israel that he gave the whole thing a miss," Jackson says. "Barack will change that," because, as long as the Palestinians haven't seen justice, the Middle East will "remain a source of danger to us all." "Barack is determined to repair our relations with the world of Islam and Muslims," Jackson says. "Thanks to his background and ecumenical approach, he knows how Muslims feel while remaining committed to his own faith."

I don't usually agree with Jackson, but in this case, I hope he's right...

Quiet political shifts in U.S. as more blacks are elected

State Representative Melanie Levesque, center, campaigning for re-election in Brookline, New Hampshire. Blacks make up less than 1 percent of the population in her district. (Cheryl Senter for The New York Times )

Political analysts say such electoral gains are quietly changing the political landscape, increasing the number of black lawmakers adept at crossing color lines as well as the ranks of white voters who are familiar, and increasingly comfortable, with black political leadership.

Muslim candidate for Irvine City Council gets death threat

Gallinger is not the first candidate in Orange County to be attacked for supporting the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Bill Dalati, a Muslim and moderate Republican who ran for Anaheim City Council in 2006, was denounced by former GOP state party Chairman Shawn Steel as anti-American and a "Manchurian candidate."

Islamic group condemns violence against Iraqi Christians

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on Tuesday joined the US in condemning deadly attacks against Christians in northern Iraq which have been blamed for the flight of over 1,000 families. OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihasanoglu said the violence in the northern city of Mosul was "unprecedented in the history of Iraq." He called upon the Iraqi authorities to "prosecute the culprits who are behind these acts to end the suffering of Christian brothers and provide them with protection."

White House memos endorsed CIA waterboarding

The Bush administration explicitly endorsed the use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods against al Qaeda suspects in a pair of secret memos to the CIA in 2003 and 2004, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

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Liquidating the Empire

With a recession of unknown depth and duration looming, why keep borrowing billions from rich Arabs to defend rich Europeans, or billions from China and Japan to hand out in Millennium Challenge Grants to Tanzania and Burkina Faso?

Daughter of former Mossad chief refuses to "fight for Israel"

Omer Goldman, daughter of a former Mossad chief, tells why she prefers jail to the military draft

“We were sitting by the roadside talking and soldiers came along and after a few seconds they received an order and fired gas grenades and rubber bullets at us. Then it struck me, to my astonishment, that the soldiers were following an order without thinking. For the first time in my life, an Israeli soldier raised his weapon and fired at me.”

Hindu Threat to Christians: Convert or Flee

A Christian in her burned home in the Indian state of Orissa. Villagers blamed Hindu militants

“ ‘Embrace Hinduism, and your house will not be demolished,’ ” Mr. Digal recalled being told on that Wednesday afternoon in September. “ ‘Otherwise, you will be killed, or you will be thrown out of the village.’ ”

Sex a hassle, says 105-year-old virgin Clara Meadmore

Clara Meadmore, who marked her birthday with a drop of wine at the Perran Bay nursing home in Cornwall, south-west England, also received a card from Queen Elizabeth II.

Ortho Jews "transfer sins" into chickens before slaughter

Yoni Aranoff, 13, with Myron Robinson, his grandfather, doing the kaparot ritual in Queens.

He immediately suspected People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has mounted a campaign against the practice over the past few years, even producing a 10-minute video of the practice in Brooklyn (one of the scenes shows the chickens being stuffed into orange traffic cones).

According to some rabbis, the kaparot custom may trace its origins to the destruction of the Holy Temple, when the high priest chose one of two goats on Yom Kippur through a lottery and designated it to absorb the sins of the people of Israel. Now, chickens and roosters are commonly used.

IMF warns that markets could collapse by another 20%

The world is on the brink of financial meltdown, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last night. His bleak warning came as finance ministers tried to calm the frenzy in markets that saw share prices crash by more than 20% last week.

Warning signs of an Israeli strike on Iran

Bush’s legacy would be best served by taking dramatic diplomatic action to prevent a war with Iran. He should publicly warn Israel that the United States will use its air power to prevent it bombing Iran, while announcing that he is sending Rice to Tehran to start negotiating a grand bargain whereby all sanctions would be lifted if Iran forgoes the nuclear weapons option.

McCain tussles with Palin over whipping up a mob mentality

McCain has become alarmed about the fury unleashed by Sarah Palin, the moose-hunting “pitbull in lipstick”, against Senator Barack Obama. Cries of “terrorist” and “kill him” have accompanied the tirades by the governor of Alaska against the Democratic nominee at Republican rallies.

Huffing and puffing to silence criticism of Israel

The world needs to hear from eminent statesmen such as Archbishop Tutu -- after a recent visit to Gaza, he called the humanitarian situation of 1.5 million Palestinian civilians trapped by the Israeli siege an "abomination." In addition, former United States President Jimmy Carter labeled it "one of the greatest human-rights crimes on Earth."

McCain in 'hatred' war of words

John Lewis accused Mr McCain's campaign of "sowing hatred" against opponent Barack Obama and said he was reminded of 1960s segregationist George Wallace.

No Women Allowed at major Jewish festival

Men to the left, women to the right. Meah Shearim (Photo: Haim Zach)

The last two years have also seen Meah Shearim's streets divided into men and women's galleries for the sake of chastity; but this year's festivities have been clouded by a demand made by the extreme groups within the neighborhood's community, such as the Sicarii, which demand women be kept out of the festival altogether.

Notice the link to the article "Saudi women must cover one eye." This "fatwa" which was completely ignored and not mentioned in any Arab, Muslim, or Middle Eastern media with the exception of Israel, is frankly, a fabrication. Placing the link next to this particular article is the Zionists transparent and unsuccessful effort draw the reader's attention away from Jewish "extremists" and place the focus on Islamic "extremists."

Israeli police point to Jewish "instigators" of Akko riots

Trying to mediate. Koren during the riots (Photo: Hagai Aharon)

The dominant elements behind the riots in Akko seem to be Jewish instigators, Northern District Police Commander, Major-General Shimon Koren, told Ynet on Sunday.

International Jewish network condemns Israel and Zionism

"We intend to contribute to a growing international voice that challenges Zionism and its claim to speak on behalf of Jews worldwide; Israel and the Zionist ideology upon which it was built does not speak for us, nor does it reflect our vision of a just and safe world," says IJAN organizer Sara Kershnar. "The movement against Zionist apartheid must be as uncompromising as was the movement against South African apartheid. Anti-Zionism is part not only of the movement against racism but also the movement against war. We are convinced that we speak to a great unexpressed, in fact censored sentiment of support for this perspective, including among Jewish people."

McCain and Palin Are Playing With Fire

What I find most unconscionable is the refusal of the McCain-Palin tandem to publicly condemn the cries of "traitor," "liar," "terrorist" and (worst of all) "kill him!" that could be heard at recent rallies. McCain is perfectly capable of telling hecklers off. But not once did he or his running mate bother to admonish the people yelling these obscene -- and potentially dangerous -- words. They may not have been able to hear the slurs at the rallies, but surely they have had ample time since to get on camera and warn that this sort of ugliness has no place in an election season. But they have not. Simply calling Obama "a decent person" is not enough.

North Korea coming off terror blacklist

South Korean protesters burn portraits of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during a rally against North Korea's nuclear programs in Seoul, South Korea Friday, Oct. 10, 2008. North Korea marked the anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party on Friday amid questions about leader Kim Jong Il's health and indications that Washington was close to convincing the North to resume dismantling its nuclear program. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

The act of striking North Korea from the list of countries said to be perpetrating terrorists acts could come as early as Saturday, now that Bush has approved it, say diplomats briefed on the initiatives pressing the North to abandon its atomic weapons program.

Amazing how differently states that HAVE nuclear weapons are treated...

Anti-Obama (anti-Arab) anger erupts at McCain events

Sen. John McCain greets supporters at a rally in La Crosse, Wis., on Friday.

A sense of grievance spilling into rage has gripped some GOP events as McCain supporters see his presidential campaign lag against Barack Obama. They're making it personal, against the Democrat. Shouts of "traitor," "terrorist," "treason," "liar," and even "off with his head" have rung from the crowd at McCain and Sarah Palin rallies, and gone unchallenged by them.

Something to note. The clip shown on TV is a woman voicing her distrust of Obama because she mistakenly believes he is "an Arab." McCain responds "no, no, he is a good man." Notice that McCain does not make the wider argument that being Arab does not automatically make one bad - he simply comments that Obama is not Arab, therefore Obama is not bad. For those who think America has made great progress when it comes to race relations, think again. The above exchange would indicate otherwise - at least when it comes to Arabs.

Ethics investigation finds Palin abused power

The investigative report concludes that a family grudge wasn't the sole reason Gov. Sarah Palin fired the public safety commissioner but says it likely was a contributing factor.

Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.

Stocks Lower After Day of Wild Swings

Between the start and the finish was a day in which the Dow Jones industrial average swung 1,000 points and a wild final hour in which the market moved from almost 400 points down to 300 points higher, only to close down 128 points or 1.4 percent.

Iran concerned about US acts of terror

"It is of great concern that many civilians are slain and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries are violated under the pretext of tracking down terrorists," Ishaq al-e-Habib told the UN session.

Up-State New York County issues ballots with "Barack Osama"

The absentee ballots sent to voters in Rensselaer County identified the two presidential candidates as "Barack Osama" and "John McCain." In the United States, the best-known individual named Osama is Osama bin Laden, leader of the al Qaida terrorist group behind the 2001 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City.

Putin: US image damaged forever over economy woes

"Trust in the United States as the leader of the free world and the free economy, and confidence in Wall Street as the center of that trust, has been damaged, I believe, forever," Putin said. "There will be no return to the previous situation."

US stocks swing sharply in early trading

A news ticker display the latest stock market news in Time Square, New York, Thursday Oct. 9, 2008. Stocks plunged in the final minutes of trading Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrials down more than 675 points, or more than 7 percent, to their lowest level in five years after a major credit ratings agency said it was considering cutting its rating on General Motors Corp. (AP Photos/Bebeto Matthews)

Stock prices swung sharply in early trading Friday as investors again dumped stocks but also scooped up shares that have been devastated by more than a week of intense and panicked selling. The Dow Jones industrials, down nearly 700 points in the opening minutes of trading, recovered to a loss of just over 125 and then headed lower again.

Global Markets Dive in Relentless Selloff

For almost 10 minutes on Friday, Wall Street seemed in a free-fall. The Dow Jones industrial average fell almost 700 points or about 8 percent in that time. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, declined almost 8 percent.

World Markets Plummets

Worldwide panic sparks sell-off

A man looks at a video display showing financial data in downtown Tokyo October 10, 2008. The Nikkei average tumbled 11 percent on Friday, leaving it facing its biggest one-day drop since the 1987 stock market crash on fears the financial crisis will lead to a global recession.(Yuriko Nakao/Reuters)

European stock markets slumped in early trading Friday following massive sell-offs on Wall Street and Asia as lending rates between banks continue to rise despite this week's efforts by central banks to break the logjam in credit markets.

In Reversal, Democrats Shelve Iran Resolution

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Banking Chairman Barney Frank. After realizing that H.Con.Res.362 could lead to war with Iran, Frank - a cosponsor - has vowed to oppose the bill until its aggressive language is changed. (Photo: AFP / Getty)

Falling from shoo-in status to widely rejected legislation within the space of four months, a resolution that would have opened the door for a naval blockade on Iran was officially shelved at the end of September, after several of its cosponsors withdrew their support.

What happened? Can't afford another war??

Moscow calls for anti-US alliance

Divide and rule … the Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, centre, and France's Nicolas Sarkozy leave their meeting in Evian. Photo: AFP

THE President of Russia has called on Europe's leaders to create a new world order that would minimise the role of the United States.

In Case You Missed This: Bin Laden: Goal is to bankrupt U.S.

The Arabic-language network Al-Jazeera released a full transcript Monday of the most recent videotape from Osama bin Laden in which the head of al Qaeda said his group's goal is to force America into bankruptcy.

Dow plunges more than 678 to fall below 9,000

Stocks plunged in the final minutes of trading Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrials down more than 675 points, or more than 7 percent, to their lowest level in five years after a major credit ratings agency said it was considering cutting its rating on General Motors Corp. The Standard & Poor's 500 index also fell more than 7 percent.

Stocks Plunge Again; Dow Under 9,000

The sell-off comes as investor confidence falls further, despite news that Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson may use his new bailout powers to buy stakes in banks to help ease the financial crisis. General Motors is facing a major downgrade.

Many US states can't meet employee payrolls

California is going to Washington, D.C., to ask for $7 billion to cover its budget shortfall. Otherwise it won't be able to pay for its teachers, cops, firemen, and other essential services. Unfortunately, California won't be alone. A number of other states are experiencing a huge dive in tax revenue and could be going cap in hand to Uncle Sam alarmingly soon. How bad could it get? The potential cost for all the 31 states facing both major and minor shortfalls could be as much as $53.4 billion.

Israeli Arab lawyer handcuffed-pants forcefully removed by Israeli airport security

Dukhi was flying from Tel Aviv to Eilat on Monday to provide legal assistance to Sudanese refugees working in hotels in the southern city when security officials at the Sde Dov airport asked him to remove his pants after a hand-held metal detector beeped when it was waved over them. When he said he would rather leave the airport, the officials called the police, who informed Dukhi he was under arrest, handcuffed him, and removed his pants to complete the search.

Christian-Hindu "holy war" strikes India

35 Christians killed and 50,000 forced from their homes by Hindu mobs enraged at Swami's murder

Holding her daughter close, she told how a baying Hindu mob dragged her husband – a Christian pastor – from his bed, beat him to death with stones and iron rods and then threw him into a river. She found his corpse two days later, washed up on the bank. When she went to the police, they told her to go away.

Inside Dubai's labour camp (15 pictures)

A hidden army of exploited immigrant workers are building Dubai's skyscrapers. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad visited the labour camps they inhabit to capture their lives.

US debt clock runs out of digits

Until last month, the clock had enough digits to measure US debt levels

The US government's debts have ballooned so badly the National Debt Clock in New York has run out of digits to record the spiralling figure.