Barack Obama Fights Presidential Eligibility Claims
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama is being forced to repel a series of writs challenging his presidential eligibility, as conspiracy theories claiming he is not an American citizen refuse to go away.

Photo of President Barack Hussein Obama courtesy of The Telegraph
The most common allegation lawyers are having to refute is that a certificate of Mr Obama's birth in Hawaii is false, leading accusers to conclude that he was born outside the country and is therefore disqualified to fill the highest office in the land.

Other challengers have contended that his Kenyan father was British, even though that would not exclude him from occupying the White House.

Both claims are untrue. Officials in Hawaii said they had viewed Mr Obama's original certificate and confirmed it stated he was born in Honolulu on Aug 4, 1961. A certified version of the certificate released by his campaign last summer when the theory began circulating showed the same. Birth notices in Hawaii papers record a birth to his mother and father on the same day.

But that has not stopped the theorists, who have been dubbed "the Birthers" and who see Mr Obama as a fifth columnist. Their accusations are often tinged with racism and antipathy to Islam, the religion of his father. During his campaigns Mr Obama faced an online rumour mill that he was a Muslim, though he has worshipped at a Christian church for 20 years.

The conservative website WorldNet Daily claims to have received 300,000 signatures for an online petition challenging Mr Obama's legitimacy.

Orly Taitz, a California dentist and lawyer, who was herself born overseas, is representing soldiers challenging Mr Obama's right to be president, including retired Maj Gen Carroll Childers, who compared the Democrat to "Hitler, Stalin, Saddam, Mao, and Kim Jong Il".

"He is an interloper, a usurper, a fake, a scam artist, a Chicago crook, a recipient of bribes and gratuitous income for which he paid no tax, a socialist (perhaps only a communist or Marxist), and a grave danger to the future of the America that I love and have protected since I was 17 years old," Maj Gen Childers wrote in a statement on the website for Ms Taitz's Defend Our Freedoms Foundation. The rumour got closest to the mainstream when Richard Shelby, an Alabama senator, gave it credibility during a recent meeting with constituents.

Asked for his views on the notion, the Cullman Times, an Alabama paper, quoted Mr Shelby as saying: "Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any birth certificate. You have to be born in America to be president." >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Monday, March 2, 2009

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Speech Lifts Obama But Stocks Fall Yet Again
TIMES ONLINE: The voters loved it. The pundits gushed. Even the pollsters were impressed.

But economic reality soon intruded to burst the bubble around Barack Obama's address to Congress last night in which he promised America that it would emerge "stronger than before" from the economic slump.

Wall Street stocks plunged again at the opening bell this morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing almost 2 per cent in value as investors ignored Mr Obama's soaring rhetoric and lamented a lack of detail in his economic recover plans. Official data showing an unexpected drop in the number of home sales did nothing to reassure them. >>> Philippe Naughton, and Tim Reid in Washington | Wednesday, February 25, 2009

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Asma Gull Hasan: My Muslim President Obama
FORBES: Why members of the Islamic faith see him as one of the flock.

I know President Obama is not Muslim, but I am tempted nevertheless to think that he is, as are most Muslims I know. In a very unscientific oral poll, ranging from family members to Muslim acquaintances, many of us feel, just as African-Americans did for the non-black but culturally leaning African-American President Bill Clinton, that we have our first American Muslim president in Barack Hussein Obama.

I know it's odd to say this. At first, I thought I was the only Muslim engaging in this folly, and I am reluctant to express it lest right-wing zealots try to use "Muslim" as a smear and cite my theory as proof of an Islamic traitor in the White House or some such nonsense. But, since Election Day, I have been part of more and more conversations with Muslims in which it was either offhandedly agreed that Obama is Muslim or enthusiastically blurted out. In commenting on our new president, "I have to support my fellow Muslim brother," would slip out of my mouth before I had a chance to think twice.

"Well, I know he's not really Muslim," I would quickly add. But if the person I was talking to was Muslim, they would say, "yes he is." They would cite his open nature and habit of reaching out to critics, reminiscent of the Prophet Muhammad's own approach, and also Obama's middle name, Hussein. Most of the Muslims I know (me included) can't seem to accept that Obama is not Muslim.

Of the few Muslims I polled who said that Obama is not Muslim, even they conceded that he had ties to Islam. These realists said that, although not an avowed and practicing Muslim, Obama's exposure to Islam at a young age (both through his father and his stint in Indonesia) has given him a Muslim sensibility. In my book, that makes you a Muslim--maybe not a card-carrying one, but part of the flock for sure. One realist Muslim ventured that Obama worships at a Unitarian Church because it represents the middle ground between Christianity and Islam, incorporating the religious beliefs of the two faiths Obama feels connected to. Unitarianism could be Obama's way of still being a Muslim. (And let's not forget that the church Obama worshiped at for so many years had a minister who reminds most Muslims of their own raving, excitable ministers. Even if Obama really is Christian, he picked the most Muslim-esque minister out of the bunch to guide him.)

The rationalistic, Western side of me knows that Obama has denied being Muslim, that his father was non-practicing, that he doesn't attend a mosque. Many Muslims simply say back, "my father's not a strict Muslim either, and I haven't been to a mosque in years." Obama even told The New York Times he could recite the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, which the vast majority of Muslims, I would guess, do not know well enough to recite. >>> Asma Gull Hasan | Wednesday, February 25, 2009

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Obama's Attorney General Plays the ‘Race Card’ – in Reverse!
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama's attorney general Eric Holder has branded the United States a "nation of cowards" who are "voluntarily socially segregated" along race lines.

Mr Holder, the first African American to hold the post of top justice official, said that although the US was integrated in the workplace, its people spent their weekends and private lives in "race-protected cocoons".

"Saturdays and Sundays, America in the year 2009 does not in some ways differ significantly from the country that existed almost 50 years ago. This is truly sad," said Mr Holder

Speaking to members of his department to mark Black History Month, an annual national celebration of African American achievement, he added: "Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot in things racial, we have always been, and we, I believe, continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," he added.

His comments took some of the sheen off the celebratory mood America has felt since electing its first black president in November.
But Mr Holder was echoing a plea President Barack Obama made to the nation during his campaign last year to break a "racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years".

The president, the son of Kenyan and a white Kansan, has described himself as "post-racial", but Mr Holder clearly thought the nation has a long way to go before it meets that goal.

Mr Holder, 57, who was born in New York to parents hailing from Barbados, cited the president's words and urged his colleagues to loosen their inhibitions about discussing race. Obama's Attorney General Claims US Is 'Voluntarily Segregated' >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Thursday, February 19, 2009

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Obama Disses Brits, Will Media Miss?
NEWSBUSTERS: Barack Obama loves Lincoln. It seems not a day goes by that he isn't quoting the Civil War icon or comparing himself to that great man. But it looks like we are finding one great leader that Barack Obama doesn't like so much: Winston Churchill.

It appears that President Obama is dissing the Brit's most famous and stalwart leader by quickly returning the most famous bust of the man loaned to this country by the United Kingdom in the aftermath of 9//11. The return of the bust of Churchill flustered the British government because they didn't ask for it to be returned. Our best ally was nonplussed and even quickly told Obama he could keep it in the Oval Office where Bush had displayed the piece of art. Obama told them no thanks which made the Brits even more amazed.

So, Barack Obama, the man that would "fix" our "bad image" with the rest of the world, we were told by the media, has just dissed Churchill after only a month in office? And, according to one of the only stories I can find on this incident, the British government has been made nervous about the relationship between England and the U.S. because of the casual return of their generously loaned Churchill bust. >>> By Warner Todd Huston | Sunday, February 15, 2009

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Is Obama’s Magic Unravelling? Running the Most Powerful Country on Earth Calls for More Than Sweet Words!
Photo of President Barack Hussein Obama courtesy of The Times
TIMES ONLINE: President Obama suffered a severe blow last night when his second nominee for Commerce Secretary abruptly withdrew from consideration, this time citing insurmountable conflict over the new Administration’s massive economic stimulus plan.

Judd Gregg, a Republican who was picked by Mr Obama after his first choice for Commerce Secretary withdrew because of an ethics investigation, further dashed hopes of a new era of bipartisanship when he declared that he no longer wanted to serve the new Aadministration.

“It has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package . . . there are irresolvable conflicts for me,” Mr Gregg said. Later, at a press conference, he expressed what appeared to be sincere admiration for Mr Obama, but said that joining his Administration was “a bridge too far for me”. President Barack Obama Loses Commerce Secretary Judd Gregg >>> Tim Reid in Washington | Friday, February 13, 2009

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Barack Obama Is a Novice - and It Shows
President Barack Hussein “I Won” Obama. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
After a rocky start, the new President knows he has to seize back the political agenda, says Toby Harnden.

During last year's epic election campaign, Hillary Clinton said that in the White House "there is no time for on-the-job training". Joe Biden, too, remarked that the presidency was "not something that lends itself to on-the-job training". Both were aiming barbs at their then primary opponent. Mrs Clinton has since brought what she would refer to as her "lifetime of experience" to the role of Secretary of State, while Mr Biden has traded 36 years in the Senate for the vice-presidency. And the rookie they derided is President.

Now, the words of his former rivals are returning to haunt President Obama. After a distinctly rocky start to his presidency, he has admitted he "screwed up" and is returning to one thing in his political career that he has perfected – campaigning. In Elkhart, Indiana, today and Fort Myers, Florida, tomorrow, Mr Obama will try to seize back control of the political agenda with question-and-answer sessions with voters in two of the swing states that gave him victory.

Already, however, he is struggling, and the product he is now selling is not himself but a near-trillion-dollar economic "stimulus" package loaded with pet Democratic spending projects that has awakened slumbering Republicans in Congress and is now supported by barely a third of Americans. In between the Indiana and Florida stops, he will return to the White House for a prime-time press conference in which he will appeal directly to citizens and seek to rekindle the magic of his campaign. >>> By Toby Harnden | Sunday, February 8, 2009

CANADA FREE PRESS: Obama’s State of the Union: He Won, America Lost!

Would someone please explain to President Obama that being president and commander-in-chief of the greatest nation on earth is NOT quite the same as midnight basketball or a game of HORSE?

In basketball, one can push, shove and elbow the opposition out of the way in order to achieve one’s objective. A dominant center needs to get along with just four teammates, but has no need to compromise or work with opponents.

By way of contrast, running the United States of America involves shared responsibility and authority with two co-equal branches of government. At stake are the lives and well being of 300 million Americans and billions of non-Americans all across the globe.

President Obama has put in nearly three weeks of harrowing incompetence, aggravated by insufferable arrogance. On at least two occasions, the novice president has reminded those who do not agree with him that “I won.” >>> By John Lillpop | Monday, February 9, 2009

Watch BBC video: Barack Obama: 'The situation we face could not be more serious' >>>
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Tony Blair in Submission to God at Obama’s Prayer Breakfast
Have no fear, guys! God loves you both! God always loves the smuggest of His creatures! Obama and Tone in a God-love-fest at the National Prayer Breakfast. Photo courtesy of the Mail Online
MAIL Online: Tony Blair famously 'didn't do God' during his decade in Downing Street, fearing he would be viewed as a religious fanatic.

But the former Prime Minister lectured the world yesterday on the need to put faith at the heart of global affairs.

In an impassioned 'sermon' in the U.S. he made no fewer than 31 mentions of God, and declared: 'In surrendering to God we become instruments of his love'. Blair Hails 'God's Love' in Extraordinary Speech as He Stands Alongside Obama at Prayer Breakfast >>> By Michael Lea | Friday, February 6, 2009

TED IDEAS WORTH SPREADING: "An Atheist's Call To Arms" - Richard Dawkins



Hat tip: European Alliance for Rational Thought >>>

YOUTUBE: God Bless Atheism!


YOUTUBE: The Rise of Atheism in America



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Obama Talks God at National Prayer Breakfast
Watch ABC video: Obama: “Faith should not divide us” >>>
ABC NEWS: At the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel this morning, President Obama spoke about the discovery of his own faith and went into his religious heritage in more detail than he generally did on the campaign trail.

“I was not raised in a particularly religious household," the president said. "I had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents who were non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who was skeptical of organized religion.”

The president described how he found faith while working as a community organizer in the south side of Chicago and how it grew to be an important part of his life.

“I know this breakfast has a long history in Washington," the president said at the annual event, held the first Thursday in February since 1953. "Faith has always been a guiding force in our family’s life, so we feel very much at home and look forward to keeping this tradition alive during our time here.”

Mr. Obama said that in history, faith has too often been wielded as a tool to divide, or as an excuse for prejudice or intolerance. “There is no doubt that the very nature of faith means that some of our beliefs will never be the same. We read from different texts. We follow different edicts. We subscribe to different accounts of how we came to be here and where we’re going next –- and some subscribe to no faith at all," he said, making a nod to atheism that was unusual for the setting.

"But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate," he said, perhaps a wishful notion more than a factual one, given religious fanaticism seen from Topeka to Riyadh. >>> Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller | Thursday, February 5, 2009

PR NEWS WIRE: CAIR Welcomes President's Islamic Reference at Prayer Breakfast

WASHINGTON -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today welcomed President Barack Obama's use of a quote from Islam's Prophet Muhammad in his remarks at Thursday's National Prayer Breakfast.

In his prepared remarks, President Obama quoted the prophetic tradition, or "hadith," which states: "None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.*" That hadith may be found in Sahih Al-Bukhari, one of the most respected collections of the Prophet Muhammad's statements and actions. >>> | Thursday, February 5, 2009

*Yes, but did you notice what the Hadith states: “None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself. “His brother”, here, meaning his brother in Islam. So who are you trying to kid, Obama? – ©Mark

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Obama Misunderstands the Global Jihad
HUMAN EVENTS: “My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy.” So said Barack Obama in his first interview as President, which, in a highly significant symbolic move, he gave to the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya network.

For the new president, it amounted to little better than a preemptive surrender to jihadist ideology.

Obama emphasized what he perceived as a break with the past in relaying the instructions he gave to his personal envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell: “What I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating -- in the past on some of these issues -- and we don’t always know all the factors that are involved.”

Yet Obama himself has not thus far demonstrated any awareness of -- to take just one of many available examples -- the fact that one of the foremost Islamic groups in the world, the Muslim Brotherhood, is dedicated in its own words to “a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion” -- Islam -- “is made victorious over all other religions.”

Does Obama think this imperative was caused by the United States being dictatorial and ignorant? Does he believe it will be turned aside by some judicious listening by George Mitchell? Will Obama himself listen to anyone who will tell him about the deep roots that jihadist aggression and Islamic supremacism have within Islamic theology, law, and history? Or will he continue to assume that the conflict between the Islamic world and the West is all the West’s fault?

Blaming the West looks more likely at this point, given the moral equivalence he indulged in during the interview, when of the Israel/Palestinian conflict he declared: “I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people. And that instead, it’s time to return to the negotiating table.” >>> By Robert Spencer | Wednesday, February 4, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: CIA Warns Barack Obama that British Terrorists Are the Biggest Threat to the US

Barack Obama has been warned by the CIA that British Islamist extremists are the greatest threat to US homeland security.

American spy chiefs have told the President that the CIA has launched a vast spying operation in the UK to prevent a repeat of the 9/11 attacks being launched from Britain.

They believe that a British-born Pakistani extremist entering the US under the visa waiver programme is the most likely source of another terrorist spectacular on American soil.

Intelligence briefings for Mr Obama have detailed a dramatic escalation in American espionage in Britain, where the CIA has recruited record numbers of informants in the Pakistani community to monitor the 2,000 terrorist suspects identified by MI5, the British security service.

A British intelligence source revealed that a staggering four out of 10 CIA operations designed to thwart direct attacks on the US are now conducted against targets in Britain. >>> By Tim Shipman in Washington | Saturday, February 7, 2009

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Obama Continues to Show His Greenhorn Credentials!
YAHOO! NEWS: WASHINGTON – When talking about terrorism — words matter, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.

Asked in a television interview why he hasn't used the oft-repeated "war on terror" phrase coined by the Bush administration, Obama said he believes the U.S. can win over moderate Muslims if he chooses his words carefully.

"Words matter in this situation because one of the ways we're going to win this struggle is through the battle of hearts and minds," Obama said in an interview with CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."

The Associated Press reported Saturday that Obama has used the catch phrase just once, in contrast to its repeated use by the Bush administration in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Instead, Obama has spoken broadly of the "enduring struggle against terrorism and extremism" and pledged to "go after" extremists and "win this fight."

"I think it is very important for us to recognize that we have a battle or a war against some terrorist organizations," Obama said Tuesday. "But that those organizations aren't representative of a broader Arab community, Muslim community." Obama: US Choosing Words Carefully in Terror War >>> By Lolita C Baldor, Associated Press Writer | Associated Press | Tuesday, Februar 3, 2009

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Obama Predicts More Bank Failures
BBC: US President Barack Obama has warned that more US banks are likely to fail, as the full extent of their losses in the economic crisis becomes clear.

Speaking to NBC News, Mr Obama said "some banks won't make it" but stressed that people's deposits would be safe.

He has asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to draw up guidelines for banks receiving taxpayers' money.

Meanwhile, he warned of a "difficult next few days" as the Senate begins to debate his $800bn (£567bn) rescue plan. >>> | Monday, February 2, 2009

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Obama Says US Can Work with Muslims: OIC
KHALEEJ TIMES ONLINE: RIYADH - President Barack Obama told the Organisation of Islamic Conference that he has full confidence that the United States can work together with the world's largest grouping of Muslims, the OIC said on Sunday.

In a letter to OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihasanoglu, Obama said he would work to improve relations with the group, the Jeddah-based organisation said in a statement.

It did not release the text of the letter.

Obama also thanked the OIC, which represents 1.5 billion Muslims in 57 countries, for its congratulations on the occasion of his inauguration on January 20, the organisation said.

In an open letter published in major US newspapers on January 21, the OIC urged Obama to work for a "shared" peace in the world rather than one that is "imposed."

"We warmly welcome your expressed desire to give a major address in a Muslim nation soon after you assume the presidency and hope it will mark the beginning of a more fruitful and better-informed dialogue between the West and the Muslim world," the OIC said at the time.

"We firmly believe that America, with your guidance, can help foster that peace, though real peace can only be shared -- never imposed. A nation can either be great or feared, but rarely both at the same time." [Source: KTO] AFP | Sunday, February 1, 2009

Hat tip: Jihad Watch >>>

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Barack Obama Tells Muslims 'Americans Are Not Your Enemy'
THE TELEGRAPH: US President Barack Obama has told the Muslim world that "Americans are not your enemy" and renewed his pledge to travel to make an address in the capital of a major Muslim nation.


Mr Obama noted that he had lived in Indonesia for several years while growing up, and said his travels through Muslim nations had convinced him that regardless of faith, people had certain common hopes and dreams.

"My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy - we sometimes make mistakes - we have not been perfect," Mr Obama said in an interview with the Al-Arabiya satellite television network.

"But if you look at the track record ... America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that."

During the 2008 election campaign, Mr Obama vowed to improve US ties with the Muslim world and said he would travel to a major Islamic forum abroad to send that message. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Tuesday, January 27, 2009

AL ARABIYA:
Obama’s Interview with Al Arabiya – Transcript

BERLINER ZEITUNG: Obama will muslimische Welt als Partner gewinnen

Washington - In seinem ersten Interview nach seiner Amtsübernahme hat sich US-Präsident Barack Obama an die muslimische Welt gewandt und eine «neue Partnerschaft in gegenseitigem Respekt» in Aussicht gestellt.

Er wolle kommunizieren, «dass die Amerikaner nicht Ihre Feinde sind», sagte Obama dem arabischsprachigen Sender Al-Arabija. Das Interview wurde kurz nach der Entsendung von Obamas Nahost-Beauftragten George Mitchell in die Nahost-Krisenregion aufgezeichnet und in Auszügen von US-Medien veröffentlicht. Mitchell wird unter anderem mit der israelischen und der palästinensischen Führung zusammentreffen. >>> © dpa | Dienstag, 27. Januar 2009

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After Less Than a Week in Office, Barack Obama's Approval Rating Plunges 15 Points
MAIL Online: Barack Obama might have been in office for less than a week, but the euphoria is beginning to wane.

The new President's approval ratings have fallen from a stratospheric 83 per cent to a more modest - although still impressive - 68 per cent.

Washington analysts said the scale of the drop in the Gallup poll underlines the immense challenges Mr Obama faces in trying to turn round the U.S.'s battered fortunes.

He still remains vastly more popular than his predecessor George Bush - who left office with around 25 per cent approval.

But there were signs yesterday that reality has set in following the wave of optimism surrounding his inauguration last Tuesday. >>> By David Gardner | Sunday, January 25, 2009

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Letter to the President From the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, USA
Read the letter here >>> Written by Zinda M. Bajwa, National Secretary Public Affairs, Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, USA | Saturday, January 24, 2009
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