While Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn is still convinced there’s Al-Qaeda members in Lebanon under the guise of Syrian opposition activitists, a central security council’s meeting was requested by President Michel Suleiman few days ago whereas most parties concerned asserted that Al-Qaeda is not present in Lebanon. Prime Minister Najib Mikati had denied […]
أثار موضوع بيع الأراضي لغير المسيحيين بمساحات شاسعة في المناطق ذات الطابع المسيحي حفيظة الرابطة المارونية التي ستجتمع في 11 المقبل لمناقشة هذا الأمر، بعد أن وضعت المعلومات المتوفرة لديها عن قضية بيع أرض في منطقة الدلهمية بمئات ألوف الأمتار في عهدة البطريرك الماروني مار بشارة بطرس الراعي، كما أعلن عضو المجلس التنفيذي […]
After emphasizing during his Christmas letter that "it is the state’s duty alone to ensure the security of citizens and peace throughout the country, to gather up all arms and to place them under the sole control of Lebanon’s legitimate forces, so that Beirut and the whole of Lebanon be freed of arms”, […]
Chritmas tree at Bkerke. Nativity cavern at Bkerke courtyard You can watch the video of the Patriarch Mar Bechara el Rai lighting up the Christmas tree [Here].
According to a transcript posted on the “60 Minutes” website, Obama said he would hold his accomplishments so far as president against those of Lyndon B. Johnson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
“I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president — with the possible exceptions of Johnson, F.D.R., and Lincoln — just in terms of what we’ve gotten done in modern history,” Obama told CBS’s Steve Kroft.
Watch the interview below.
In Response to the statement of President Obama – SuperPAC "American Crossroads" release an Ad on ranking & opinion to the fourth President in American History – Watch the video 🙂
Jeffrey H. Anderson is a former professor of American government and political philosophy at the U.S. Air Force Academy and the director of the Benjamin Rush Society.
In his State of the Union address tonight, President Obama will reportedly issue a call for "responsible" efforts to reduce deficits (while simultaneously calling for new federal spending). In light of the President’s expected rhetorical nod to fiscal responsibility, it’s worth keeping in mind his record on deficits to date. When President Obama took office two years ago, the national debt stood at $10.626 trillion. It now stands at $14.071 trillion — a staggering increase of $3.445 trillion in just 735 days (about $5 billion a day).
To put that into perspective, when President George W. Bush took office, our national debt was $5.768 trillion. By the time Bush left office, it had nearly doubled, to $10.626 trillion. So Bush’s record on deficit spending was not good at all: During his presidency, the national debt rose by an average of $607 billion a year. How does that compare to Obama? During Obama’s presidency to date, the national debt has risen by an average of $1.723 trillion a year — or by a jaw-dropping $1.116 trillion more, per year, than it rose even under Bush.
In fairness, however, Obama can’t rightly be held accountable for the 2009 budget, which he didn’t sign (although he did sign a $410 billion pork-laden omnibus spending bill for that year, which is nevertheless tallied in Bush’s column). Rather, Obama’s record to date should really be based on actual and projected spending in fiscal years 2010 and 2011 (plus the $265 billion portion of the economic "stimulus" package, which he initiated and signed, that was spent in 2009 (Table S-10), while Bush’s should be based on 2002-09 (with the exception of that same $265 billion, which was in no way part of the 2009 budgetary process).
في عيد الميلاد نجدد إيماننا بما رأينا وسمعنا. لقد رأينا النور الحقيقي مشرقا في مغارة بيت لحم، وسمعنا كلمة الله الآتي من عند الآب، كلمة الحق والمعرفة. لذلك نرتل في طروبارية العيد: "ميلادك أيها المسيح إلهنا قد أظهر نور المعرفة في العالم". لم نعد بعد في حيرة الشك وظلمة الجهل. لذلك نرتل فرحين: […]
by Steve Hamm, Every year IBM predicts the future of technology via the IBM 5 in 5 initiative–our forecast of five innovations that will help transform aspects of modern life, making the planet smarter, within the next five years. We assess not just the availability of a new technology but also the likelihood of its large-scale adoption.
This year’s predictions:
· People power will come to life
· You will never need a password again
· Mind reading is no longer science fiction
· The digital divide will cease to exist
· Junk mail will become priority mail
Click here to vote on the coolest prediction.
Making this kind of prediction is difficult. (In fact, to me, sadly, the one about eliminating the digital divide seems impossible.) So, every year, IBM researchers stick out their necks. Which is risky. “A lot of people wait for things to happen. It’s rare than an organization says: this is a big change, and it’s coming,” says IBM Fellow Bernard Meyerson.
Forecasting Innovation
Technology moves so fast it can be difficult to separate science fiction from fact, much less discern which game-changing breakthroughs are over the horizon. As the IT industry’s leading innovator, IBM has the track record and pedigree to credibly predict the emerging innovations that could change how people work, live and play. This week, IBM revealed the next 5 in 5 — an annual forecast of future technology trends — which The New York Times, Washington Post and other global news outlets quickly endorsed as a collection of important ideas worth watching.
IBM’s Viewpoint:
Here’s a summary of IBM’s 5 in 5 predictions to help you add to the conversation.
— People power will come to life: Advances in renewable energy technology will allow individuals and scientists to collect energy from many common things that move, and use it to help power our homes, workplaces and cities. http://ibm.co/uusi0t
— You will not need a password: Each person’s unique biometric data such as facial definitions, retinal scans and voice files will be combined through software to build a DNA-unique online password. http://ibm.co/vElhJs
— Mind reading is no longer science fiction: Scientists are researching how to link your brain to your devices, such as a computer or a smartphone, so you just need to think about calling someone and it will happen. http://ibm.co/vieXaD
— The digital divide will cease to exist: The gap between information haves and have-nots will narrow considerably due to advances in mobile technology that enable access to essential information and deliver better services such as mobile commerce and remote healthcare. http://ibm.co/v90z8K
— Junk mail will become priority mail: Unsolicited advertisements may soon feel so personalized and relevant that spam will seem dead and gone. Computers will make sense of data and look up new information for individuals without even being asked. http://ibm.co/vArghS
By Hussein Dakroub –
BEIRUT: A radically new election law endorsed by Maronite leaders that would allow each sect to choose its own representatives during the 2013 parliamentary elections has come under fire from officials across the political divide, with some warning that it would deepen sectarianism in the country.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said he will comment at the “appropriate time” on the agreement reached Friday by Christian leaders from the rival camps of March 8 and March 14 on a proposal adopted by the newly established Orthodox Gathering.
But two MPs from Hariri’s parliamentary Future bloc have harshly criticized the Bkirki agreement.
“I have been repeating two matters for years. First, Lebanon cannot exist without an effective role for its Christian citizens. Second, I reject that sects adopt [political] attitudes because this will be the beginning of the end to a united Lebanon,” Beirut MP Mohammad Qabbani said in a statement Sunday.
“Therefore, I consider the proposal for sects to elect their MPs as a mass suicide of Lebanon’s people and a consecration of the federation of sects which will eventually lead to the partitioning of the country into geographically sectarian cantons,” he added.
Qabbani said that the Orthodox Gathering’s proposal could be discussed only after the implementation of a provision in the 1989 Arab-brokered Taif Accord which called for the establishment of two parliaments: A non-sectarian Parliament and a Senate that elects its members along sectarian lines.
The current 128-member Parliament is equally divided by Muslims and Christians.
Beirut MP Nuhad Mashnouq said the agreement announced at Bkirki is “not reassuring.”
The President of the Lebanese Republic Michel Sleiman has dispatched a letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy vowing to capture the criminals behind the bomb attempt against French UN soldiers. Sleiman vowed to end all terrorist attacks against UN troops and portrayed them as a threat to Lebanon’s security.