Panel Petitions For 'Real' Religious Freedom In Morocco

By Benny Martinez - Talk Radio News Service

The Moroccan Constitution protects the freedom of opinion and expression, yet members of the Village of Hope, a Christian organization devoted to providing a caring community for orphaned children, pleaded with Congress Thursday to pursue action against religious discrimination in Morocco.

Herman Boonstra, founder of the Village of Hope, told the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission that he, along with many American foster couples, were deported from their Moroccan homes under the charge of proselytism, the act of attempting to convert others’ opinions or religions.

“We tried to negotiate, but to no avail,” Boonstra said. “[The governor of Ifrane] stated that we had violated the laws concerning proselytism, but who did we proselytize? That was not clearly stated.”

According to a statement released by Moroccan Ambassador to the United States Aziz Mekouar, “the repatriation measures which concerned a number of American citizens, solely and exclusively targeted proselytism activities which are clearly and categorically forbidden by the laws of Morocco and the precepts of Islam.”

The ambassador said that, given these concerns, there can be no mistake about the position of the Moroccan authorities in this case.

Boehner: Politicians Beware

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico / Talk Radio News Service

In light of Republican Senator Bob Bennett's failure to receive his party's support in Utah last Saturday and 14 term Democratic Representative Alan Mollohan's primaty loss in West Virginia Tuesday night, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters Wednesday that there is "a political rebellion going on in America.”

“Politicians beware,” Boehner said. “The American people are awake [and] they’re more involved in their government than anytime in our history.”

Boehner said that the American public is particularly upset and irritated by the “arrogance” of Washington and added that there will be similar political coups on the horizon unless, Boehner contends, Washington takes what Americans want into consideration.

“I think it’s critically important to listen to the American people and work with them to make the changes in the government here that the American people want,” Boehner said. "The sooner that happens the better."

BP President Concedes Responsibility, Says Company Will Respond To All 'Legitimate' Claims

By Benny Martinez – University of New Mexico / Talk Radio News Service

BP America Chairman and President Lamar McKay told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Tuesday that BP will take full responsibility for the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill that began on April 20th.

“Liability, blame, fault, put it over here,” McKay said. “We are the responsible party.”

As the country laments the death of 11 rig workers and the injury of 17 more, investigations remain ongoing in an effort to decipher what exactly went wrong.

“A full answer to those questions will have to await the joint investigation by the Departments of Homeland Security and Interior, Congress and an independent internal investigation that BP is conducting,” McKay said.

The biggest problem facing BP America is taking control of an oil well that continues to spew nearly 5,000 barrels of oil per day into the the Gulf of Mexico. Adding to the problem, an oil slick continues to threaten Gulf Coast states, adversely affecting the economy of the region.

A second attempt at capping the well using a containment system to funnel oil to ships 5,000 feet above is underway after an initial attempt failed. Biodegradable dispersants are being used to expedite the natural degradation process of oil and two relief wells are currently being drilled, a two to three week process, to permanently secure the spewing well.

Compensating Gulf Coast businesses and communities creates a more expensive challenge for BP to handle. According to McKay, BP is fully prepared to pay for the monetary damage resulting from the spill, even if that means exceeding a previously established $75 million liability cap.

“We are going to pay all legitimate claims,” the BP President said. “As to the $75 million, we think that we’re going to exceed that and that is irrelevant. We’re going to pay the claims and the entire resources of BP are behind this.”

Senate Democrats Replace Volcker Rule, Confront High Risk Propietary Trading

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico / Talk Radio News Service

Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) announced Monday that they have created an amendment that will replace the Volcker Rule, a provision proposed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker aimed at requiring banks to limit their riskier financial activities, in the Wall Street reform bill.

According to Merkley, the Volcker rule served as a place holder that asked regulators to conduct studies in search of problems in the financial market and would then provide Congress with suggestions on how to fix them, but the Senators’ new amendment would effectively eliminate high-risk proprietary trading, an element included in the language of the Volcker Rule and that lay at the heart of the financial meltdown.

“We are declaring as a Congress that high-risk proprietary trading is inappropriate to have in the same house as a bank holding company and then having the normal partnership with regulators to implement that direction, that direction being carve this off and remove it separately,” Merkley said.

The Democratic duo said that this bill has as many as 17 co-sponsors and is supported by Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and by the Department of Treasury. Despite the fact that the amendment does not have a single Republican co-sponsor, both Senators are riding the support of Chairman Dodd and said there will be a vote on the Senate floor soon.

“We clearly do expect that that will be the case based on the support of Senator Dodd,” Levin said. “We are confident that this will be voted on and we’re confident that it will have not just Senator Dodd’s support, but with that support, have an extremely good chance of passing.”

Skelton: We Caught Him, We Caught Him

By Benny Martinez
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) used just three words to describe how the United States has handled the Times Square bomb scare incident: "We caught him."

Skelton along with fellow Reps. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters on Thursday that he supports the administration's response to and handling of the capture of the alleged plotter, Faisal Shahzad.

Thompson said that under the Constitution, Shazhad, who according to Attorney General Eric Holder was mirandized sometime after his arrest, was a naturalized citizen and therefore entitled to have his rights read to him.

"Few have focused on the facts that we also stayed true to our cherished constitutional principles," Thompson said. "To those who seek to politicize this very serious terrorist incident by attacking Miranda, the Fifth Amendment and due process, I say shame on you."

The Congressmen all applauded the efforts of the citizens of New York, saying that every American plays a role in counter-terrorism.

When asked why Faisal Shahzad was not being monitored by intelligence agencies after flying to Pakistan, Reyes said, "We know that we can't keep every single person under surveillance, that's not what you do in a democracy."

"The totality of this case says we've got our stuff together," Reyes added. "We're able to confront these threats...[and] I think we all need to understand that we all have a role to play here."