In the news...

First up today - Joel Rosenberg weighs in regarding recent decisions the White House has been making on the Iranian situation:

White House Makes 2 New Mistakes On Iran

The White House has made two new and serious mistakes on Iran in recent days:

1. The Obama administration has just canceled joint military exercises with the Israelis.
2. The Obama administration has both denied killing a top-ranking Iranian nuclear scientist and condemned the scientist’s assassination.

Given that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Iran could have the Bomb by the end of 2012, the U.S. should intensifying pressure on the evil regime in Tehran. This would include dramatically escalating covert ops inside Iran, and making preparations for possible air strikes if there are no other alternatives to neutralizing the Iran threat.

Instead, the senior team at the White House just blinked — twice — showing weakness instead of resolve.

They have also made it more likely, not less, that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu may conclude this year that he has no other choice but to launch a massive first strike against Iran.

Meanwhile, “Israeli Cabinet Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Sunday he was disappointed that the U.S. has not expanded sanctions to further damage Iran’s central bank and its energy industry. He also suggested that the Obama administration hasn’t been as forceful as Britain and France in imposing sanctions. ‘In the United States, the Senate passed a resolution, by a majority of 100-to-1, to impose these sanctions, and in the U.S. administration there is hesitation for fear of oil prices rising this year, out of election-year considerations,’ Ya’alon told Israel Radio, according to Haaretz newspaper. ‘In that regard, this is certainly a disappointment, for now.’”

Russia Says Western Strike On Iran Would Be 'Catastrophe'

A Western military strike on Iran would be a 'catastrophe' that would aggravate dangerous divisions already present in the Muslim world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

"I have no doubt that it would pour fuel on a fire which is already smouldering, the hidden smouldering fire of Sunni-Shi'ite confrontation, and beyond that (it would cause) a chain reaction -- I don't know where it would stop," he said.

Report: Iran Planning Attacks On U.S. Targets In Turkey

The Turkish newspaper Zaman reported Tuesday that Turkish intelligence has warned that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is planning attacks on the American embassy and American consulates throughout the country.

According to the report, Turkey’s security forces have warned police in all 81 districts throughout the country, telling them to remain alert and vigilant.

Iran Warns Saudis, Europeans Over Oil

Saudi Arabia’s bid to compensate an oil shortage that might emerge upon an embargo on Iran is ‘unfriendly’, the Islamic republic warns its neighbor. As global oil prices climb, Europe will lose big if it obeys US sanctions, Iran also says

As the crude prices keep on climbing tensions between Iran and the United States, the Islamic republic harshly warned Saudi Arabia yesterday before it claimed that a possible oil embargo would mean a “suicide” for Europe.

Implementing an embargo on Iranian oil would be economic suicide for the European Union, said Mohammad Ali Khatibi, Iran’s OPEC Governor. Such a decision will cause “deep crisis” in Europe, he said, according to Mehr news agency.

“We invite Saudi officials to further reflect and consider” their offer to compensate for curbed Iranian oil exports, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in an interview with Iran’s Arabic language broadcaster Al-Alam.

Huge ID Project Offers Multitude Of Challenges

The Indian Government is dedicated to giving each of its citizens a unique, 12-digit number under a scheme called Aadhaar, or Foundation. By the time it is completed it will be 10 times bigger than the world's current largest biometric database. Some estimates say it will cost a total of $36 billion.

The reasoning behind the scheme is simple: officials believe giving citizens such a number will make the provision and distribution of services more efficient and help to reduce the corruption that infects Indian society. It will probably also be used to help to control and monitor illegal immigration.

"We have enrolled 110 million people, we have issued 60 million numbers. By March we will have enrolled 200 million but 600 million is the goal by 2014."

Microchips And Biometric Identity Systems

IBM is aggressively developing new biometric identity systems that could significantly change the way that we live our lives. The following is from arecent IBM press release....

You will no longer need to create, track or remember multiple passwords for various log-ins. Imagine you will be able to walk up to an ATM machine to securely withdraw money by simply speaking your name or looking into a tiny sensor that can recognize the unique patterns in the retina of your eye. Or by doing the same, you can check your account balance on your mobile phone or tablet.

Each person has a unique biological identity and behind all that is data. Biometric data – facial definitions, retinal scans and voice files – will be composited through software to build your DNA unique online password.

Referred to as multi-factor biometrics, smarter systems will be able to use this information in real-time to make sure whenever someone is attempting to access your information, it matches your unique biometric profile and the attempt is authorized.

When biometric identity systems become widespread enough, authorities will pretty much know where you are and what you are doing at all times.

Unfortunately, the use of implantable RFID chips in humans and animals is rapidly spreading. A lot of employers now require that their employees take them for identification purposes. Some cities in the U.S. are actually making it mandatory to put microchips into your pets.

Increasingly, RFID implants are being injected into thousands of elderly Americans living with Alzheimer's disease who are at risk of wandering off and getting lost. In addition, RFID chips are being implanted into many people who are chronically ill so that doctors can access their medical information quickly in an emergency.

And many companies are working hard to make it even easier to implant RFID chips into humans and animals.

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