Yeshiva World News

House Republican leaders are challenging the White House and Democrats to work without further delay on four bills that are stalled in the Senate.

The GOP lawmakers say the bills would advance the president’s priorities and would make a good start on the year of action that the president outlined in his State of the Union speech.

House Speaker John Boehner and the other leaders wrote a letter to President Barack Obama. They say the four bills deal with job training programs, construction of natural gas pipelines, workplace rules and money for pediatric research at the National Institutes of Health.

They released the letter Thursday at the start of a two-day meeting on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

(AP)

At the annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama defended his administration’s handling of the Iranian nuclear threat and maintained that the interim agreement reached in Geneva is a positive step towards encouraging the ayatollahs to give up on advancing their nuclear program.

“It is American diplomacy, backed by pressure, that has halted the progress of Iran’s nuclear program – and rolled parts of that program back – for the very first time in a decade,” The President said to loud applause from his party’s side of the aisle. “As we gather here tonight, Iran has begun to eliminate its stockpile of higher levels of enriched uranium. It is not installing advanced centrifuges. Unprecedented inspections help the world verify, every day, that Iran is not building a bomb. And with our allies and partners, we’re engaged in negotiations to see if we can peacefully achieve a goal we all share: preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

Moving forward, the President acknowledged that the six-month time frame in negotiating with Iran may not succeed. Nonetheless, he defended his policy of engaging with Iran. “We are clear-eyed about Iran’s support for terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, which threaten our allies; and the mistrust between our nations cannot be wished away,” Obama told Congress. “But these negotiations do not rely on trust; any long-term deal we agree to must be based on verifiable action that convinces us and the international community that Iran is not building a nuclear bomb. If John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan could negotiate with the Soviet Union, then surely a strong and confident America can negotiate with less powerful adversaries today.”

The president also warned against imposing additional sanctions on Iran and promised to veto the bi-partisan Iran Act bill now co-sponsored by a majority of U.S. Senators. “Let me be clear: if this Congress sends me a new sanctions bill now that threatens to derail these talks, I will veto it,” Obama promised.

“For the sake of our national security, we must give diplomacy a chance to succeed. If Iran’s leaders do not seize this opportunity, then I will be the first to call for more sanctions, and stand ready to exercise all options to make sure Iran does not build a nuclear weapon. But if Iran’s leaders do seize the chance, then Iran could take an important step to rejoin the community of nations, and we will have resolved one of the leading security challenges of our time without the risks of war,” the President added.

A poll published today showed a majority of 63% of Americans overwhelmingly support the Iran sanctions bill, even after hearing the President’s argument.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations and the Iran nuclear program are at the top of the Jewish community’s agenda ahead of tonight’s annual State of the Union address.

Like presidents before him, President Barack Obama has traditionally used this address before Congress to lay out an ambitious agenda—and he probably still will—but it would be difficult to do so without acknowledging the saga endured by the plans he touted in his State of the Union address last year.

One of his highest priorities, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, has been plagued by errors and delays. Undoubtedly, the president will point to the success stories resulting from the legislation, while reminding the public that the errors and missteps—some of which he attempted to solve through executive order—are to be expected from any monumental, but fledgling, government program.

Judging from statements emanating from the White House, however, even recalcitrant Republicans might not hinder Obama, who has previously shown his willingness to use his executive authority to enact regulations without the backing of Congress. Today, the office of White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced that while the president in tonight’s speech will tout raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10, through Congressional passage of the Harkin-Miller bill, he also plans to commit himself to using “executive authority to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 for those working on new federal contracts for services.”

Other accomplishments that Obama might review in the State of Union include his recent reforms in accountability and transparency, instigated by the revelations that the Internal Revenue Service was putting extra scrutiny into their auditing of Tea Party and right-wing-affiliated groups, and that the National Security Agency was collecting information beyond what many Americans believe is acceptable.

What appears to interest the Jewish community most, however, is the president’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations being facilitated by Secretary of State John Kerry, and the P5+1 conferences in Geneva aimed at reducing Iran’s nuclear capability. If the subject comes up tonight, the president will likely hail the Joint Plan of Action initiated earlier this month as a major breakthrough in relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran—a nation that the U.S. had not had diplomatic relations with in 30 years. At the same time, he will urge the public to have patience and faith in the process and urge lawmakers to not support the Menendez-Kirk bill and avoid interfering with the diplomacy currently underway.

To preview the speech, JNS.org asked various leaders in the Jewish community to identify what they think should be included in the president’s address. Here are their responses:

William Daroff, senior vice president for public policy and director of the Washington office of the Jewish Federations of North America:

“Jewish Federations urge President Obama to reiterate his commitment to ensuring Iran does not develop a nuclear weapons capacity, while keeping ‘all options on the table.’ Federations also urge the President to continue promoting the critical importance of charities in our society, speak out in support of Senate passage of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and to advocate for assessable long-term care for older Americans and services for their care-givers.”

Sarah Stern, president and founder of the Endowment for Middle East Truth:

“I would like the President Obama to clearly state that the United States and Israel are engaged in a shared and existential struggle with radical Islam and that the greatest threat facing the United States, Israel and most of Europe is a nuclear Iran.

“I’d be encouraged to see him say that ‘yes, we’d like to see two states living in peace side by side, but it is unlikely to come about, as long as the Palestinians continue to teach their children that one day all of the land will be theirs. In order to achieve the lofty goal of peace, the Palestinians must end their incitement, which is based on an unjustifiable hatred that is unacceptable. If and when that day comes America will be ready to assist the Israelis and Palestinians in peace.’

“On the topic of negotiations with Iran, I’d like to see the president assert that it is necessary to use all means to defeat a nuclear Iran, including negotiations, sanctions and the military option. I’d like to see the president say, ‘I have taken notice of the Iranians’ claim that the negotiations do not impede their goal of nuclear capability. I differ in that view, but if that is their view, then they have proceeded to negotiate in bad faith, and it is reasonable to prepare new sanctions, and I support such efforts.’”

Fred Zeidman, national chairman of Israel Bonds and vice chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition:

“We all have a fair idea of what he might be saying on the domestic issues.

“The only thing I truly will be listening for is to what he says with regard to the security of the state of Israel and the relationship with Iran. I’m anxious to hear his comments. I’ve been less than satisfied with the approach that they’ve taken to date.

“I’m obviously not happy with the Iran deal and I would like to hear him say that if Iran doesn’t meet all of the expectations, not only will the U.S. pull out, but they will at the same time ratchet up sanctions that they’ll impose in the Menendez-Kirk bill.

“And with regard to Israel, I don’t know exactly where we are in this peace process, but it certainly doesn’t sound like Secretary Kerry’s approach to date has been what’s necessarily in the best interest of Israel. I’d like to hear him further clarify what he’s going to do to secure Israel, especially as you look at what was going on this past week in the West Bank with terrorist attacks being planned.”

Alan Elsner, vice president of communications at J Street:

“I think that he will definitely address the two major issues: Iran and the Kerry initiative for the two-state solution.

“We know that the president is committed to this effort; what I think we would like to hear is a renewed commitment to Israel, to Israel’s security, and to the idea that this conflict with the Palestinians can be settled and it could be done now, this year. And that he will back to the hilt Secretary Kerry’s efforts, and that he will personally intervene at the right moment, and that this is a time for the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to show leadership and to take bold decisions for peace. But that the United States will always have Israel’s back and would never abandon that.”

Steve Rakitt, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington:

“I hope to hear President Obama reaffirm that the United States stands firmly with the people of Israel in dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat and in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.”

Dina Siegel Vann, director of the Latino and Latin American Institute of the American Jewish Committee:

“I would like to hear the president say that comprehensive immigration reform is a top priority for his administration. This issue is in the national interest and the smart thing to do. Fixing our broken immigration system has to contemplate a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants, effective enforcement, increased visas for high and low-skilled immigrant workers to satisfy the labor needs of American businesses to remain competitive in a global economy, and support for family reunification.

“He should also say that he will spare no effort or resource and will invest whatever political capital necessary to make this a reality, hopefully with the concurrence of those in Congress and the majority of the American people, who are convinced, as I am, that this anomalous situation runs counter both to our values and our interests.”

Alan Ronkin, Washington, DC, regional director for the American Jewish Committee:

“The president should address the deep concern about Iran’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons at a time when the Middle East is teetering between order and chaos. He should address the growing gaps between our society’s political extremes and call for a renewed American dialogue based on the values of civility, patriotism and the divine call to build a better world. And, finally, he should speak passionately about the Jewish value of welcoming the stranger—a value that leads us to embrace the immigrant and refugee and help them find their place in our country.”

Mark Olshan, associate executive vice president of B’nai B’rith International:

“One of the things I would love to hear in the State of the Union, though I don’t think it’s going to come up although we would love to see it, is the commitment to senior citizens housing, in particular, but more nationally, the issues relating to refocusing our nation’s housing policy to persons who might need affordable rental housing.

“We’ve had a lot of discussion and rhetoric over the last number of years about homeownership and I’d love to see us have a little more of an emphasis back to affordable rental housing—in particular where older persons can receive community services at a place where they live, which is significantly cheaper and much easier and cost effective than having to go to institutional settings when they don’t really need it.

“In years past we’ve had a strong affordable housing policy, but that has changed over the years as the pie has gotten significantly smaller. So I’d love to see much more emphasis back on affordable housing for older persons, especially since the population is getting that much older.

“The nature of domestic spending has gotten significantly less over the years and with all the discussion that we heard on the Hill over the last couple of years, it is getting more and more difficult with the sequestration; all of that is less and less money for senior housing. So the affordable housing pot has just begun to get smaller and that has been difficult for those of us who are particularly interested in this issue.

“One of the other things would be with regard to health reform, which I’m sure he will mention in his speech. We’d like to see references in particular to the importance of continued outreach to the younger, more-healthy older population—those in their 50s and 60s who could not get insurance coverage before the health reform and affordable care was enacted, but now obviously can, and we strongly endorse and support that.

“Lastly, we want to reinforce our strong commitment in support of the state of Israel.”

(Dmitriy Shapiro – JNS)

President Obama may boast his credentials at the State of the Union speech tonight, but on the most burning national security issue of the decade, the American people don’t seem to think the President has handled right the Iranian threat or taken the necessary steps to stop Tehran’s advance of her nuclear program.

A new survey, sponsored by The Israel Project and conducted by Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, found that 63 percent of Americans want Congress to move forward with the new sanctions legislation, while only 28 percent oppose. Over two-thirds of those surveyed (69%) said any final nuclear deal with Iran should be approved by Congress and 62% said that Congress should weigh in before the Obama administration gives more sanctions relief to Iran.

Overall, 66% pf likely US voters said the Obama administration has done an “only fair” or “poor” job of handling the Iran issue during his presidency, while 30 percent said the administration has been “good” or “excellent” when dealing with Iran. Only Democrats approve Obama’s job handling the Iranian issue by a 56-39 margin.

A whopping majority – 78 percent – of respondents said yes when asked if they support they support the new Iran sanctions legislation in the Senate, sponsored by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL). Only 15 percent opposed the legislation. The Obama administration has argued that those pushing for more sanctions on Iran are putting the country on a path to war and new sanctions now will cause the interim deal with Iran to fall apart. After hearing that argument, poll respondents still favored proceeding with new sanctions by a 63-28 margin.

“This survey shows that all Americans – Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, men and women, young and old – do not trust Iran, want Congress to have a final say on any deal, and believe passing the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act will strengthen our diplomacy,” said Josh Block, President and CEO of The Israel Project. “Seeking a tougher approach and increased pressure on Tehran, the American people reject further reduction of sanctions before Iran fully dismantles its nuclear infrastructure.”

View slideshow of poll findings:

Read full crosstabs and poll results:

Tip Mellman Iran Survey Jan 24 2014 by Josh Rogin

54 percent said that Iran acquiring nuclear weapons was more dangerous than targeted military strikes on Iran;s nuclear facilities.

A similar poll conducted for the Associated Press-GfK gave President Barack Obama lower marks for his dealings with Iran.

According to the poll, 60% of US adults approve of the six-month agreement with Iran, but only 47 percent believe it might work. Overall, 42 percent approve of how Obama handles Iran. Only 25% strongly approve of his performance.

A Washington Post/ABC poll showed 48% of registered voters disapprove Obama’s handling of Iran compared to 40% who approve.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s high profile Israel trip last week may have brought some smiles on the face of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his right-wing partners, but overall it served the purpose of Mr. Harper’s own internal benefits, Canada’s The Hill Times writes.

The Conservative ruling party is in trouble in public opinion polls. They are running 10 to 12 points below their election 2011 level, keeping their heads above the NDP but trailing the Liberals by about six points, a review of recent polling shows. Harper’s personal approval has also been sliding throughout a Senate expense scandal.

The visit to Israel and the warm reception by the country’s leaders may therefore help Mr. harper and his party in at least 10 federal electoral districts that will likely be hard-fought battles in the next general election, Elections Canada records show.

The 10 districts include five in and adjacent to the city of Toronto that are held by Conservative MPs who barely won the 2011 election and who accompanied Prime Minister Harper in his historic visit to Israel. The five Conservative-held Toronto area ridings where Conservatives might benefit politically from the tour contain the largest concentrations of Jewish Canadians in the country. The Jewish vote could be decisive.

According to exit polls of the 2011 elections, the Conservatives won 53% of the Jewish vote.

Conservative MP Mark Adler disclosed part of the reasoning, as he was overheard on camera seeking a spot in PM Harper’s photo op at the Western Wall (Kotel). Globe and Mail reporter Campbell Clark recorded him exclaiming: “It’s the re-election! This is the million-dollar shot.” The district of York Centre, which he won with 48 percent of the vote to defeat Liberal incumbent and former NHL hockey star Ken Dryden, is also among the ridings that run through the Jewish communities of central Toronto, according to The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

Mr. Adler later said he was joking.

Three other Conservative MPs who were in Mr. Harper’s entourage also won the election in 2011 with less than 50 percent of the vote in ridings that include large segments of the Jewish population in the same vicinity of Toronto, The Hill Times notes.

Two other Toronto and area ridings currently held by Liberal MPs who narrowly won the seats in 2011, with barely reaching 40% of the vote, also have significant Jewish populations that could be pivotal for the Conservatives if the next federal election is as close in key ridings as the last one.

“The hope for the Harper Conservatives is that if they can stack up traditional Conservative bedrock support with those ridings with strong Jewish communities, it can put into play ridings that might naturally fall to the opposition parties,” Nanos Research pollster Nik Nanos told The Hill Times.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

As reported on Global Post, the family of Holocaust hero Raoul Wallenberg hopes to appeal directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin this week for help in throwing light on the Swedish diplomat’s mysterious fate.

Wallenberg’s niece Louise von Dardel will travel to Brussels on Monday, carrying a letter addressed to Putin calling for access to key documentation believed to still exist in Russian archives.

Wallenberg, who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from Nazi gas chambers at the end of World War II, was arrested by Soviet forces in Hungary in January 1945 and has been missing ever since.

His family and independent researchers have spent the intervening seven decades trying to find out what happened to him, and while they have uncovered some clues, there has never been complete closure.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, tells Putin that “it is in your hands to end our family’s long ordeal”.

“In doing so, you would send an important signal to the world that justice can and will prevail, no matter how long it may take,” the letter says.

Putin will be in Brussels early this week for a regular summit between Russia and the EU.

Von Dardel, a 63-year-old resident of Geneva, told AFP she was optimistic that the letter would make a difference despite Soviet and Russian intransigence in the past.

“I wouldn’t go if I didn’t think there was a chance,” she said.

“It’s been going on for 70 years now. Maybe it’s not worthwhile for (the Russian government) to keep it secret any longer.”

Soviet and later Russian officials have claimed that Wallenberg died of heart failure in Soviet custody on July 17, 1947, but have never produced conclusive proof.

Skeptics have questioned that version, with some saying he was executed.

Susanne Berger, a US-based historian who has investigated the Wallenberg case for many years, said that finding the truth about the Swedish diplomat was a matter of principle, arguing that it “was never just about the fate of one man”.

“The core issue that lies at the heart of the Wallenberg case and other human rights cases is the question how one balances the rights of the individual versus the interests of the state,” said Susanne Berger.

“This question is as current as it ever was, as we now see first-hand in Syria and elsewhere, including Russia,” she said.

“Closure regarding the final fate of Raoul Wallenberg is of paramount importance to the hundreds of thousands if not millions of people-many of who live in the United States” said Peter Rebenwurzel chairman of the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Commission, who is leading the effort along with Ezra Friedlander to commemorate Wallenberg’s heroism with the Congressional Gold Medal.

The Wallenberg Commission plans on linking US Russian relations continent upon disclosing what happened to Raoul Wallenberg upon his arrest and captivity by Russian forces in 1945.

Photo caption: (L-R) Ezra Friedlander , CEO The Friedlander Group, Claes Ankarcrona, Mi Ankarcrona niece of Raoul Wallenberg, Peter Rebenwurzel Chairman of the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Committee, Joseph Stamm Medreview at the Unveiling of the design of the Wallenberg Congressional Gold Medal in the US Treasury in the presence of King Carl XVI and Queen Silvia of Sweden.

(Additional reporting by Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

State of the Union night is coming up on Tuesday. Time to set the record straight on a few things: Yup, Bill Clinton really was the most long-winded. Nope, it doesn’t have to be a speech. And, in truth, this “annual” event doesn’t happen every year. Five things to know about what White House insiders call the SOTU:

___

1. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A SPEECH.

The Constitution says the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” George Washington and John Adams did it in person. But Thomas Jefferson thought that looked too much like a British monarch issuing orders to Parliament, so he decided to check in via written report instead. Presidents stuck to that strategy until 1913, when Woodrow Wilson decided it was too impersonal, according to Gerhard Peters, co-director of the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It’s typically been a speech ever since, with the exceptions of Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. Don’t expect that to change anytime soon: What modern president would give up all that free TV time?

1. CLINTON TAKES TOP HONORS — SORT OF.

Clinton’s reputation for being long-winded is deserved. The Presidency Project tallied up the length of every State of the Union delivered via speech since Lyndon Johnson, and Clinton’s average is tops: 1 hour, 14 minutes, 51 seconds. But lots of presidents have gone on far longer if you go strictly by word count — spoken or written. Clinton’s average word count was 7,426. William Howard Taft, who reported in writing, routinely topped 22,000 words. That’s a whole lot of mission creep from Washington, whose first State of the Union speech was 1,089 words.

1. AN ANNUAL EVENT: NOT EXACTLY.

Nowhere is it written that the State of the Union has to be done yearly. That’s just what evolved from the constitutional directive to report “from time to time.” The last four outgoing presidents — Bush, Clinton, Bush and Reagan — all skipped doing one just before leaving office. The five most recent incoming presidents, including Barack Obama, addressed Congress shortly after taking office, but those speeches weren’t technically State of the Union addresses.

1. SOMEBODY GETS THE NIGHT OFF.

The State of the Union is one of those things that Cabinet members generally are expected to turn out for. But somebody always gets the night off — with extra security. That’s to ensure there’s a designated survivor to run the government if something catastrophic wipes out everybody at the speech. Last year, Energy Secretary Steven Chu got the bye. Clinton Transportation Secretary Federico Pena, who sat things out in 1995, once said it’s best not to think too hard about why you’ve got the night off. “The thought goes through your mind, even for a tenth of a second, and you think, ‘Who knows?’,” Pena said. “But then you say, ‘Don’t be silly. This is just a precaution.’”

1. RONALD REAGAN STARTED THAT WHOLE SHOUT-OUT THING.

The presidential habit of making a strategic shout-out to someone in the congressional balcony dates to 1982, when Ronald Reagan paid tribute to Lenny Skutnik, the federal worker who dove into the freezing waters of the Potomac River to rescue an Air Florida crash victim. Reagan highlighted Skutnik as an everyday hero. Now, presidents routinely recognize guests in the balcony to underscore all sorts of points. Last year, Obama recognized: the parents of a Chicago girl killed by gunfire, a New York City nurse who cared for newborns during Hurricane Sandy, a 102-year-woman in Florida who waited six hours to vote during the 2012 elections, and a Wisconsin policeman who was the first to respond to a mass shooting at a Sikh temple.

(AP)

President Barack Obama will work with Congress where he can and circumvent lawmakers where he must, his top advisers warned Sunday in previewing Tuesday’s State of the Union speech.

Obama faces a politically divided Congress on Tuesday and will use his annual address to demand expanded economic opportunity. Absent legislative action, the White House is telling lawmakers that the president is ready to take unilateral action to close the gap between rich and poor Americans.

“I think the way we have to think about this year is we have a divided government,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a longtime Obama adviser. “The Republican Congress is not going to rubber-stamp the president’s agenda. The president is not going to sign the Republican Congress’ agenda.”

So the White House is eyeing compromise on some priorities, Obama advisers said. But the president is also looking at executive orders that can be enacted without Congress’ approval.

“The president sees this as a year of action to work with Congress where he can and to bypass Congress where necessary,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

The act-or-else posture bristled Republicans.

“The president has sort of hung out on the left and tried to get what he wants through the bureaucracy as opposed to moving to the political center,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the GOP Senate leader.

Added Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.: “It sounds vaguely like a threat, and I think it also has a certain amount of arrogance.”

With campaigns for November’s election on the horizon, there’s scant reason for the White House to be optimistic about Republican support for measures to revive a bipartisan immigration bill that has passed the Senate, an increased minimum wage or expanding prekindergarten programs.

Republicans looking to wrest control of the Senate and keep their majority in the House instead want to keep the focus on the struggling economy and Obama’s stewardship of it. The GOP is pinning hopes that voter frustration remains high and punishes Democrats on the ballot for Obama’s tenure.

“His economic policies are not working,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

The White House has been signaling to Republicans that it would not wait for Congress to act. It also is betting Obama’s backers will rally behind his plans.

“When American jobs and livelihoods depend on getting something done, he will not wait for Congress,” Pfeiffer wrote in an email to Obama supporters Saturday.

Following the speech, Obama will travel to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Tennessee to promote the proposals he introduces Tuesday evening.

Pfeiffer appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday.” Carney spoke with ABC’s “This Week.” McConnell was interviewed on Fox. Paul spoke with CNN and NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Cruz spoke to CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

(AP)

Memo to the White House: The website may be fixed, but President Barack Obama’s new health insurance markets have yet to win over most consumers.

Negative perceptions of the health care rollout have eased, a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds. But overall, two-thirds of Americans say things still aren’t going well.

Of those who’ve tried to sign up, or who live with someone who has, 71 percent have encountered problems. But the share reporting success jumped to 40 percent from a meager 24 percent in December.

“Everything is not perfect; it takes time to work out the glitches,” said Carol Lyles, a homecare provider from Los Angeles who was able to get coverage as a result of the law. “If done right, I believe it will provide the services that are needed.”

The poll comes with about 60 days left in open enrollment season. The administration is playing catch-up to meet its goal of signing up 7 million people in new insurance exchanges that offer subsidized private coverage to middle-class households. So far, the markets have attracted an older crowd that tends to be more costly to cover. Younger people in the coveted 18-34 age group are still mainly on the sidelines.

While the poll did not find a turnaround for “Obamacare,” the trend offers some comfort for supporters of the health care law.

In December, 76 percent of adults had said the opening of the new markets was not going well. Such negative perceptions have now fallen 10 points to 66 percent.

Still, rave reviews remain rare.

Only 4 percent said things were going extremely or very well, while another 17 percent said things were going somewhat well.

Compare that to 38 percent who said the rollout had gone not at all well. Another 28 percent said things were not going too well. Add those together and it makes up two-thirds of the public.

“People were locked out of the system,” said Karyle Knowles, a restaurant server from San Antonio. “They weren’t able to access what they should have, which only added to the mayhem.”

The White House had hoped to bring the ease of online shopping to the daunting process of buying health insurance. Instead, the federal website serving 26 states froze up when it was launched Oct. 1. Some of the 14 states running their own sites also encountered problems. It took the better part of two months to straighten out the issues with the federal exchange.

The administration reported Friday that 3 million people have now signed up for private coverage through federal and state markets, and another 6.3 million have been deemed eligible for Medicaid coverage. It’s not clear how many of those were previously uninsured.

According to the poll, many website users have had a frustrating experience. Among those who’ve tried to sign up, just 8 percent say it worked well, 29 percent somewhat well, 53 percent not well.

The public’s take on the law itself is stable, with 27 percent saying they back it, 42 percent opposed and 30 percent neutral. Those figures are unchanged since December.

People who have tried to sign up are more positive than the overall public — 46 percent say they back the law, 31 percent oppose it.

But among the uninsured generally, there’s a more even divide, with 30 percent saying they support the law while 33 percent oppose it.

The major elements of the health care law took effect with the new year. Virtually all Americans are now required to get covered or risk fines. Insurers can no longer turn away people with health problems. And the exchanges are open for business.

Enrollment in the Medicaid safety-net program is also rising. That’s partly because of a program expansion accepted by about half the states and partly as a consequence of previously eligible but unenrolled people now forced to comply with the law’s individual coverage mandate. Last week, Utah’s Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said his state plans to become the 26th to accept the expansion.

The AP-GfK Poll was conducted Jan. 17-21 using KnowledgePanel, GfK’s probability-based online panel designed to be representative of the U.S. population. It involved online interviews with 1,060 adults, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points for the full sample.

Respondents were first selected randomly using phone or mail survey methods, and were later interviewed online. People selected for KnowledgePanel who didn’t otherwise have access to the Internet were provided with the ability to access the Internet at no cost.

(AP)

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who claims to be seriously thinking about another presidential run in 2016, raised the specter of the holocaust when he urged the Conservative/tea Party wing of the Republican party not to vilify them ore centrist/moderate Republicans in power.

On Thursday at the Republican National Committee winter meeting, Mr. Huckabee sent a clear signal to organizations like the Senate Conservatives Fund, Heritage Action, FreedomWorks and others who are supporting efforts to defeat elected Republicans, such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), to stop it, according to The Huffington Post.

“Whatever differences we have, compared to the differences that we have to the other party, they’re small,” Mr. Huckabee said. “And that’s why I’ve asked Republicans, let’s stop using the term ‘RINO’” — Republican In Name Only. Let’s stop calling each other somehow less Republican than someone else. Be for the person you’re for.”

Huckabee said that he will be traveling to Auschwitz next week for the anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp, and noted that the horror of the Holocaust began with the devaluation of people.

“It all started when people were devalued, when people were deemed ‘less than someone else,’” Huckabee said. “We look back on that time in history and we think, ‘How can educated people, university trained, how can a nation like Germany with all of its resources, with its vast level of its population with higher education, get to a place where they can do something so heinous?’ You realize that the only way you can end up there is when you start with the idea that people just aren’t as valuable as you are.”

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] Just to prove lawmakers are human buffers, A Canadian Parliament member was caught on camera pleading to push himself in as a ‘macher’ in a photo shot of Prime minister Stephen Harper at the Western Wall (Kotel).

According to reports by the Canadian press, Conservative MP Mark Adler was pressing to the edge of the media area where photographers watched, and pleaded with one of Mr. Harper’s aides, Jeremy Hunt, to be let past the security barrier to be part of the photo op.

“Jeremy. Jeremy! Can I get in?” Adler reportedly asked.

After he was shot down by Hunt, Adler replied: “It’s the re-election! This is the million-dollar shot.”

He then asked Mr. Hunt to bring the Prime Minister over to shake hands later. In the end, after Mr. Harper had started to walk away from the wall, Mr. Adler and another Tory, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, were allowed past the barrier, and scrambled to have their photos taken with the Prime Minister.

Adler later tweeted, “incredible experience at the #WesternWall – one of the most important sites for Jewish people in Canada and around the world.”

The Globe and Mail’s Campbell Clark recorded a video of the exchange.

When reporters asked him about those comments Wednesday, Adler said: “You guys don’t get a joke, huh? It was all said tongue-in-cheek.” Pressed for more, Adler repeated: “It was tongue-in-cheek guys, come on,” before walking away, CTV reports.

Adler, who represents the largest Jewish population in Toronto’s York Centre riding, was mocked over Twitter and by his political rival – The New Democrats, following the incident.

“Mr. Adler’s outburst makes one thing clear: Conservatives aren’t just in Israel to make new friends,” the NDP said in a press release. “Instead of focusing on their constituents, Conservatives are running for re-election and having the taxpayer foot the bill.”

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

An email in Russian and English threatening national Olympic delegations and athletes with terrorist attacks at the Sochi Winter Games is a hoax, not a real danger, officials said Wednesday.

Hungarian sports officials, who first reported the email, said they have received assurances from the International Olympic Committee and from the Sochi organizers that the email had no merit. In light of that, the Hungarian Olympic Committee said it will still take part in the Winter Games, which run from Feb. 7-23.

Olympic committees from several other European countries, including Germany, Britain and Austria, said they had also received a similar message. None would share them with The Associated Press.

Wolfgang Eichler, spokesman for the Austrian National Olympic Committee, said the email was a hoax that officials had seen before.

“It’s a fake mail from a sender in Israel, who has been active with various threats for a few years,” Eichler told Austrian news agency APA. “It’s been checked out because it also arrived two years ago.”

The IOC repeated its stance that it “takes security very seriously.”

“(We will) pass on any credible information to the relevant security services,” the IOC said in a statement. “However, in this case it seems like the email sent to the Hungarian Olympic Committee contains no threat and appears to be a random message from a member of the public.”

Security is a major concern at all Olympics but especially in Sochi, which is in southern Russia just a few hundred miles (kilometers) away a simmering Islamic insurgency in the North Caucasus. One Islamic militant warlord has urged his followers to attack the Sochi Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s pet project.

Earlier, Bence Szabo, secretary general of the Hungarian Olympic committee, told the sports daily Nemzeti Sport that the message included threats about a terrorist attack in Sochi and urged the Hungarian delegation to stay away from the Winter Games.

Germany’s national Olympic association, the DOSB, also said it had received “several times the same mail with unspecific, general warnings” and it had sent it onto security officials.

Many officials said national committees get Olympic threats fairly often.

“We are not aware of any threats that have been deemed as credible being directed toward our delegation,” British Olympic Association spokesman Darryl Seibel told the AP. “Organizations such as ours receive email correspondence all the time — some of which seem to lack in credibility.”

A spokeswoman for the Switzerland’s Olympic committee said similar threats were common so close to the Winter Games and athletes and officials would base their travel plans instead on the assessment of security officials.

“This is kind of an everyday mail. This is normal before every Olympics,” Martina Gasner told the AP.

“If they (security officials) say you can go to Sochi, we will go. And if one day they say it’s too dangerous and we command you not to go, then we will change our plans,” she added.

(AP)

A global commission has been created to investigate how to ensure Internet freedom and security at a time of growing concerns over privacy breaches.

Sweden’s foreign minister, Carl Bildt, will head a group of some 25 experts from various backgrounds, including academia, government and civil society. They will work together over the coming two years to create “a strategic vision for the future of Internet governance.”

The creation of the Global Commission on Internet Governance was announced Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The commission was set up by Canada’s Centre for International Governance Innovation and Britain’s Royal Institute of International Affairs. Bildt is an avid Internet and Twitter user.

(AP)

North London Jewish community leaders, activists and law enforcement representatives gathered last Thursday to celebrate Shomrim’s inaugural fundraising event and honor the many Awardees for their involvement in the relatively new organization. A large crowd of the community reserved the evening to pay their deep appreciation to the many local patrol security members and the Metropolitan Police Department for a close relationship in keeping the neighborhood safe.

The evening was further graced by Rabbi Ephraim Padwa shlit”a and by the Rabbonim and Dayonim of the UOHC rabbinate and VIP’s.

The SO20 had a fully operational stand in the foyer of the hall. SO20 Counter Terrorism Protective Security Command aims to help make London a safe place for the public and a hostile environment for terrorists by strengthening London’s protection. The Command is responsible for making sure there are adequate protective security arrangements in place for major events, crowded places and iconic sites. The specialist officers also work with the wider community and offer counter-terrorism security advice and guidance to the business community, public and voluntary sector including educational establishments, places of worship and others and it is made up of a variety of specialist units who together provide security and counter-terrorism co-ordination for London.

The guest speaker of the evening was Rabbi Leibish Heller, a former Minister at Kinloss Gardens and an assistant to the Chief Rabbi – Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, originally from New York, who is a well known orator and a dynamic speaker.

An award ceremony was the highlight of the evening with the main recipient being the Borough Commander of Hackney Police, Chief Superintendant Mr. Matthew Horn. Mr. Horn was recognized for his readiness to engage with Shomrim, being at their disposal at all times and situations, offering assistance and support with matters such as providing training at the Station and arranging joint patrols. Lord Brian Paddick, a Lib Dems Life Peer in the House of Lords and a former police officer for over 30 years rising to the most senior levels of the Metropolitan Police at Scotland Yard, presented this special award and gave an insight of the recipient’s illustrious career at Stoke Newington and his committed assistance to Shomrim’s mission.

Commander Peter Terry (QPM), who is in charge of Public Order command Unit, presented an award to Inspector Jeoff Bull who is the assigned liaison Police Officer at Stoke Newington. Inspector Bull meets with Shomrim on a regular monthly basis discussing strategy, incidents and intelligence and interacting on general management matters.

Other recipients on the evening were: Chief Inspector Matthew Mathew Schaer, Deputy Centre Manager at Bow CCC (Police Call Centre), who acts as an advisor to Shomrim; Inspector Tim Williams from the Territorial Support Group (TSG), who is also the chair of the Jewish Police association (JPA) and regularly takes volunteers on patrol with his units; Chief Inspector Michael Loebenberg, Deputy Chair of the JPA, and Detective Inspector Constable Nick Goldwater who both engaged in the monthly legal training sessions with the Shomrim volunteers.

Lord Maurice Glassman, a Labour life peer at the House of Lords, also presented Awards to the Liaison and Advisory personnel Rev. Kurt Stern MBE, Reb Yitzchok Kornbluh and Reb Dov Gerber, as a show of recognition to their ongoing valued input in making the organization run smoothly on a daily basis.

A letter was read out from the previous Borough Commander of Hackney Police and Current Deputy Head of Hackney Safer Communities – Mr. Steve Bending, who expressed his admiration to the successes achieved so far. It was Mr. Bending who was instrumental in the setting up process of the partnership in working together with the Metropolitan Police. During his tenure at Stoke Newington Police Station, he took the incentive of visiting the Brooklyn NY division of Shomrim and also the NYPD 66th Precinct in Boro Park where he was a special guest at a reception in his honor.

The event also attracted a raft of community leaders and activists, such as former Labour Councillor Rabbi Abraham Pinter (IAG), Councillor Abraham Jacobson (LD), Councillor Daewood Akhoon (LD), Board member of Muslim/Jewish Forum, Councillor Ian Shaerer (LD) and high ranking police officers from the Metropolitan Police.

A steaming hot Buffett of scrumptious and most tasteful varieties of delicacies was elegantly laid out for service, prepared and provided by the famous chefs at Take Sixteen.

The evening was also a fitting tribute to the most important segment of the organisation, the unsung heroes, the group of volunteers who act as the eyes and ears of the police and the community in order to deter criminal activity. Shomrim tipped off or assisted Hackney police with 83 “direct” arrests between April and September and some 54 between October and the end of December, according to figures 
released by the organization at the beginning of the month.

The enormous success of the evening and it’s encouraging feedback has prompted the management team to mark it as an annual feature in the communal calendar.

Additional reporting by Isaac Kornbluh – London

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

A federal judge in New York has let a U.S. regulator’s lawsuit proceed against former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine over the collapse of a brokerage firm in one of the nation’s largest bankruptcies.

Judge Victor Marrero said the allegations by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission provide “reasonable inferences” that Corzine violated the Commodity Exchange Act by illegally transferring funds from customer segregated accounts at MF Global. More than $1 billion in customer money vanished.

The judge rejected applications by Corzine’s lawyers on Tuesday to dismiss the lawsuit that was filed last year. He says that he must accept the claims as true at this early stage of the litigation.

Corzine is a former Democratic governor of New Jersey, former U.S. senator and ex-CEO of Goldman Sachs.

(AP)

More than 625,000 people have enrolled in private health insurance through California’s Obamacare market as of mid-month, an uptick from the half-million enrollees reported through the end of last year, officials for Covered California said Tuesday.

Officials said 500,108 had enrolled on the state-run health exchange from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, but preliminary data suggests that an additional 125,000 had enrolled through Wednesday.

Additionally, 584,000 applications have been deemed eligible for Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, officials said.
“We’re encouraged by the outpouring of interest and participation in the state insurance exchange,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee.

Federal health officials reported last week that nearly 2.2 million Americans had enrolled in private plans through Obamacare marketplaces through Dec. 28, meaning California contributed nearly a quarter of all enrollees.

California is by far the nation’s most populous state and, in 2010, was the first to lay the legislative groundwork for a state-run exchange under Obamacare.

The California exchange reported that 25 percent of its private-plan enrollees fall into the 18-34 age group, a key demographic for making Obamacare’s economics work. Younger people tend to be healthier, so they would keep premiums in check when older consumers with people with preexisting conditions enroll on state-based marketplaces set up under the Affordable Care Act.

Experts say nationwide enrollment among 18- to 34-year-olds should be closer to 40 percent to keep premiums from rising.
Covered California said the 18-34 group represents about 25 percent of the state’s population but about 36 percent of those who are eligible for government subsidies on the exchange to defray the costs of health premiums.

(Source: Washington Times)

Higher-income Americans and some legally married same-sex couples are likely to feel the biggest hits from tax law changes when they file their 2013 returns in the next couple of months. Taxpayers also will have a harder time taking medical deductions.

Other changes this year: The tax rate tables and standard deduction have been adjusted for inflation, and the Alternative Minimum Tax has been patched to prevent more middle-income taxpayers from being drawn in. There’s now a simpler way to compute the home office deduction.

Though the tax changes were set early, the filing season is being delayed because of the two-week government shutdown last October. People won’t be able to begin filing federal returns until Jan. 31.

That doesn’t change the deadline, however. It’s still April 15.

(AP)

The United States will begin easing economic sanctions on Iran after it began shutting down its most sensitive nuclear work on Monday, the White House said.

Iran’s move was part of a landmark deal struck late last year with the U.S., five other world powers and the European Union to ease concerns over Tehran’s nuclear program and provide for the partial removal of some of the economic sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy. Iran has insisted that its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes only.

The United Nations nuclear agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed Monday that higher-level uranium enrichment at a facility in central Iran had stopped, an important step among others that together provided officials with the evidence needed to conclude that Iran was holding up its end of the agreement.

Ironically, Monday’s development came on the 33rd anniversary of Iran’s release of dozens of Americans held hostage, the same day that Ronald Reagan took the oath of office to be president of the United States.

The White House, which has vowed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, hailed Iran’s actions as “an important step forward.”

“These actions represent the first time in nearly a decade that Iran has verifiably enacted measures to halt progress on its nuclear program, and roll it back in key respects,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. “Iran has also begun to provide the IAEA with increased transparency into the Iranian nuclear program, through more frequent and intrusive inspections and the expanded provision of information to the IAEA. Taken together, these concrete actions represent an important step forward.”

The European Union announced earlier Monday that it, too, was suspending some of the sanctions it has imposed on Iran.

Carney said the five world powers — the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China — also would begin providing relief to Iran.

At the same time, Carney said the group will continue its aggressive enforcement of sanctions that will remain in effect during the next six months, the period that Iran and the world powers will use to negotiate a final deal.

In a conference call with reporters, senior Obama administration officials noted the IAEA’s statement confirming that Iran was implementing initially agreed-upon requirements in what one official described as “a meaningful step forward.”

A second official said that Iran will not necessarily now largely “be open for business,” emphasizing that the U.S. would reach out to its counterparts to remind them of the continuing sanctions.

Regarding the desire of some in Congress to impose harsher sanctions, one of the officials said that Iran is starting to implement the steps and that “it would not be a wise time to take” take actions that “we don’t need.”

These officials insisted on anonymity to discuss a diplomatic matter they were not authorized to talk about by name.

(AP)