$2 Billion For Oil Drilling in Brazil - Oil Give Away To Russia

(Analyst's note:  Absolutely must read.  Please be sure you're sitting down.  I don't often find one that I don't know how to highlight, but this is certainly one such letter.)

Source:  A friend

I put out an article on this several weeks back.  We are getting closer to the U.S. lending $2B to Brazil to drill for oil that they will sell back to us at much higher prices.  Why can't we drill our own oil, not pay Brazil for their oil, and use the profit to help pay off our national debt?  Carbon produced by Brazil and sold to China and oil drilling in Alaska, the foot of the Rockies, and off shore will make the same amount of carbon.  Looks like someone just wants to keep us in debt forever, it serves the administrations needs to keep us poor and them in charge.  Here is the original article. 

I happened to hear on my car radio -- don't know what station -- that President Obama is giving $2 billion to Brazil so they can drill for oil. Furthermore, the company Brazil has selected is owned by George Soros.  Mr. Soros is one of the world's richest men and a major supporter of Democrat candidates, including the President. The first question that comes to mind is how is this possible? It's my understanding that Congress holds the purse strings. Have they voted on this?  And by the way, guess who in Brazil owns the oil company and will be selling it back to the U.S.? You guessed it Obiwan's long time friend and confident, George Soros.  Sound a little fishy to you - it should.  Is it legal?  Ethical? No way.  Friends doing friends favors - more like it. 

Part II:

I received a letter from the Department of State regarding a survey on the State Department Alaska Giveaway.

Right now,  even as I write to you, unelected State Department bureaucrats are negotiating to give away thousands of square miles of sovereign U.S. territory to the thugs that now run Russia - the same kind of thugs who ran the Communist Soviet Union -- and they are doing it right under the nose of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 
 
These bureaucrats are giving away eight strategically and economically vital Alaska Islands that contain billions of barrels of oil, millions of tons of fish, and other seafood.  As well as more million of tons of valuable minerals and ores. 

The Russians then get to sell the U.S. back billions of barrels of our own oil, and add to the $50 million a day we already send to them for oil.  What a horrendous scandal.

If Secretary of State Clinton doesn't immediately move to stop these out of control bureaucrats, Wrangell Island, Herald Island, Bennett Island, Jannette Island, Henrietta Island, Copper Isand, Sea Lion Rock and Sea Otter Rock, with all of their riches - including oil that is worth billions of dollars will soon be part of Russia, not America.

And our only hope to stop this giveaway is to convince Secretary Clinton that we will never allow this illegal and immoral giveaway.  Please find a way to write to Hilliary and tell her she cannot let this happen. 

My Note: Again we see the current administration giving away oil and resources that we could use to buy down our debt.  But they see fit to give it away and keep us poor.  They use the excuse that  we are going away from oil.  I can tell you that China, Russia and many other nations are not going away from oil.  They are working very hard to bury this country into even more debt and cause a total collapse.  You must write to your representatives on these matters. 

By the way, this is nothing that can be blamed on GWB.  It is all happening in the current administration and being done on purpose to keep us down, and keep us from recovering and boosting the U.S. dollar. 

The gangsters are working hard to drive us to socialism and ruination.

If anyone has a rational reason why we are giving all this oil up for free to be sold back to the U.S. at higher prices I will like to hear from you.  Until I find a rational explanation it is a plain and simple matter of purposely ruining the country for unethical, illegal, long-range political gains.

Tony

Swine flu emergency! What does that mean? Is president's proclamation formality, or institution of Obama martial law?

(Analyst's note:  We all will be watching what is possibly a troubling development.) 


By Drew Zahn

President Obama announced today that he has a declared a "national emergency" over the H1N1 virus, a phrase with an ominous sound, but with little explanation offered by the mainstream media.

The Associated Press, for example, merely stated that the declaration removes "bureaucratic roadblocks" and enables officials to "bypass federal rules." Other news outlets were even vaguer, saying the declaration waived federal requirements, but not saying what those requirements govern.

In the void of information, Internet rumors were quick to flame, centering on concerns over how the Obama administration might use the declared emergency to suddenly expand government power.

"Obama

just declared H1N1 a national emergency," wrote a WND reader in an email, "Here we go with martial law."

An article by Kurt Nimmo of InfoWars took the worry a step further, wondering if the White House's declaration engaged certain measures of the National Emergencies Act:

"In the weeks ahead," Nimmo writes, "we may witness a move toward martial law, forced vaccination and internment of those who refuse."

New diseases, pandemics, threats against civil liberties – perhaps it's time you read "How To Overcome The Most Frightening Issues You Will Face This Century," available at the WND SuperStore!

But even if there really is a plot to manipulate the H1N1 virus scare into enforcing a sweeping expansion of federal power, today's "national emergency" falls far short of martial law.

In fact, the laws enacted by the president's proclamation do little more than clear administrative hurdles for quicker processing of Medicare payments, and the very provisions of the National Emergencies Act that the president cited in his proclamation actually limit the power his administration can take. 

The proclamation signed by the president states:

I, Barack Obama

, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act … do hereby find and proclaim that, given that the rapid increase in illness across the nation may overburden health care resources and that the temporary waiver of certain standard federal requirements may be warranted in order to enable U.S. health care facilities to implement emergency operations plans, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic in the United States constitutes a national emergency.

Section 201 of the National Emergencies Act, however, simply requires the president to inform Congress in writing when a national emergency is declared – which he did today, after signing the declaration last night.

Section 301 forbids the president from taking up any powers of the National Emergencies Act save those he lists in the proclamation of emergency, requiring him to "specify the provisions of law under which he proposes that he, or other officers will act."

And what powers did Obama specify?

"I hereby declare," the proclamation states, "that the secretary [of Health and Human Services] may exercise the authority under section 1135 of the [Social Security Act]."Section 1135, in turn, allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, to review on a case-by-case basis applications from health care providers who wish certain restrictions be waived.

According to an explanation prepared by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, those restrictions that can be waived include:

• Certification requirements for some doctors to be paid by Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP programs
• Pre-approval requirements for some services
• Requirements that doctors be licensed in the same state they're practicing in order to get federal payments
• Sanctions against moving patients to alternate facilities
• A handful of other requirements governing how medical providers are paid.

In fact, the most ominous provision of a Section 1135 waiver may be alterations to HIPAA privacy regulations.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services explains that under a declared emergency, facilities granted a Section 1135 waiver no longer need to obtain a patient's agreement to speak with family members or friends involved in the patient's care, no longer need to distribute a notice of their privacy practices and no longer need to honor the patient's right to request privacy restrictions or confidential communications.

"For example," an HHS document on HIPAA explains, "an individual may request that her health care provider call her at her office, rather than her home. A health care provider must accommodate an individual's reasonable request for such confidential communications."

With a Section 1135 waiver granted by the CMS in a declared emergency, however, the provider need not accommodate the request in the example of calling the patient at her office.President Obama justified the national emergency proclamation with the following words:

By rapidly identifying the virus, implementing public health measures, providing guidance for health professionals and the general public, and developing an effective vaccine, we have taken proactive steps to reduce the impact of the pandemic and protect the health of our citizens. As a nation, we have prepared at all levels of government, and as individuals and communities, taking unprecedented steps to counter the emerging pandemic.

Nevertheless, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic continues to evolve. The rates of illness continue to rise rapidly within many communities across the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some localities.

Thus, in recognition of the continuing progression of the pandemic, and in further preparation as a nation, we are taking additional steps to facilitate our response.

Obama declares swine flu a national emergency

By PHILIP ELLIOTT

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect noninfected patients.

The declaration, signed Friday night and announced Saturday, comes with the disease more prevalent than ever in the country and production delays undercutting the government's initial, optimistic estimates that as many as 120 million doses of the vaccine could be available by mid-October.

Health authorities say more than 1,000 people in the United States, including almost 100 children, have died from the strain of flu known as H1N1, and 46 states have widespread flu activity. So far only 11 million doses have gone out to health departments, doctor's offices and other providers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials.

Administration officials said the declaration was a pre-emptive move designed to make decisions easier when they need to be made. Officials said the move was not in response to any single development.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius now has authority to bypass federal rules when opening alternative care sites, such as offsite hospital centers at schools or community centers if hospitals seek permission.

Some hospitals have opened drive-thrus and drive-up tent clinics to screen and treat swine flu patients. The idea is to keep infectious people out of regular emergency rooms and away from other sick patients.

Hospitals could modify patient rules — for example, requiring them to give less information during a hectic time — to quicken access to treatment, with government approval, under the declaration.
It also addresses a financial question for hospitals — reimbursement for treating people at sites not typically approved. For instance, federal rules do not allow hospitals to put up treatment tents more than 250 yards away from the doors; if the tents are 300 yards or more away, typically federal dollars won't go to pay for treatment.

Administration officials said those rules might not make sense while fighting the swine flu, especially if the best piece of pavement is in the middle of a parking lot and some medical centers already are putting in place parts of their emergency plans.

The national emergency declaration was the second of two steps needed to give Sebelius extraordinary powers during a crisis.

On April 26, the administration declared swine flu a public health emergency, allowing the shipment of roughly 12 million doses of flu-fighting medications from a federal stockpile to states in case they eventually needed them. At the time, there were 20 confirmed cases in the U.S. of people recovering easily. There was no vaccine against swine flu, but the CDC had taken the initial step necessary for producing one.

"As a nation, we have prepared at all levels of government, and as individuals and communities, taking unprecedented steps to counter the emerging pandemic," Obama wrote in Saturday's declaration.

He said the pandemic keeps evolving, the rates of illness are rising rapidly in many areas and there's a potential "to overburden health care resources."

The government now hopes to have about 50 million doses of swine flu vaccine out by mid-November and 150 million in December. The flu virus has to be grown in chicken eggs, and the yield hasn't been as high as was initially hoped, officials have said.

"Many millions" of Americans have had swine flu so far, according to an estimate that CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden gave Friday. The government doesn't test everyone to confirm swine flu so it doesn't have an exact count. He also said there have been more than 20,000 hospitalizations.

Obama's plan to stop atomic Iran: Help them enrich their uranium

By Barbara Slavin

Iran said Friday it would respond next week to a U.S.-backed plan that would have Tehran send out much of its stockpiled nuclear fuel by the end of this year.

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, had set Friday as a deadline for Iran's reply.

U.S. officials said they were willing to give Tehran more time but that their patience had limits.

"We can stretch things for a few days," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said. "But we're not going to wait forever."

Iran specialists said that divisions within the Tehran government were partly responsible for the delay and that some Iranians were having trouble digesting a proposal that would send out of the country about 2,600 pounds of partly processed uranium - nearly 80 percent of the material it has taken Iran many years to amass.

"It's a gamble for [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad," said Kaveh Afrasiabi, a former Iranian nuclear negotiator now in the United States.

Under the deal, Russia is to further process the uranium and send it back to Iran for use in an old U.S.-supplied research reactor that makes medical isotopes.....

Mass Amnesty to illegal Aliens

By Chris Chmielenski

Two new polls reveal that Americans favor lower immigration numbers, stronger border and interior enforcement, and oppose giving amnesty to the 12-18 million illegal aliens currently living in the United States. While Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) works on a “comprehensive immigration reform” bill that would provide a mass amnesty to illegal aliens and increase America’s overly generous immigration numbers, Americans want a very different solution.

Over the past several months, the Department of Homeland Security has shifted workplace enforcement efforts from illegal workers to the employers that hire them. They’ve also weakened the 287(g) program that allows local and state law enforcement agents to receive federal immigration training so they are able to enforce America’s immigration laws. But Americans disagree with both moves.

Sixty-four percent of respondents want local police officers to conduct raids where illegal aliens routinely gather to find work. Only 19% oppose these raids. Back in March, Rasmussen asked the same question, and 24% of Americans opposed worksite raids. During these tough economic times, though, Americans are realizing the impact of 8 million illegal aliens in the workforce and want something done about it.

When asked if the employers who hire illegal aliens should be arrested too, 71% of Americans thought they should. That’s up from 68% back in March. The survey also asked if Americans believed that U.S. immigration policy encouraged illegal immigration, and 56% thought it did.

A separate poll conducted by CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation revealed that 73% of Americans want to see a decrease in the number of illegal aliens in the United States. CNN has asked the same question since 2006 and this is the largest number of Americans calling for a decrease. In January 2008, only 65% of Americans thought the number should be reduced.

Another question asked respondents if they wanted all illegal aliens deported, and 37% said yes. That, too, was the highest number in the poll's history. According to CNN’s polling director, three of four regions support the deportation of illegal aliens. Only the West had fewer respondents think that deportation was a solution. You can see many more poll results on our website by rolling your mouse over the “Resources” menu and selecting “public opinion polls.” The polls are organized into 11 different categories, which are listed in the left margin on the polls page.

Military Pay

Source:  A friend

(This Cindy  Williams is NOT the "Laverne & Shirley" Cindy Williams.  She
 is a Assistant  Director for national Security in the Congressional  Budget
 Office)

Military  Pay

This is an Airman's response  to Cindy Williams' editorial piece in  the
Washington Times about  MILITARY PAY; it should be printed in  all
newspapers across  America.

Ms. Cindy Williams wrote a  piece for the Washington Times, denouncing  the
pay raise(s) coming service  members' way this year citing that she  stated
13% wage increase was more  than they deserve.

A young airman from Hill AFB  responds to her article below. He ought  to
get a bonus for  this.

Ms  Williams:

I just had the pleasure of  reading your column, "Our GIs earn enough"  and
I am a bit confused.  Frankly, I'm wondering where this  vaunted
overpayment is going,  because as far as I can tell, it disappears  every
month between DFAS (The  Defense Finance and Accounting Service) and  my
bank  account.

Checking my latest earnings  statement I see that I make $1,117.80  before
taxes per month. After  taxes, I take home $874.20. When I run  that
through the calculator, I  come up with an annual salary of  $13,413.60
before taxes, and  $10,490.40, after.

I work in the Air Force  Network Control Center where I am part of  the
team  responsible  for a 5,000 host computer network. I am involved  with
infrastructure segments,  specifically with Cisco Systems  equipment.

A quick check under jobs For  Network Technicians in the Washington,  D.C.
area reveals a position in  my career field, requiring three years
experience with my job.  Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60  a
year.

No, this job is being  offered at $70,000 to $80,000 per  annum............
I'm sure you can draw the  obvious conclusions.

Given the tenor of your  column, I would assume that you NEVER had  the
pleasure of serving your  country in her armed forces.

Before you take it upon  yourself to once more castigate congressional  and
DOD leadership for  attempting to get the families in the  military's
lowest  pay brackets  off of WIC and food stamps, I suggest that you join a  group
of deploying soldiers headed  for AFGHANISTAN; I leave the choice of
service branch up to  you.

Whatever choice you make,  though, opt for the SIX month rotation: it  will
guarantee you the longest  possible time away from your family and
friends,  thus giving  you full "deployment experience."

As your group prepares to  board the plane, make sure to note the  spouses
and children who are saying  good-bye to their loved ones. Also take  care
to note that several  families are still unsure of how they'll be able  to
make ends meet while the  primary breadwinner is gone.

Obviously they've been  squandering the "vast" piles of cash  the
government  has been  giving them.

Try to deploy over a major  holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are
perennial favorites. And  when you're actually over there, sitting in  a
foxhole, shivering against  the cold desert night; and the flight  sergeant
tells you that there aren't  enough people on shift to relieve you  for
chow, remember this: trade  whatever MRE (meal-ready-to-eat) you manage  to
get for the tuna noodle  casserole or cheese tortellini, and add  Tabasco
to  everything.  This gives some flavor.

Talk to your loved ones as  often as you are permitted; it won't nearly  be
long enough or often enough,  but take what you can get and be  thankful
for  it. You may  have picked up on the fact that I disagree with most of  the
points you present in your  opened piece.

But, tomorrow from KABUL, I  will defend to the death your right to  say
it.

You see, I am an American  fighting man, a guarantor of your First
Amendment rights and every  other right you cherish. On a daily basis,  my
brother and sister soldiers  worldwide ensure that you and people like  you
can thumb your collective  nose at us, all on a salary that is  nothing
short of pitiful and under  conditions that would make most people  cringe.
We hemorrhage our best and  brightest into the private sector because  we
can't offer the stability  and pay of civilian companies.

And you, Ms. Williams, have  the gall to say that we make more than  we
deserve? Rubbish & ...!

A1C Michael Bragg Hill AFB  AFNCC


IF YOU AGREE, PLEASE PASS  THIS ALONG TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE  AND
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT OF THE  AMERICAN FIGHTING MEN AND WOMEN.

THANK  YOU

Obama offers multi-million-dollar technology fund for Muslim nations

by Robert Spencer

Surely this will end the jihad, eh? Unfortunately, Obama (like everyone else in Washington) never seems to consider the possibility that the jihad rages against the West for reasons that arise from Islamic theology, not because of anything we can correct by showering goodies upon Muslim nations -- goodies that may well end up being used against the United States. "Obama offers millions in Muslim technology fund," from AFP, October 23 (thanks to Pamela):

WASHINGTON -- The White House Friday highlighted a new multi-million-dollar technology fund for Muslim nations, following a pledge made by President Barack Obama in his landmark speech to the Islamic world.

The White House said the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) had issued a call for proposals for the fund, which will provide financing of between 25 and 150 million dollars for selected projects and funds.

The Global Technology and Innovation Fund will "catalyze and facilitate private sector investments" throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the White House said in a statement.

Eligible projects would advance economic opportunity and create jobs in areas like technology, education, telecoms, media, business services and clean technology, the White House said.

OPIC said sample projects could help foster the development of new computer technology or telecommunications businesses, or widen access to broadband Internet services....

Report identifies top thieves of U.S. secrets Judicial Watch said Justice Department docs cite Iran, China

from WorldNetDaily

Counterespionage agents for the United States government are reporting that the nations cited most often as stealing – or trying to steal – U.S. military equipment and technology are China and Iran.

The report comes from Judicial Watch, the Washington public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.

The organization says it filed a Freedom of Information Act request for Justice Department records concerning incidents of theft of sensitive U.S. military equipment and technology.

The documents from the Justice Department's National Security Division included a report titled "Significant Export Control Cases Since September 2001" which was written by the Counter Espionage Section and lists a series of cases. ....

FCC not only agency seeking media regulation Obama chief Sunstein drew up 'New Deal Fairness Doctrine'

By Aaron Klein

The Federal Communications Commission's unanimous support yesterday for a rule that would open the door to government regulation of the Internet has raised the concern of free speech advocates, but there are other members of the Obama administration who support similar measures.

The president's newly confirmed regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein, drew up a "First Amendment New Deal," a new "fairness doctrine" that would include the establishment of a panel of "nonpartisan experts" to ensure "diversity of view" on the airwaves.

Sunstein compared the need for the government to regulate broadcasting to the moral obligation of the U.S. to impose new rules that outlawed segregation.

Sunstein's radical proposal, set forth in his 1993 book "The Partial Constitution," received no news media attention and little scrutiny.

In the book – obtained and reviewed by WND – Sunstein outwardly favors and promotes the "fairness doctrine," the abolished FCC policy that required holders of broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public importance in a manner the government deemed was "equitable and balanced." ....

Insider reveals secrets of North America plot No 'conspiracy theory,' scheme hatched by CFR was sold to Bush, now Obama

By Jerome R. Corsi
 




NEW YORK – The integration of the United States with Canada and Mexico, long deemed by many as little more than a fanciful "conspiracy theory," was actually an idea promoted by the Council on Foreign Relations and sold to President Bush as a means of increasing commerce and business interests throughout North America, according to a top Canadian businessman.

Thomas d’Aquino, CEO and president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives

– the Canadian counterpart to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – confirmed in an interview recently published in Canada the accuracy of what WND first reported over three years ago: namely, that the Council on Foreign Relations was the prime mover in establishing the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, or SPP.

Published by the Metropolitan Corporate Counsel Oct. 4, the d’Aquino interview verifies that the creation of the SPP was not a "conspiracy theory" but a well-thought-out North American integration plan launched by his organization, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, along with the Council on Foreign Relations in the United States. 

According to d'Aquino, President Obama wants to continue North American integration under the renamed North American Leaders Summit, provided the North American Competitiveness Council can be recast to include more environmentalists and union leaders.   ....

How news media protect Muslim Mafia Coverage of lawmakers' charges ignores terror ties

By Art Moore

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow mocks Republican House members who concerned about the influence of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Capitol Hill

 Is the Council on American-Islamic Relations merely a civil rights organization exercising its constitutional right to lobby on Capitol Hill like hundreds of other non-profit organizations?

That's the way Politico and other mainstream news outlets have portrayed CAIR – despite the FBI's decision this year to cut off ties to the Muslim group after its designation by the Department of Justice as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the largest terrorist-finance case in U.S. history.

In its coverage of a press conference

on Capitol Hill in which four Republican House members presented an internal CAIR document revealed in the new WND Books release "Muslim Mafia" that shows the group sought to place interns in the intelligence, homeland security and judiciary committees, Politico characterized the document as a "fairly straightforward public relations and lobbying strategy."

There was no mention of the undisputed fact that along with CAIR's designation as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation, many of its leaders and prominent supporters have been convicted in terrorism-related cases.

FBI officials have testified CAIR's parent group, the Islamic Association for Palestine, was founded as a front group for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. And evidence from the FBI presented at the Holy Land trial showed CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad and founder Omar Awad participated in a three-day summit in 1993 of U.S.-based Hamas members and supporters.

Wiretaps revealed Ahmad argued for using Muslims as an "entry point" to "pressure Congress and the decision makers in America" to change U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York – who has described CAIR as an organization "which we know has ties to terrorism" – formally supported the FBI's divorce with CAIR in a letter to the agency's director signed with Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

In 2007, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California withdrew an award to the head of CAIR's Sacramento chapter, citing "concerns" about the group's associations. She explained her office had not thoroughly researched CAIR.

Internal e-mails, according to "Muslim Mafia," show CAIR debated going "all out against" Boxer in a smear campaign but decided against it because she's a popular Democrat, and CAIR didn't think it could make an attack "hurt her enough."

The Politico story, despite its lack of any reference to the controversy surrounding CAIR, apparently has become a template for some media.  ....

Anita Dunn's Husband Emerging as Top Contender to Replace White House Counsel

Bob Bauer, the top lawyer for the Democratic National Committee and husband of White House Communications Director Anita Dunn, is under serious consideration to replace Greg Craig.

Ex-FBI director Freeh granted Italian citizenship

(Associated Press) Louis Freeh, the former head of the FBI, is now an Italian citizen. An announcement on the embassy's Web site says Freeh was granted citizenship based on his close work with Italian authorities in fighting organized crime ...

Many Americans now plan to work past 67

(Time) About two-thirds of American workers now believe they'll have to delay their retirement by at least one year, with 27% expecting to work at least five years longer than planned ...

The bull under the bailout

(Washington Examiner) One year later, a little-noted report by the GAO questions whether the bailout saved anything other than the jobs of greedy Wall Street executives and the political hides of their protectors ...

Obama: Policy 'czars' won't testify before Congress

(Washington Times) Senators said it goes against the president's promises of transparency and openness and treads on Congress' constitutional mandate to investigate the administration's actions ...

Video: MSNBC’s Matthews Compares Religious Right to Taliban -- Frank Gaffney and Ron Reagan Spar

Video: Cheaters overlooked in Obama's homebuyer credit program

V

Will Our Government Ever Secure Our Borders and Shore Up the Immigration System?

by Michael Cutler

What is being lost in the debate on immigration is the reason that our nation has immigration laws in the first place.  ....

Exclusive: Al Qaeda's North African Connection (Part Three of Three)

by Adrian Morgan

In a pattern that has continued through to this year, the group has killed foreigners in brutal manners resembling the actions of the early GIA (Groupe Islamique Armé). ....

When Ideology Masks Ignorance

by Frank Salvato

Our mainstream informational outlets have failed in their duties to inform and to cultivate critical thinking skills. Recent examples of pervasive ignorance among the electorate prove the point. ....

After giving a talk to a group of family values minded Freeport, Illinois area residents addressing three major threats facing the United States – which I term “The Perfect Storm,” and a solution to a problem that safeguards the US Constitution, I found myself personally and ideologically assailed by a letter-writer to a local newspaper, a Ms. Patricia Wemstrom. I take issue with her critique not only because she mischaracterized each and every point that I made at the event, but also because she wasn't even in attendance.

 

The critique was caustic and hateful in nature:

 

“I am surprised by the hatred, bigotry and lack of knowledge expressed by Frank Salvato in the front page story of Oct. 18. (“Speaker Warns of Threats”) It seems to me the danger to this country rest not so much in ‘Radical Islam,' but in people like Salvato.”

 

Such explosive rhetoric emanating from a person who wasn't in attendance and who never attempted to contact me for any clarification leads me to believe – through the context of experience – that Ms. Wemstrom is not only of the Progressive or Liberal political ideology but, also, either uneducated on the issues, disingenuous and partisan in her approach, or both.

 

Although out of order of presentation I will attempt to clarify the misinformation presented by Ms. Wemstrom...in the interest of truth and education.

 

On a personal note, if Ms. Wemstrom would have bothered to research anything about me or my past at all she would have understood that I spent years as a professional jazz and blues musician having studied and performed with people of every race, ideology and gender. If I were to be racist – which Ms. Wemstrom supposes without proof – I contend I would have been the only “racist” to have been hired to play with Black jazz greats...but I digress from the subject at hand.

 

Ms. Wemstrom goes on to allege that I incited:

 

“...hatred of an ethnic group, almost all of whom are loyal Americans and law-abiding citizens...Salvato seems to want to stir up hatred against Muslims, even to the point of having us worry about their birth rate.”

 

Interesting.

 

In discussing the threat of radical Islam and encroaching fundamentalist Islam I discussed the actions and desires of those who adhere to the Wahabbist ideology, those who have pledged allegiance to jihadist terror organizations that have vowed to violently attack the United States and those who would embrace the implementation of Sharia Law into the American culture.

 

In discussing these topics I stressed – in no uncertain terms – that the solution to this violent and totalitarian strain of Islam should and must come from within the Muslim community, perhaps in the form of religious reformation in which the violent tenets of Islam are expunged from the dogma. I stressed that the idea of dictating a solution for this international epidemic to the Islamic community would be in error because it conveys disrespect and, in Islamic culture, great insult. Of course, anyone in attendance would have understood this.

 

In expressing the idea of cultural demographics with regard to reproduction I expressed that the birthrate among Europeans (1.5) and Westerners (2.1) is significantly less than that among Muslims (4.4). This is a fact that cannot be disputed. Because radical and fundamentalist Islamists represent 10% to 20% of the Islamist population, this information is significant. It is also significant in the face of the cultural conflicts currently facing individual nations in Europe.

 

In Britain, fundamentalist Islamists – whose global numbers grow in proportion with the general global Muslim population – are demanding that the British Parliament incorporate Sharia Law into British Law, saying:

 

“We hereby request all Muslims in the United Kingdom...to join us and collectively declare that as submitters to Almighty Allah, we have had enough of democracy and man-made law and the depravity of the British culture. On this day we will call for a complete upheaval of the British ruling system its members and legislature, and demand the full implementation of Shari'ah in Britain.”

 

Further, in communities here in the United States that are predominantly Muslim, there is a push by fundamentalists to create Sharia councils in order to find remedy for cultural issues within their Muslim communities. These councils would take their guidance from...Sharia Law. These requests of local government have taken place in several locations around the United States including Dearborn, Michigan.

 

It needs to be pointed out that under strict Sharia Law, women are considered possessions and are deemed less than a man in worth and ability. The fundamentalist Islamic culture embraces the practice of stoning to punish adultery, which can be as simple as having a conversation with an unrelated man in public. Honor killings, which are publicly decried, are more common than not and are even taking place right here in the United States. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, Taliban fundamentalists – radical Islamists or fundamentalist Islamists – routinely set fire to girls' schools and young women who dare to self-educate are often killed. Women who refuse to wear the hijab or burqa are often attacked by men who throw acid into their faces. Many women commit suicide or runaway rather that subject themselves to the brutality inflicted upon them in the name of fundamentalist Islamic “honor.” These facts cannot be disputed but by those who embrace ignorance and/or cowardice to the truth.

 

Further, over the time that I have been advocating for the education of the American public where the religion of Islam is concerned – with an onus on radical and fundamentalist Islam – I have come to know many Arabs, Persians, Muslims and former Muslims whom I admire and consult. From Syrian-born Wafa Sultan, Lebanese-born Brigitte Gabriel and Iranian-born Amil Imani to former Palestinian terrorist Whalid Shoebat, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Dr. Walid Phares and Director of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, I count them all among my professional cohorts and personal friends. To suggest I incite hatred toward the general Muslim population is not only ludicrous it is border-line slanderous. It is certainly an uninformed and ignorant assertion.

 

Ms. Wemstrom goes on to question why I would include groups like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU into a group described as The American Fifth Column, a group associated with the advancement of neo-Marxism in the United States.

 

History provides the facts – and they cannot be denied – that founders of both organizations were Marxists and Socialists and sought to advance neo-Marxism into American society to the detriment to the concepts of liberty and freedom as established by our Founders and Framers as derived from the great Western philosophers the likes of Cicero, Aristotle, Hobbes and Locke, among many others.

 

In the 1930s, Roger Baldwin and the ACLU allied with the Popular Front movement, which was engendered by Stalin to strengthen the Communist Party by allowing it to make common cause with Socialists and other leftist groups. Baldwin himself made two trips to the Soviet Union and in 1928 published a book entitled Liberty Under the Soviets, which contained effusive praise for the USSR.

 

Margaret Sanger, the founder of the American Birth Control League, which later became Planned Parenthood, was an avowed Socialist who blamed what she perceived as the evils of contemporary capitalism for the conditions of young white working-class women. Her very personal views on this issue are well expressed in the last pages of What Every Girl Should Know.

 

That Ms. Wemstrom would cherry-pick statements presented in an 872 word newspaper report of an event that spanned the better part of a two-hour-plus presentation, and then craft an uneducated argument on subjects she clearly knows little about, stands as a monument to knee-jerk reactions everywhere. That people would consider her unqualified and ill-informed diatribe as something to champion presents as proof positive that our mainstream informational outlets and educational institutions have failed in their duties to accurately inform and to cultivate critical thinking skills respectively. In Ms. Wemstrom's case they have failed miserably.

....

Murtha, Moran steer millions to software firm

(Washington Times) When software firm MobilVox wanted to break into the lucrative world of defense contracting, it pursued an unmistakable strategy ...

The Full Lord Monckton "Climate Change" videos...including Glenn Beck Interview...

  by Jared Law

The Full Presentation (UPDATED; WITH SLIDES--95m05s):


The Full Presentation (95 minutes, 33 seconds):


The short clip (4 minutes, 12 seconds; very relevant!):


I've seen the short clip posted many times, but I also know that many in our network haven't seen it yet, and I thought y'all would enjoy the full, unedited video clip, so please enjoy and feel free to post your comments, and any ideas you may have to help us stop this massive destruction of our sovereignty!

We absolutely MUST stop this from happening! Immediately! Please watch the long video. Have you heard about the food riots around the world? Our media isn't saying a thing about them! Are you aware of the fact that people have been eating mud, literally, because of the doubling of food prices, thanks to "biofuels" and the global warming hoax?

Can you imagine a world where America knows the truth and has awaken from her slumber? All of us?

Now wake up to the world where we're about to slip quietly into the night, to be enslaved, where the peaceful options are being passed by every day, and our choices narrow with every tick of the clock?

Have you done your utmost to awaken your friends? Have you hosted a party at your home to help awaken your neighbors? Will you invite them to watch this video today? How about the new movie which premiered yesterday: Not Evil Just Wrong - the true cost of warming hysteria?

Who heard what Glenn had to say about this in his radio show this morning?

What say you?

EDIT: Thanks to the comments section, I was made aware of this gem:

Young Conservatives of Texas presents Christopher Lord (Third Viscount) Monckton of Brenchley (95m:47s)

Glenn Beck Interviews Lord Monckton On Climate Treaty Part 1

Glenn Beck Interviews Lord Monckton On Climate Treaty Part 2

Hydrogen Barackside

(Analyst's note: Cartoon is from Scotland.  My source adds the following comments:

It looks like our current reputation is now being seen in Europe as a farce.  There are now daily cartoons and articles of ridicule being printed.  We have the worse debt, the worse leadership, the most corrupt government and bills are being signed without being read or understood or paying any attention to the world catastrophe we are causing. 

Our dollar is worth about 65 cents now and soon a new world currency will arrive on the world market and we can use what we have for toilet paper - just like what German Socialism did under Hitler. 

Here it is folks, more change you can trust!  Are we still happy?

Tony)

Surviving Disaster – How To Survive A Nuclear Attack

(Analyst's note:  Absolutely ... we all need this knowledge.)

from National Terror Alert

This week on Surviving Disaster, host Cade Courtley demonstrates the steps you can take to survive a nuclear attack by terrorists on a major U.S. city.

I had the opportunity to assist in the research for this episode and while it’s incredibly difficult to capture all of the information one would need to survive such a scenario in a short/concise format, the writers and producers of Surviving Disaster did an amazing job.

A 10 kiloton nuclear device detonating in a major U.S.city is a catastrophe on a scale that few can even comprehend.

Surviving Disaster strikes an excellent balance between reality and entertainment while providing a level of detail and accuracy that few others have been able to achieve.

The full episode of Surviving Disaster – Nuclear Attack is available online this week.
Each full episode of this show is available for on week after its on-air premiere. Episodes are added immediately following their premiere date. After one full week of online availability each episode is taken down for one month. After the month has gone by the episode returns and is available for you to watch indefinitely.

Please be aware that selected full episodes and clips are only available for viewing on Spike TV’s site users located within the United States and Canada.

Watch Full Episode

White House tries to muzzle media; draws back a bloody stump. Tell me again how smart these people are.

(Analyst's note:  Absolutely must read and see.  Finally people are beginning to realize that our Republic will only function with a "free press."

by Moe Lane

So this administration had what passes for a brainstorm among that group: now that they’ve made it clear that they disapprove of one particular news network, why, there would be nothing stopping them from stepping up their attempts to marginalize said network. So the White House announced today that a specific White House Press Pool access - Ken Feinberg, who is one of the myriad ‘czars’ so beloved of this administration - would explicitly exclude Fox News.  Despite the fact that the Press Pool is supported in part by Fox News.

And the media refused to play along.

This, oddly enough, has not been brought up by any of the other networks, so for right now the best source for this story is FNC (yes, savor the irony):



See Hot Air and AoSHQ for more.  In this particular case, the news bureaus decided that the White House could make Feinberg available for all five news networks, or for none of them.  Whether or not this was due to principle or pragmatism (Hot Air leans towards the latter), it was the right answer: the administration caved in short order.  Hopefully there won’t be a need for multiple lessons.  I’m forced to admit that I’m pleasantly surprised at how well the news media handled this one.  Even if they did do it solely because they don’t want the precedent set.

Moving along: AoSHQ is amazed at this administration’s priorities.  For myself, I’m reminded again of a thought that I’ve had a few times.  When you look at this administration’s performance to date, it’s like the Democratic Party went out and found themselves a caricature of everything that they complained about/hated/feared with regard to George W Bush… only this time? It’s all true.

Congress targets 'Muslim Mafia' Anti-terror caucus members officially request probe of Council on American-Islamic Relations

by Art Moore

One week after accusing the Council on American-Islamic Relations of conspiring to plant "spies" inside Congress targeting sensitive security-related committees, four Republican lawmakers have formally asked the House sergeant at arms to investigate whether the D.C.-based Muslim group has carried out its alleged plans. ....

Sunstein urges: Abolish marriage Adviser compares institution to country club membership

(Analyst's note:  Troubling.)


By Aaron Klein

Cass Sunstein

 

The U.S. government should abolish its sanctioning of marriage, argued Cass Sunstein, President Obama's regulatory czar.

Sunstein proposed that the concept of marriage should become privatized, with the state only granting civil union contracts to couples wishing to enter into an agreement.

Sunstein explained marriage licensing is unnecessary, pointing out people stay committed to organizations like country clubs and homeowner associations without any government interference.

"Under our proposal, the word marriage would no longer appear in any laws, and marriage licenses would no longer be offered or recognized by any level of government," wrote Sunstein and co-author Richard Thaler in their 2008 book, "Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness."

In the book – obtained and reviewed by WND – Sunstein explains his approach would ensure that "the only legal status states would confer on couples would be a civil union, which would be a domestic partnership agreement

between any two people." ....

Case shows jihadist may target mall

(Washington Times) A 27-year-old Massachusetts man with dreams of holy war plotted to shoot up a shopping mall and even discussed assassinating U.S. government officials ...

Massive FBI Raid on Islamic Slaughterhouse Mystifies Tiny Illinois Town

By Joseph Abrams 


At 8 a.m. Sunday the population of Kinsman, Ill., stood at 109. An hour later it nearly doubled, as upwards of 100 federal agents and police swooped in on the tiny, rural community. And no one seems to know why.

The law enforcement officers, including FBI agents, immigration officials and state police, surrounded an Islamic meat plant in Kinsman, cordoning off the area and briefly detaining the plant's handful of employees.

The FBI isn't saying much, and the county sheriff is mum too, leaving Kinsman's residents mystified. The bust, in a town that has no local police force, involved dozens of vehicles, a pair of snipers and a helicopter flying overhead, witnesses said — but it ended without even a single arrest.
"We're all baffled," Mayor Mark Harlow said. "You know, stuff like this doesn't happen in a small community."

The unusual show of force has residents spooked and has left the mayor searching for answers.
"The public reaction is ... are they safe? We don't know," Harlow said. "What are they doing? We don't know. Are they making bombs? We don't know."

Harlow said residents of the town rarely see the five or six employees of the First World Management butcher shop, which provides ritually slaughtered and processed lamb and goat meat for Muslims living in Chicago, 50 miles to the northeast.

 

Some of the workers were handcuffed during the raid, but they were eventually released, Harlow said. He said the workers are foreign-born and live in a trailer on the property behind the plant's meat locker, and they have never harmed anyone in town.

"I've never seen them do anything out of the ordinary," he told Foxnews.com. The workers' residency status is unknown.

Kinsman is a sleepy town carved out of a patchwork landscape of farms in the heart of the Grain Belt. Its few square blocks are home to a post office, church and bar, and there isn't a restaurant or gas station in sight.

But the two men listed as the proprietors of the business appear to be under scrutiny. A staff member at the First World Management office in Chicago identified Syed Hamid, 51, as an employee, and confirmed that Tahawara Hussain Rana, 48, is the owner of the business.

Residents believe Hamid lives in a house adjoining the shop in Kinsman and runs the slaughterhouse.

Hamid, a doctor, has been in talks with a Chicago lawyer, George Jackson III, who told Foxnews.com he doesn't anticipate Hamid will be charged with a crime. Jackson said he and Hamid had spoken to investigators since the raid.

Rana's case isn't so clear. Jackson said he could not comment, and phone calls to the Rana household in Chicago went unanswered.

Law enforcement officials declined to comment on whether the massive raid was connected to a series of high-profile arrests orchestrated by the FBI in recent weeks that focused on terror suspects.
"No one is in custody, no charges have been filed," said Cynthia Yates, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Chicago office. "There's not much to say."

The sheriff of Grundy County, Ill., where Kinsman is located, said he was informed of the impending raid about two weeks ago, but his officers did not play a tactical role.

"The only thing I can tell you is that it's an ongoing criminal investigation, and basically everything that's being done is through the FBI," Sheriff Terry Marketti said.

Though Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were present at the raid, it's unclear what role they were playing. The Department of Homeland Security has recently refocused its efforts on employers who hire illegal immigrants, rather than on the immigrants themselves.

And unlike the targets of similar sweeps that were the norm in the Bush administration, the Kinsman shop employed only a handful of workers, a fraction of the size of other plants that have drawn the attention of ICE officials. Also, unlike in past immigration raids, no workers were brought into custody.

"It was crazy," said Grundy County Board Chairman Francis Halpin, who lives in nearby Morris, Ill. "I never thought I'd see anything like this in Kinsman."

JULIUS AT FCC WANTS TO 'REGULATE' INTERNET

* All 5 commissioners vote to seek public comment on rule
* Two Republican commissioners have some reservations
* Draft rule would allow for 'reasonable' net management
* Public comments accepted until Jan. 14
* Telecom firms worry rule would hamper network management (Adds vote by commissioners, quotes, background)

Jihadist/martyrdom bombers hit aeronautical complex, restaurant in Pakistan

by Robert Spencer

As the government attempts to show that it really is using U.S. money to fight against the jihadists. "Bombs Strike Northwest Pakistan as Taliban Attacks Escalate," by Khalid Qayum for Bloomberg, October 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Two bombs struck northwestern Pakistan today as militants escalated near-daily attacks against security and civilian targets amid an army offensive in the nearby Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan. A suicide bomber killed seven people outside the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra city around 7:30 a.m. as staff arrived for work, district police officer Fakhar Sultan told reporters. Two of those who died worked for the armed forces, while the rest were civilians. A second car bomb exploded near a restaurant in the nearby city of Peshawar five hours later, injuring eight people, the Edhi ambulance service said.
Pakistan's army a week ago began its biggest offensive against the Taliban and its allies in the northwestern tribal region of South Waziristan bordering Afghanistan, deploying 28,000 troops. They are seeking to destroy the faction that was led by Baitullah Mehsud until his death in a U.S. missile strike in August. Pakistan blames the group for 80 percent of terrorist attacks in the country. Mehsud's successor vowed to avenge his killing with suicide bombings.
Retaliation by militants who "think they are winning" in their offensive against the government was expected, said Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, assistant professor of International Relations at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University. "Controlling South Waziristan won't end terrorist attacks completely but it will destroy their training camps and weaken" the militants, he said. The government and military are determined and "willing to pay the price," Jaspal said. [...]

And finally, some common sense in Washington:

In Washington, the U.S. Congress passed a defense spending bill that imposes restrictions on military assistance to Pakistan in a move to ensure the aid is spent fighting the Taliban. The conditions may trigger complaints in Pakistan and fan anti-U.S. sentiment. Refugee Concerns

Earlier this month, Pakistani opposition lawmakers and the military said conditions attached to a $7.5 billion civilian aid package signed by President Barack Obama undermined the nation's sovereignty. That legislation provides funds over five years to build roads, schools, power facilities and other projects serving civilians....

They think that building roads, schools, etc. will end the jihad. They will be surprised about that.

Climate cooperation to help ties, Hu tells Obama

By Emma Graham-Harrison

BEIJING, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao has told his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama that closer cooperation on fighting climate change could help improve overall ties between the world's top two greenhouse gas polluters.

Hu also said he was optimistic about U.N.-led talks on a new global framework to tackle climate change, even though the latest round of negotiations ran into trouble.

"Developing cooperation between the two sides on climate change issues would not only benefit the international community in its efforts to tackle climate change, but also have great significance for promoting the development of China-U.S. ties," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Hu as saying.

The leaders spoke by telephone on Wednesday morning Beijing time. Hu said "the two sides face common challenges in the field of climate change, and shared common interests".

Obama is due to make his first presidential visit to China next month, when he will also attend the APEC regional summit in Singapore and visit Japan and South Korea.

Officials have touted climate change as an area where both sides have much to gain from working together and much to lose if they cannot reach a deal to limit the production of gases that scientists say are warming the atmosphere.

Beijing and Washington also face contention over trade, military plans, and human rights -- all issues likely to be discussed when Hu sits down with Obama in Beijing.

OVERALL TALKS COULD HELP PRODUCE CLIMATE AGREEMENT

But potential give-and-take across these issues may also help create room for some agreement on climate change, said Wang Ke, an expert on global warming at Beijing's Renmin University.

"China may be able to make more concessions over climate change if it feels it's gaining more in other areas of the relationship, such as trade," Wang told Reuters.

"Balancing across a whole range of issues may be easier than trying for a one-dimensional agreement on climate change."

China and the United States together account for about 40 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, but China's average emissions per person are much lower.

In 2008, fast-growing China's emissions of carbon dioxide reached 6.8 billion tonnes, an increase of 178 percent over 1990 levels, according to the IWR, a German energy institute. U.S. emissions rose 17 percent to 6.4 billion tonnes.

Chinese scientists say higher global temperatures will cause more flooding in the south, droughts in the north and smaller harvests.

But despite growing concern among politicians and the public of many countries, U.N. climate talks on expanding the fight against global warming have largely stalled, making the outcome of a climate summit in Copenhagen in December uncertain.

Talks in Bangkok narrowed the options in a draft text of a likely agreement but failed to break the deadlock on key areas.

With less than 50 days to the Copenhagen meeting, negotiators face serious obstacles to getting the United States and large developing nations to sign up to a deal that would lead to big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Hu said China remained optimistic about the summit.

Quoted by Xinhua, he said that if all sides worked towards "implementing the basic principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, we can lock in gains already achieved in the negotiation of the Bali Roadmap".

He was referring to an action plan agreed at U.N. climate talks in Dec 2007 that launched two years of negotiations to try to finalise a broader framework to expand or replace the Kyoto Protocol. That process is meant to conclude in Copenhagen.

The report also quoted Obama as saying that the United States wanted to work with all sides to push for success in Copenhagen. (Additional reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Damaging Disclosures in Van Jones Scandal

(Analyst's note: Van Jones the presidential adviser that just keeps giving.  Troubling.)

October 22, 2009

by Cliff Kincaid

When Van Jones resigned his White House job, under fire for his pro-communist views, White House adviser David Axelrod said that Jones had himself made the decision to leave the administration. But new documents indicate that Jones didn’t even write his own resignation letter. It is now abundantly clear that he was pushed out because the scandal threatened to implicate Obama friend and White House adviser Valerie Jarrett in the scandal that gave him a critical White House position without proper vetting. 

Jones, a self-identified communist, was an anti-police activist in Oakland, California, before an extreme makeover landed him at the George Soros-funded Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. as a “senior fellow.” This is the entity that has provided a number of top officials for the Obama Administration and even sponsored public appearances by cop-killer apologist Marc Lamont Hill, the fired Fox News analyst who appeared regularly on The O’Reilly Factor.

....  The mounting controversy over his role in the administration and the attention being given to his communist background was something that greatly concerned Obama’s top advisers.

The focus, as noted by New Zealand blogger Trevor Loudon, who broke the story of Jones’ communist connections, was going to the question of “who hired him and why an easily identifiable communist revolutionary with a police record could serve as a presidential adviser.”

As this attention was building, AIM released a column, “Van Jones Scandal Threatens the Obama Presidency,” on the late afternoon of September 5th, in which we pointed out that “…if Jones’ background can sink Jones, the President himself is in trouble. Obama has decades of friendly associations with communists and terrorists, ranging from Communist Party USA member Frank Marshall Davis in his youth in Hawaii to communist terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn in Chicago when he was doing community organizing and running for political office. By comparison to Obama, when it comes to nefarious connections, Jones is a piker.” ....

 

Video: Cheney hits Obama on war

Obama Nominee to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Argued 'Gay Sex Is Morally Good’

(CNSNews.com) – Chai R. Feldblum, nominated by President Barack Obama to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), has argued that homosexual sex is “morally good” and that government should foster all types of domestic partnerships, including “non-sexual” ones. ....

Epilogue for a lost U.S. Marine found deep in China

(Analyst's note:  Our respects to Staff Sergeant Billy Lynch, USMC.  Semper Fidelis.)

By Kevin Cullen

... He left Neponset for the Marines in 1937, right out of high school, and never came back. He was stationed in China when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and then went to the Philippines and was there when the Japanese invaded. After the battle of Corregidor in 1942, the Japanese took him prisoner.

They beat him but couldn’t break him. As soon as he could run, Billy Lynch ran from the prison camp. The Japanese caught him and beat him again, worse, and then they put him on a “hell ship’’ to China, with no ventilation, no toilet, no water, no food. It was a death march at sea.

A lot of POWs died on the hell ships, but Billy Lynch wouldn’t give his captors the satisfaction. They stuck him in a prison camp called Mukden and he escaped again. Some of the local Chinese hid him, but a 6-foot white guy from Dorchester stood out in Manchuria, and the Japanese recaptured him.

They beat him again, and there would be no third escape for Billy Lynch. He was sent to another camp, Port Arthur, now known by its Chinese name, Lushun. Billy Lynch’s captors tortured him, peeling the skin from his body before killing him, cutting him up, and stuffing his remains in a barrel that was sealed.


.... Professor Yang found three elderly Chinese men who were slave laborers at Port Arthur and knew about the murder, dismemberment, and burial of Staff Sergeant Billy Lynch.

.... If, as they believe, their dig next spring yields Billy Lynch’s bones, he will come home, finally, first to St. Ann’s Church, where he made his First Communion, then on to Arlington National Cemetery.

“He deserves to be home,’’ Judy Armour said of the uncle she never met and never forgot. “That’s why he kept escaping. He kept trying, no matter what they did to him. He wanted to come home.’’

China Expands Cyberspying in U.S., Report Says

(Analyst's note:  Troubling.)

By SIOBHAN GORMAN

WASHINGTON -- The Chinese government is ratcheting up its cyberspying operations against the U.S., a congressional advisory panel found, citing an example of a carefully orchestrated campaign against one U.S. company that appears to have been sponsored by Beijing.

The unnamed company was just one of several successfully penetrated by a campaign of cyberespionage, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission report to be released Thursday. Chinese espionage operations are "straining the U.S. capacity to respond," the report concludes. ....


Attacks like that cited in the report hew closely to a blueprint frequently used by Chinese cyberspies, who in total steal $40 billion to $50 billion in intellectual property from U.S. organizations each year, according to U.S. intelligence agency estimates provided by a person familiar with them.


"Modern-day espionage doesn't involve cloak and dagger anymore," said Tom Kellermann, a vice president at Core Security Technologies, a cybersecurity company. "It's all electronic."


China is among more than 100 countries that have the capability to conduct cyberspying operations. ....


The PLA has also been creating a number of cyberwarfare militia units, which draw on civilians in the telecommunications and technology sectors, as well as academia, the report found.

Cyberwarfare Needs Damage Assessment Tools

Although today’s rudimentary non-kinetic weaponry can incapacitate a surface-to-air missile, radar, or even a tank, cyberwarriors still lack the tools necessary to determine right away if an attack has been effective. ....

Arizona: Muslim ran down daughter for being "too Westernized," Islamic apologist hauls out usual denial and deception

by Robert Spencer

Denial and deception instead of any honest effort to come to grips with the root causes of honor killing. "Arizona Police Hunt for Dad Accused of Running Over Daughter: Police Say Faleh Hassan Almaleki Believed His Daughter Was 'Too Westernized,'" by Sarah Netter for ABC News, October 22 (thanks to James):  sharia

Police in Arizona are hunting for an Iraqi-American father who they say ran over his daughter with his car to punish her for becoming "too Westernized" and rebuffing the conservative ways he valued.

Memo to ABC News: "conservatives" don't generally run over their daughters with their cars for any reason at all.

Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 48, was last seen fleeing the parking lot of the Department of Economic Development in Peoria, Ariz., Tuesday after hitting his 20-year-old daughter and her boyfriend's mother with his Jeep Grand Cherokee. Noor Faleh Almaleki is in "life-threatening condition," Peoria Police spokesman Mike Tellef told ABCNews.com today. Her boyfriend's mother, 43-year-old Amal Edan Khalaf, is also still hospitalized, but with non-life threatening injuries. "It occured because her not following traditional family values. We've been told that by everybody," Tellef said. "He felt she was becoming too westernized and he didn't like that." [...]

Not "traditional family values." Western non-Muslims who adhere to "traditional family values" do not generally run down their wayward daughters with their cars.

Noor Almaleki had backed out of an arranged marriage about a year ago, police learned, and had been living with Khalaf and her son in a nearby town. Tellef said the young woman dressed in American clothing and was wearing typical Western attire when she was struck.

The family were all American citizens, though Tallef believes the parents were born in Iraq.

He said it was unclear if Faleh Almaleki intended to kill his daughter, but "it was definitely intentional that he ran them down." [...]

While Tellef had heard of so-called "honor killings" in other parts of the United States, this was the first such crime in Peoria.

Ibrahim Ramey, human and civil rights director for the Muslim American Society's Freedom Foundation, told ABCNews.com that whenever this type of crime involves a Muslim it can serve to elevate the fears of people who may already harbor misconceptions about Islam.

Typical denial and deception.

In the first place, what is the Muslim American Society?
"In recent years, the U.S. Brotherhood operated under the name Muslim American Society, according to documents and interviews. One of the nation's major Islamic groups, it was incorporated in Illinois in 1993 after a contentious debate among Brotherhood members." -- Chicago Tribune, 2004.

And what is the Muslim Brotherhood?

The Muslim Brotherhood "must understand that their work in America is 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 is made victorious over all other religions." -- "An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Brotherhood in North America," by Mohamed Akram, May 19, 1991.

And secondly, instead of worrying about people getting "misconceptions of Islam," he should be working in the Islamic community to root out the assumptions that lead to honor killing. But you'll notice that he says nothing about that.

"It's reprehensible," he said of honor killings. "It's wrong." Ramey pointed out that a verse in the Koran specifically states that there is no compulsion in religion, meaning that people can not be compelled or coerced into being Muslim or adhering to a certain set of rules.
"People have to obey or adhere to Islam ... according to the dictates of their own conscience," he said.

Yet despite the fact that Koran 2:256 -- "There is no compulsion in religion" -- is in the Koran, honor killing is broadly tolerated in the Islamic world. No one, of course, dares to confront the root of the problem by pointing out such inconvenient truths as the fact that a manual of Islamic law certified by Al-Azhar as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2).

In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law. In accord with this, in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

Then this ABC story drags in Rifqa Bary:

Honor Killings Unfairly Cast Negative Light on Islam

The notion of an honor killing -- Muslim men murdering female relatives for dishonoring the family by violating Islamic tenets -- made the news over the summer when 17-year-old Rifqa Bary ran away from her parents in Ohio and turned up in the Florida home of Christian pastors Blake and Beverly Lorenz. Rafqa Barry [sic] claimed that her Muslim father had threatened to kill her for converting to Christianity.

Rifqa made tearful television appearance, crying on the Lorenzes shoulders, describing how she had to sneak around to attend church.

"They have to kill me because I'm a Christian. It's an honor [killing]. If they love me more than God, then they have to kill me," she told ABC's Orlando affiliate WFTV last month.

Blake Lorenz pointed to other honor killings, including the January 2008 murders of two Texas sisters who were believed to have been murdered by their Muslim father in a religion-fueld [sic] rage.

But Rifqa's father, Mohamed Bary, denied the accusation and said that while he preferred his daughter be a Muslim, she was free to practice whatever religion she chose.

"I don't believe my daughter would say this," Bary told "Good Morning America." "She's completely being coached -- I mean trained, influenced by these people. It's so sad."

An assertion without evidence, contradicted by the fact that she was a Christian for several years before she met those who allegedly coached her.

A Florida judge this month said he planned to send Rifqa back to Ohio after determining there was no evidence that her life was in danger.

See here for the facts.

Ramey said it's expected that incidents such as these will cause some backlash against the Muslim community, especially among Americans who have become fearful of Islam in the years since the war on terror and conflicts in places like Somalia.

But they can also open a door for discussion and questions so the community can understand that Islam is not a violent religion.

"It's certainly not part of the religion," he said," to run people down with vehicles."

That is merely a statement about the manner of killing, not about the killing itself.

Al-Shabaab's Tentacles Extend West: a Geospatial View - by John Solomon, Head of Terrorism Research, World-Check

This month's Expert Talk visually reveals the terrorist supply chain which comprises two primary components: money and recruits.

Understanding the geographic dimension of these components is crucial for security, intelligence and compliance professionals with counter-terrorism responsibilities.

Abducted and tortured terrorism suspect claims compensation

from World-Check

A Muslim cleric and his wife are seeking damages of US$10 million and US$7.5 million respectively after the cleric was abducted in Milan, Italy in 2003, and then reportedly detained and tortured in Egypt. This case marks the biggest challenge to extra-judicial transfers known as renditions practiced by the former US administration as a counter-terrorism strategy. Twenty-six Americans are being tried in absentia in Milan and four Italians have been charged for their involvement in the case.

US Government says foreign donations fund the Taliban

from World-Check

US Government says foreign donations fund the Taliban 

Recent reports point to foreign funding as the largest revenue source for the Taliban. Once thought to rely mostly on opium trade for funds, the Taliban has now built an array of revenue sources that include criminal rackets, donations, taxes, shakedowns, among other schemes, which makes it difficult to block the money supply according to US and Afghan officials. The CIA estimates that the Taliban received $106 million in 2008 from supporters outside Afghanistan. Richard Barrett, the UN coordinator of the Taliban and Al-Qaida Monitoring Team says that Taliban sympathizers are much more skillful today at masking their donations and ensuring that the money cannot be traced back to them.

Terrorism financier pleads guilty

Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari (UID 571572) has pleaded guilty to charges of terrorism financing and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Alishtari has been accused of facilitating the transfer of US$152,000 with the understanding that the money would be used to fund training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also pleaded guilty to stealing money through the operation of a fraudulent loan investment programme. ....

Report: Secret Service strained to protect Obama

An internal congressional report questioning the ability of the Secret Service to continue fulfilling its duties was leaked to the Boston Globe. The report says the Secret Service is strained by a drastic increase in threats to President Obama, coupled with deep budget cuts. Some are speculating that the agency may need to relinquish all or part of its roles in protecting the country's financial machinery in order to focus resources on the protection of the president and other high-profile leaders.

The report, issued in August by the Congressional Research Service, claimed that if "an evaluation of the service's two missions" were to be done at this time, there's a good possibility that "it might be determined that it is ineffective...to conduct its protection mission and investigate financial crimes." Additionally, an anonymously quoted government official said that many inside the halls of Congress and within the Secret Service itself are questioning whether or not the agency's effectiveness wouldn't be enhanced by transferring some of its responsibilities regarding the investigation of financial crimes over to the Treasury Department ....

Afghan success depends on understanding the enemy

Knowing your enemy, as ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu said, is essential to winning any battle. Yet as President Obama decides on an Afghanistan strategy, and on whether to send more U.S. troops, there's a lack of clarity about the nature of the opposition. ...

The Patriot Act: Does it actually work?

Today's topic: Where can you point to the Patriot Act's success in stopping terrorists? Wednesday through Friday, Jena Baker McNeill and Julian Sanchez discuss the Patriot Act, portions of which Congress is considering reauthorizing. ....

Net neutrality is "fairness doctrine for the Internet"

By Kim Hart  

Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) spoke against net neutrality regulations today at an event put on by the Safe Internet Alliance. Representing the songwriters, singers, actors, producers and other entertainers in Memphis and Nashville, she said the creative community does not want the federal government to interfere with how they are able to get content to consumers via the Internet.

"Net neutrality, as I see it, is the fairness doctrine for the Internet," she said. 

The creators "fully understand what the fairness doctrine would be when it applies to TV or radio. What they do not want is the federal government policing how they deploy their content over the Internet and they want the ISPs to manage their networks and deploy the content however they have agreed on with ISP. They do not want a czar of the Internet to determine when they can deploy their creativity over the Internet. "They do not want a czar to determine what speeds will be available....We are watching the FCC very closely as it relates to that issue."

When it comes to broadband expansion, she said, she wants to make sure "all individuals' rights are respected and that we look at the freedom of all broadband participants." She said Congress needs to make sure the groups receiving stimulus funds for broadband expansion are able to deploy reasonable and effective network management tools so they can be helpful in tracking down illegal activity."

"We shouldn't look at technology as how do we punish and impede, but how do we encourage innovation," she said.  "That needs to be a key thought as we move forward... How do we encourage that innovation and not impede it?"

Danger: U.s. Food supply vulnerable to terrorism

(Analyst's note: Troubling.)

BY Jim Kouri

 

Imported food makes up a substantial and growing portion of the U.S. food supply and, considering the health and safety concerns of keeping American's safe, Washington insiders seem oblivious to that part of protecting American citizens. 

To ensure imported food safety, federal agencies must focus their resources on high risk foods and coordinate efforts, according to a report released last week by the Government Accountability Office.

The report, submitted to the US Congress and obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, assesses how the Department of Homeland Security's  Customs and Border Protection, the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service are addressing challenges in overseeing the safety of imported food. 

It also assesses how the FDA utilizes resources by working with other entities, such as state and foreign governments, and attempts to determine how the FDA is using its Predictive Risk-Based Evaluation for Dynamic Import Compliance Targeting system to oversee imported food safety.

US agriculture generates more than $1.5 trillion per year in economic activity and provides an abundant food supply for Americans and others. There are continuing concerns about the vulnerability of US agriculture to the deliberate introduction of animal and plant diseases by those wishing to harm American citizens.

"The big problem is money be spent to monitor food products being imported into the United States. So far, the budget for food safety is minimal when compared to other government programs. For example, politicians push for vaccinating millions of Americans against what they characterize as a deadly flu epidemic, yet they do not seem concerned over a very real threat to all Americans -- contaminated food," said political strategist Mike Baker.

Federal agencies also have been conducting vulnerability assessments of the agriculture infrastructure; have created networks of laboratories capable of diagnosing animal, plant, and human diseases; have begun efforts to develop a national veterinary stockpile that intends to include vaccines against foreign animal diseases; and have created new federal emergency coordinator positions to help states develop emergency response plans for the agriculture sector. However, the United States still faces complex challenges that limit the nation’s ability to respond effectively to an attack against livestock.

CBP, FDA, and FSIS claim they have taken steps to address challenges in ensuring the safety of the increasing volume of imported food. For example, CBP maintains that the system importers use to provide information to FDA on food shipments; FDA electronically reviews food imports and inspects some foreign food production facilities to prevent contaminated food from reaching U.S. shores; and FSIS employs an equivalency system that requires countries to demonstrate that their food safety systems provide the same level of protection as the U.S. system.

However, gaps in enforcement and collaboration undermine these efforts. First, CBP's computer system does not currently notify FDA or FSIS when imported food shipments arrive at U.S. ports, although efforts are underway to provide this information to FDA for air and truck shipments.

"This is a problem we see with law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies and other government entities," claims former police detective and Marine intelligence officer Sidney Frances.

"Whenever we see multiple government agencies involved in one single function, there will almost certainly be some kind of Snafu," he added.

This lack of communication may potentially increase the risk that unsafe food could enter U.S. commerce without FDA review, particularly at truck ports. Second, FDA has limited authority to ensure importers' compliance with its regulations. Third, CBP and FDA do not identify importers with a unique number; as a result, FDA cannot always target food shipments originating from high risk importers.

Finally, CBP faces challenges in managing in-bond shipments--those that move within the United States without formally entering U.S. commerce--and such shipments possibly could be diverted into commerce. FDA generally collaborates with select states and foreign governments on imported food safety. FDA has entered into a contract, several cooperative agreements, and informal partnerships for imported food with certain states, and some state officials told GAO that they would like to collaborate further with FDA on food imports.

However, citing legal restrictions, FDA does not fully share certain information, such as product distribution lists, with states during a recall. This impedes states' efforts to quickly remove contaminated products from grocery stores and warehouses. FSIS has begun to make available to the public a list of retail establishments that have likely received food products that are subject to a serious recall. FDA is also expanding efforts to coordinate with other countries.

In particular, through its Beyond Our Borders initiative, FDA is pushing the US government to station investigators and technical experts in China, Europe, and India, to provide technical assistance and gather information about food manufacturing practices to improve risk-based screening at U.S. ports.

According to FDA, inspectors will analyze food shipments using criteria that include a product's inherent food safety risk and the importer's violative history, among other things, to estimate each shipment's risk. A 2007 pilot test indicated that the system improved FDA's ability to identify products it considers to be high risk while allowing a greater percentage of products it considers low risk to enter U.S. commerce without a manual review.

State launches boycott of 'unconstitutional' federal laws Urges 49 others to join in combating government's 'abuse of authority'

Tennessee is urging 49 other states to come together and create a "joint working group between the states" to combat unconstitutional federal legislation and assert state rights.....

Muslim leader: Sue the public, sue the press CAIR chief revealed strategy for winning notorious 'flying imams' case

(Analyst's note:  Troubling.)


By David Kupelian

Declaring the "flying imams" case – settled out-of-court yesterday in favor of the imams – to be as important to Muslims as the iconic Rosa Parks case was to blacks during the 1950s, the head of a controversial Islamic nonprofit organization in the nation's capital revealed the strategy his organization embraced in pursuing the imam's legal case: Sue everyone in sight, including passengers who, frightened by what they considered bizarre behavior, alerted authorities that a terror attack might be imminent.

When terrified passengers reported suspicious behavior on the part of seemingly unruly Muslims onboard the a US Airways Minneapolis-to-Phoenix flight, what they did "was uncalled for, it is pure discrimination, and pure prejudice on the part of those who reported the case, pure prejudice, and discriminatory attitude on the part of those who decided to inform the authorities to come and arrest them," insisted Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The comments were made at the Adams Center in Herndon Virginia, at an April 2007 meeting at which Awad and CAIR'S legal director were speaking about the six imams case. (Listen to audio of some of Awad's comments below, courtesy of CSP-TV.)

The notorious case resulted when six Muslim clerics were booted off the Nov. 20, 2006, flight after engaging in behavior that alarmed passengers and crew members alike prior to takeoff. The imams reportedly prayed loudly in Arabic in the departure lounge, then once on board refused to sit in their assigned seats, instead fanning out in the cabin in pairs to occupy the front, middle and rear exit rows, ordered seat-belt extenders that weren't needed, criticized President Bush and the Iraq war, talked about al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden and so on.

After being asked to deplane, missing their flight, being detained and questioned by law enforcement

authorities for several hours and denied service on a later US Airways flight, the imams struck back.


In a high-profile lawsuit strategized and promoted by CAIR, as well as argued by a CAIR board-member attorney, Omar T. Mahammedi, the "flying imams" sued not only US Airways and the Minneapolis airport authority, but even the fearful passengers, or "John Does," who had simply reported the suspicious activity.

After a congressional bill – drawn up specifically in response to CAIR's and the imams' insistence on suing regular citizens reporting suspicious activity – was passed, the passengers were dropped from the case. But Awad wasn't too happy about that, condemning the bill's sponsor, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.:

Nihad Awad

"Now the allegation is that we are targeting innocent civilians," Awad said. "What we are trying to do is target those that knowingly made false allegations because of their anti-Muslim sentiments. …

"Today you have people like Peter King, a Republican congressman, in the Congress, who after we filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Imams, issued a bill, protecting John Does, regular passengers, from being sued, if they, falsely even, falsely claim that a Muslim is suspect and has to be removed from a plane because they are praying … And he has some supporters in the Congress, to muddy the waters of this lawsuit …"

Although details of yesterday's settlement are confidential, attorneys for both sides acknowledged that payment will be made to the imams. ....

Pethokoukis: America’s Banana Republic Economy

by Dan Perrin 

James Pethokoukis (Reuters) cites two examples of why America is well down the road of a banana republic economy. Our record debt levels and deficits, combined the fiscal fantasy land the White House and Congress work and live in are writ large in both examples.

First, the White House announces a $250 payment to every senior for inflation that didn’t exist. “In effect, a COLA was paid on inflation that no longer existed,” notes Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute.

Second, the White House in its desperate attempts to get its health reform passed, has tasked the all-too-willing Majority Leader Reid to walk the plank by convincing him to push a $247 billion portion of health reform as an off-budget item, in a separate bill, to be on the Senate floor this week before moving to the merged ObamaCare bill. Even the Washington Post editorial board said “Mr. Reid proposes not to pay for any of it, not even $11 billion, but simply to write a $247 billion IOU.”

Pethokoukis correctly notes the considerable spin associated with JPMorgan Chase economist Jim Glassman’s attempt to convince the world that the falling dollar should rightly be interpreted as a sign of “new economic optimism” because dollar flight means the world economy is getting better and the world is pulling its money out of a safe investment. Really?

Pethokoukis writes the dollar flight is likely exactly the opposite — the world is pulling its money out of a highly unsafe investment — examples one and two above show a White House and Congress which cannot help spending more and more, and piling up more and more debt — all the while insisting with passion and a strained voice that they really do care about the deficit and America’s debt and are for a strong dollar.

But the world is not fooled. America keeps spending and spending. When Speaker Pelosi announces that her ObamaCare bill is only $900 billion it feeds the perception that America’s Congress and White House are continuing to live off the Chinese and Japanese credit card — especially when the White House and the U.S. Senate Majority Leader tell the world that they will not increase the deficit under ObamaCare, but then want to spend $247 billion on health reform off-budget, so it does not count towards the deficit.

The credibility of the U.S. dollar is tied to the credibility of the fiscal discipline of the White House and the U.S. Congress. The world does not think either are credible is evidenced by the decline in the U.S. dollar. And as Pethokoukis says:

Two examples [the $247 billion off budget health spending and the $250 per senior check] — one ridiculously expensive, one just ridiculous. But both reveal a nation completely unwilling to deal with current trillion-dollar deficits or long-term shortfalls many multiples of that number.

What confidence should dollar investors have that America will really cut entitlement spending? Very little. Instead, we are more likely to see huge tax increases that could cripple productivity, or further dollar neglect, or a central bank that turns dovish on inflation. Or perhaps all three.

If Washington doesn’t care to support the dollar, why should investors?

And on the front page of the Drudge Report you will find this little item, titled “We are ‘worried’ about weak dollar: Eurogroup chief” — after all, if you are Senator Reid, you can spend a quarter of a trillion dollars without counting it in the budget. Neat trick, huh?

Senator Gregg warned a few days ago that the U.S. could be headed towards a “banana republic situation” and Pethokoukis is simply pointing out two examples — the most expensive of which is happening now right now — of why we are well down that road.

Remember the TARP Money? Yeah, It’s Gone.

by Leon H. Wolf

Via USA Today, TARP IG Neil Barofsky has some harsh words for the way the TARP funds have been handled:

A Treasury Department watchdog is warning that a key $700 billion bailout program has damaged the government’s credibility, won’t earn taxpayers all their money back and has done little to change a culture of recklessness on Wall Street.

“The American people’s belief that the funds went into a black hole, or that there was a transfer of wealth from taxpayers to Wall Street, is one of the worst outcomes of this program, and that is the reputational damage to the government,” said Neil Barofsky, special inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), in an interview.

***

“We don’t even know where the money went,” says Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill., who recently called for TARP assistance to end in December, when it’s set to expire. The Treasury has the authority to extend the program until next October.

The report criticized Treasury’s implementation of the program and its lack of transparency, making 41 recommendations, 18 of which were implemented. Barofsky says it’s “extremely unlikely” that taxpayers will recover the $77 billion committed to the ailing auto industry or the $60 billion in TARP assistance to American International Group as part of a pledge of up to $180 billion in aid. An additional $50 billion to modify unaffordable home mortgages “will yield no direct return.”

I counted myself among the supporters of TARP as it was described and sold to the public; i.e., as a program whereby the government would purchase troubled assets that were causing liquidity problems that threatened economic stability. Neither I nor anyone else I have ever met supported the way TARP has been implemented; as a massive slush fund boondoggle for corporations favored by the White House. And now, mere months after throwing all this money around, the oversight body for the program is frankly admitting that we’re never going to see most of this money ever again (but in exchange, we did buy government control over Corvette production!). What a crock.

Democrats in Congress have a chance to end Geithner’s reckless control over billions of dollars of taxpayer money, but they must act fast. My guess is that they’ll be too busy trying to give the Obama administration control over trillions more taxpayer dollars through his healthcare plan to even try.

SIBEL EDMONDS' DEPOSITION: VIDEO AND TRANSCRIPT RELEASED

(Analyst's note:  Here you get full insight into the article posted here on Ms. Edmonds.  Absolutely worth your time to hear and see her speak -- from early August 2009.)

By Brad Friedman

... FBI translator-turned-whistleblower Sibel Edmonds was finally allowed to speak about much of what the Bush Administration spent years trying to keep her from discussing publicly on the record. Twice gagged by the Bush Dept. of Justice's invocation of the so-called "State Secrets Privilege," Edmonds has been attempting to tell her story, about the crimes she became aware of while working for the FBI, for years.

Thanks to a subpoena issued by the campaign of Ohio's 2nd District Democratic U.S. Congressional candidate David Krikorian, her remarkable allegations of blackmail, bribery, espionage, infiltration, and criminal conspiracy by current and former members of the U.S. Congress, high-ranking State and Defense Department officials, and agents of the government of Turkey are seen and heard here, in full, for the first time, in her under-oath deposition. Both the complete video tape and transcript of the deposition follow below.

Though there was much concern, prior to her testimony, that the Obama Dept. of Justice might re-invoke the "State Secrets Privilege" to keep her from speaking, they did not do so. Nor did they choose to be present at the Washington D.C. deposition.

The BRAD BLOG covered details of some of Edmonds' startling disclosures made during the deposition, as it happened, in our live blog coverage from August 8th. The deposition included criminal allegations against specifically named members of Congress. Among those named by Edmonds as part of a broad criminal conspiracy: Reps. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Dan Burton (R-IN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Bob Livingston (R-LA), Stephen Solarz (D-NY), Tom Lantos (D-CA), as well as an unnamed, still-serving Congresswoman (D) said to have been secretly videotaped, for blackmail purposes, during a lesbian affair.

High-ranking officials from the Bush Administration named in her testimony, as part of the criminal conspiracy on behalf of agents of the Government of Turkey, include Douglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, Marc Grossman, and others.

During the deposition --- which we are still going through ourselves --- Edmonds discusses covert "activities" by Turkish entities "that would involve trying to obtain very sensitive, classified, highly classified U.S. intelligence information, weapons technology information, classified Congressional records...recruiting key U.S. individuals with access to highly sensitive information, blackmailing, bribery."

Speaking about current members of Congress during a break in the testimony, Krikorian told The BRAD BLOG that "for people in power situations in the United States, who know about this information, if they don't take action against it, in my opinion, it's negligence." (More video statements from Krikorian, Edmonds and attorneys from all parties, taped before, during, and after the 8/8/09 testimony, are available here.)

Edmonds' on-the-record disclosures also include bombshell details concerning outed covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson's front company, Brewster Jennings. Edmonds alleges the front company had actually been shut down in August of 2001 --- three years prior to Bob Novak's public disclosure of the covert operative's identity --- following a tip-off to a wire-tap target about the true nature of the CIA front company. The cover was blown, Edmonds alleges, by Marc Grossman, who was, at the time, the third highest-ranking official in the U.S. State Department. Prior to that, Grossman served as ambassador to Turkey. He now works "for a Turkish company called Ihals Holding," according to Edmonds' testimony.

An unclassified FBI Inspector General's report, released on her case in 2005, declared Edmonds' classified allegations to be "credible," "serious," and "warrant[ing] a thorough and careful review by the FBI." In 2002, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), then the senior members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, co-wrote letters on Edmonds' behalf to Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller, and DoJ Inspector General Glenn A. Fine, calling on all of them to take action in respect to her allegations. And in a 2002 60 Minutes report on Edmonds' case, Grassley noted: "Absolutely, she's credible...And the reason I feel she's very credible is because people within the FBI have corroborated a lot of her story."

The 8/8/09 deposition was brought by Krikorian as part of his defense in a case filed against him before the Ohio Election Commission (OEC) by Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH). The 2nd district Congresswoman has accused Krikorian, an Armenian-American who ran against her as an independent in 2008, of "false statements" during the campaign last year alleging that she had accepted "blood money" from Turkish interests. Krikorian says that Schmidt, co-chair of the Congressional Turkish Committee, accepted more money from Turkish interests during last year's campaign than any other member of Congress, despite few, if any, ethnic Turks among her local constituency. He has suggested she may have been instrumental in helping to hold off a Congressional vote on a long-proposed, much-disputed resolution declaring the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians during WWI as a "genocide" by the Turks.

Edmonds herself happens to be a Turkish-American, though she was recently attacked by the Turkish Lobby, following her long-sought, long-blocked testimony.

The complete transcript of Sibel Edmonds' under-oath testimony, may now be downloaded here [PDF]. The complete video-taped testimony follows, in five parts, below...







PART 1 (appx. 51 mins) - Direct
PART 2 (appx. 35 mins) - Direct continues PART 3 (appx. 17 mins) - Direct continues PART 4 (appx. 43 mins) - Cross PART 5 (appx. 54 mins) - Redirect & Recross

* * *

Recently related at The BRAD BLOG...

• 8/5/09: Sibel Edmonds Subpoenaed, To 'Break' Gag Order
• 8/8/09: EDMONDS UNDER OATH: BLACKMAIL, BRIBERY, ESPIONAGE BOMBSHELLS
• 8/9/09: VIDEO: Whistles Blow - Scenes From Outside Deposition
• 8/12/09: House Candidate on Edmonds Depo, Google Blocks 'Denial' Ads
• 8/14/09: Turkish Lobby 'Declares War' on Sibel Edmonds Following Under Oath Deposition
• 8/14/09: Several Charges Dropped in OH Election Case After Tetsimony

Video - Teachers' aides 'waterboarded special-needs kids' 'Came home on numerous occasions with bruises, bite marks, burnt fingertips, missing hair'

(Analyst's note:  Absolutely sickning.)

Five Great Falls families say their worst nightmare has come true. They believe their special needs children suffering from autism, cerebral palsy and down syndrome were abused while in school and their conditions prevented them from speaking out. Two teachers aides are now facing felony charges accused of severely abusing the children.  .... Download the court documents here.

.... Last year Julie Parish and Kristina Marie Kallies were a teacher's aides in the special needs 7th and 8th grade classroom at North Middle School. .... According to witness accounts during the last school year Garrett was subjected to much more than water torture.

Audio - 'Penal colony for terrorists' coming to Michigan? GOP's Hoekstra calls on Obama to declassify information on Gitmo detainees

(Analyst's note: Absolutely must hear.)

Who Covers For CAIR?

(Analyst note:  Absolutely must see this video to aid in your understanding.)


From WorldNetDaily:  The following video is courtesy CSP-TV
 

---

Taliban’s War on Pakistan: Lessons to Learn, Options to Pursue Dr Walid Phares

(Analyst's note:  Absolutely must read and consider.  At this point we seem to be headed exactly in the wrong direction per these recommendations from one who has studied this enemy for years.)

By Dr. Walid Phares

The worst events in this war have yet to happen. Analysts must focus on the lessons learned so far so that the worrying projections can be accompanied with parallel policy suggestions.

.... Based on these findings, the following are strategic recommendations for the U.S. Administration to consider seriously:

           

A. As Pakistan’s armed forces and its government are waging a counter campaign on the Taliban, Washington must refrain from regurgitating the myth of “cutting deals with the good Taliban” as an exit strategy for Afghanistan. Such a hallucination would crumble the determination of anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan and would weaken the resolve of the Pakistanis engaged in their own national counter terrorism campaign against the Taliban.

B. The Obama Administration must help Zardari’s government discretely and at the demand of the latter. U.S. and Pakistani leaders should coordinate efforts without exposing this cooperation to jihadist propaganda

C. The Obama Administration must rapidly extend resources to General McChrystal in Afghanistan so that the pincer movement against the regional Taliban can happen at the same time. Now that the Pakistanis are on the offensive in Waziristan, NATO and Afghan forces must take the offensive on the other side of the border. The Taliban must not be enabled to fight one adversary at a time, by massing all their resources in two countries against one foe then move to the next.

I am sure U.S. and NATO strategists and Pakistani decision makers have this in mind. But we need to make sure U.S. decision makers do not have other plans in mind. Otherwise, if the pincer strategy is not performed, we may lose not one but two countries in the region to the jihadists – one of them being already nuclear.

Al Qaeda's North African Connection (Part Two of Three)

by Adrian Morgan

"We pledge allegiance to Sheikh Osama bin Laden... We will pursue our jihad in Algeria. Our soldiers are at his call so that he may strike who and where he likes." ....

A 20-Year-Old Puzzle: Have We Discovered what Iran is Really Up To? (Part Two of Two)

(Analyst's note:  Absolutely must read.  Please consider searching on "Huessy" to find part one.)


by Peter Huessy

Either a deal will be made with the “international community” to make Iran’s nuclear program transparent or that nation will face “crippling” sanctions. Which will it be? .... History does not appear to be on our side.

.... R. James Woolsey, the former Director of Central Intelligence said it best recently: “We will not, however clever our diplomacy, be able to stop the Iranian nuclear program with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in charge. The revolutionary guard is now effectively the governing organization in Iran, and they are theocratic, totalitarian, genocidal fanatics. It doesn’t matter if there’s a signed piece of paper promising this and that, and they have signing ceremonies and lots of celebrations. It won’t mean a thing,”

Do we wish to wait until those cemeteries and morgues, both outside and inside Iran, to which Eliot Cohen referred, are filled not with hundreds but with hundreds of thousands or millions of dead and maimed, or do we act now, to “provide for the common defense” as our Constitution requires? For too long we have relied upon wishful thinking and concessional unilateralism to curry favor with the Mullahs. We do not need to find a “smoking gun” among the nuclear facilities in Natanz or Qom – we already have it, in the very words of the Iranians themselves for the past thirty years. We ignore this at our peril.

 

Video: ‘Reckless Speculation’: Obama Blasts Wall Street With ‘Don’t Fight’ Reform Lecture