Muslim Terrorists May Be Trying To Sink the Dollar

(IsraelNN.com) Mujahideen Muslim terrorists may be behind the sinking American dollar as part of a campaign to cripple the American economy, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported. The media watch group, which specializes in tracking Arabic language websites, said that postings on websites the past two years reflect a move toward waging an economic war against the United States. ...

Ex-Army scientist to get $5.8M in anthrax lawsuit

WASHINGTON (AP) - A former Army scientist who was named as a person of interest in the 2001 anthrax attacks will receive $5.8 million to settle his lawsuit against the Justice Department. Steven Hatfill claimed the Justice Department violated his privacy rights by speaking with reporters about the case. ...

Pentagon: Taliban a resilient force in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new Pentagon report says the Taliban has regrouped after its initial fall from power in Afghanistan. ...

Muslims will be searched by sniffer dogs despite religious objections, say police

Questions have been raised over using sniffer dogs to search Muslim passengers at train stations following complaints that it is against their religion.

Some Muslims had raised objections over being searched by the explosive-detecting animals, but British Transport Police have said they will continue to use the specially trained animals.

Dogs are considered to be unclean or impure in Islamic teaching and it is forbidden to keep the animals as pets. ...

Lawsuit Dismissed In LAPD Immigration Status Questions Case

LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles judge dismissed a taxpayer lawsuit Wednesday that sought to repeal a long-standing directive prohibiting Los Angeles police officers from asking arrestees about their immigration status. ...

US checks if tomatoes caused Salmonella outbreak

Infrastructure Protection

WASHINGTON - As salmonella cases continue to climb, the government is checking if tainted tomatoes really are to blame for the record outbreak — or if the problem is with another ingredient, or a warehouse that is contaminating newly harvested tomatoes. ...

...it is possible that tomatoes being harvested in states considered safe could be picking up salmonella germs in packing sheds, warehouses or other facilities currently under investigation.

Most worrisome, the latest victim became sick on June 15 — long after the outbreak began on April 10 and weeks after government warnings stripped supermarkets and restaurants of many tomatoes.

"The source of contamination has been ongoing at least through early June. And we don't have any evidence that whatever the source is, it's been removed from the market," said Dr. Patricia Griffin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Disease detectives at the CDC in Atlanta are double-checking their own probes just in case some other type of produce is really the culprit.

"We have also kept an open mind about other possibilities and are looking into other ingredients," Griffin said....

... "The facts keep changing here. The outbreak is continuing," he said. "We need to re-examine all parts of this system and make sure that the consumer message is still solid." ...

...Salmonella bacteria live in the intestinal tracts of people and animals. Food outbreaks typically are caused by direct contamination with animal feces or use of contaminated water on foods eaten raw or not fully cooked.

Fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps typically start eight to 48 hours after infection and can last a week. Many people recover without treatment. In fact, the CDC estimates that for every confirmed salmonella patient, there can be 30 to 40 others who didn't see a doctor or weren't tested — although fewer are uncounted during headline-grabbing outbreaks. ... The outbreak's sheer scope — with illnesses being reported in 36 states and Washington, D.C. — and length make it unlikely that a single farm will be the culprit,...

...That in turn points more suspicion at warehouses and other points in a tomato's path from farm to sale where bushels, even tons, may be repacked, or rewashed, or otherwise processed. Acheson said the investigation's big surprise is how many times tomatoes are repacked, as suppliers hand-pick their way through boxes to meet individual customers' demands for, say, small ripe tomatoes or larger greener ones.

And therein is a key problem: Some of the packing houses that handled suspect tomatoes from Florida and Mexico may now be handling freshly harvested tomatoes, Acheson said. FDA inspectors are hunting contamination in some of those packing houses now.

On Border Inspection 'Search' Strategies: Getting Resources and Risk Management Right

Studies, Analysis & Opinions, Border Security & Immigration

Mr. Chairman and other distinguished Members, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. In my testimony, I would like to (1) make the case that the public policy issues regarding searches and inspections at border ports of entry and exit (including searching electronic equipment, such as computers and personal digital devices) are more important than the narrow legal issues, (2) explain why searches are an important component of effective border security strategy and advocate for continuing to allow federal entities broad discretionary authority in implementing the searches and inspections at the border, and (3) offer some specific proposals on ensuring that border searches and inspections remain an efficient and effective component of border security strategy. ...

The Injustice of Proportionality

Studies, Analysis & Opinions

Now, the Supreme Court has decided, punishment for child rapists must be "proportional." In particular, the Supreme Court - that bastion of conservatism, according to the Left - ruled this week in Kennedy v. Louisiana that child rapists could not be sentenced to the death penalty. "[T]he death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy. Child molestation and other similar crimes, said Kennedy, "may be as devastating in their harm, as here, but 'in terms of moral depravity and of the injury to the person and to the public,' they cannot be compared to murder in their 'severity and irrevocability.'"

This is nonsense of the highest order. Murder may be the most final of all crimes, but it is hardly the most severe or irrevocable. Victims of rape must live with the memory of that rape for the rest of their lives; children victimized by rape are often damaged to their dying day. ...

Are America’s Core Values Missing in Education?

Studies, Analysis & Opinions

Should professors in a tax-supported educational institution be fired for moral failings, like sexual harassment or accessing pornography on school-owned computers?

Don’t Let Constitution Stand in the Way of Liberals

Studies, Analysis & Opinions

The recent Supreme Court decision of Boumediene v. Bush concerning the habeas corpus rights of enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Naval Base illustrates the need for a president who will nominate jurists that follow the Constitution and not their own political ideology. For the first time, the Court has now extended U.S. constitutional rights to foreign nationals residing outside the country. What's all the more galling is that the recipients of this right were engaged in killing U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Now, this same court has agreed to hear the petition of a deported Pakistani national who wants to sue former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller. He claims they subjected him to harsh treatment during several years of detention, and discriminated against him because of his nationality and religion. Have the liberal members of the Court secretly converted to Islam, or do they just hate President Bush like all other left-wing ideologues?...

Sheriff eludes county censorship campaign

State & Local News

A Colorado sheriff who poked fun at a municipal proposal to ban red and green lights at Christmas for being too religious and was investigated for expressing his thoughts on the issue now is funding and launching his own department website in order to escape governmental censorship.

"The 'Bull's-eye' and 'Bull Sheet' are once again under attack," wrote Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden in what he described as probably his last professional opinion piece on his portion of the Larimer County website.

He said his new website will be funded by himself, run by a volunteer, and appear at www.LarimerSheriff.org.

Mexican set free after border patrol agent struck, killed

Border Security & Immigration

Judge releases drug dealer accused of murdering U.S. officer with vehicle

Thought police target comedian

International News

Government-sponsored Human Rights Commissions in Canada have attacked the writings of author Mark Steyn and have told a pastor to renounce his faith. Now they're jumping into a fight over words from a comedian who is known for insulting interaction with audience members.

'Religion in private' OK, says ACLU

National News

New limits on Christians leave family groups reeling