NYC Panopticon Plans Take Shape

Plans for New York City's high-tech defense are beginning to coalesce; the NYPD wants license plate readers and radiation monitors scanning every vehicle entering Manhattan island, and a ring of checkpoints and concrete around the rebuilt World Trade Center site.

Back in April, we presented an early look inside the plans, which also include a network of thousands of surveillance cameras spidering through New York's financial district.

The latest proposal — called Operation Sentinel — "calls for photographing, and scanning the license plates of, cars and trucks at all bridges and tunnels and using sensors to detect the presence of radioactivity," the New York Times reports.

Data on each vehicle — its time-stamped image, license plate imprint and radiological signature — would be sent to a command center in Lower Manhattan, where it would be indexed and stored for at least a month as part of a broad security plan that emphasizes protecting the city’s financial district, the spokesman, Paul J. Browne, said. If it were not linked to a suspicious vehicle or a law enforcement investigation, it would be eliminated, he said.

The license plate readers, from what I understand, are, technically speaking, pretty straight forward. The radiation detectors ain't. I spent some time with an NYPD unit, armed with these sensors. Just about anything would set them off -- like a patient getting chemotherapy, for example. And so far, no nuclear smugglers had been caught by the machines.

Many of lower Manhattan's most important sites, like the New York Stock Exchange, are already guarded with vehicle barriers, spy cameras, bomb-sniffing dogs, andcops carrying M-4s and military body armor. An even more extensive security plan is being drawn up for the World Trade Center site. In a separate story, the Times notes that "the entire area would be placed within a security zone, in which only specially screened taxis, limousines and cars would be allowed through 'sally ports,' or barriers staffed by police officers, constructed at each of five entry points." ....

Captured female al-Qaeda jihadist had "treasure trove" of potential targets and other data

(Compiler's note: this is found at Jihad Watch ... I've added the high-lights. rca)

An update on this story. "Alleged Mata Hari of Al Qaeda Could Provide 'Treasure Trove' of Intelligence," by Richard Esposito and Brian Ross for ABC News, August 12:

When she was arrested in Afghanistan last month, Aafia Siddique allegedly had in her possession maps of New York, a list of potential targets that included the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, the subway system and the animal disease center on Plum Island, detailed chemical, biological and radiological weapon information that has been seen only in a handful of terrorist cases, as well as a thumb drive packed with emails, ABC News has learned.

That haul of information has led multiple government sources to describe Siddique, a 36 year-old MIT graduate, as a potential "treasure trove" of information on terrorist supporters, sympathizers or 'sleepers' in the United States and overseas.

"She is the most significant capture in five years," said former CIA officer John Kiriakou, who said she lives up to her reputation as an alleged terrorist 'Mata Hari.' [...]

Only a "handful" of captured alleged Al Qaeda associates have had the kind of detailed information on weapons of mass destruction that Siddique, who attended MIT as an undergraduate and earned her PhD in neuroscience at Brandeis, had in her handbag, multiple current and former US intelligence and law enforcement officials told ABC News. [...]

"Her education troubled us. We know that she's extremely bright. She's radicalized. We knew that she had been planning, or at least involved in the planning, of a wide variety of different operations, whether they involved weapons of mass destruction or research into chemical or biological weapons, whether it was a possible attempt on the life of the President," said Kiriakou. "We knew that she was involved with a great deal and we had to bring her into custody." [...]

When nabbed by a team of Afghanistan National Police officers on July 17th, she also had in her possession a one gigabyte digital media storage device - a thumb drive - whose contents included a large trail of emails that authorities are now poring over, sources said. Those e-mails, a source involved in the investigation said, are between "what she described as 'units' and what we would call 'cells'."

In her papers she had maps and information concerning potential targets in New York City that sources say included the subway, Times Square and the Statute of Liberty, ABC News has learned. She also carried excerpts from "The Anarchist's Arsenal" and "documents detailing United States military assets", according to the federal complaint against her filed July 31st in Manhattan. [...]

ABC News sources said that she also had information indicating the possibility of "an attack" on Plum Island Disease Center, a secure US government facility off the tip of Long Island, New York where research into foot and mouth disease, swine fever and other animal pathogens is conducted by the Department of Agriculture and security is provided by the Department of Homeland Security. [...]

Also recommend you go to the original article and read the comments section for additional insight.

59 Illegal Aliens Arrested at N.C. Military Parachute Company

In what is billed as the largest bust in western North Carolina, ICE took into custody 59 illegal aliens who making parachutes for the U.S. armed forces at the Mills Manufacturing Corp. in Woodfin, North Carolina. A related ICE press release suggests the enforcement action neutralized a potential national security vulnerability.

The 40 women and 19 men arrested for using fraudulent Social Security numbers comprise one-third of the company’s workforce. ....

The Russo-Georgian War and the Balance of Power

(Compiler's note: Shame on us -- America now has a problem. We've been backed into a corner by Russia. Our own national security as it relates to Iran and the Middle East hings on our on-going decisions, actions and speech with regard to this event(s). Somebody please look again deeply and tell me what you see in Putin's eyes. Lets stop making our national strategy on such shallow thinking. People need to understand that this is global chess -- and NOT a "game" without consequences. We choose our actions, but the other side has a say in the consequences we face. And yes it does affect the American people. rca)

By George Friedman with STRATFOR

The Russian invasion of Georgia has not changed the balance of power in Eurasia. It simply announced that the balance of power had already shifted. The United States has been absorbed in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as potential conflict with Iran and a destabilizing situation in Pakistan. It has no strategic ground forces in reserve and is in no position to intervene on the Russian periphery. This, as we have argued, has opened a window of opportunity for the Russians to reassert their influence in the former Soviet sphere. Moscow did not have to concern itself with the potential response of the United States or Europe; hence, the invasion did not shift the balance of power. The balance of power had already shifted, and it was up to the Russians when to make this public. They did that Aug. 8.

Let’s begin simply by reviewing the last few days.

On the night of Thursday, Aug. 7, forces of the Republic of Georgia drove across the border of South Ossetia, a secessionist region of Georgia that has functioned as an independent entity since the fall of the Soviet Union. ....

On the morning of Aug. 8, Russian forces entered South Ossetia, using armored and motorized infantry forces along with air power. South Ossetia was informally aligned with Russia, and Russia acted to prevent the region’s absorption by Georgia. Given the speed with which the Russians responded — within hours of the Georgian attack — the Russians were expecting the Georgian attack and were themselves at their jumping-off points. ....

On Monday, the Russians extended their offensive into Georgia proper, attacking on two axes. One was south from South Ossetia to the Georgian city of Gori. The other drive was from Abkhazia, another secessionist region of Georgia aligned with the Russians. ....

n this simple chronicle, there is something quite mysterious: Why did the Georgians choose to invade South Ossetia on Thursday night? ... Georgia’s move was deliberate. ....

The United States is Georgia’s closest ally. It maintained about 130 military advisers in Georgia, along with civilian advisers, contractors involved in all aspects of the Georgian government and people doing business in Georgia. It is inconceivable that the Americans were unaware of Georgia’s mobilization and intentions. ....

Indeed, given the posture of Russian troops, how could intelligence analysts have missed the possibility that the Russians had laid a trap, hoping for a Georgian invasion to justify its own counterattack? ....

It is very difficult to imagine that the Georgians launched their attack against U.S. wishes. The Georgians rely on the United States, and they were in no position to defy it. This leaves two possibilities. The first is a massive breakdown in intelligence ... The second is that the United States, along with other countries, has viewed Russia through the prism of the 1990s, when the Russian military was in shambles and the Russian government was paralyzed. ....

If this was the case, then it points to the central reality of this situation: The Russians had changed dramatically, along with the balance of power in the region. They welcomed the opportunity to drive home the new reality, which was that they could invade Georgia and the United States and Europe could not respond. As for risk, they did not view the invasion as risky. Militarily, there was no counter. Economically, Russia is an energy exporter doing quite well — indeed, the Europeans need Russian energy even more than the Russians need to sell it to them. Politically, as we shall see, the Americans needed the Russians more than the Russians needed the Americans. Moscow’s calculus was that this was the moment to strike. The Russians had been building up to it for months, as we have discussed, and they struck. ....

To understand Russian thinking, we need to look at two events. The first is the Orange Revolution in Ukraine. From the U.S. and European point of view, the Orange Revolution represented a triumph of democracy and Western influence. From the Russian point of view, as Moscow made clear, the Orange Revolution was a CIA-funded intrusion into the internal affairs of Ukraine, designed to draw Ukraine into NATO and add to the encirclement of Russia. U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton had promised the Russians that NATO would not expand into the former Soviet Union empire. ....

The second and lesser event was the decision by Europe and the United States to back Kosovo’s separation from Serbia. The Russians were friendly with Serbia, but the deeper issue for Russia was this: The principle of Europe since World War II was that, to prevent conflict, national borders would not be changed. If that principle were violated in Kosovo, other border shifts — including demands by various regions for independence from Russia — might follow. ....

From the Ukrainian experience, the Russians became convinced that the United States was engaged in a plan of strategic encirclement and strangulation of Russia. ....

Moscow had two motives, the lesser of which was as a tit-for-tat over Kosovo. ....

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin once said that the fall of the Soviet Union was a geopolitical disaster. This didn’t mean that he wanted to retain the Soviet state; rather, it meant that the disintegration of the Soviet Union had created a situation in which Russian national security was threatened by Western interests. ... The disintegration of the Soviet Union had left Russia surrounded by a group of countries hostile to Russian interests in various degrees and heavily influenced by the United States, Europe and, in some cases, China.

Putin did not want to re-establish the Soviet Union, but he did want to re-establish the Russian sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union region. ....

By invading Georgia as Russia did (competently if not brilliantly), Putin re-established the credibility of the Russian army. But far more importantly, by doing this Putin revealed an open secret: While the United States is tied down in the Middle East, American guarantees have no value. This lesson is not for American consumption. It is something that, from the Russian point of view, the Ukrainians, the Balts and the Central Asians need to digest. Indeed, it is a lesson Putin wants to transmit to Poland and the Czech Republic as well. The United States wants to place ballistic missile defense installations in those countries, and the Russians want them to understand that allowing this to happen increases their risk, not their security.

The Russians also know something else that is of vital importance: For the United States, the Middle East is far more important than the Caucasus, and Iran is particularly important. ....

Therefore, the United States has a problem — it either must reorient its strategy away from the Middle East and toward the Caucasus, or it has to seriously limit its response to Georgia to avoid a Russian counter in Iran. ....

In other words, the Russians have backed the Americans into a corner. The Europeans, who for the most part lack expeditionary militaries and are dependent upon Russian energy exports, have even fewer options. If nothing else happens, the Russians will have demonstrated that they have resumed their role as a regional power. Russia is not a global power by any means, but a significant regional power with lots of nuclear weapons and an economy that isn’t all too shabby at the moment. ....

The war in Georgia, therefore, is Russia’s public return to great power status. This is not something that just happened — it has been unfolding ever since Putin took power, and with growing intensity in the past five years. Part of it has to do with the increase of Russian power, but a great deal of it has to do with the fact that the Middle Eastern wars have left the United States off-balance and short on resources. ....

The war was far from a surprise; it has been building for months. But the geopolitical foundations of the war have been building since 1992. Russia has been an empire for centuries. The last 15 years or so were not the new reality, but simply an aberration that would be rectified. And now it is being rectified.

LOST SOVEREIGNITY

OIL-RICH FUND EYEING FORECLOSED US HOMES

There's a new land grab starting in America.

Foreign money, which up to now has focused its attention on investing in iconic commercial real estate - like Barneys New York and the Chrysler Building - is now moving to scoop up tens of thousands of discounted foreclosed homes across the country.

One sovereign fund, said to have earmarked $29 billion to purchase foreclosed residential real estate, recently hired a West Coast mortgage broker and is starting to search for bargains, The Post has learned.

The search, which is being carried out, in part, by Field Check Group mortgage consultant Mark Hanson, who was retained by the broker, Steve Iversen, is concentrating on single- and multi-family REO (real estate owned) homes, or homes that have already been taken over by the mortgagee. ....

this week Hanson's team negotiated a $2 billion package mixed with homes across the country for 31 cents on the dollar. ....

Israel adopts U.S. plan to split nation into 2

JERUSALEM – A detailed proposal for the creation of a Palestinian state that reportedly was presented by Israel to the Palestinian Authority in recent weeks was heavily influenced by the U.S. and is largely based on an American-drafted plan, ....

The proposal calls for Israel to evacuate 93 percent of the West Bank, while the Palestinians would receive territory equivalent to 5.5 percent of the West Bank, located in the Israeli Negev desert.

The plan grants the Palestinians passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on territory that would be jointly patrolled by Israel and the PA. The passageway would give the Palestinians access to areas close to central Israeli population centers. ....

Russia masses naval force opposite Georgia’s third sensitive region, Ajaria

While the world’s attention was fixed on the Russian-Georgian contest over two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, DEBKAfile’s exclusive military sources reveal that Russia has massed a fleet of warships and marine forces opposite the Gerogia's semi-autonomous Black Sea region of Ajaria.

....Ajarian has come to mean a Georgian Muslim.

The Russian Black Sea buildup is deployed opposite the Ajurian capital of Batumi, an important port for the shipment of oil from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Its oil refinery handles Caspian oil from Azerbaijan.

....DEBKAfile’s sources report that by recovering the base, Moscow will not only punish the Georgian president, but also profit from the turmoil of the past week in three ways:

1. A third semi-autonomous province will be hacked off Georgian territory after the loss of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

2. Russia will gain a strategic Black Sea foothold at Turkey’s back door.

3. It will also control a gateway to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

U.S. Should Rethink "War On Terrorism" Strategy to Deal with Resurgent Al Qaida

Current U.S. strategy against terrorist organization al Qaida has not been successful at limiting the group's capabilities. Since Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaida has been involved in more terrorist attacks than ever before, spanning an increasingly broader range of targets.

Click on the title above to view the PDF document.

Moscow’s Sinister Brilliance

By Victor Davis Hanson with National Review Online

Lost amid all the controversies surrounding the Georgian tragedy is the sheer diabolic brilliance of the long-planned Russia invasion. Let us count the ways in which it is a win/win situation for Russia. ....

The Russians rightly expect Westerners to turn on themselves, rather than Moscow — and they won’t be disappointed. Imagine the morally equivalent fodder for liberal lament: We were unilateral in Iraq, so we can’t say Russia can’t do the same to Georgia. (As if removing a genocidal dictator is the same as attacking a democracy). We accepted Kosovo’s independence, so why not Ossetia’s? (As if the recent history of Serbia is analogous to Georgia’s.) We are still captive to neo-con fantasies about democracy, and so encouraged Georgia’s efforts that provoked the otherwise reasonable Russians (As if the problem in Ossetia is our principled support for democracy rather than appeasement of Russian dictatorship).

From what the Russians learned of the Western reaction to Iraq, they expect their best apologists will be American politicians, pundits, professors, and essayists — and once more they will not be disappointed. We are a culture, after all, that after damning Iraqi democracy as too violent, broke, and disorganized, is now damning Iraqi democracy as too conniving, rich, and self-interested — the only common denominator being whatever we do, and whomever we help, cannot be good.

Home Values Still Plunging

NewsMax TV minute ....

Georgia sues Russia for alleged ethnic cleansing

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - The Georgian security council says it has filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice for alleged ethnic cleansing.

Council chief Alexander Lomaia told The Associated Press that Georgia made the filing Tuesday with the international court. He gave no other details of the lawsuit.

Russian officials have accused Georgia of committing genocide by launching an offensive last week to try to retake control of the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, meanwhile, accused Russian forces Monday of cleansing another breakaway province, Abkhazia, of ethnic Georgians. ....

One Effect Of Money's Influence On Policies

A new briefing paper from the Economic Policy Institute titled The China Trade Toll [PDF document] says that since China entered the World Trade Organization in 2001 our China trade policy "has had a devastating effect on U.S. workers and the domestic economy."

The report shows that since 2001 California has lost 325,800 jobs (55,400 of these just in the last year) to China due to these policies. And since 2001 2.3 million jobs were lost nationally. According to the report even those workers able to find new jobs saw their wages drop an average of $8,146 per year. (These figures are only for jobs and income lost to China and do not include jobs and income lost to other countries.)

And, of course, this effect is not limited to the workers who lost their job. This also has an effect on works' ability to ask for raises and imporvements in working conditions. ....

Soldiers pay bag fee on travel to war

American Airlines is charging troops for their extra baggage, a practice that forces soldiers heading for a war zone in Iraq to try to get reimbursement from the military. One of the country's largest veterans groups is asking the aviation industry to drop the practice immediately.

American, which recently charged two soldiers from Texas $100 and $300 for their extra duffel bags, said it gives the military a break on the cost for excess luggage and that the soldiers who incur the fees are reimbursed.

"Because the soldiers don't pay a dime, our waiver of the fees amounts to a discount to the military, not a discount to soldiers," said Tim Wagner, spokesman for American Airlines. "Soldiers should not have to pay a penny of it." ....

NYPD Increasing Terror Security

Click on the title of this article to view this video news story.

Russia's Vast Energy Supplies Worry U.S.

(Compiler's note: Has anyone heard the phrase -- "Drill, Drill Now"? This issue directly impacts OUR national security. We have an upcoming opportunity to impact this strategic issue with our upcoming elections. Wake up out there people!!! rca)

By Desmond Butler, Associated Press
Washington (AP) - The Cold War competition between the United States and Russia -- played out in Europe with the threat of mutual nuclear destruction -- ended with the collapse of the Soviet empire nearly two decades ago.

But the Russian bear has re-emerged from its cave with a new and powerful weapon -- the West's dependence on Moscow's vast energy supplies.

The Russians now supply about 25 percent of the European Union's crude oil needs and half of its natural gas. ,,,,

"It is unlikely that aggression against our NATO allies will occur with aircraft and tanks and troops," said Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in an Associated Press interview. "A nation could achieve the same and worse effects simply by turning off the taps-- people freeze, industry stops."

....To counter this influence, the U.S. sent special envoy C. Boyden Gray to energy-rich Central Asia to lobby for new routes that run through Georgia -- notably the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline that was almost hit by a Russian bombing raid Monday.

That pipeline carries Caspian crude to international markets from suppliers independent not only of Russia but also OPEC. Lesser amounts flow through the Baku-Supsa line, which ends on the Black Sea.

....Washington and the European Union, ... hamstrung by its limited power to set a unified energy policy in the face of Russia's divide-and-conquer strategy in the gas market.

It has struck lucrative deals with individual European countries and companies to extend its distribution reach to the Western end of the continent. To overcome growing Russian sway, U.S. and European officials believe that the U.S. must use its influence to push through more pipelines from Central Asia to Europe.

...."The United States does not have a clear, consistent strategy to promote our long-term security interests, or our near-term energy and economic interests. The Russians do," Biden wrote in response to written questions from the AP.

But Konstanin Batunin, an oil and gas analyst at Alfa Bank in Russia, believes the U.S. -- itself dependent on foreign oil -- has failed to make much headway because it has little to offer the Europeans in terms of alternate supplies.

"The powers are not equal," Batunin said, referring to a struggle between the U.S. and Russia to control the region. "The United States cannot offer an adequate alternative. A political resource with no economic element is not enough."

Most companies in US avoid federal income taxes

WASHINGTON (AP) - Two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes between 1998 and 2005, according to a new report from Congress.

The study by the Government Accountability Office, expected to be released Tuesday, said about 68 percent of foreign companies doing business in the U.S. avoided corporate taxes over the same period.

Collectively, the companies reported trillions of dollars in sales, according to GAO's estimate. ....

1 broken bulb pushes contamination to 300 times EPA limits

Poisonous vapor so bad, researchers recommend families no longer use CFLs

Compact fluorescent light bulbs have long been known to contain poisonous liquid mercury, but a study released earlier this year shows the level of mercury vapor released from broken bulbs skyrockets past accepted safety levels.

Dick Morris and Eileen McGann :: Townhall.com Columnist

On October 3, 1938, Adolf Hitler's armies marched into Sudetenland, a part of Czechoslovakia. Germany said it was responding to separatist demands from the large German population that lived there and that she was merely honoring their desire for reunion with Germany. Hitler's tanks took over a vital part of an independent country that had largely rejected his overtures and allied itself with the West. Neither Britain nor France nor the United States did a thing to stop him.

On August 7, 2008, Vladimir Putin's armies marched into South Ossetia, a part of Georgia. Russia said it was responding to separatist demands from the large Russian population that lived there and that she was merely honoring their desire for reunion with Russia. Putin's tanks took over a vital part of an independent country that had largely rejected his overtures and allied itself with the West. Neither Britain nor France nor the United States did a thing to stop him.

Encouraged by his occupation of Sudetenland, Hitler continued his designs on Czechoslovakia itself and invaded the rest of the nation a few months later.

Will history continue to repeat itself? ....

Obama’s Scandal Is Bigger than Edwards’

by Cliff Kincaid

....why haven’t they yet reported on the relationship that Obama had with a Communist Party USA (CPUSA) member by the name of Frank Marshall Davis, a subject of an FBI investigation and several official inquiries into Soviet-sponsored activities in the U.S.? Davis was so deeply involved in the CPUSA that he recruited members for the Moscow-funded and controlled party and had personal connections to other top party members such as Harry Bridges and Paul Robeson.

....Controversy over the Obama-Davis relationship is growing, at least in the conservative-oriented media. Rush Limbaugh, who last Thursday commented on our exposure of the dishonest Associated Press story about Davis, put a link to the AIM column on this matter on his website.

Also heavily drawing on our material, Investor’s Business Daily published an August 5 editorial, “Young Obama’s Red Mentor.” The paper noted that the “cryptic references” in Obama’s book to this communist mentor “were - and still are - designed to protect Obama’s background from the scrutiny it deserves.”
....In addition to clearing up the Edwards mess, Ross should subject Obama to the scrutiny he deserves and bring the Frank Marshall Davis connection to national attention.....

Click here for additional information on Obama

Analysis from Gerard Baker on Russia’s Invasion of Georgia

....Putin the Communist says that we are Russia’s “partners” and instead of helping them invade Georgia, have hindered their dark efforts. How many Russian soldiers are fighting and dying alongside our own in the Middle-East? Oh yes I remember! None. Maybe it has something to do with Russia’s last attempt at operations in the Middle-East. They conquer, we free innocent people from brutal dictators and Islamic fascist fanatics. Russia has been no partner to us in the greatest efforts of our time. Or in any effort I can think of for that matter. ....

EMP Threat: Keep Garden and Fishing Tackle Handy!

As the Bush Administration continues talks to lift sanctions and provide international aid to nuclear-capable terrorism sponsor North Korea, Saturday's Wall Street Journal reminds us of one more thing to worry about: the EMP threat. EMP—that's electromagnetic pulse, a fun little side effect of a nuclear detonation. Basically, set off a nuclear weapon way up high (like suborbital/low-orbit high, ballistic missile high), and you won't knock over any buildings or give anyone radiation poisoning. But the explosion will generate a power surge that will fry every electronic device in sight. Cell phones, computers, refrigerators, 99% of cars on the road today, maybe the entire electric grid—kaput!

I remember learning about EMP effects watching The Day After back in 1983, when Steve Guttenberg couldn't get a car to start after Kansas City got nuked. ABC gave EMP the dramatic treatment again in 1987's Amerika, in which the Soviets get the drop on us by setting off just four stratospheric nuclear blasts that EMP us into surrender.

So anyone care to speculate which Presidential candidate is more inclined to develop a program along the recommendations of a government commission's 2004 report (PDF alert) on deterring rogue nuclear attacks, "hardening" critical electronic systems, and putting together a restoration for the national power and communication grids? Obama and McCain both support missile defense, but I don't see EMP addressed.

In the meantime, try not to get too dependent on that Blackberry, and keep an eye on good fishing holes.
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You will also want click here for additional information

Obama -- the pro-'gay' candidate

According to at least one political analyst, Barack Obama has gone farther in supporting the homosexual agenda than any other presidential candidate in history.

Peter LaBarbera, founder of Republicans for Family Values, says a recent letter from the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to a homosexual activist group confirms the extremism of his positions.

"He advocates the full repeal of DOMA, which goes farther than Hillary Clinton, who only recommended repealing part of the Defense of Marriage Act," note LaBarbera. "He's talking about opening up the military to homosexuality in a time of war. He's talking about 'gay' adoption -- putting children in homes that are intentionally fatherless or intentionally motherless, and using the White House bully pulpit to do that." ....

Hezbollah cells in Germany

New evidence suggests militant Hezbollah sleeper cells could be planning an attack on Germany, according to the head of Germany's Federal Criminal Police. Joerg Ziercke, German Federal Criminal Police chief, said in the German daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel that investigators are monitoring as many as 200 suspected Hezbollah militant sleeper cells in the country, Adnkronos reported. ....

Indian ocean facing maritime terrorism threat

Is maritime terrorism across the Indian ocean gaining momentum? The Indian Ocean provides the shortest link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It accounts for nearly half of the world's container traffic, while two-thirds of the world's oil imports flow through this region. Over 200 ships pass through the Malacca strait daily. More than 15.5 million barrels of oil is shipped from the Persian Gulf by tankers each day through the Gulf of Hormuz. The Persian Gulf with 65 percent of the world's reserves holds the key to global energy and economic progress According to Chief of Indian Navy, Sureesh Mehta, maritime terrorism has gained roots in the Indian Ocean region. ....

"Maritime terrorism across national boundaries has gained momentum in the Indian Ocean. Armed aggression has increased and multinational cooperation is required to curb it," Mehta said.....

Private planes on TSA's radar

The Transportation Security Administration is planning a massive expansion of aviation security that for the first time will regulate thousands of private planes now flying with no security rules. The new regulations, expected to be proposed in coming months, stop short of passenger screening, but would aim to prevent someone from flying a small plane, possibly packed with explosives, into a building. Authorities also worry about terrorists transporting hazardous materials or themselves on private aircraft, said Michal Morgan, TSA head of general aviation security. ....

Study finds 11 percent drop in illegal immigration

Population of illegal immigrants grows in some border states ....

Radioactive Materials Discovered in Thailand, Georgia

by Christine Kucia

Police in Thailand and Georgia recently apprehended suspects possessing radiological materials, reinforcing international concern about the availability of the building blocks for “dirty bombs.”

Authorities in Thailand apprehended Narong Penanam on June 13 after the police, tipped off by U.S. investigators, seized a substance in an undercover sting operation that the suspect claimed was uranium. Tests later showed the material was cesium-137, which, if paired with a conventional explosive, could be used to make a radiological weapon, or “dirty bomb,” that could spread radioactive debris over a wide area.

U.S. and Thai authorities have been working together since October 2002, after preliminary reports surfaced about the possible sale of weapons-grade uranium in Asia, according to a June 13 Homeland Security Department press release. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge called the sting operation “an outstanding example of international cooperation in disrupting the proliferation of radiological material.”

The suspect claimed that he procured the material from a source in neighboring Laos and expected to net as much as $240,000 from selling it. U.S. officials told The New York Times that the seized quantity of cesium—initially reported to weigh around 66 pounds—may have originated in Russia.

Loose radioactive material was also found in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, according to a June 16 Reuters article. Georgian police found containers of cesium-137 and strontium-90, as well as nerve gas concentrate, in a Tbilisi taxi cab May 31, and they arrested the taxi driver and two other suspects. Like cesium-137, strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope that could be used to make a dirty bomb. According to Givi Mgebrishvili, spokesman for the Georgian Interior Ministry, “The most likely version is that the containers were intended to be transported on to Turkey and to be resold,” Reuters reported.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has worked with Georgian authorities since 1997 to secure radioactive materials and dispose of abandoned equipment containing such materials, often found at Soviet-era military installations. They have not always been successful: In June 2002, for example, IAEA and Georgian authorities failed to find two strontium-90 thermoelectric generators known to have been abandoned in western Georgia.

The agency has documented over 280 incidents worldwide since 1993 involving the illicit trafficking of radioactive material, and in March over 120 countries met to discuss the problem. (See ACT, April 2003.)

The US almost imported more HAMAS members!

The “sad” story of three HAMAS affiliated “scholars” finally came to an end Wednesday. In case you missed it (probably because it was buried by the MSM); three Fulbright Scholars from a university in Gaza were denied entry visas into the US after originally receiving them. If that sounds like a “Kerryism” from 2004 (I voted for the war funding before I voted against it), it is — only worse.

There are many unfortunate wrinkles in this story, from the US pandering to these supposedly ‘victimized’ residents of Gaza by carrying high-tech fingerprinting equipment to an Israeli checkpoint — just to facilitate visa interviews (that is an amazing personalized service that I am sure many US taxpayers would love to receive when they are preparing to travel abroad); to Secretary of State Rice making an absolute fool out of herself by “personally taking up the case” and publicly fronting out Israel in the process.

The jewel in this crown, however, is the fact that even after the Shin Bet warned of these “scholars” and their “potential” baggage (i.e. links to HAMAS), Rice pushed forward — only to eventually make the US once again eat crow on the international scene! From Haartez.com:

The United States has revoked the visas of three Palestinian Fulbright scholars whose cases were taken up personally by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after Israel refused to let them leave Gaza for interviews, U.S. officials said Monday.

Visas for the three, along with a fourth Palestinian student from Gaza who had hoped to come to the U.S. under a different program, were approved after Rice intervened in June but were rescinded last week when new information about them was received, the officials said.

“There were four Palestinians who were issued visas about whom we then received additional information,” State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said.

“We decided that we needed to take a closer and harder look at them in light of the additional information we received,” said Gallegos.

He also said the visas were canceled under a prudential revocation clause in immigration rules that allows them to be rescinded based on information gleaned about the holders after they were issued.

“It does not preclude the applicants from reapplying for visas in the future,” he said.

Gallegos declined to comment on the nature of the new information about the four Palestinians, one of whom had actually arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington before he was told his visa had been revoked and was forced to return to Jordan.

Readers will be relieved to know that in the aftermath of this debacle, Sec. Rice has ordered a top-to-bottom review of the entire Fulbright Scholarship Program.

Maybe when the State Department dives into those files they will find more people that have come to the United States under the guise of “furthering their education” that are actually here to subvert our country and way of life (possibly via some sort of, umm, ahh . . . Grand Jihad?).

Maybe when they task some investigators, they will see that the (mostly unnamed in the MSM) Gaza University that these folks came from was the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG), which has been alleged here (amongst others) at Central Ohioans Against Terrorism, to be a bastion of HAMAS activity.

In fact, in the story on the Christian Science Monitor website, Mr. Abed and Mr. Abu Shaban give an excellent first hand account of what many terrorism experts in the US have known for a while,

“Mr. Abed and Abu Shaban suspect that their denial is related to having studied at Islamic University, where many of the professors and administrators are affiliated with Hamas.”

Thanks for giving it to us straight boys. We do appreciate your openness . . . on that one.

First card to comply with Sharia law launched

The UK's first Sharia- compliant prepaid MasterCard was launched yesterday.

The Cordoba Gold MasterCard does not charge or receive interest as that would conflict with Sharia law.

The company donates at least 10% of its profits to registered charities. ....

Cop For a Day

Great short video -- just click on the title above

CONEY ISLAND MOB BEATS EX-MARINES RESCUING GIRL

A wolf pack of at least 30 thugs viciously attacked two hero ex-Marines in Brooklyn after they rescued a teenage girl who was being assaulted, police and witnesses said yesterday.

And when the brother of one of the former servicemen tried to come to his rescue during the July 25 melee in Coney Island, he was beaten into a coma.

The former leathernecks, Valentyn Olenyev, 23, and Boris Bukler, 22, Russian émigrés who served tours in Iraq, were walking a female friend to her parked car on West 23rd Street at 12:30 a.m. when they spotted two men holding the screaming teen by her hands and legs.

"She was yelling, 'Help!' " said Olenyev. "I asked her, 'Do you need help?' She said, 'Yes!"

"It wasn't our intention to get into a fight," said Bukler. "We said, 'Let the girl go, and we'll leave.' We told them, 'Stop.'

"She was screaming, and all we did was look to help her. I got a bottle smashed over my head, and after that, I started fighting. But I got beat down.

"I was getting my ass kicked by 50 people."

....Ivan suffered multiple facial fractures and will require plastic surgery.

The two former Marines, meanwhile, insist that the violence had racial overtones, although the assault has not been labeled a bias crime.

Bukler said, "Those in the crowd were yelling, 'Hey, white boys, you're in the 'hood now!' We were yelling back, 'We don't care - we live here!'

Al-Qaeda's #3 man (by default) slain

Another one bites the dust. While this adversely affects that temporal entity known as al-Qaeda (which is good), it does not influence the eternal notion of jihad (which is bad). "Senior al Qaeda leader killed in Pakistan," by Saad Khan for Reuters, August 12:

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Senior Al Qaeda commander Abu Saeed al-Masri has been killed in recent clashes with Pakistani forces in a Pakistani region near the Afghan border, a security official said on Tuesday.

"He was believed to be among the top leadership of al Qaeda," the senior security official said on condition of anonymity.

Al-Masri, which means Egyptian, was the most senior al Qaeda operative to have been killed in Pakistan's tribal belt since the death of his compatriot, Abu Khabab al-Masri, an Qaeda chemical and biological weapons expert, last month.

Television channels identified the dead man as Mustafa Abu al-Yazid and said he was also known as Abu Saeed al-Masri.

He was killed in recent clashes in the Bajaur tribal region, a known sanctuary for al Qaeda operatives on the Afghan border, the security official said. ....

Russian president halts military operation in Georgia as diplomatic haggling begins

This announcement from the Kremlin came after Moscow’s first formal statement on its terms for ending hostilities in the Caucasian War. A senior Russian army commander confirmed the troops had received orders top their advance.

DEBKAfile’s military sources: Moscow’s curb on Russian forces leaves Abkhazian and South Ossetian troops free to combat the Georgian army.

The Russian spokesman Boris Malakhov, explaining President Dimitry Medvedev’s decision to end the Georgian military operation, denied Russian troops were ever in Georgian territory, but only in the “peacekeeping” regions [South Ossetia and Abkhazia). Moscow reserved the right to respond militarily to future Georgian attacks.

Referring to the second breakaway region, Malakhov said Abkhazian troops were trying to liberate the Kodory Gorge from Georgian occupying troops. Moscow has no desire for “regime change”, which he said was an American expression, or territorial ambitions in Georgia. “Our only goal was to enforce peace and since this goal has been achieved, our president has ended the operation.”

Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov earlier demanded total Georgian withdrawal from South Ossetia and retreat not only from the breakaway region but also the facilities in the vicinity of next-door Gori used to attack the region. A similar withdrawal must take place in areas of Georgia abutting Abkhazia as well. He demanded a signed pledge from Georgia renouncing the use of force and said that Georgian president Mikhail Saakashivili was no longer trusted as a negotiating partner.

The Russian bombardment of Gori, deserted Monday night by Georgian troops, continued earlier Tuesday and focused on Georgian artillery positions. Rocket explosions reported by witnesses killed four people, among them a Dutch TV correspondent.

Lavrov and the Finnish foreign minister Alexander Stubb answered reporters’ questions in Moscow Tuesday, Aug. 12 ahead of French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s arrival to launch a mediation bid that will take him later to Tbilisi.

The meeting between NATO ambassadors and Russia scheduled for Tuesday was postponed, slowing the diplomatic momentum.

Stubb said he was sick and tired of the battle of words and wanted everyone to focus on securing a ceasefire, solving the humanitarian problem and stopping the inflammatory rhetoric.

Lavrov said Russia wanted to restore peace but ruled out Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili as a partner for peace talks who is not trusted any more. This is not a pre-condition, he said, but it would best if he resigned before peace talks began. His actions need to be investigated because Georgia’s steps amounted to genocide.

“We have no plans to impose leadership in Georgia; other countries do that,” he said. “We leave that to the Georgian people.”

The Russian foreign minister said Saakashvili had been hysterical when he accused Moscow of seeking to annex Georgia, which was not true.

Three major US naval strike forces due this week in Persian Gulf

(Compiler's note: I always understood that a naval blockage is considered an "act of war." rca)

August 11, 2008, 10:37 AM (GMT+02:00)

New America armada around Iran

DEBKAfile’s military sources note that the arrival of the three new American flotillas will raise to five the number of US strike forces in Middle East waters – an unprecedented build-up since the crisis erupted over Iran’s nuclear program.

This vast naval and air strength consists of more than 40 carriers, warships and submarines, some of the last nuclear-armed, opposite the Islamic Republic, a concentration last seen just before the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Our military sources postulate five objects of this show of American muscle:

1. The US, aided also by France, Britain and Canada, is finalizing preparations for a partial naval blockade to deny Iran imports of benzene and other refined oil products. This action would indicate that the Bush administration had thrown in the towel on stiff United Nations sanctions and decided to take matters in its own hands.

2. Iran, which imports 40 percent of its refined fuel products from Gulf neighbors, will retaliate for the embargo by shutting the Strait of Hormuz oil route chokepoint, in which case the US naval and air force stand ready to reopen the Strait and fight back any Iranian attempt to break through the blockade.

3. Washington is deploying forces as back-up for a possible Israeli military attack on Iran’s nuclear installations.

4. A potential rush of events in which a US-led blockade, Israeli attack and Iranian reprisals pile up in a very short time and precipitate a major military crisis.

5. While a massive deployment of this nature calls for long planning, its occurrence at this time cannot be divorced from the flare-up of the Caucasian war between Russia and Georgia. While Russia has strengthened its stake in Caspian oil resources by its overwhelming military intervention against Georgia, the Americans are investing might in defending the primary Persian Gulf oil sources of the West and the Far East.

DEBKAfile’s military sources name the three US strike forces en route to the Gulf as the USS Theodore Roosevelt , the USS Ronald Reagan and the USS Iwo Jima . Already in place are the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea opposite Iranian shores and the USS Peleliu which is cruising in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.