Uncle Jay Explains Today's Financial Problem

Congress wants answers about 'no-screening' policy for airport screeners

KUSA - Citing concerns, three members of Congress on the Homeland Security Committee have asked the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to explain its new policy that says screeners no longer have to go through metal detectors or have their personal belongings examined in the way that passengers do.

....Last week, a 9Wants to Know investigation found that screeners were bypassing security because of a new non-screening policy. The TSA said that screeners and their belongings don't have to be examined when they go behind security lines because screeners have had background checks and should be trusted. The TSA also says that officers will be screened randomly, without warning, periodically. ....

Kevlar containers could protect jets

WASHINGTON — The government is considering the first bomb-resistant luggage container that could prevent a small suitcase bomb from crashing a jet.

A new 5-foot-by-5-foot Kevlar container holds dozens of suitcases and can protect large planes from small suitcase bombs that slip past airport luggage scanners, said Howard Fleisher, deputy director of the Homeland Security Department's Transportation Security Lab.

Suitcase bombs have worried aviation officials since one blew up Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The bombs can get past security when they have explosive material that's too small to trigger an alarm from a luggage scanner. ....

Coastal Waterways: An Untapped Security Resource

by Phil Leggiere

New report outlines the homeland security case for re-investing in America’s “blue highways”. As a geographic barrier insulating the United States from potentially hostile nations, the oceans and waterways surrounding America from East and West have played an integral role in the nation’s security from its founding. Though no longer as formidable a geographic buffer in a world of high-speed global transport as they once were, our coastal waterways, according to a new study, may well hold the key to renewed resilience in the 21st century. The study, entitled America's Deep Blue Highway: How Coastal Shipping Could Reduce Traffic Congestion, Lower Pollution, and Bolster National Security, published by the Gloucester, Mass.-based The Institute for Global Maritime Studies, makes a case, partly based on homeland security concerns, for renovating our currently moribund coastal water transportation and shipping system Click here to see full report....

The Wall Street Bailout – Is Corporate Welfare Good for Domestic Security?

(Compiler's note: I've simply printed here the bottom line, so you may well want to read the entire -- must read -- article for necessary perspective. rca)

Dr. Robin McFee bailout

The government wants to spend its way out of another financial crisis…this time to the tune of $700 billion. They toss numbers around like it was lunch money. A trillion dollars here, a trillion dollars there….where will it end? The problem is, it is OUR money and it could be spent better.

A trillion dollars can buy a lot of preparedness.

....Make no mistake about it – our security is inextricably linked with our economic stability. The economic downturn has opened the United States up to numerous vulnerabilities as competing demands settle in.

Selling our borders.

The ripple effect of the financial markets and economy can be seen in the disaster called the South Florida real estate market which has left tens of thousands of condominium units for sale – many oceanfront or on the vital Intracoastal Waterway. Who is buying these up? Buyers from nations shall we say less than friendly to the U.S. (Russia, the Middle East) and South Americans, including Venezuelans – those same happy folks represented by President Chávez who also plays host to extremist Muslim terrorist organizations, purchases inordinate amounts of high tech weapons from Russia, and has made it no secret his antipathy for all things U.S., except of course our assets. We are selling off valuable and potentially strategic real estate to foreign interests. It is well known that the Russian Mob has purchased large chunks of real estate in New York and increasingly has set its sights on other important coastal areas from the Northeast to South Beach. Does this make sense? Are we so profit and money driven that we sell our souls and our resources to the first cash dropped in our hand?

Selling our financial notes

All countries trade in other nations’ currencies, purchase the treasury instruments of other countries and invest geoglobally. While that is all well and good in an ideal world where everyone plays fair and shares a social compact, one wonders how sound it is to write checks that some of our biggest rivals – China and Russia ultimately cash? They are hard currency rich and we need it. Are they propping up our cash flow? You decide. Never the less it is bad policy to spend ones household or country into debt to the point that loans, selling off shares of U.S., Inc and other practices are needed to get through the week.

Trade imbalance/worker imbalance

Creating a system where our biggest companies no longer hold allegiance to their native land instead choosing to go to the place of least resistance and greatest profit may be financially savvy in the short term but has caused the abandonment of the American worker, development of an offshore economy and trade imbalance that is out of control. Our foolish trade practices have allowed an unfair advantage abroad at untold cost in morale, money and economic stability to the U.S. Where was Congress, Sec. Paulson, his several predecessors over the last two administrations and Presidents Clinton and Bush as the Wal-Mart effect emerged?

Our role in this debacle

We spent more than we made; that could easily be said by the folks on Wall Street or Main Street. Irresponsible credit practices have hurt this nation. No question bad things happen to people – unexpected financial crisis, health expenses, deaths and unforeseen events. But those scenarios are not representative of the majority of debt burdened Americans. We need to become a financially responsible public – starting with the grown ups but clearly demanding that financial literacy be taught in our schools. It rarely is and such money ignorance will continue to hamper us.

Our leaders have created an environment whereby corporate profit trumps domestic security. With the number of leadership changes at numerous government agencies, low morale, rampant organizational inefficiencies, interagency challenges and sometimes outright failures across the board by Congress and the Administration, it can be argued Washington is broken. Given the dizzying number of lobbyists per Congressman, Senator, Cabinet member, candidate and civic leader offering soft landings and other attractive perks, the constituency of “K” street has outplayed “Main Street.” Instead of complaining about it, we as citizens must share some of the responsibility.

First – A government is only as good as the candidates we elect, the rules of engagement we create or allow to be created and the benchmarks or expectations we hold our officials to. Understanding how legislation is passed – the intended way and the real back room way is akin to trying to connect the dots in a Jackson Pollack picture. Though some parts of government by necessity need to be classified and top secret or higher, much of it should be transparent. The average citizen shouldn’t need a degree from the Fletcher School of Government to figure out how to get things done. But the average citizen should expend a little more energy in the political process given it is a government “of the people” – that’s us!

Participation via YouTube and chat rooms isn’t the answer. If you have a concern – contact your elected official. Remember they work for you! You put them in office and they presumably ran to serve. Well hold them to it! Find out what they are doing. Are your officials showing up? Are they voting? Are they looking out for you?

Second – Our voting effort is shameful. Where much of the peoples of the world do not have even the barest ability to vote for anything substantive or resulting in meaningful changes in their lives, we have an abundance of freedoms to influence our elected leaders – and we waste those opportunities. Our elected officials know this and can thus target their efforts to the demographics that truly matter to them – those who donate, those who campaign and those who show up to vote. Senator Obama beat Senator Clinton because he understood the key constituents necessary to win the primary. Every citizen should vote – period. Even if you don’t like the candidates – show up and write your own name on the ballot…it is your right to do so!

Third – We must become part of the process. It is very likely Congress will approve of some form of bailout. You have become the ultimate Bank of the U.S. Your wallet is the treasury. Make sure your representatives include in this “loan” from you to Wall Street a way to get reimbursed with interest! No CEO in a bailed out company gets to draw more than his government grade equivalent and no bonuses or options until the American people have been paid back. But Congress won’t watch out for you if they don’t think you are watching them!

What needs to be done?

For starters why just bail out the financial industry? Most of my medical students will graduate with between $140,000 and $200,000 in student loans; want to guess why most of them CAN’T (not won’t) go into primary care? The government sets the reimbursements, also oversees the management of student loans (beginning to see a pattern here?). What can be more fundamental to the stability of the nation than making sure enough doctors exist – a twist on Paulson’s argument for the well being of the U.S. based upon the economic model. I say let’s bail out medical students (and their attending physicians who also have student loans) on the assumption health underscores the well being of the U.S. Then after we’ve spent that trillion, let’s go for the food industry – it’s tough milking cows in Minnesota during the winter. Then let’s build an 800 mile wall to keep folks out. Oh, we already authorized that, we just haven’t built it. Hmmm. Where else can we drop a trillion? Rickety bridges? Elder care? How about Social Security?

Assuming we have to pump some money into the profiteers of Wall Street, let’s consider the following:

First we DO NOT under any circumstances allow Secretary Paulson a fiefdom and a trillion dollars…that is too much power and money concentrated at the discretion of someone who already failed miserably at his duty to protect the American people.

Second, we create a bipartisan (translation both parties play nice – this is the future of our country, check the rivalry and “I gotcha” at the door) oversight team from Congress and the Administration, and bring in the best and brightest financiers as the action team. Also need to bring in and work with security, health, public preparedness, urban and suburban leaders – this bailout will have a ripple effect on virtually every domain of public life – as such stakeholders from a wide range of arenas should be at the table from the onset anticipating problems and sharing insights as well as possible solutions before the morass that this bailout will become grows out of hand.

Third, the companies that receive the bailout need to understand a few ground rules:

They work for the interests of the American public until such time as the debt – ALL of it is repaid. The senior management signs the IOU. They are responsible in word, deed and by law to do everything they can to position their companies to pay the debt. The senior leaders will have a choice – get paid at government pay grades or what Lee Iacocca earned when Chrysler got bailed out. No golden parachutes.

Fourth, the American public is the de facto shareholder of these assets and should be compensated. We authorized our government funds we provided through taxation to be used judiciously. The Framers never envisioned this sort of bail out…such a wanton abandonment of fiduciary responsibility towards the public by officials and did not endorse the use of taxes for such purposes as sponsoring private enterprise. As such, “we the people” should enjoy some of the benefits of investment – and receive a “bonus” ever year based upon the prorated amount per capita we ultimately invest in the bailout. Consider it a ‘dividend” of sorts.

Fifth – every proceeding, every nickel and every benchmark is to be made public.

The future

While in Toronto, several security colleagues quipped “the U.S. is still a great nation, respected up here, and can remain a global leader, even though you don’t have any money.” You know things are bad when the Canadians feel sorry for the U.S.! The fact remains, unless we get our house in order we will quickly become a second rate economy with a first rate military. Global leadership requires more than Raptors and Stealth Bombers. The world has always admired our economic strength, and our innovation – Yankee ingenuity. This latest Wall Street debacle should be relished for the opportunity it presents us to reexamine who we are and where we are going as a society. Newt Gingrich was on target when he suggested buying our way out of this problem isn’t the solution.

The economy must be addressed and it will cost us; whether it is a trillion dollars or not remains to be seen.

America is a great, ingenious and strong nation. Our people are strong, resilient and dedicated. But we can only take so many misadventures. It is time for Washington to remember their duty to the people and it is time for the people to take a more hands on interest in how the government works. The Wall Street bailout may be the catalyst that awakens citizen interest and participation in government. The disruption of the financial market is an example of government getting caught asleep at the controls, and illustrates the direct correlation between government failure having a direct impact upon the daily lives of the average person. Though painful, it is a reminder that when we don’t have a hands-on approach to government, sometimes our government doesn’t take a hands-on approach to governing.

As we enter the last months of this election season both candidates should be mindful of the fragility of greatness and the need for both parties to work together for the common good. The thirst for victory and the incentives associated with party politics can often overshadow what should be the ultimate reason to run for office – a sense of duty, a sense of service and doing what is right for the nation. The next administration has before it a long list of lessons to be learned from and mistakes not to be repeated. The good news for this administration – it’s almost over – which means there is time to leave a legacy of good. So whatever the administration does in the last remaining months to start us on the way to a solution, even if it means telling us just how extensive the “how bad it is” really is, can in the end be one of the most important acts and contributions President Bush can do for the American public.

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Dr. Robin McFee is a physician and medical toxicologist. An expert in WMD preparedness, she is a consultant to government agencies, corporations and the media. Dr. McFee is a member of the Global Terrorism, Political Instability and International Crime Council of ASIS International. She has authored numerous articles on terrorism, health care and preparedness, and coauthored two books: Toxico-Terrorism by McGraw Hill and The Handbook of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Agents, published by Informa/CRC Press.

Liberal-Fueled Wall Street Woes

Stan Liebowitz bailout

How did America wind up in its worst financial crisis in decades? Sen. Barack Obama explained it this way last week: "When sub-prime-mortgage lending took a reckless and unsustainable turn, a patchwork of regulators systematically and deliberately eliminated the regulations protecting the American people."

That's exactly backward. Mortgage lending took that "reckless and unsustainable turn" because of regulation - regulation driven by liberals and progressives, not free-market "deregulators."

Pushed hard by politicians and community activists, the regulators systematically and deliberately altered financially sound lending practices.

The mortgage market was humming along just fine when, in the late 1980s, progressives decided that it needed to be "fixed." Their complaint: Some ethnic groups got approved for mortgages at lower rates than others.

In reality, mortgage lenders were simply being prudent - taking care to provide mortgages to those who could best afford to make the payments.

The shift began in 1989, when Congress amended the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act to force banks to collect racial data on mortgage applicants. By 1991, critics were using that data to paint lenders as racist by showing that minority applicants were approved at far lower rates. Banks were "Shamed By Publicity," as one 1993 New York Times headline put it.

In fact, they found a racial disparity only by ignoring relevant data on applicants' ability to make mortgage payments - such as their assets and credit history.

....Now that the popped bubble has left us swimming in foreclosures, the supporters of loosened credit standards seem shy about taking credit for their "mortgage innovations." Instead, they blame subprime lenders for becoming "predatory" - when they were simply taking the Boston Fed rules to their logical conclusion while broadening the mortgage market.

Investors holding mortgage-based assets now want out. Perhaps they deserve a $700 billion refund - since they were sold a bill of goods by "progressive" politicians, academics and government officials who, in the hope of remaking society, insisted that loans based on relaxed underwriting standards were sound.

BAILOUTS: THE WOUND THAT WILL KEEP ON HEMORRHAGING

By: Devvy

Click on the title above for Part I -- click here for Part II

Full text of Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN General Assembly

The following is a copy of Iranian President Ahmadinejad's speech to the United Nations General Assembly early Wednesday morning, as translated by the Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran News Service: ....

Ah...Sorry To Bother You, Mr. Obama, Sir...

(Compiler's note: Has anyone seen where these basicitems have in fact been provided to the American people? This is an interesting read.)

Source: Found at rense.com

Columbo Still Scratching His Head...
9-22-8

Excuse me Mr. Obama, I mean Senator Obama, sir. Um . . . know you are busy and important and stuff. I mean running for president is very important and . . . ah . . . I hate to bother you. I will only take a minute ok, sir? See, I have these missing pieces that are holding me up, and I was wondering sir, if you could take time out of your busy schedule and help me out. You know, no big deal, just some loose ends and things. Hey, you have a nice place here! The wife sees houses like this on TV all the time and says boy she wishes she had digs like this you know? Is that painting real? Really? Wow. I saw something like that in a museum once! Oh, sorry sir. I didn't mean to get off the track. So if you could just help me out a minute and give me some details, I will get right out of your way. I want to close this case and maybe take the wife to Coney Island or something. Ever been to Coney Island ? No, I didn't think so. . Well, listen, anyways, I can't seem to get some information I need to wrap this up. These things seem to either be 'locked' or 'not available'. I'm sure it's just some oversight or glitch or something, so if you could you tell me where these things are . . . I . . I . . . have them written down here somewhere . . . oh wait. Sorry about the smears. It was raining out. I'll just read it to you. Could you help me please find these things, sir? 1. Occidental College records -- Not released 2. Columbia College records -- Not released 3. Columbia Thesis paper -- 'not available' 4. Harvard College records -- Not released 5. Selective Service Registration -- Not released 6. Medical records -- Not released 7. Illinois State Senate schedule -- 'not available' 8. Law practice client list -- Not released 9. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate - - Not released 10. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth -- Not released 11. Harvard Law Review articles published -- None 12. University of Chicago scholarly articles -- None 13. Your Record of baptism-- Not released or 'not available' 14. Your Illinois State Senate records--'not available' Oh hey . . listen! I know you are busy! Is this too much for you now? I mean tell you what. I will come back tomorrow. Give you some time to get these things together, you know? I mean, I know you are busy, so I will just let myself out. I will be back tomorrow. And the day after. "Who wants to know these things?" asks Senator Obama. Columbo answered: THE PEOPLE

Murtha Subject of Lawsuit

Reported by: Sean Dreher

PITTSBURGH, PA --- Congressman John Murtha (D-Johnstown) has been making national headlines since he first spoke out about the “Haditha Marines” in May of 2006. Making the rounds on the primetime talk show circuit, Murtha said they were responsible for killing 23 innocent women and children “in cold blood.”

On Thursday, 24 year old Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt, one of the accused and a Murtha constituent, took the congressman to task for his comments.

Sharratt and his attorney, Noah Geary of Pittsburgh, filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court in Pittsburgh.

“Murtha’s statements were false, what he did was outrageous,” Geary said.

Sharratt, a Canonsburg native, along with six other marines have been cleared of all criminal charges stemming from the Haditha killings.

“There was no evidence he committed any crime, there was no evidence he committed unpremeditated murder, and there was no evidence Justin did anything wrong,” Geary said.

In August WTAJ News asked Murtha about the incident, and if he would issue an apology if all eight marines were exonerated. He initially declined to comment, but when pressed, said he was proud of his remarks.

“They’ve changed the way they handle things there, and that makes me feel good about the way I’ve spoken out,” Murtha said.

The lawsuit accuses Murtha of violating Sharratt’s 5^th and 6^th amendments. It also says he prevented Sharratt from having equal protection under the law. Sharratt said he just wants to see justice served.

He said Thursday that would happen through the lawsuit by “showing America that a congressman can’t say whatever he wants.”

Sharratt also said he hopes the lawsuit will take away any demoralization Murtha gave to the military when he made the comments.

Murtha is up for re-election in November. Sharratt and Geary both deny that the timing of the lawsuit was politically motivated.

Murtha had no comment Thursday on the civil suit. He has 60 days to respond in court.

$6.6 billion in special projects rides on federal spending bill

By Matt Kelley

WASHINGTON — A $630 billion spending bill nearing final approval in Congress includes $6.6 billion for thousands of lawmakers' pet projects, including $51.5 million requested by Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden when both presidential candidates have sworn off seeking any money.

Taxpayers for Common Sense analyzed the 2,321 special-interest items called "earmarks" in the spending bill. The legislation is a temporary measure that would fund the government through March, rather than October 2009, when the next fiscal year ends. It combines spending bills for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, as well as nearly $30 billion in disaster relief for flood and hurricane victims and up to $25 billion in loans to automakers.

The House of Representatives approved the measure 370-58 on Wednesday, and the Senate is likely to follow before members leave Washington to head home for the November elections.

Both presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, have criticized earmarks. McCain, who doesn't request earmarks, has said that as president, he would veto any bill containing them. Since joining the Senate in 2005, Obama has requested $860.6 million in earmarks, according to the taxpayer group, but none this year, and he has pledged to reduce them if elected president.

Earmarks represent about 1% of the more than $3 trillion federal budget. They have been at the center of recent criminal investigations, including the conviction of former Republican representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham in 2006 for accepting bribes for earmarks in a defense bill.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Washington | Congress | Barack Obama | Delaware | House of Representatives | Republican John McCain | Homeland Security | Joseph Biden | Randy | Senate Appropriations Committee | Veterans Affairs | Rep. John Murtha | Sen. Ted Stevens | David Wade | D-Pa | R-Alaska | Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense | Departments of Defense

Earmarks are mostly used by members of Congress to secure funds for local governments, non-profits and other groups in their home states.

Biden, a senator from Delaware, requested 18 earmarks, according to the bill's language. All of them also were requested by Delaware's other senator, Democrat Tom Carper or its lone congressman, Republican Rep. Mike Castle, or both.

Among other items, Biden and four others were able to secure $3.2 million for second-generation cold-weather clothing for the military, the bill shows.

Biden spokesman David Wade did not respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.

The amount of earmarked spending in the package is about 11% less than in last year's spending bills, says Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense, which tracks and criticizes earmarked spending. Last year's bills included 2,438 earmarks worth $7.7 billion. President Bush had vowed to veto any 2009 spending bill that didn't cut earmarks by half or more.

The lawmaker with the highest amount in earmarks in the bill is Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who seeks $238.5 million, according to the Taxpayers for Common Sense analysis. In the House, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., has the highest amount with $111.1 million in earmarks by himself or with others, the analysis shows.

Stevens' trial opened Thursday on criminal charges he failed to report gifts from an oil services contractor on his yearly financial disclosures. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, has pleaded not guilty. He is a former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which handles spending bills, and stepped down as the ranking Republican on its defense subcommittee after his indictment in July. Murtha is chairman of the defense subcommittee.

"It's startling what a long shadow Sen. Stevens continues to cast," Ellis said. "He's not chairman or ranking member of the committee anymore, yet he still has powerful friends and allies who seem to be willing to deliver more earmarks to him than to themselves or anyone else."

Financial Crisis Timeline** Dems Scoffed at Warnings-- Schumer Singled Out (Video)

By Gateway Pundit bailout

Democrats Were Warned & Consistently Blocked Reform--

Way back in 2001 The Bush Administration raised red flags.
In 2008, Bush warned the Democratic majority 17 times that there was a looming crisis and that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needed reform.

In 2003, former Treasury Secretary John Snow testified before the House Financial Services Committee and said this:

SNOW: We need a strong world-class regulatory agency to oversee the prudential operations of the GSEs and the safety and the soundness of their financial activities.

In 2005- Senator John McCain partnered with three other Senate Republicans to reform the government’s involvement in lending.

Sadly, in every instance since 2001, Democrats either ignored or blocked any attempts at reform.
Even Bill Clinton admits it.

Yesterday, FOX News put together a timeline on the crisis and attempts at reform.
Senator Charles Schumer from New York was singled out for his defense of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

No wonder we're not seeing the liberal media squawk about who's to blame.

Bomb Fears as Nuclear Waste Piles Up at Nation's Hospitals

BARNWELL, S.C. — Tubes, capsules and pellets of used radioactive material are piling up in the basements and locked closets of hospitals and research installations around the country, stoking fears they could get lost or, worse, stolen by terrorists and turned into dirty bombs.

.... For decades, the government urged states to build low-level nuclear waste landfills, either on their own or in cooperation with nearby states. But those efforts have run into strong not-in-my-backyard resistance of the sort that led South Carolina lawmakers to close the Barnwell County landfill to all but three states. Only one low-level landfill, in Utah, has opened in the past 30 years. One more could open in Texas by the end of next year, but it would accept trash from only Vermont and the Lone Star State.

The government never set up penalties for states that failed to build landfills.

"Congress should have gotten involved a long time ago," said Richard Gallego, vice president of Thomas Gray and Associates Inc., a California company that prepares low-level waste for disposal.

Rich Janati, chief of nuclear safety for Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, said: "It's a national issue, and we should look at it as a national problem and come up with a solution."

The government this week did move to shore up security by requiring hospitals and labs to better secure machines used to irradiate blood. Also, dirty-bomb fears have prompted the National Research Council to urge replacing the roughly 1,300 such machines in the U.S. with less hazardous but more expensive equipment.

Gas Shortage In the South Creates Panic, Long Lines

(Compiler's note: Now is the time to watch and learn in preparation ....)

Gasoline shortages hit towns across the southeastern United States this week, sparking panic buying, long lines and high prices at stations from the small towns of northeast Alabama to Charlotte in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. ....

Students mastering Arabic in a flash

By Wendy Leonard

DRAPER — Five volunteers from the U.S. military are enrolled in an intense, four-month course to learn one of the world's most in-demand foreign languages.

The language proficiencies and abilities of the 221st Military Intelligence Battalion from Fort Gillem, Ga., may astonish some, but instructor Jabra Ghneim — who helped translate the Book of Mormon into Arabic — expects such accomplishment and more, as thousands of hours have turned out hundreds of productively fluent speakers over the years.

"They learn it to do their jobs, to rise up in the ranks, and of course there is a monetary motivation to it all," he said.

Jabra developed the Ace My Language method, which is currently contracted by the U.S. government for rapid learning of foreign languages such as Arabic, Korean, Farsi and Chinese — all of which are growing in necessity. Other methods have proven less effective, he added.

"Everybody can pick up a language. The only difference is the method used to learn it," Jabra said, adding that for 90 percent of language learners, regular methods do not work.

The only other place in which methods similar to Jabra's are used is at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, which former Brigham Young University linguistics professor Robert Blair said is "an unusual achievement."

"Students like to have an experience of learning a language, an experience where they are speaking and listening full time," Jabra said.

"Students need to be in a language class whenever they start to learn a language, with native speakers. It doesn't work any other way."

After only 2 1/2 months in class, Jabra's students already are using conversational Arabic to communicate, able to discuss anything from what they had for lunch to global warming and politics, with their three native-speaking instructors. They arrive at a proficiency most would require more than a year to grasp, enough to achieve a level 2 rating on the Arabic Defense Language Proficiency Test administered by the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.

"I knew three words in Arabic when this thing started," said David Fuchko, an Army specialist enrolled in Jabra's course. "Now we have conversations just about anything."

He has spent time with the military in Iraq and expects his new skill to come in handy if he's deployed again.

"It will really help being able to speak the language," Fuchko said. "It'd be nice to be aware of what's going on around you and be able to interact with the people there."

The Ace method does not require students to memorize grammar rules or words and phrases by rote repetition, but rather teaches by total immersion into the language.

"They learn as an infant would learn a language," said instructor Ehab Abunuwara. "It's a very relaxed, very natural process." ....

Jabra runs multiple language programs involving military personnel simultaneously and in different states, currently in Draper and at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. The service, he said, is becoming more popular as the need arises and as other programs fail to deliver desired results.

The learning is intense, five days each week with seven hours dedicated to various Arabic language activities and one hour of lecture-discussion on Middle Eastern culture. No homework is required, although students are encouraged to practice vocabulary using electronic flashcards on their own.

"I know what the MTC can do with missionaries in 12 weeks," Blair said. "But Jabra and his students are well on their way to making a world record in learning Arabic. It's extraordinary."

'Terrorists believe now is time to strike America'

(Compiler's note: Listen to the audio stream that is in this article. rca)

From WorldNetDaily

The "war on terror" theme has receded during the 2008 election battle as the Wall Street economic crisis is raising alarms across the nation, but author Brigitte Gabriel, an expert on terrorism, is warning that for Americans not to pay attention to the threat – and act now – the future will include a price tag no one wants to pay.

"Some [terrorists] are talking that this is the time to strike, while America is down," she said during an hourlong interview with KSFO's Barbara Simpson that addresses Gabriel's new book, "They Must Be Stopped.

She warned that war with radical Islam is inevitable and, "Things have not gotten any better since Sept. 11, 2001."

"Look across the globe," Gabriel said. "We see the rise of Islamofascism faster than [any time] in the past 30 years. … We are seeing capitulation to Muslim demands. The Western public is at the tipping point. We're heading in the wrong direction. We must wake up very soon and start resisting."

She cited the recent approval in Great Britain for Islamic law to be used to settle some legal issues.

"Who would have thought?" she asked.

Her New York Times best-selling book suggests survival may depend on throwing out those politically correct notions about Islam and taking action.

She explains how:

• Fundamentalist Islam is a religion rooted in 7th century teachings that are fundamentally opposed to democracy and equality.
  
  
• Radical Islamists are utterly contemptuous of all "infidels" (non-Muslims) and regard them as enemies worthy of death.
  
  
• Madrassas in America are increasing in number, and they are just one part of a growing radical Islamic army on U.S. soil.
  
  
• Radical Islam exploits the U.S. legal system and America's protection of religion to spread its hatred for western values.
  
  
• America must organize a unified voice that says "enough" to political correctness, and demands that government officials and elected representatives do whatever is necessary to protect us.

Here, also, is your chance to listen to the full interview, where Gabriel can do more than give a soundbite and a bumper sticker slogan:

Brigitte Gabriel's interview with KSFO's Barbara Simpson

Gabriel's book, according to "American Jihad" author Steve Emerson, is "riveting, compelling and spellbinding. This is a must read for the entire American public."

"A compelling and captivating personal story with a powerful lesson about threats to freedom in our time," said R. James Woolsey, director of Central Intelligence from 1993-1995.

"There is a threat. We must do something about it. We must stop them," Gabriel said.

Earlier, in an interview with WND columnist Larry Elder that was documented in two parts, "Because they hate," and "Because they hate, part 2," Gabriel said al-Qaida already is inside the U.S., as is Hezbollah.

"We estimate thousands have already been smuggled into America. ... Hamas is here. ... They have cells in over 40 states. ... We also need to reform our immigration and visa programs. We need to monitor who is coming into our country and why. ... We need to increase human intelligence. … I want everyone who fits the terrorist profile to be profiled. We have men between the ages of 16 and 40 who have committed terrorist acts around the world in the name of Islam. They are not little old ladies from Ohio with blue hair. They are not children going to Disney World on their Easter vacation," she said.

Elder asked: "What happens if a Democrat wins the 2008 election?"

"We are doomed. Our enemies want the Democrats to win. This last election, jihadist websites were playing victory songs and declaring the Democrats are our allies in the war against America," she said.

Enviro groups 'wolves in sheep's clothing'

...."We also find exhausting litigation, instigation of false claims, misleading science, and scare tactics to fool Americans into believing disastrous environmental scenarios that are untrue," Inhofe said. "Especially in this election year, the American voter should see these groups and their many affiliate organizations as they are: the newest insidious conspiracy of political action committees and perhaps the newest multi-million dollar manipulation of federal election laws."

The Wall Street Journal reported on the difficulty of tracking political activity of 501(c) organizations, stating the IRS does not require such organizations to list spending records or distributors. The newspaper conducted an investigation of 30 separate 501(c) organizations that donated funds to elections from 2000 to 2006.

"The data show that the 30 organizations spent at least $155 million on the 2006 elections, nearly twice what they spent in 2000," the Journal reported. ....

Media Mum on Barney Frank's Fannie Mae Love Connection

Are journalists playing favorites with some of the key political figures involved with regulatory oversight of U.S. financial markets? bailout

165 economists rip bailout plan

(Compiler's note: Has anyone considered our Constitution?)

At least 165 economists have signed a letter to Congress members warning of three pitfalls in the Bush administration's $700 billion proposal to deal with the Wall Street crisis.

The economists say they are well aware of the current financial situation and agree there's a need for bold action but ask Congress "not to rush."

They urge lawmakers to hold appropriate hearings and "to carefully consider the right course of action."

The three problems with the plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the economists say, are its fairness, ambiguity and long-term effects. ....

'Rogues gallery' of mortgage scandals

(Compiler's note: Another must read. rca)

As Congress works on a $700 billion bailout plan for the U.S. financial system, the FBI has extended fraud investigations to 26 companies involved in mortgage lending. Authorities are attempting to determine whether any of the firms have participated in accounting fraud, insider trading or inflating values of mortgage-related assets. The FBI has not disclosed a list of companies under investigation, but the following are just a few firms in distress and executives under scrutiny. ....

Ex-Weathermen terrorist in group backing Obama

By Aaron Klein

JERUSALEM – One of the main founders of the Weathermen terrorist organization is a signatory to an independent organization acting to ensure the election of Sen. Barack Obama, WND has learned.

The group in question, Progressives for Obama, also includes among its ranks many former members of the 1960s radical organization Students for a Democratic Society, from which the Weathermen splintered, as well as current and former members of other radical organizations, such as the Communist Party USA and the Black Radical Congress.

In its creed, first published in March in the Nation magazine, the Progressives for Obama founders state their organization descended from the "proud tradition of independent social movements that have made America a more just and democratic country."

Progressives for Obama stated it can help the Illinois senator's ascent to highest office by contributing funds, using the Internet to reach "millions of swing voters;" defending Obama against negative attacks and making its agenda known at the Democratic National Convention.

"Progressives can make a difference in close primary races like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Oregon and Puerto Rico, and in the November general election," the founders state.

The founders stress it is crucial to form a grassroots leftist movement to ensure Obama does not stray too far to the center, claiming other grassroots liberal movements have successfully pressured U.S. presidents into creating new policy:

It was the industrial strikes and radical organizers in the 1930s who pushed Roosevelt to support the New Deal. It was the civil rights and student movements that brought about voting rights legislation under Lyndon Johnson and propelled Eugene McCarthy and Bobby Kennedy's antiwar campaigns. It was the original Earth Day that led Richard Nixon to sign environmental laws.

And it will be the Obama movement that will make it necessary and possible to end the war in Iraq, renew our economy with a populist emphasis, and confront the challenge of global warming. We should not only keep the pressure on [Obama] but also connect the issues that Obama has made central to his campaign into an overarching progressive vision."....

Russia offers Chavez nuclear help amid US tensions

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was to meet Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Friday after Russia risked Washington's wrath by offering the fierce US foe help developing nuclear energy.

The two were to meet in the city of Orenburg after hawkish Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told Chavez in Moscow on Thursday that Russia was "ready to consider the possibility of cooperation in nuclear energy." ....

House Passes FY09 Defense Authorization Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved the $612 billion defense authorization bill for fiscal 2009 and the Senate is expected to follow suit before the end of the week, the Associated Press reported ....

U.S. Seeks to Secure Radioactive Medical Material

The United States is seeking to secure a potential radiological “dirty bomb” ingredient that is used in medical devices, USA Today reported yesterday (see GSN, May 5).

By the end of 2009, the new U.S. initiative is expected to place security measures on roughly 1,300 blood irradiation devices containing cesium chloride, according to officials at the Homeland Security and Energy departments.

A single machine uses enough of the material to fuel a dirty bomb, said Vayl Oxford, head of the Homeland Security Department’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. He added that securing the devices "takes a potential threat off the table.”

A series of “Red Teaming Assessments” drew attention to the vulnerability last year, when U.S. agents managed to reach cesium in the machines in only two minutes ....

Pakistan Seeks Chinese Help to Add 10 Nuclear Sites

Pakistan hopes it can tap Chinese technology to build 10 new nuclear power stations over the next 22 years, the Press Trust of India reported (see GSN, Sept. 22).

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday approved the construction of two nuclear facilities in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Sources said China was likely to assist in the construction of the plants.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari plans to request Chinese fuel technology for the 10 nuclear plants, which are expected to be placed at six sites around Pakistan, The News reported.

Pakistan intends to build a nuclear fuel production site that would supply the new power facilities. ....

Iran Approaching Nuke Production Capacity, EU Says

Iran could soon become capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium to power a nuclear weapon, the European Union told the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation governing board yesterday

... While intelligence gathered by a U.N. nuclear watchdog probe into Iran’s nuclear ambitions "remains to be verified, the IAEA's exhaustive and detailed [findings] leads one to think that … Iran has methodically pursued a program aimed at acquiring the nuclear bomb," the statement said.

Iran’s uranium enrichment centrifuges, now estimated at nearly 4,000, “appear to be running at approximately 85 percent of their stated target capacity, a significant increase over previous rates," said David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security.

Iran is now using its growing enrichment capability to produce low-enriched uranium that can fuel nuclear power plants, but the Middle Eastern state could potentially tap the process to generate highly enriched uranium for use in a bomb.

Albright said Iran would need at least 1,500 pounds of low-enriched uranium to produce enough material for one unsophisticated nuclear bomb; the nation now has nearly 1,000 pounds of the material. It “is progressing toward this capability and can be expected to reach it in six months to two years,” Albright said (George Jahn, Associated Press/Google News, Sept. 24). ...

Anthrax Suspect Wrote to Himself About Mailings

U.S. Army microbiologist Bruce Ivins last year wrote in an e-mail to himself saying that he had identified the perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax mailings for which he was being investigated as the sole suspect, according to an affidavit made public yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 24).

The affidavit states that Ivins pointed FBI agents to other researchers who might have carried out the attacks after he learned that anthrax spores in the mailings had been genetically linked to a supply he controlled at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md., the Washington Post reported. ....

North Korea on Verge of Resuming Nuke Work

North Korea’s activities this week put it ever closer to resuming nuclear weapons operations, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Sept. 24).

Pyongyang intends within a week to resume operations at the plant at its Yongbyon nuclear complex that produces weapon-grade plutonium from spent reactor fuel rods, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced yesterday. The regime has also barred IAEA personnel from the facility after they removed all seals and monitoring equipment. ....

Assassination Hinders IAEA Investigation of Alleged Syrian Reactor

By Greg Webb

VIENNA — Efforts to investigate alleged Syrian nuclear-weapon activities have been slowed by the recent killing of an intermediary working with international inspectors, the top U.N. nuclear official revealed today (see GSN, Sept. 23).

The announcement came in the final seconds of this week’s meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation governing board, which had just completed a debate over the agency’s investigation into a Syrian facility that U.S. officials alleged to be a nuclear reactor that was destroyed in a Sept. 6, 2007, Israeli air strike. U.S. intelligence officials later offered evidence that the site near al-Kibar was a nearly operational plutonium production reactor intended to fuel a nuclear-weapon program. ... The Syrian official was Brig. Gen. Mohammad Suleiman, a Western diplomat confirmed today. Suleiman was shot in the head at his seaside villa on Aug. 2 by a sniper positioned on an offshore boat, Reuters reported last month. ...