Posts
(Analyst's note: I agree with ACT for America in this must read article -- Decisions made and actions taken by the Obama administration and some leaders of Congress the past few months leave many Americans, including us, wondering “Who do they see as America’s real enemy?”
For instance, regardless of one’s position on health care reform, we’re witnessing harsher epithets tossed by some politicians at protestors exercising their first amendment rights at congressional townhall meetings than we hear applied to radical Islamists. When certain politicians call their fellow Americans “evil,” “Nazis,” “fascists,” and “un-American,” while at the same time refusing to utter the phrase “war on Islamic terrorism,” we are left to wonder: “Who do they see as America’s real enemy?”
When the Obama administration releases details of our interrogation techniques, compromising our counterterrorism efforts, and directs the FBI to mirandize captured enemy combatants on the battlefield in Afghanistan by reading them their “rights,” we are left to wonder: “Who do they see as America’s real enemy?”
And when Attorney General Eric Holder, surely with the tacit approval of President Obama, decides to order an investigation of interrogation techniques of terrorists, which is devastating morale at the CIA and will ultimately put Americans at greater risk, we are left to wonder: “Who do they see as America’s real enemy?”)
by
The Justice Department's decision to investigate the interrogation methods used by the Bush administration's war on terrorism sent a chilling message to CIA agents that they could be prosecuted for protecting our country from another attack.
Despite President Obama's promise to CIA personnel earlier this year that he did not want to reopen the debate over aggressive-interrogation practices in the previous administration, Attorney General Eric Holder named a special prosecutor to go after agents who acted with the approval of the Bush Justice Department's legal rulings.
Holder not only overruled Obama -- who caved in to his attorney general and said it was his call -- he dismissed the bitter opposition of CIA Director Leon Panetta and even attorneys in his own department.
It was the latest move in a number of actions that have defanged the CIA and reduced its effectiveness in the war on terror, after eight years of foiling numerous plots that has kept our country safe.
Seven months into his presidency, Obama has moved to close down the Guantanamo Bay facility for prisoners in the war against terrorism. He has issued directives that have tied the hands of intelligence agents trying to discover terrorist plots against Americans before they occur. He has removed the CIA's authority for interrogation and placed it in the White House. He has undercut CIA chief Panetta, raising questions as to who is running the agency, Panetta or the White House's political agents.
His administration has even banned Bush's phrase, "war on terrorism," and in the past few months needlessly released top-secret intelligence documents that have given Al Qaeda and the Taliban terrorists a treasure-trove of information about interrogation policies and practices.
And now he has given in to Holder's plan to prosecute some of the CIA's best agents, breaking a solemn public pledge to the nation's chief intelligence agency that its agents would not be persecuted simply for doing their job.
"President Obama's decision to allow the Justice Department to investigate and possibly prosecute CIA personnel, and his decision to remove authority for interrogation from the CIA to the White House, serves as a reminder, if any were needed, of why so many Americans have doubts about this administration's ability to be responsible for our nation's security," said former Vice President Richard Cheney.
People who have talked to Panetta recently say his embattled agency is suffering from deep morale problems as agents wonder why the White House seems to be spending more time and effort investigating them than stepping up the war on terrorism.
Career CIA agents now have good reason to fear that Holder's -- and now the president's -- special prosecutor, John H. Durham, will be coming after them with both guns blazing and maybe other former top officials in the Bush administration.
"Once Durham starts digging," the Washington Post reported this week, "... the veteran prosecutor could uncover evidence that leads him higher up the chain of command in an inquiry that grows broader than what the Justice Department outlined Monday."
The dangerous precedent this sets is contrary to Obama's oft-repeated intention to focus on the future, not the past. Instead, his administration is now intent on prosecuting public officials who acted at the time under legal opinions cleared by the Justice Department.
Administration officials say the president is sensitive to the damaging impact that a criminal investigation could have on the CIA and has drawn a tenuous line that they describe as a "balancing act."
But through information gathered from high-value terrorist prisoners during CIA interrogations, we know that our enemies are plotting to attack again and kill as many Americans as they can. This isn't a time for a nuanced "balancing act." It is a time to send a message to those who would do us harm that we are using all of the tools, methods and weapons at our command to protect our national security.
That was the clear, unmistakable message President Bush sent to our enemies, and no one can quarrel with the fact that the policies, programs and actions he implemented successfully defended us for eight years.
But that is not the message the Obama administration is sending as batteries of lawyers are being sent in to defend terrorist detainees, some of whom who are either being read their Miranda rights or sent back to their homelands where many have resumed their terrorist lives.
Indeed, instead of stepping up the war on terrorism, his administration seems to be declaring war on America's intelligence apparatus with plans to mount a criminal investigation against a frontline national-security agency.
"It doesn't appear to be a serious move" to combat terrorism, Cheney said Sunday on Fox News. "It's a direct slap at the CIA."
It is also another egregious example of this administration's misguided retreat in a war where failure is not an option.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Obama Health Care Bill & Dangers to the Constitution (Michael Connelly is a Constitutional Lawyer and has read the entire health care bill)
(Analyst's note: Another letter received from a friend. Absolutely must read.)
Michael Connelly (http://michaelconnelly.viviti.com/ ) is a Constitutional Lawyer and has read the entire health care bill and has some comments, not about the bill, but about the effects on our Constitution. It's a broader picture than just health care reform.
Once this sort of thing happens, it will be irreversible.
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HEALTH CARE BILL
Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected.
To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession.
The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats and most of them will not be health care professionals.Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled.
However, as scary as all of that is, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.
The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people and the businesses they own. The irony is that the Congress doesn't have any authority to legislate in most of those areas to begin with. I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care.
The paragraph below is really frightening
This legislation also provides for access by the appointees of the Obama administration to all of your personal healthcare information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital. All of this is a direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th
Amendment to the Constitution protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.
If you decide not to have healthcare insurance or if you have private insurance that is not deemed "acceptable" to the "Health Choices Administrator" appointed by Obama there will be a tax imposed on you. It is called a "tax" instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that doesn't work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property without the "due process of law.
So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so much out the original ten in the Bill of Rights that are effectively nullified by this law. It doesn't stop there though. The 9th Amendment that provides: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;" The 10th Amendment states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.
I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to "be bound by oath or affirmation" to support the Constitution. If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.
For those who might doubt the nature of this threat I suggest they consult the source. Here is a link to the Constitution:
And another to the Bill of Rights:
Michael Connelly
Retired attorney,
Constitutional Law Instructor
Carrollton , Texas
Michael Connelly
and "Riders in the Sky: The Ghosts and Legends of Philmont Scout Ranch"
I also teach law courses via the Internet through colleges and universities worldwide. To find a college or university near you, go to Education To Go's Web site at www.ed2go.com .
Monday, September 7, 2009
Facebook leaks data
For those Facebook users out there, here's something you will want to know. Facebook quiz technology lets developers (who are not screened by Facebook) see not only your data, but your friends'.
This article links to the American Civil Liberties Union's Facebook quiz, which demonstrates what developers can see when you agree to let an application get access your data. As noted: This is mostly due to the fact that Facebook's default privacy settings allow access to all your profile information whether or not your profile is set to "private."
Government warns even real birth certificates not proof Report: 'A number of state practices create opportunities for fraud'
By Bob Unruh
A report from the Office of the Inspector General from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concluded years before the dispute erupted over President Obama's birth certificate and his eligibility to be president such documents "may ... not be the best proof of identity."
The report compiled in 2000 by Inspector General June Gibbs Brown deals primarily with using birth certificates to establish identity, not necessarily birth location as is the issue with Obama's document.
But the report raises a number of alarms about the use of the documents.
"It was the consensus of those we interviewed that a number of state practices create opportunities for fraud. Those practices include the following: delayed, amended, and midwife birth registrations that are based on affidavits of personal knowledge, include no documentary evidence, and are not often marked or overlaid accordingly; delays in matching death and birth records can make the identities of many deceased persons easy to assume between the time the person dies and the time the death and birth records are matched; questionable physical security situations that create opportunities for fraud; and limited oversight of local issuing entities by state vital records offices," the report said. ....
Airline bomb plot: mosque has been recruiting ground for 20 years
by Robert Spencer
Why didn't the vast majority of peaceful Muslims, the adherents of the authentic and peaceful Islam, rise up and drive out these terror recruiters from the mosque?
More on this story. "Airline bomb plot: mosque has been recruiting ground for 20 years," by Sean O'Neill for the Times Online, September 7 (thanks to Kris):
The mosque frequented by key members of the airline plot terror cell has been a recruiting ground for Islamist extremists for more than 20 years, The Times can reveal.The Queen’s Road mosque in Walthamstow, East London, was a regular place of worship and meeting place for central figures from the group.
Abdullah Ahmed Ali, the cell leader, prayed there and met with his associates including Waheed Zaman, who lived opposite.
The mosque is currently under the control of Tablighi Jamaat, an ultraorthodox Islamic sect which preaches that Muslims should replicate the life of Muhammad and tells them it is their duty to travel the world converting non-believers to the one true faith.
Intelligence services around the world believe Tablighi Jamaat’s fundamentalism makes some of its followers easy prey for terrorist recruiters. Mohammed Sidique Khan, the leader of the London 7/7 bombers, was an adherent.
Almost without exception, the Walthamstow bombers were Tablighi followers. They sometimes went to huge Friday night gatherings in West Ham on the site beside the 2012 Olympic Park where the sect wants to build Europe's biggest mosque with space for 12,000 people to pray....
I was at that site recently. The Muslims there were very suspicious and closemouthed -- much more so than in other mosques in London.
Conversation With a Farmer
Recently, an article in a large newspaper caught my eye with a quote from a farmer in words that were so perfect for the “comprehensive reform” amnesty crowd that it seemed like a lobbyist had coached him on what to say. So, over a 2-week period I tried to contact him, and finally caught up with him a couple of days ago.
Our conversation illuminates how decent family farmers have gotten mixed up with the amnesty lobby.
He really is a farmer, a 73 year-old, extremely vigorous and hard-working man. ....
Gun Control History
(Analyst's note: You guessed it -- some interesting thoughts from another friend.)
'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed.
If you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.' - Mark Twain
http://info.org.il/irrelevant/may02-smilepop-soapbox4.swf
Gun History
After reading the following historical facts, read the part about
A LITTLE GUN HISTORY
In 1929, the
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In 1911,
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Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
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It has now been 12 months since gun owners in
List of 7 items:
Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent.
Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent.
Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)!
In the state of
While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.
There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort, and expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the other historical facts above prove it.
You won't see this data on the
Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens
Take note my fellow Americans, before it's too late!
The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.
With guns, we are 'citizens.'
Without them, we are 'subjects'.
During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade
If you value your freedom, please spread this anti-gun control message to all of your friends.
The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.
IT'S A NO BRAINER!
I'm a firm believer of the 2nd Amendment!
Just think how powerful our government is getting!
Learn from history.
I am America's newest "threat"; I am a "Right Wing Terrorist!"
(Analyst's note: This is a personal note I just received from a long-time friend. Self-evaluation can be a good thing and the results often interesting. The insight reached here is certainly clear enough. It seems clear enough to me that our politicians had better consider job counseling -- they are going to need it.)
Be afraid America, be very afraid of me, I am a "Right Wing Terrorist!"
I am a retired, 68 year old, white male; those are three strikes already against me in the "changed" America! I am also a Patriot, (that's four strikes); who believes in the Constitution, (that's five); who cherishes the Bill of Rights, (that's six); who loves "Old Glory", (that's seven); who honors the Founding Fathers, (that's eight); who prefers smaller, less-intrusive government, (that's nine); who believes that what I earn belongs to me, (that's ten); who believes that crooks, thugs, and socialists, belong in jail, not in the Congress or the White House, (that's eleven); who understands that the government was created to serve "We the People", not vice versa, (that's twelve); who prefers to keep his private health care, (that's thirteen); who thinks the Nation is great, just the way it was originally constituted, (that's fourteen); I've never been arrested, (that's fifteen); I was a Police Officer, (that's sixteen); and, I believe in the right to speak out against injustice, (that's seventeen); I could go on, but what is the point?
You can see, from those "character flaws" that I've just listed, that I am indeed a "Right Wing Terrorist!" "America", or more correctly, the "changed America" apparently fears me! I intend to defend this Nation, this Constitution, this Bill of Rights, this "Old Glory", our National Anthem, National Sovereignty, and our Personal Liberty; against all enemies "foreign and domestic!"
If this "terrorizes" anyone, I cannot help but to wonder who they are, and why that might be! After all, all of our elected political leaders take an oath to essentially do the very same thing!
Be afraid America, be very afraid of me, I am a "Right Wing Terrorist!"
I am a retired, 68 year old, white male; those are three strikes already against me in the "changed" America! I am also a Patriot, (that's four strikes); who believes in the Constitution, (that's five); who cherishes the Bill of Rights, (that's six); who loves "Old Glory", (that's seven); who honors the Founding Fathers, (that's eight); who prefers smaller, less-intrusive government, (that's nine); who believes that what I earn belongs to me, (that's ten); who believes that crooks, thugs, and socialists, belong in jail, not in the Congress or the White House, (that's eleven); who understands that the government was created to serve "We the People", not vice versa, (that's twelve); who prefers to keep his private health care, (that's thirteen); who thinks the Nation is great, just the way it was originally constituted, (that's fourteen); I've never been arrested, (that's fifteen); I was a Police Officer, (that's sixteen); and, I believe in the right to speak out against injustice, (that's seventeen); I could go on, but what is the point?
You can see, from those "character flaws" that I've just listed, that I am indeed a "Right Wing Terrorist!" "America", or more correctly, the "changed America" apparently fears me! I intend to defend this Nation, this Constitution, this Bill of Rights, this "Old Glory", our National Anthem, National Sovereignty, and our Personal Liberty; against all enemies "foreign and domestic!"
If this "terrorizes" anyone, I cannot help but to wonder who they are, and why that might be! After all, all of our elected political leaders take an oath to essentially do the very same thing!
Video: US Senior Citizen Speaks Out on Healthcare Bill - Part 2
(Analyst's note: Absolutely must read - see.)
Video: US Senior Citizen Speaks Out on Healthcare Bill - Part 1
(Analyst's note: Absolutely must read - see.)
Everyone drills for oil off Florida – except U.S. Will Obama continue American dependence on foreign supply?
BP has announced the discovery of yet another huge oil field in the Gulf of Mexico. At the same time, communist Russia is ready to work with Cuba to begin drilling 50 miles offshore Key West in the Gulf, and China is negotiating with Canada for the right to develop the vast oil resources in Alberta.
Still, the Obama administration has remained resolute in opposing U.S. offshore drilling, Jerome Corsi's Red Alert reports. ....
Wanted in North Carolina, American Disappears in Pakistan
from National Terror Alert
On Saturday in Pakistan, a young American recently charged by authorities in North Carolina with leaving the United States to engage in “violent jihad,” failed to show up for a scheduled court appearance. As The Lede noted on Friday, Jude Kenan Mohammad was arrested and then released on bail by Pakistani authorities last year, after he attempted to enter a tribal area along the Afghan border but before any charges were filed in North Carolina, where he now stands accused of being part of a ring of would-be jihadists. ....
Glenn Beck up, left down and Van Jones defiant
.... it was a fresh reminder that the White House’s vetting process didn’t fall down only on high-profile nominees like Tom Daschle. It barely touched the lower reaches of the administration – a White House official conceded Sunday that Jones’ past statements weren’t as thoroughly scrubbed due to his relatively low rank. Jones’ selection also was propelled by powerful patrons, who included the first lady and the vice president. ....
Sunday, September 6, 2009
NSA, Fort Meade Primed for Growth, But Just How Much?
By Mark R. Smith, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Though the official announcements are apparently forthcoming, there have been two badly-kept secrets swirling around Fort Meade in recent months - that have everything to do, oddly enough, with the super-secret National Security Agency (NSA).
In addition to the recent rumblings that NSA plans to add 11,000 jobs and 5.8 million square feet of workspace during the next two decades (in three phases), the agency also has been recommended to house the Department of Defense's new U.S. Cyber Command.
The official announcement about the NSA expansion is said to be coming in early September; confirmation of the news about the U.S. Cyber Command is expected afterward, also in early fall.
When combined with other long-discussed expansions on and surrounding Fort Meade, including the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) effort, the ongoing expansion of nearby National Business Park (NBP) in Annapolis Junction and the $400 million, 1.7 million-square-foot office park that could rise via Enhanced Use Lease financing from The Trammell Crow Co. across Route 175 from the post, the bottom line in and around the post is further expansion.
"This whole mix is like an elixir," said Bob Leib, who is the special assistant to the county executive for BRAC and Education for Anne Arundel County, as well as chairman of the Fort Meade Regional Growth Management Committee. "It's the recipe for growth. The only question concerns exactly how all of these ingredients will come together."
Expansion Mode
When asked for comment about its expansion, which is said to include 1.8 million square feet for up to 6,500 workers in the "near term" according to a notice in the July 2 Federal Register, a contact made to the NSA public affairs office resulted in a predictably cryptic and unsigned response:
"The National Security Agency, with the release of the Notice of Intent (NOI) and the subsequent Environmental Impact Study scoping meeting held [this summer], is in the initial planning stages for the Site M development. The totality of our current information was articulated in both the NOI and the scoping meeting, all of which are in sync with NSA and Fort Meade's Master Plans.
"The figures detailed in the various phases of development contained in the NOI are projected estimates of utilization; however, since the planning is in its earliest stages these are not finalized details."
The response from The Pentagon concerning the U.S. Cyber Command was somewhat more direct, but also short on details.
Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh, spokesperson for the Department of Defense, said that "specifics of the details for the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command have not been worked out yet. Right now, the implementation plan is being assembled."
Butterbaugh said that department, which would fall under the auspices of the U.S. Strategic Command and would be set up to defend military networks against computer attacks and develop offensive cyber weapons, is "anticipating, as things move forward, that we will have more information concerning the issues, such as how many new jobs will be coming to the post and when that will happen."
He added that the U.S. Strategic Command, which the U.S. Cyber Command will report to, is developing the implementation plan. "Right now we just don't have those details and don't know exactly when that will be, though we are anticipating hearing more, hopefully by early fall." Full operational capability is slated to be in place by fall 2010.
A Possible Caveat
Discussion concerning the 11,000 new jobs that are allegedly coming to NSA has been a bit tempered by the lack of information, Leib said.
"We don't know just how many are existing positions that are just being reshuffled inside the Fort Meade campus, or at Linthicum or Annapolis Junction," he said, "or they could be moved here from other cities.
"Our NSA partners are not talking about that yet," said Leib, "so you have to view that figure with caution as to how much real growth that announcement represents. However, there is no doubt that it represents growth. We just don't know how much yet.
"The big picture is clear," he said. "NSA is obviously committed to growing. We know that now."
As for the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command at NSA, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were tasked two months ago by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to submit a plan to implement that recommendation; upon its completion, the secretary was to submit the plan to President Barack Obama for his approval in early September to establish the new agency at Fort Meade.
To underscore the anticipation in the defense contracting community, Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) broke ground for its latest building at NBP, a $36 million, five-story project, at the end of July. During his remarks at the event, COPT President and CEO Rand Griffin said that the real estate investment trust is also ready to embark on the construction of Phase III at the office park.
"The goal at NBP during the next 15 to 20 years is to grow to handle the capacity of 25,000 jobs," Leib said, noting that about 8,000 workers are employed at NBP today.
When the The Trammell Crow Co.'s EUL deal is also considered in the mix, the number of employees coming to Fort Meade gets even more impressive. "The U.S. Army is hoping to add 10,000 more jobs there as well," Lieb noted.
Too Much, Too Soon?
While the interest in and plans for Fort Meade sound impressive, there are also serious issues concerning road development and infrastructure around the post, and the recession has done nothing but cripple the process during a state budget crisis.
Prospects for improvement in the near term don't look very encouraging, but Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO with Sage Policy Group in Baltimore, said, "We can handle it all - eventually."
But when? "We're in an environment with excruciatingly scarce resources," said Basu. "As a result, it will be difficult to do everything the community wants to do to accommodate the expansion of federal activities at Fort Meade and a host of other installation.
"But we will get there," he said. "The solution will be multi-faceted and implicates the need to additional infrastructure investment, better housing policies and excellent human capital formation. If any region in the country can handle the challenge, it's the resource-intensive Baltimore-Washington Corridor."
More in the Mix
To many observers, the growth at NSA and in and around Fort Meade "is just further evidence of the federal government's commitment to the post and the west county community," said Claire Louder, president and CEO with the West Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce.
"It's also further impetus for the area to recover quickly from the recession," Louder said, "and offers an opportunity for local developers to provide space for the many support contractors who will be coming to this area in support of NSA and the other agencies that are relocating to Fort Meade due to BRAC."
Leib agreed. "We thought we had the job aspect of BRAC 2005 all figured out," he said, "but now there are more ingredients in the mix. It'll be awhile before the picture becomes clear.
"But what you can say as of now," he said, "is that Fort Meade will become the center of cyber security and information technology excellence in the world today."
Though the official announcements are apparently forthcoming, there have been two badly-kept secrets swirling around Fort Meade in recent months - that have everything to do, oddly enough, with the super-secret National Security Agency (NSA).
In addition to the recent rumblings that NSA plans to add 11,000 jobs and 5.8 million square feet of workspace during the next two decades (in three phases), the agency also has been recommended to house the Department of Defense's new U.S. Cyber Command.
The official announcement about the NSA expansion is said to be coming in early September; confirmation of the news about the U.S. Cyber Command is expected afterward, also in early fall.
When combined with other long-discussed expansions on and surrounding Fort Meade, including the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) effort, the ongoing expansion of nearby National Business Park (NBP) in Annapolis Junction and the $400 million, 1.7 million-square-foot office park that could rise via Enhanced Use Lease financing from The Trammell Crow Co. across Route 175 from the post, the bottom line in and around the post is further expansion.
"This whole mix is like an elixir," said Bob Leib, who is the special assistant to the county executive for BRAC and Education for Anne Arundel County, as well as chairman of the Fort Meade Regional Growth Management Committee. "It's the recipe for growth. The only question concerns exactly how all of these ingredients will come together."
Expansion Mode
When asked for comment about its expansion, which is said to include 1.8 million square feet for up to 6,500 workers in the "near term" according to a notice in the July 2 Federal Register, a contact made to the NSA public affairs office resulted in a predictably cryptic and unsigned response:
"The National Security Agency, with the release of the Notice of Intent (NOI) and the subsequent Environmental Impact Study scoping meeting held [this summer], is in the initial planning stages for the Site M development. The totality of our current information was articulated in both the NOI and the scoping meeting, all of which are in sync with NSA and Fort Meade's Master Plans.
"The figures detailed in the various phases of development contained in the NOI are projected estimates of utilization; however, since the planning is in its earliest stages these are not finalized details."
The response from The Pentagon concerning the U.S. Cyber Command was somewhat more direct, but also short on details.
Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh, spokesperson for the Department of Defense, said that "specifics of the details for the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command have not been worked out yet. Right now, the implementation plan is being assembled."
Butterbaugh said that department, which would fall under the auspices of the U.S. Strategic Command and would be set up to defend military networks against computer attacks and develop offensive cyber weapons, is "anticipating, as things move forward, that we will have more information concerning the issues, such as how many new jobs will be coming to the post and when that will happen."
He added that the U.S. Strategic Command, which the U.S. Cyber Command will report to, is developing the implementation plan. "Right now we just don't have those details and don't know exactly when that will be, though we are anticipating hearing more, hopefully by early fall." Full operational capability is slated to be in place by fall 2010.
A Possible Caveat
Discussion concerning the 11,000 new jobs that are allegedly coming to NSA has been a bit tempered by the lack of information, Leib said.
"We don't know just how many are existing positions that are just being reshuffled inside the Fort Meade campus, or at Linthicum or Annapolis Junction," he said, "or they could be moved here from other cities.
"Our NSA partners are not talking about that yet," said Leib, "so you have to view that figure with caution as to how much real growth that announcement represents. However, there is no doubt that it represents growth. We just don't know how much yet.
"The big picture is clear," he said. "NSA is obviously committed to growing. We know that now."
As for the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command at NSA, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were tasked two months ago by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to submit a plan to implement that recommendation; upon its completion, the secretary was to submit the plan to President Barack Obama for his approval in early September to establish the new agency at Fort Meade.
To underscore the anticipation in the defense contracting community, Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) broke ground for its latest building at NBP, a $36 million, five-story project, at the end of July. During his remarks at the event, COPT President and CEO Rand Griffin said that the real estate investment trust is also ready to embark on the construction of Phase III at the office park.
"The goal at NBP during the next 15 to 20 years is to grow to handle the capacity of 25,000 jobs," Leib said, noting that about 8,000 workers are employed at NBP today.
When the The Trammell Crow Co.'s EUL deal is also considered in the mix, the number of employees coming to Fort Meade gets even more impressive. "The U.S. Army is hoping to add 10,000 more jobs there as well," Lieb noted.
Too Much, Too Soon?
While the interest in and plans for Fort Meade sound impressive, there are also serious issues concerning road development and infrastructure around the post, and the recession has done nothing but cripple the process during a state budget crisis.
Prospects for improvement in the near term don't look very encouraging, but Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO with Sage Policy Group in Baltimore, said, "We can handle it all - eventually."
But when? "We're in an environment with excruciatingly scarce resources," said Basu. "As a result, it will be difficult to do everything the community wants to do to accommodate the expansion of federal activities at Fort Meade and a host of other installation.
"But we will get there," he said. "The solution will be multi-faceted and implicates the need to additional infrastructure investment, better housing policies and excellent human capital formation. If any region in the country can handle the challenge, it's the resource-intensive Baltimore-Washington Corridor."
More in the Mix
To many observers, the growth at NSA and in and around Fort Meade "is just further evidence of the federal government's commitment to the post and the west county community," said Claire Louder, president and CEO with the West Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce.
"It's also further impetus for the area to recover quickly from the recession," Louder said, "and offers an opportunity for local developers to provide space for the many support contractors who will be coming to this area in support of NSA and the other agencies that are relocating to Fort Meade due to BRAC."
Leib agreed. "We thought we had the job aspect of BRAC 2005 all figured out," he said, "but now there are more ingredients in the mix. It'll be awhile before the picture becomes clear.
"But what you can say as of now," he said, "is that Fort Meade will become the center of cyber security and information technology excellence in the world today."
89 US banks go belly up in 2009
.... The count of collapses is more than three-fold that of 2008, when 25 banks went out of business in wake of the raging financial meltdown.
Bank failures are mounting even as the economy is showing tentative signs of recovery slowly. ....
Bank failures are mounting even as the economy is showing tentative signs of recovery slowly. ....
How to Defeat the Left
By: David Horowitz
I’ve been following the Newsreal debate between Phyllis Chesler and Jamie Glazov on the one hand and Naomi Wolf, who thinks America, the most “liberated” country on the face of the earth by any — any — progressive standard (treatment of minorities, of women, of the poor, freedom of the individual), is a proto-fascist state and needs a revolution, while the Islamo-fascist enemy, the greatest oppressor of women and minorities ever, needs a wrist slap. Wolf’s moral blindness is just a one minor instance of the general moral vacuity of progressives which for a hundred years has put them on the side of the totalitarian enemies of freedom and inspired their assault against the West.
I’ve been following the Newsreal debate between Phyllis Chesler and Jamie Glazov on the one hand and Naomi Wolf, who thinks America, the most “liberated” country on the face of the earth by any — any — progressive standard (treatment of minorities, of women, of the poor, freedom of the individual), is a proto-fascist state and needs a revolution, while the Islamo-fascist enemy, the greatest oppressor of women and minorities ever, needs a wrist slap. Wolf’s moral blindness is just a one minor instance of the general moral vacuity of progressives which for a hundred years has put them on the side of the totalitarian enemies of freedom and inspired their assault against the West.
.... This why the only argument that leftists have in their public encounters with others is not an argument at all but an indictment: racist, sexist, homophobe, Islamophobe. In the religion of leftists — in the fevered universe of the virus — the world is an endless plain of battle in which forces of Good (leftists) are ranged against the forces of Evil (the rest of us). At stake is the redemption of the world — or as the environmental totalitarians like to put it, the survival of the planet. No wonder they are deaf to any fact or argument that would bring them back to earth.
The only way to defeat the left — and I have failed in twenty years of arguing this to persuade conservatives — is to turn the table around and attack their moral self-image. Leftists are in fact the enemies and oppressors of women, children, gays, minorities and the poor, and conservatives should never confront them without reminding them of this fact. If Naomi Wolf and her radical friends had their way, America would be disarmed and radical Islam would be triumphant and women would be back in the Middle Ages, and the rest of us along with them.
Top Terror Suspect Freed Over Secrets Fear – UK
from National Terror Alert
The Home Secretary has released a man regarded as one of Britain’s most dangerous terror suspects from virtual house arrest to avoid disclosing secret evidence against him, The Times has learned. The man, known only as AF, has been subject to a controversial “control order” since 2006 because of his alleged links with Islamic terrorists. He has never been charged, however, and the evidence for the allegations has never been heard in a public court.
.... The ruling paved the way for up to 20 men held under the regime to challenge their detention and to seek to know the basis of the case against them.Cyanide Suspected In Sickening 7 L.A. Firefighters
from National Terror Alert
As the fire and homicide investigation continues, officials say several firefighters were exposed to cyanide gas in two separate incidents as they were mopping up hot spots near the small city of Acton on the northern edge of the massive blaze.
.... Authorities do not have an idea where the cyanide came from.Man Pulled Over with Pipe Bombs, Weapon
from National Terror Alert
A New Haven man is under arrest after police found pipe bombs and a weapon in his vehicle late Saturday. Marlon Reddick, 44 was stopped by West Haven Police last night around 11:00 p.m. in the area of Elm Street and Kimberly Avenue for equipment violations.
.... The immediate area was shut down to local and highway traffic while New Haven Police Department’s Bomb Squad was called to the scene. The bomb squad located two improvised explosive devices in the duffle bag and confirmed they were homemade bombs. The bomb squad rendered the devices safe.
Roads in the area were closed for approximately five hours.
Also located in the vehicle were a sawed off shotgun, bullet proof vest, dark colored clothing and a ski mask. The vehicle, an older model Ford F150 truck has been impounded and the investigation is continuing.
Right wing Brits stand up to Islamic/leftist hordes
(The Sun) There were angry clashes in a city center today as right-wing protesters fought with anti-fascist campaigners in a busy shopping street ...
Government health-care track record: 8-year program, 2 veterans helped
(Associated Press) The drone of helicopters still haunts William Callahan decades after Vietnam combat left him paralyzed, but he said government bureaucracy stood in the way ...
Mexico catches cartel leader indicted for armed invasion of U.S.
(Associated Press) Mexican soldiers arrested a suspected drug gang leader linked to a 2006 border incursion by armed traffickers into Texas and the killing of an anti-crime activist in July ...
Tactical nuclear battle
By Bill Gertz
Obama administration national-security officials are gearing up to battle Congress over $65 million that a House subcommittee cut from the fiscal 2010 budget and that had been slated toward upgrading the oldest tactical nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal.
.... "Without refurbishment of these components, the sustainment of the B61 bomb family, a key component of our deterrence strategy, will be in jeopardy," the statement said.
Obama administration national-security officials are gearing up to battle Congress over $65 million that a House subcommittee cut from the fiscal 2010 budget and that had been slated toward upgrading the oldest tactical nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal.
.... "Without refurbishment of these components, the sustainment of the B61 bomb family, a key component of our deterrence strategy, will be in jeopardy," the statement said.
The administration is set to lobby House subcommittee members to restore the funds. A letter is planned from Thomas P. D'Agostino, head of the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration, and U.S. Strategic Command commander Gen. Kevin P. Chilton.
Court document swears Kenyan birth cert legit Owner risks perjury in high-profile case to insist Barack Obama born in Africa
By Drew Zahn with WorldNetDaily (as always, you may click on title above to see original posting.)
 Screen shot of document Lucas Smith insists is Obama's Kenyan birth certificate |
With a scheduled hearing date looming Tuesday, Lucas Smith, the man who tried to sell an alleged Barack Obama Kenyan birth certificate on eBay, has filed court papers in a high-profile eligibility case insisting – under threat of perjury – that the Obama birth certificate in his possession is the genuine article.
Smith filed his affidavit through California attorney Orly Taitz, who has spearheaded several lawsuits challenging Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility to serve as president, as part of a case that includes as plaintiff former presidential candidate Alan Keyes.
Taitz posted on her blog Smith's declaration, which claims he obtained the alleged birth certificate from Coast General Hospital in Mombasa, Kenya, and insists it's real.
"The true and correct photocopy of the birth certificate obtained is attached to this affidavit as Exhibit A," the declaration reads. "I declare, certify, verify, state and affirm under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing statements of fact and descriptions of circumstances and events are true and correct."
Smith's affidavit, which includes a copy of the certificate, has been filed with Judge David Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Carter is scheduled to preside over a hearing on the case on Sept. 8.
Taitz told WND she believes the swiftly approaching court date prompted Smith into action:
"He has been in touch with me for quite a while, and he emailed me the document with his signature," Taitz said. "I think he was trying to figure out the most expedient way to bring his message public, and maybe he felt that because I have a hearing coming, that would be the most expedient way."
Taitz hopes the court will order expedited discovery, a ruling that would open many of Obama's currently sealed documents, including his college records and Hawaiian long-form birth certificate, to court scrutiny.
"We'll see what happens on Tuesday. If Judge Carter has the guts, we may move very fast," Taitz told WND. "If expedited discovery is ordered, I'll be dashing to Occidental College and then be on a flight to Hawaii."
In his filing, Smith declares that he traveled to Kenya in February and paid off a military officer in order to obtain a copy of the birth certificate from Coast General Hospital in Mombasa. The declaration also states that the hospital administrator signed and sealed the copy, which indicates Obama's birth in Africa on Aug. 4, 1961, at 7:24 p.m.
As WND reported, Smith released a video of the document he claims is a copy of Obama's hospital birth record, though an investigation by Jerome Corsi maintains the document is a forgery.
WND first reported earlier this year when Lucas Smith, a former resident of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and known by the eBay handle "colmado_naranja," claimed to have a document proving Obama's birth in Mombasa, Kenya.
After promising to reveal the document to WND, Smith then dropped communications with a team of people offering to help him verify the document, only fueling the belief the sale – and therefore the alleged document – was a scam.
WND followed Smith's ongoing saga as "colmado_naranja" as he attempted several times to sell the document, or photos and stories surrounding it, on eBay, only to have the auctions repeatedly removed by site administrators.
WND also launched an investigation into "colmado_naranja," which led through several online aliases and reported collaborators, including Dawnella Wilson, "InspectorSmith" and, eventually, Lucas Smith.
Smith, whose background includes a lengthy criminal record and a reported attempt to sell his kidney to a man in need of organ transplant, nonetheless insists that his motives are above board, even if his past looks dubious.
"I do have a background. I've made mistakes in my life," Smith told WND in an e-mail. "It took a guy like me to go and get tangible proof about Obama. I don't mind breaking a few laws or policies here and there. I don't mind paying the military in foreign countries to look the other way ... The military [in Africa] will grant you access to anything for just a few dollars. People are starving. So yes, it takes a guy like me to get things done once in a while."
An enhanced version of the Smith YouTube video has been published by Repubx.com, permitting a more legible examination of the document.
WND has also determined that a supposed Kenyan birth certificate previously released by attorney Orly Taitz is also a forgery.
WND has reported on an authentic 1961-era Kenyan birth certificate, which looks distinctly different from the document Smith released in the video.
 Authentic 1961-era Kenyan birth certificate obtained by WND |
WND has reported on dozens of legal challenges to Obama's status as a "natural born citizen." The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."
Some of the lawsuits question whether he was actually born in Hawaii, as he insists. If he was born out of the country, Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.
Other challenges have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. The cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.
Complicating the situation is Obama's decision to spend sums estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to avoid releasing a state birth certificate that would put to rest the questions.
WND has reported that among the documentation not yet available for Obama includes his kindergarten records, Punahou school records, Occidental College records, Columbia University records, Columbia thesis, Harvard Law School records, Harvard Law Review articles, scholarly articles from the University of Chicago, passport, medical records, files from his years as an Illinois state senator, his Illinois State Bar Association records, any baptism records, and his adoption records.
 "Where's The Birth Certificate?" billboard at the Mandalay Bay resort on the Las Vegas Strip |
The campaign followed a petition that has collected more than 450,000 signatures demanding proof of his eligibility, the availability of yard signs raising the question and the production of permanent, detachable magnetic bumper stickers asking the question.
The "certification of live birth" posted online and widely touted as "Obama's birth certificate" does not in any way prove he was born in Hawaii, since the same "short-form" document is easily obtainable for children not born in Hawaii. The true "long-form" birth certificate – which includes information such as the name of the birth hospital and attending physician – is the only document that can prove Obama was born in Hawaii, but to date he has not permitted its release for public or press scrutiny.
Oddly, though congressional hearings were held to determine whether Sen. John McCain was constitutionally eligible to be president as a "natural born citizen," no controlling legal authority ever sought to verify Obama's claim to a Hawaiian birth.
If you are a member of the media and would like to interview Joseph Farah about this campaign, e-mail WND.
Lawmakers seek survival in unpopular Congress
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Political survival will be high on lawmakers' minds when the Democratic-led U.S. Congress returns to work on Tuesday amid widespread voter dissatisfaction with its performance.
While the debates over healthcare reform, global warming and banking legislation and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will dominate the airwaves, many incumbents, both Democrats and Republicans, are beginning to worry about holding on to their seats in November 2010 elections.
Polls show only about one-third of Americans approve of how lawmakers are doing, less than a year after President Barack Obama led Democrats to big gains in Congress. ....
How Van Jones Happened and What We Need to Do Next
(Analyst's note: I am NOT a believer in the causes pushed by Van Jones. We have far too many of our politicians who are supporters of Van Jones.)
.... the "green jobs" concept was merely a new face on the old ideology of central economic planning and control, an alternative and a threat to free market capitalism. ....
Click here for additional information on Van Jones from those who believe in what he stands for.
.... the "green jobs" concept was merely a new face on the old ideology of central economic planning and control, an alternative and a threat to free market capitalism. ....
Click here for additional information on Van Jones from those who believe in what he stands for.
WND Exclusive FAITH UNDER FIRE Church bell 'noise' under attack – in America Pastor convicted, lawsuit alleges others threatened
By Bob Unruh
Three churches in Phoenix have brought a legal action against the city because one pastor already has been convicted and other churches are being threatened over the "noise" from their bells, some of which have rung out to the community for decades.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Al-Qaida-linked American terrorist unveiled
(Fox News) A week after the 9/11 attacks, a young Muslim at South Alabama University told the school's newspaper it was "difficult to believe a Muslim could have done this. Now, eight years later ...
Official confirms oil 'very big part' of Lockerbie bomber negotiations
(Associated Press) Oil considerations played a major role in the decision to include the Lockerbie bomber in a prisoner transfer agreement between Britain and Libya, a senior British official said ...
Appeals court opens Ashcroft to lawsuits over 9/11 actions
(Associated Press) A federal appeals court has ruled that former Attorney General John Ashcroft can be sued by people who claim they were wrongfully detained as material witnesses after 9/11 ...
Patterns of recovery: Economist Roubini on the shapes of things to come
After predicting our current global financial crisis, New York University professor of economics Nouriel Roubini earned himself the nickname Dr. Doom. Roubini's words have the power to move markets; when he talks, people listen.
And lately, Roubini seems to have changed his tune somewhat, albeit with many caveats. He anticipates a possible "U-shaped" recovery, with leading economies undeperforming for as many as three years, but also warns of the increased risk of a "double-dip" scenario. "U-shaped," "L-shaped," "double-dip," "V-shaped" -- what do these terms mean?
Economic activity is measured by several indicators that grow sustainably over time, during a normal economy. Economic growth is most often measured by gross domestic product, which grew an average of 3 percent annually during the last boom, between 2004 and 2006. Production, housing, and financial markets enjoyed robust activity; the labor market was healthy, as U.S. unemployment averaged 5 percent.
The souring economy was marked by declining activity. GDP fell as much as 6.4 percent at the height of the recession, in the first quarter this year. If the recession -- the longest since the Great Depression -- is indeed in recovery mode, one question is how the recovery will take shape.
The ideal is a "V-shaped" recovery, when an economic decline is followed by robust economic growth, when activity rises as sharply as it's declined. That's the least likely scenario now, unfortunately; the economy still needs to overcome a housing glut, subdued consumer spending, and the still-alarming pace of job losses.
The more likely scenario, which Roubini supports, is a "U-shaped" recovery, in which the economy takes much longer to regain its healthy growth. In this scenario, the recession stabilizes as the decline in economic activity slows. We've had a mixed bag of economic news lately; hopefully, we're starting to see the bottom of the U. The question is how long it would take the economy not only to stabilize -- slogging along the bottom curve of the U -- but to start growing again, and start climbing up the right arm of the U.
In a news conference, Roubini said he believes that once growth begins, it will "remain below trend ... especially for the advanced economies, for at least two or three years," Reuters reports. It depends on the exit strategy, he says -- and if we don't get it right, he warns, we might get a "double-dip" or "W-shaped" scenario.
Roubini warned of this scenario last week, in which the beginning of the recovery would be followed by a relapse. This outcome could arise from the wrong exit strategy. Roubini warns the Federal Reserve to watch out for asset prices. He also says that global recovery efforts will suffer if savings-prone economies don't start spending more, compensating for current slower spending by countries like the U.S. and Britain, both overspenders.
The worst-case scenario: the "L-shaped" recovery, with an economy remaining stagnant for an extended period, with no real catalysts to propel it to growth, as with Japan's long stagnation in the 90s. No economists view the L-shaped scenario as currently plausible.
But from all that, Roubini, the Federal Reserve, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Central Bank, and many other economists, officials and organizations are saying, it seems the global economy will most like find itself on a bumpy road. So let's add a shape -- and hope this road is going uphill.2,000 Sickened With Swine Flu – Washington State University WSU
from National Terror Alert
More than 2,000 Washington State University students have been sickened by swine flu during the first two weeks of classes, school health officials said.The outbreak of H1N1 influenza prompted concerns about Saturday’s football matchup against Stanford at Martin Stadium.
While school and health officials stressed that attending the game poses little risk of infection, they urged people sick with the flu to stay home and encouraged fans to wash their hands, to avoid sharing food and drink, and to cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing. Pregnant women and people with underlying health risks such as diabetics, asthma or heart or lung disease should consider skipping the game, health officials said.
Far more than 2,000 students could be ill, said Dr. Dennis Garcia, although the number of students seeking care and calling nurses at WSU’s Health and Wellness Services fell for the first time Thursday since classes started. ....
'Preppers' get ready for the worst Movement to stockpile for emergency at all-time high
from WorldNetDaily
.... Theirs is not an extremist community holed up in underground shelters teaching bizarre or cultic ideas.
.... Theirs is not an extremist community holed up in underground shelters teaching bizarre or cultic ideas.
These "preppers" (as they are called) are regular folks that saw what happened on 9/11, experienced their 401(k)s falling apart as the economy soured, witnessed the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and decided to take the future into their own hands.
"These are average people holding down regular jobs who understand the world is not the idealistic place they might have once thought," Horn said. "The proliferation of weapons technology in the hands of terrorists and recent unusual weather patterns have made them aware how things can suddenly go wrong. They are preparing to survive whatever may come." ....
U.S. website for U.N. restores flag Change follows 'scrubbing' of emblem, archives
UNITED NATIONS – Less than 48 hours after WND reported that under the Obama administration the website for the United States mission to the United Nations had been scrubbed of its flag emblem and archives, those apparently have been restored.
The new site had brought howls and criticisms from previous US/UN officials.
"I think the loss of the American flag (from the home page) is a very telling symbol, that they still have the U.N. seal up there. They had that flag up there when I arrived (as ambassador). It was there when I got there and to replace it with the U.N. seal I think is more symbolic perhaps than the Obama administration realizes. It says a lot to the American public what their priorities are," former Ambassador John Bolton said. ....
White House to fly Red Chinese flag People's Republic marking anniversary at White House
By Bob Unruh
 |
The administration of President Barack Obama, whose official blogger while Obama was a candidate came under attack for hanging a Communist Party flag in his Harvard apartment, apparently has given permission to raise the emblem of Communist China over the south lawn of the White House.
The plan, reported by several English-language Chinese media outlets, has raised concern among those who are working to guard the United States from outside influences that could be threats.
According to the Global Times English-language edition, the national flag of the communist People's Republic of China on Sept. 20 will be raised for the first time on the White House's south lawn – a secured area seldom available for public events – in recognition of the Chinese anniversary.
"The ceremony has gotten official approval," Xiao Shuigen, secretary of the Union of Chinese American Professional Organizations, told the Times. ....
North Korea Says in Final Stage of Uranium Enrichment ; U.S. Expresses 'Concern'
from FoxNews
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Friday it is on the threshold of mastering a new way of building atomic bombs, pressuring the United States to agree to direct negotiations or see the communist regime become a greater nuclear risk. ....
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Friday it is on the threshold of mastering a new way of building atomic bombs, pressuring the United States to agree to direct negotiations or see the communist regime become a greater nuclear risk. ....
Obama May Need Sense of Crisis to Revive Health-Care Overhaul
(Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama returns to Washington next week in search of one thing that can revive his health-care overhaul: a sense of crisis. ....
Afghanistan Is Not 'Obama's War'
By DAN SENOR AND PETER WEHNER
In his column for the Washington Post on Tuesday, the influential conservative George Will provided intellectual fodder for the campaign among some Republicans to hang the Afghanistan war around the Obama administration’s neck. Washington, he wrote, should “keep faith” with our fighting men and women by “rapidly reversing the trajectory of America’s involvement in Afghanistan.” “Obama’s war,” a locution one is now beginning to hear from other conservatives, is an expression of discontent that has been smoldering beneath the surface for several months.
The weakening public support for continuing the counterinsurgency campaign is not surprising. In the midst of an economic crisis people are tempted to draw inward. Add to that a general war weariness in the U.S. and the fact that the Afghanistan war is not going well right now—violence in Afghanistan is already far worse this year than last—and you have the makings of an unpopular conflict.
But the case of conservative opposition to the war in Afghanistan—as well as increasingly in Iraq—is symptomatic of something larger: the long history of political parties out of power advancing a neo-isolationist outlook. For example, Democrats were vocal opponents of President Reagan's support for the Nicaraguan contras and the democratic government in El Salvador, the U.S. invasion of Grenada, the deployment of cruise and Pershing missiles in Europe, and the forceful stand against the Soviet Union generally. ....
US Funds into Afghanistan Provide 'Protection Money' to the Taliban
(Analyst's note: This is a very troubling report.)
The GlobalPost reported tonight on PBS about their insider investigation by Jean MacKenzie that US finds earmarked for road and bridge construction in Afghanistan are ending up in the hands of the Taliban, through a protection racket for contractors.
The GlobalPost reported tonight on PBS about their insider investigation by Jean MacKenzie that US finds earmarked for road and bridge construction in Afghanistan are ending up in the hands of the Taliban, through a protection racket for contractors.
Here is the original report by Jean MacKenzie: Funding the Afghan Taliban
Obamanomics: Here Come the Food Shortages
[Analyst's Note: Alarming article with some comparison between Obamanomics and how Stalin took over farms in Russia. It predicts a severe food shortage.]
While all eyes are on Wall Street, watching for even the faintest signal that the economy will recover as promised by Barack Obama, no one is paying attention to what is happening on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Here's a clue. It doesn't matter what happens on Wall Street. The big players and the big money have abandoned stocks in favor of commodities. Commodities aren't something the average American understands, let alone associates with wealth. But it is commodities, the tack and trade of big agribusiness and big Government, that are the backbone of the economy. And what is happening there is beyond alarming. There's a food shortage coming to America.
Read more by clicking here.
While all eyes are on Wall Street, watching for even the faintest signal that the economy will recover as promised by Barack Obama, no one is paying attention to what is happening on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Here's a clue. It doesn't matter what happens on Wall Street. The big players and the big money have abandoned stocks in favor of commodities. Commodities aren't something the average American understands, let alone associates with wealth. But it is commodities, the tack and trade of big agribusiness and big Government, that are the backbone of the economy. And what is happening there is beyond alarming. There's a food shortage coming to America.
Read more by clicking here.
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