OPEC sees 'devastating contraction' in oil demand

OPEC again revised down its estimate for world crude demand on Wednesday, saying a "devasting contraction" in consumption would keep prices under pressure in the months ahead. .... It said "vigilant monitoring is essential" ahead of the cartel's next meeting at the end of May at which some members are expected to push for further output cuts to help support prices.....

IRS Workers Stealing Your Cash! Look Who's Cashing in Your Check to the Government

ABC News Uncovers History of Contract Workers, IRS Employees Stealing Taxpayer Checks and Cash

Strength, Respect and Influence – The Foundation of Foreign Policy

by William R. Hawkins

Weakness is not respected. It invites attack. Does President Barack Obama understand the importance of respect built on strength as the foundations for alliances? ....

UK Group Defines Jihad as ‘Armed Resistance’

from The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report

In an announcement for presentation on the UK government’s proposed counter-terrorism strategy, the Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) has defined the concept of “Jihad” as “armed resistance.” According to the announcement: must read

According to a report in the Guardian, the government – as part of its Contest 2 counter-terrorism strategy – is considering proposals that would classify British Muslims as being extremists if:

-They advocate a caliphate, a pan-Islamic state encompassing many countries.

-They promote Sharia law.

-They believe in jihad, or armed resistance, anywhere in the world. This would include armed resistance by Palestinians against the Israeli military.

-They argue that Islam bans homosexuality and that it is a sin against Allah.

-They fail to condemn the killing of British soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan

Is this another failed strategy that will further alienate thousands of law abiding Muslims? Or is it about time the government was bold enough to implement such measures to tackle extreme ‘Islamist ideologues’?

As discussed in a previous post, an important part of global Muslim Brotherhood rhetorical strategy is to deceive the public about the nature of Jihad. As that post noted:

2. DECEPTION- In order to defend Islam (Islamism) from charges that it is inherently violent/terroristic, the Brotherhood deceives the public about the nature of Jihad. This is necessary because Jihad plays an important role for Islamism and the Brotherhood and if the connection between Islam and violence is to be denied, Jihad must be explained away. Again, the Brotherhood represents the “Jihadism” of the Islamists as opposed to the “classical Jihad” of Islam but since that distinction is also lost on the public, the Brotherhood defends Jihad. It does so usually in one of two ways, sometimes employing both deceptions. First, the Brotherhood claims that Jihad has little or no connection to violence and warfare (i.e. there is no “Holy War”), and is instead akin to various forms of inner struggle or self-improvement. Second, the Brotherhood suggests that Jihad is a form of “freedom fighting”, even comparing Jihad to the American Revolution. Lately, there has been a suggestion that Jihad should be replaced with the term “Hirabah” which, if successful, would represent a victory for the Brotherhood deception strategy.

What makes this unusual forthright statement defining Jihad as armed conflict relevant is that the scheduled IFE presentation will be given by Dr. Daud Abdullah, deputy director-general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), following revelations that he signed a statement of religious scholar, clerics, and senior Hamas leaders that called for a “third Jihadist front” centred on Gaza. Dr. Abdullah subsequently faced calls for his resignation by members of the UK government and it would seem that in defense of his participation in the statement calling for Jihad, the IFE has deviated from the usual denials that Jihad does not necessarily mean armed action. Instead, the focus would appear to be on the justification for that action.

Both the MCB and the IFE are tied to the global Muslim Brotherhood.

Somalia Operations – Lessons Learned

America’s brush with the recent surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia offers some valuable lessons – if we are prepared to learn from them. ....

The Energy Crisis is an Artificial One, Created by Bad Policies.

'Cap and Trade' would have the effect of an across-the-board energy tax on every American.

For the past 30 years, America has grown increasingly dependent upon foreign sources of energy, sending American dollars to countries that are hostile to American interests and leaving us vulnerable to wild fluctuations in energy prices

. ....

Captured Somali pirate to face trial in NY

The captured Somali pirate who held a merchant ship captain hostage will be brought to New York to face trial, a U.S. official said Thursday.

The suspect, identified as Abduhl Wal-i-Musi, was taken aboard a U.S. Navy ship shortly before Navy SEAL snipers killed the three remaining pirates holding Capt. Richard Phillips hostage on a lifeboat launched from his cargo vessel, the Maersk Alabama. ....

Obama consulted widely on interogation memos

(Compiler's note: A must read and carefully consider for yourself what has just been done to this nation.)

By MIKE ALLEN

White House senior adviser David Axelrod says President Barack Obama spent about a month pondering whether to release Bush-era memos about CIA interrogation techniques, and considered it “a weighty decision.”

“He thought very long and hard about it, consulted widely, because there were two principles at stake,” Axelrod said . “One is … the sanctity of covert operations … and keeping faith with the people who do them, and the impact on national security, on the one hand. And the other was the law and his belief in transparency.”

The president consulted officials from the Justice Department, the CIA, the director of National Intelligence and the Homeland Security Department, according to his adviser.

“It was a weighty decision,” Axelrod said. “As with so many issues, there are competing points of view that flow from very genuine interests and concerns that are to be respected. And then the president has to synthesize all of it and make a decision that’s in the broad national interest. He’s been thinking about this for four weeks, really.”

A former top official in the administration of President George W. Bush called the publication of the memos “unbelievable.”

“It's damaging because these are techniques that work, and by Obama's action today, we are telling the terrorists what they are,” the official said. “We have laid it all out for our enemies. This is totally unnecessary. … Publicizing the techniques does grave damage to our national security by ensuring they can never be used again — even in a ticking-time- bomb scenario where thousands or even millions of American lives are at stake."

“I don't believe Obama would intentionally endanger the nation, so it must be that he thinks either 1. the previous administration, including the CIA professionals who have defended this program, is lying about its importance and effectiveness, or 2. he believes we are no longer really at war and no longer face the kind of grave threat to our national security this program has protected against.”

Obama did not act on an arbitrary timeline. There was a deadline in a court case with the ACLU on Thursday. It had been extended, but the ACLU was not going to agree to another.

US Lawmaker: Bring Back Private Pirate Hunters

A US lawmaker known for broadsides at US foreign policy says Somali piracy has an age-old solution: “Letters of marque” empowering private citizens to chase the seaborne scoundrels from the oceans. .... a handful of conservative theorists say it's time that the US Congress used the technique, pioneered by European powers in the 18th Century as a way to wage naval warfare on the cheap. ....

"I think if every potential pirate knew that this would be the case, they would have second thoughts, because they could probably be blown out of the water rather easily if those were the conditions," said the Texas lawmaker.

The US Constitution explicitly allows Congress to issue such letters, in effect giving private parties a license to fight hostile seaborne forces like pirates, in theory without fear of being branded pirates themselves. ....

Federal Lawsuit Filed Against Janet Napolitano Over Homeland Security’s Rightwing Extremism Policy

(Compiler's note: This is a must read article. The Department of Homeland Security published a report last week warning that military veterans pose a threat to America. It is a sad commentary on our politically correct government that Muslim Arabs cannot be profiled as potential extremists while our own veterans are. Click here for additional editorial opinion.)

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced today that it has filed a federal lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The lawsuit claims that her Department’s “Rightwing Extremism Policy,” as reflected in the recently publicized Intelligence Assessment, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” violates the civil liberties of combat veterans as well as American citizens by targeting them for disfavored treatment on account of the political beliefs. Click here to read the Law Center’s complaint.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of nationally syndicated conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage, Gregg Cunningham (President of the pro-life organization Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, Inc (CBR)), and Iraqi War Marine veteran Kevin Murray. The Law Center claims that Napolitano’s Department (DHS) has violated the First and Fifth Amendment Constitutional rights of these three plaintiffs by attempting to chill their free speech, expressive association, and equal protection rights. The lawsuit further claims that the Department of Homeland Security encourages law enforcement officers throughout the nation to target and report citizens to federal officials as suspicious rightwing extremists and potential terrorists because of their political beliefs.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center stated, “The Obama Administration1 has declared war on American patriots and our Constitution. The Report even admits that the Department has no specific information on any plans of violence by so-called ‘rightwing extremists.’ Rather, what they do have is the expression of political opinions by certain individuals and organizations that oppose the Obama administration’s policies, and this expression is protected speech under the First Amendment.”

Thompson added, “Janet Napolitano is lying to the American people when she says the Report is not based on ideology or political beliefs. In fact, her report would have the admiration of any current or past dictator in the way it targets political opponents.”

The Report specifically mentions the following political beliefs that law enforcement should use to determine whether someone is a “rightwing extremist”:

• Opposes restrictions on firearms
• Opposes lax immigration
• Opposes the policies of President Obama regarding immigration, citizenship and the expansion of social programs
• Opposes continuation of free trade agreements
• Opposes same-sex marriage
• Has paranoia of foreign regimes
• Fear of Communist regimes
• Opposes one world government
• Bemoans the decline of U.S. stature in the world.
• Upset with loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs to China and India
• . . . and the list goes on

The Law Center is asking the court to declare that the DHS policy violates the First and Fifth Amendments, to permanently enjoin the Policy and its application to the plaintiffs’ speech and other activities, and to award the plaintiffs their reasonable attorney’s fees and costs for having to bring the lawsuit.

Click here to read the Department of Homeland Security’s Report.

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes America’s Christian heritage and moral values, including the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life. It supports a strong national defense and an independent and sovereign United States of America. The Law Center accomplishes its mission through litigation, education, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.

Georgetown University Hid Religious Symbols at White House Request

Georgetown University hides Christian inscription for president's address after White House requests all religious symbols, signs be removed from view.

CIA Employees Won't Be Tried for Waterboarding

Even as they exposed new details of the interrogation program, President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, offered the first definitive assurance that those CIA officials are in the clear, as long as their actions were in line with the legal advice at the time

Click here for additional information

Former CIA Chief Hayden Criticizes Release of Memos Detailing Interrogation Techniques

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden says release of the memos will give terrorists a precise guide for what to expect in a CIA interrogation if those methods are ever approved for use again.

Coast-to-coast tea parties put lawmakers on notice

Taxpayers descend upon politicians in numbers far beyond expectations ....

Navies to guard undersea cable from Somali pirates

NAIROBI, April 16 (Reuters) - Foreign navies have agreed to protect a vessel installing an undersea high-speed Internet cable from pirates off the coast of Somalia, a Kenyan minister said on Thursday. ....

'We want them registered'

.... The few guns left at crime scenes rarely - if ever - are registered to the perpetrator. If they are registered at all, it is to someone else, whose piece was stolen. Despite what Mrs. Pelosi might think, those who use guns to commit major crimes such as robbing and killing are unlikely to respect her request to file paperwork so the government can catalog the tools of their trade....

Shariah bankers: West ready for faith-based alternative

(Compiler's note: Ever heard the expression "Money Talks"? Search -- upper left-hand corner of this page -- "sharia" for additional information.

Why is it that Great Britain is now faced with Islamic extremism every where they turn? They have 12 Shariah courts, publicly-funded Shariah Islamic education, welfare benefits for up to four wives for every Muslim man, honor killings, children falling off school rosters and suspected of being forced into child marriages, raging domestic violence and spousal abuse, and "no-go" zones where even British police are afraid to enter for fear of Islamist violence.

Britain’s policy of “outreach” to the Islamic community has failed to accomplish what it hoped to accomplish. A critical aspect of this “outreach” has been Britain’s embrace of shariah finance. As Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared in 2006, London was going to be the Islamic Banking Capital of the World. Why? Money. And he got it.

At the June 13, 2006 Islamic Finance Trade Conference in London, Brown revealed,

"Today British banks are pioneering Islamic banking - London now has more banks supplying services under Islamic principles than any other Western financial centre."

Because so many top business leaders, university professors, government officials, and religious leaders in Great Britain have bought into the fiction that Shariah Banking is just a harmless religious requirement for Islamic investment, there are few there in positions of leadership left to fight against Shariah. The re-thinking of some of the British policy regarding the connection between Islamist doctrine and terrorism, can such a shift actually occur with Britain so beholden to Shariah finance and its money?

For those of you who have seen Joy Brighton's video about Shariah finance, you know that one of the leading "Shariah finance scholars" himself, Sheik Qawadari, describes Shariah Banking as "Jihad with Money." You know the story of what Shariah Banking is, its connection to the Shariah Law of Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Taliban, and you know its creation as a tool of political Islam to control global economics is not being told.

You also know that Shariah is already here in the U.S., thanks to the acceptance of Shariah finance by institutions such as Citibank, HSBC, UBS and AIG, and the lack of oversight by the SEC and U.S. Treasury Department. As the headline in the Washington Times article below asks, is the West ready for this? Actually, the better question to ask is this: Does the West understand that the embrace of Shariah finance is the eventual embrace of brutal and oppressive Shariah law?)


By Simon Roughneen

SINGAPORE | Backers of Shariah-compliant finance see an opportunity for expansion amid the global economic downturn, and some Western banks are welcoming this growing source of new business.

"Islamic bankers should do some missionary work in the Western world to promote the concept of Shariah banking, for which many in the West are more than ready now," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the World Islamic Economic Forum last month in Jakarta.

Such statements have given rise to fears that Shariah finance is a stalking horse for hidden political or religious aims. Shariah finance is an extension of Islamic law, pushing a faith-based alternative to Western banking.

Key Islamists who advise Shariah financial houses have called for full Shariah law to be adopted in Western countries and, in some cases, have made statements supporting terrorist groups.

Shariah finance means institutions and norms that fit with Islamic law. Fully compliant Islamic financial institutions are prohibited from interest payments and require transactions to be backed by tangible assets.

Speculation and hedge funds are off limits — ditto for anything connected to porn, gambling, alcohol or pork. Shariah finance targets Muslims who want to avoid what are deemed "un-Islamic" Western banks or financial practices, and appeals to clients' faith as well as their bottom line.

The practice has its detractors.

"A shift from present global economic practices [in which many Muslims participate] to Shariah-based practice" would mean "an unacceptable intrusion into Western culture," said Stephen Schwartz, executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism.

Mr. Schwartz said the sector is arguably un-Islamic by contradicting the traditional Islamic teaching that "Muslims living in non-Muslim societies must accept the laws and customs of the countries to which they immigrate."

Depending on the measurements used, the Shariah finance sector manages assets of $700 billion to $800 billion, according to the Islamic Financial Services Board, an industry body. Standard and Poor's estimates that the sector could reach $4 trillion before long.

Shariah banks make up a small fraction of the global banking sector, and they may have suffered less than Western counterparts by being sheltered from the subprime crisis.

However, as Duncan McKenzie, director of economics at International Financial Services London (IFSL), told The Washington Times: "Islamic finance is one model but is by no means a panacea. The Islamic finance industry faces a number of challenges, including the need to standardize interpretation of Shariah law, harmonize tax and regulation of the industry, and develop the skills base."

Christopher Holton, vice president of the Center for Security Policy and director of its Shariah Risk Due Diligence Project, told The Times: "It is a myth that Islamic finance has provided a hedge against crisis. The FTSE Islamic Index has fallen 41 percent, and the all-world index 44 percent, similar losses over the past six months."

Shariah finance remains dominated by banking, but the sector is diversifying. A growing proportion — up to 20 percent according to some estimates — is taken up by sukuk, which is a Shariah-compliant bond issuance. Malaysia is a dominant base for this particular service. Bonds can play a key role in helping countries deal with the global economic crisis, but the global sukuk market has fallen for two years in a row, in step with the global downturn.

Despite the varying prohibitions, some Shariah banks find creative ways to make the equivalent of market interest rates by other means, such as by pegging debtor repayment rates to his or her future profits, or when a bank offers a "hibah," or gift to those who open an account — in essence a way of attracting new customers in lieu of interest accruals on savings.

Shariah finance likely will grow in coming years, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates being followed by Indonesia, Turkey, Singapore and some Western countries as viable locations for expansion.

The IFSL recently published a detailed report on the sector highlighting how "the U.K. is getting ahead of the game, in Europe at least, in facilitating this sector" — as noted by Emile Abu-Shakra, media relations manager at British bank Lloyds TSB.

Lloyds stole a march on the competition by greasing the wheels for Shariah-compliant bank-to-bank transactions, and now Britain has a bigger Shariah finance sector than Egypt or Pakistan.

In total, 22 financial institutions offer Shariah-compliant services in Britain, compared with nine in the United States. However the American financial sector is eager to source and provide new products — among them Shariah finance.

American International Group Inc.'s December pledge to bring Islamic home insurance to the United States was met with a written rebuke by Rep. Sue Myrick, North Carolina Republican, and Rep. Frank R. Wolf, Virginia Republican, who warned that opaque charitable transfers made by Shariah finance advisers could end up funding terrorists.

Mr. Holton said some Islamic financial institutions have been implicated directly in bankrolling terrorists. "From 1988 to 2001, when it was designated a terrorist entity by the United States and the United Nations, Bank al Taqwa [registered in the Bahamas] transferred tens of millions of dollars to Hamas, al Qaeda, the Taliban, and others," he said.

An elite cadre of scholars dominates the advisory boards of Shariah institutions, and these same thinkers are often called by Western institutions who want to develop Shariah-compliant products. However some, such as Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, are banned from entry into Britain and the United States for making statements supporting Islamist terrorism, while another, Mufti Taqi Usmani, who has advised the Wall Street Islamic index, has promoted extension of full Shariah law into Western countries.

Most troubling, perhaps, is the appearance of Bank Melli of Iran at the top of a listing of the world's top 500 Islamic financial institutions, published by the Banker in November 2008 and reproduced in the IFSC report. Bank Melli is under U.S. and EU sanctions for facilitating Tehran's support of Hamas and Hezbollah and funding Iran's uranium enrichment program. In total, Iran has six of the 10 biggest Shariah-compliant institutions and double the Shariah assets of any other country.

FEMA Releases Guide to Emergency Planning

by Mickey McCarter

Guide serves as resource for state, local govts. to create, enact plans

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Tuesday released a key comprehensive preparedness guide to fulfill a White House order to develop a national integrated planning system.

FEMA developed the preparedness guide, titled "Developing and Maintaining State, Territorial, Tribal, and Local Government Emergency Plans," to satisfy a requirement under Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 8 to provide a basis for public and private sector emergency response planning.

FEMA published the guide to extend the Integrated Planning System (IPS) to state and local emergency planning. The guide walks state and local emergency planners through the process of developing a plan--from forming a planning team at the beginning of the process, through writing and maintaining a plan, to executing a completed plan.

"Over the past five years, many communities developed multi-hazard mitigation plans, addressing many of the same hazards as their emergency operations plan," the guide read. "In fact, the hazard identification and risk assessment sections of these plans should be the same (while mitigation plans are only required to address natural hazards, communities are encouraged to address man-made and technological hazards as well). Communities are encouraged to coordinate their mitigation and emergency management planning efforts to reduce duplication of effort."

The guide ties together the concepts from the National Preparedness Guidelines, National Incident Management System, National Response Framework, National Strategy for Information Sharing, and National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP). It also makes use of recommendations from a 2005 Nationwide Plan Review.

A team of officials from state, local and tribal governments from around the United States developed the guide working with FEMA, the agency said. It is the first in a series of publications from the FEMA National Preparedness Directive's Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) Initiative, which will produce future guides on special needs planning, emergency response for pets, interfacing fusion centers with emergency operations centers, and specific hazard situations.

Somali pirates vow to hunt down, kill Americans

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) - Somali pirates vowed to hunt down American ships and kill their sailors and French forces detained 11 other brigands in a high-seas raid as tensions ratcheted up Wednesday off Africa's volatile eastern coast.

Pirates fired grenades and automatic weapons at an American freighter loaded with food aid but the ship escaped and was heading to Kenya under U.S. Navy guard.....

Hezbollah's Attempted Cairo Coup

By: P. David Hornik

Tehran and its terrorist allies launch an espionage effort to topple the Egyptian regime. ....

Obama Administration Stacking the Deck with Islamists

This group of Islamists is openly telling reporters that they are advocating for placement in positions of influence “under the radar.” What is wrong with this picture? ....

Obama Attorney Threatens Distinguished Veteran on Obama Birth Certificate Issue: Why?

by Margaret Calhoun Hemenway

[Editor’s note: Barack Obama’s lawyer, Robert F. Bauer, is threatening a D.C. attorney with “sanctions,” because the attorney is simply requesting that Obama show proof of his birth. No legalizing on our part. No exaggeration. No political manipulation. Just the facts in black and white. We have the shocking letter dated April 3. The president of the United States is threatening sanctions – and the word “sanctions” is used in the threat -- against attorney John Hemenway. Read on.]

After the flippant dismissal by U.S. Circuit Court Judge James Robertson of the lawsuit to attempt to determine whether Barack Obama is constitutionally eligible to serve as President, D.C. attorney John Hemenway received a letter from a lawyer representing Barack Obama and Joe Biden, his Vice President. (Hemenway had joined the suit launched by Hillary Clinton's ally, Philip Berg, the former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania and attorney Lawrence Joyce of Arizona, in an attempt to force President Obama to disclose his birth records, currently being protected against public scrutiny by the Obama legal team at a reported cost of as much as one million dollars.) The entire letter, written by Obama attorney Robert F. Bauer, states the following (and we note that there is no reference in this letter to an existing valid Birth Certificate for Barack Obama, as opposed to a Certificate of Live Birth, and there is no claim that a valid Birth certificate exists which can be shown to the American people, an act that immediately would shut down this query):

“I represent President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden. I write to request that, in light of the District Court’s March 24, 2009 Rule 11 order in Hollister v. Soetoro, No. 08-2254, you withdraw the appeal filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, No. 09-5080. For the reasons stated in Judge Robertson’s order, the suit is frivolous and should not be pursued.

Should you decline to withdraw this frivolous appeal, please be informed that we intend to pursue sanctions, including costs, expenses, and attorney’s fees, pursuant to federal Rule Appellate Procedure 38 and D.C. Circuit Rule 38.”

Mr. Hemenway's response to the letter was a promise to "write and protest and attack those against the demand that Obama show proof of his birth, and I will continue to do anything I can think of doing that might perhaps deter or injure those who are opposed to “transparency” and “openness” and honesty in governmental operations—all those good and vague promises that Obama threw out in speeches read from his teleprompter."

Mr. Hemenway added, "The lawyer for Obama, Robert Bauer, has abused his privileges as an attorney, because I can regard his premature (and totally inaccurate) threats to seek some sanction against me as a threat to keep me from performing my duty to my client. It won’t work and he will soon see that it has not worked to intimidate me." In his opinion, "many judges and other officials are simply crassly violating their oaths of office. Since I had been in the Department of State and served in Moscow for two years, I am mindful of an expression used by the Russians: “Nada dakazat’ kulak!” (You must show them your fist!)"

Hemenway also pledged:

“…to appeal the slap taken at me (the so-called “reprimand”) by Judge James Robertson who tried unsuccessfully to label our efforts as “frivolous” but who did not have the guts to sanction me under Rule 11. (This would have given me—and others engaged in this important battle —standing in the Court of Appeals.) I will do my duty to Colonel Hollister, who technically is a client, even though I never agreed initially to follow the case in the Court of Appeals. The military, as Colonel Hollister's interest demonstrates, is quite concerned with the basic issue of ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ orders originating from a ‘legitimate’ or ‘illegitimate’ commander-in-chief. Recall that Judge Robertson never did admit attorneys Berg or Joyce to practice in his court, never had a hearing and never examined evidence because he didn't seek any. The Judge gave the impression that his decision was predicated solely on ‘blogging and twittering’.“

For the many others who have contacted him and expressed interest in this cause, Hemenway invoked Churchill's admonition: “If a matter of principle is involved in a course of action, then never give up—never – never – never.” The most important part of that quote is the “matter of principle.” It was not just a display of the stubborn nature of Churchill. Following that advice, we can see that here, we have a grave matter of principle.

If Obama can break such a basic, fundamental rule of the Constitution, then what is to keep him from ignoring or suspending other basic rights, such as the Writ of Habeas Corpus?

Last, Hemenway points out: “Mr. Bauer claims his father was an attorney in Vienna who opposed the union with Germany (the so-called “Anschluss”) and promoted anti-Nazi political movements while he was in Austria. He says his father left Austria in 1940. Very few people left greater Germany after 1939, when the war started. In any event, if Bauer's background includes such a family history of opposition to anti-rule-of-law monsters, how does he explain his support for this Chicago-styled conspiracy to violate a basic requirement of the United States Constitution?”

Napolitano stands by 'extremism' report

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said she was briefed before the release of a controversial intelligence assessment and that she stands by the report sent to law enforcement that lists veterans as a terrorist risk to the U.S. and defines "rightwing extremism" as including groups opposed to abortion and immigration. ....

Click here for additional information: Top Homeland Security Democrat objects to DHS report on “right-wing extremism”

Thousands of Anti-Tax 'Tea Party' Protesters Turn Out in U.S. Cities

Hundreds of anti-tax rallies kicked off Wednesday in several U.S. cities as demonstrators protested high taxes and massive government spending. ....

U.S. failed to use best radar for N. Korea missile

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates denied permission for the U.S. Northern Command to use the Pentagon's most powerful sea-based radar to monitor North Korea's recent missile launch, precluding officials from collecting finely detailed launch data or testing the radar in a real-time crisis, current and former defense officials said.....

Illegal immigrants having more kids in US

.... Overall, illegal immigrants' children (anchor babies) account for one of every 15 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. ....

Somali pirates in brazen challenge to Obama and allies as they hijack FOUR more ships... and open fire on a fifth

Pirates have thrown down a challenge to President Obama by hijacking another four ships and taking 60 hostages in perilous waterways off the coast of Africa.

Gunmen on three small skiffs also opened fire with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at a fifth freighter yesterday.

The attacks have sharply increased in the wake of Sunday's dramatic rescue of American hostage Captain Richard Phillips. And they come in defiance of Mr Obama's call for more action to tackle piracy in the region.

Enlarge

Under attack: Somali pirates have opened fire on the Safmarine Asia

Somali pirate leaders vowed to retaliate after three teenage hijackers were shot dead by U.S. Navy sharpshooters to free cargo ship Captain Phillips, who was held captive on a lifeboat for four days.....

Pirates attack U.S. cargo ship but fail to get aboard

Who are the Somali pirates?

Big Labor Unites to Back Massive Illegal Alien Amnesty, Throwing U.S. Workers Under the Bus

(Compiler's note: The A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the "Change to Win" federation of unions are so concerned about the 13.2 million unemployed Americans—that they've announced they want to give millions of American jobs permanently to illegal aliens by supporting a mass amnesty!)

The nation’s two major labor federations have agreed for the first time to join forces to support an overhaul of the immigration system, leaders of both organizations said ....

The Dragon's Economic Conquest

....Beijing (China) is staking out a position on the global stage as the strongest national economy so as to win entrance into international organizations and councils as a peer competitor to the United States. Its message is that the Western model has failed, and that American “hegemony” is at an end.....

Why We Should Not Negotiate with Pirates

....

Jefferson said, “The United States, while they wish for war with no nation, will buy peace with none.”.....

....So the question for Americans and their leaders is whether we should negotiate with the pirates. As a negotiations coach who has worked with governmental and corporate entities around the world, my answer is no.

To put it another way, Thomas Jefferson was right. It is not a negotiation when ransom is involved. It is thievery, combined with the threat of death for captured crew members. Pirates who engage in it should be subject to the penalty of death.

While piracy falls short of being an act of war, it deserves the same status and clearly the French government regards it as such. Even at the possible cost of the lives of hostages, the French have made it clear that any vessel, to include privately owned yachts under its flag, will receive full protection.

Americans have grown squeamish over the loss of life in combat. It had much to do with the opposition to the war in Iraq, despite the remarkably low number of deaths in battle, compared to the remarkable outcome, one that even President Obama now describes as extraordinary.....

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Inroads into the Obama Administration

by Douglas Farah

First, a note updating my pessimistic view of the Somali pirate hostage taking. I stand corrected, and thank the Navy Seals and others who carried out the rescue operation. Well done!

But, as the Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report (free subscription required) makes clear, the news is not all good.

The Muslim Brotherhood legacy organizations have recently made tremendous strides in occupying positions of influence within the Obama administration, at the same time the FBI and other law enforcement officials have move to cut ties to the very same organization.

The MB has only one political agenda – its own. Its organizations strongly backed George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 (remember the famous picture of Bush hugging the al Arian family?). Hoping for friendlier pastures, the groups switched their support to the Dems in ‘08. So far, it appears to be paying off. Big time.

The architect is Dr. John Esposito, a long time defender of the MB and the head of the Saudi-financed Georgetown University Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Walsh School of Foreign Service.

This is the same Dr. Esposito who maintained prior to 9/11 that radical Islam was essentially a myth and certainly no danger. It is hard to imagine any academic being so consistently wrong in their professed field of expertise maintaining much influence, but there he is, deeply enmeshed with all the major MB legacy groups in the country.

What is fascinating is that all the same small groups appear in every event, and, if needed, new groups are created, but all led by the same small group of people. Recall that the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) hs a paid membership of less than 2,000-a drop of more than 80 percent since 9/11. Yet it continues to cast itself as the premiere voice of Muslim in America, and is often treated as such.

To be clear: these groups have a clearly enunciated and never renounced policy of toppling the government, hollowing out the institutional structures, and imposing the caliphate here, where Sharia law is the law of the land. As I have often said, if they want to openly join the political process and espouse this, they are welcome and they will be marginalized, even within the Muslim community.

It is the fact that these organizations are front groups for a foreign movement that wants to end our political system (while supporting radical Islam) to which I object.

First is the announcement by the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID), a sort of umbrella organization for many of the MB groups in the United States, that Secretary of State Clinton (along with a senior MB leader from Britain who has been banned from the United States previously will be keynote speakers at their 10th anniversary celebration.

It is hard to imagine the vetting process of the Secretary letting this one through, and time will tell if it really on her agenda or an attempt to hype the event. Here is what GMBDR says on CSID:

CSID was founded in 1998 largely by the efforts of Georgetown University academic Dr. Esposito who, during the 1990’s, had served in the State Department as a “foreign affairs analyst.” Many members of the early CSID board were associated with the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), the American Muslim Council, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). For example, past CSID board members included Jamal Barzinji and Taha Al-Alwani, both important Brotherhood leaders who are closely associated with the now defunct SAAR Foundation, still under investigation by the U.S. government. Both Barzinji and Al-Alwani helped to establish many of the most important U.S. Brotherhood organizations. The current CSID Vice-Chair, Antony Sullivan, has many ties to U.S. Brotherhood groups including the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), the United Association for Studies and Research (USAR), and the Circle of Tradition and Progress (COTP), a group whose other founding members included Youssef Qaradawi, the most important leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood. From its inception, CSID has argued that the U.S. government should support Islamist movements in foreign countries and has received financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy and the United States Institute of Peace.

Dr. Esposito, who will also be attending the conference, has been a long-time supporter of the global Muslim Brotherhood and has espoused views consistent with Brotherhood doctrine. During the 1990’s was known for his claims that Islamic fundamentalism was, in fact, democratic and posed no threat to the U.S. Dr. Esposito has at least a dozen past or present affiliations with global Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas organizations including having served on the advisory boards of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought in the U.K. and the United Association for Studies and Research in the U.S. and has served with global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi on the Steering Committee of the Circle of Tradition and Progress. In 2005, Saudi prince Alaweed bin Talal, a financial supporter of the global Muslim Brotherhood donated $20 million to the Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown, headed by Dr. Esposito.

The second is the naming Dalia Mogahed as one of the Muslim members of the President’s Advisory Council Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She is (surprised gasps all around) an Esposito protégé.

Ms. Mogahed, who was born in Egypt and lived in the U.S. since the age of 5, is the executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies and the co-author of a book with Dr. Esposito suggesting that majority of the world’s Muslims support some form of democracy. Dr. Esposito is also a member of the Gallup Center along with Ahmed Younis, previously a National Director for the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. In 2003, Ms. Mogahed was identified in 2003 as the Outreach Coordinator for the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh (ICP) whose co-founder recently lost a DOE security clearance and whose Imam will probably be deported on immigration violations. Ms. Mogahed is the daughter of Elsayed Mogahed, an Egyptian immigrant who is a former engineering scientist at the University of Wisconsin and director of the Islamic Center of Madison (ICM). The website of the ICM links mainly to U.S. Muslim Brotherhood organizations and Souheil Ghannouchi, the President of the Muslim American Society (MAS), was ICM Imam and President for several years. The MAS is part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and closest to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

So, there we have it. And it isn’t pretty.

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Douglas Farah is an award-winning investigative journalist and Senior Fellow in Financial Investigations and Transparency at the International Assessment and StrategyCenter.

American Al Qaeda Operative Says Western Countries’ Economies ‘On The Brink Of Failure’

from CBS News

American al Qaeda figure Adam Gadahn called on Muslims to support jihad with "men and money," while claiming that the West was now on the verge of collapse under the strikes of the militants.

Gadahn's comments came in a one-hour and 30-minute video produced by al Qaeda's media wing As Sahab and released on the Internet on Monday.

"The enemy under the leadership of the unbelieving West has began to stagger and falter, and the results of its unabated bleeding has began to show on its economy, which is on the brink of failure," said Gadahn.

Gadahn appeared dressed in a greyish Pakistani traditional dress, and sitting at a desk with two computers to his right and a Kalashnikov and a suicide belt hanging on the wall behind him. He looked a little thinner than usual.

He dismissed efforts by U.S. President Barack Obama to improve relations with the Muslim world, saying that his predecessors had all made the same claim but all, including President Obama himself, have maintained the same policies and the same approach towards Muslims.

"Obama’s own statements contradict his claims," Gadahn asserted, as he referred to the U.S. president's assurances to Israel that Jerusalem will remain its undivided capital, and his pledge to increase U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Gadahn then went to claim that big U.S. corporations and financial institutions, which he said were mostly run by corrupt individuals, dictated America’s domestic and foreign policies.

He mentions the case of Bernard Madoff and referred to books written by American author John Perkins, in which he talked about his efforts to spread U.S. political, military, cultural, and economic dominance, during the years he spent as what he called "an economic hitman."

The video also included a documentary-style historical introduction at the beginning that Gadahn described as being about crimes perpetrated by U.S. forces in the different wars it fought in the 20th century. He referred to the killing of Germans during World War II, the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the use of agent orange in Vietnam. "Agent orange contains Dioxin, one of the most poisonous substances on earth," he noted, adding that "just three ounces of it in the water supplies of New York, is enough to poison its entire population."

The video contained excerpts from statements released previously by other al Qaeda leaders, such as al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al Zawahri, al Qaeda’s leader in Afghanistan Mustafa Abu al Yazid and al Qaeda ideologue Abu Yahya al Libi.

Their statements all stressed on jihad as the only way to rid Muslim countries from their corrupt rulers and liberate them from Western occupation.

It also included footage of operations carried out by Arab and Afghan fighters against NATO and Afghan forces in Afghanistan, including a succession of rocket attacks, IED attacks and suicide bombings.

Gadahn pointed to a U.S. army handbook called "Route Clearance" that he said was seized during an attack on U.S. forces. A copy of the handbook has been distributed along with the video.

The book explains the various tools and techniques used by the U.S. army to minimize the damage caused by IED attacks. Gadahn noted that the procedures explained in the handbook were not being followed, and suggested that this was probably because the U.S. war budget did not allow its forces to have the necessary number of minesweepers to carry out such complicated operations.

He also deducted that the failure by U.S. minesweepers such as the Husky to detect the militants' mines was either caused by the inefficiency of the vehicle or that of its operators. He insinuated that the minesweepers' operators probably chose to sacrifice a "relatively cheaper Humvee, than a highly priced Husky."

"After all, what’s wrong with a few soldiers dying to save uncle Sam from having to account for the waste of another few hundred grands," said Gadahn.

The tape also included footage showing preparations for an attack on Camp Salerno in Khost. This included reconnaissance pictures of the base, with U.S. helicopters taking off and landing, as well as pictures of the operatives who carried out the attack undergoing training, dressed in full military gear.

An attack fitting the description of that mentioned in this tape was reported in August 2008. According to the U.S. military, the militants failed to gain entry to the camp and 13 were killed.

The video also revealed a new technique used by the group for suicide operations, consisting of placing a number of rocket launchers on top of the vehicles, and firing those rockets before the suicide bomber detonates the car bomb.

American Legion to DHS: We're not terrorists

In response to a newly unclassified Department of Homeland Security report that warns of dangers associated with "right-wing extremists" – and singles out returning war veterans as particular threats – the American Legion has fired off a letter to DHS in protest.

"I think it is important for all of us to remember that Americans are not the enemy. The terrorists are," writes David K. Rehbein, national commander of the American Legion, to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.....

WAKE UP CALL: TEXAS GOV. BACK RESOLUTION AFFIRMING SOVEREIGNTY

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.”

Perry continued: "Millions of Texans are tired of Washington, DC trying to come down here to tell us how to run Texas."



[VIDEO]

A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede the states’ right to govern themselves. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government.

It also designates that all compulsory federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties, or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding, be prohibited or repealed.

Developing...

Federal agency (Dept of Homeland Security) warns of radicals right

Nine page report sent to police ....

Michelle Obama Visits Department of Homeland Security

CRC Open-Source Intelligence Briefs

W. Thomas Smith Jr., Director of the Counterterrorism Research Center

GAZA: HAMAS terrorists got a nasty surprise when they attempted to shoot down an Israeli helicopter during their war with Israel in January.

According to The World Tribune: HAMAS smuggled four American-made Stinger portable anti-aircraft missile systems through Egypt last year. Then – during the January 2009 war – when an American-made Israeli Apache attack helicopter came under fire by HAMAS, the Raytheon friend/foe identification system on the Stinger would not allow the gunner to target (what the system read as) a friendly target. When the missile was launched, instead of acquiring the helicopter, it picked up the heat signature of a HAMAS machine-gun position.

“The Stinger was drawn by the heat of our guns rather than the engines of the Israeli helicopters,” The Tribune's source said. “At that point, we stopped using this weapon.”

The source said HAMAS is now purchasing Russian-made SA-16s.

NORTH AMERICA:The FBI raided three money transfer businesses, Wednesday, in south Minneapolis, where agents served search-warrants on Mustaqbal Express, Quran Express, and Aaran Financial, all alleged to be wiring money to several African nations, including Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya, and Sudan.

Last week, we reported the development of a tri-party pact between Sudan, Eritrea, and Iran: the ultimate goal being Iran gaining a strategic presence on the Red Sea, threatening Saudi Arabia from the southwest and fronting Egypt and Ethiopia. And of course, Iran already has been smuggling weapons into Africa. Some have been intercepted.

Just connecting more of the obvious dots.

According to FOX News:

“A copy of the sealed search warrant says the FBI is investigating money laundering – specifically, money transfers between Minnesota and Somalia, and a half-dozen other African nations as well as the United Arab Emirates.

“The FBI raided the transfer businesses in search of money transfers after January 2007 – about the same time several young Somali men from Minneapolis went missing, suspected of going back to Somali to fight in a holy war.

“The FBI has long been suspicious the money wiring services could be used to launder money for Somali pirates, or to finance Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda linked terror now controlling most of Somalia.”

Also Christopher Holton at the Center for Security Policy writes:

“It was treated as big news on Tuesday when Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau indicted Chinese executive Li Fang Wei and his company for using New York banks to finance the sale of tons of restricted, weapons-related material to Iran. But the truth is that some of these same banks and other major financial institutions, including those bailed out by American taxpayers, for years have deliberately been supporting ‘Shariah-compliant’ financial policies that almost assuredly end up being used to support illicit Middle Eastern, terrorist interests with close ties to Iran. Read more at The American Spectator.”

ISRAEL:Naharnet reports some 30 American citizens (injured by Hizballah rockets) in Israel, Friday, sued North Korea seeking more than $100-million in damages, accusing the communist state of “helping Hizballah build underground bunkers to safely store their Katyusha rockets.”

Naharnet adds, “Hizballah in 2006 fired thousands of missiles into northern Israel, which launched a deadly month-long offensive against its northern neighbor.”

Meanwhile, Hizballah, which former U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff says “makes al Qaeda look like a minor league team,” and which continues to violate UN mandate in Lebanon and has been directly involved – both financially and operationally – in terrorist attacks or supporting operations on five continents; continues to be soft-soaped by the Left and its new administration in Washington.

The soft-soaping comes in the form of downplaying Hizballah’s strengths and activities in Lebanon, denying and underreporting those strengths and activities, even going so far as to jest and make-light-of the terrorist group – by those who pretend they are opposed to the group (typical propaganda ploy) – as a means of marginalizing Hizballah’s threat to the world.

[Chris Carter contributed to this report.]

Private terror probe: 50 mosques in 50 days

Former special agent visiting each U.S. state to assess threat

A Middle East expert and former Air Force special agent is set to launch a "counter-terrorism tour" across America in which he plans to visit a mosque in each state in 50 days to assess their threat to the nation's security. ....

U.S. Military Considers Attacks on Somali Pirates’ Land Bases

(Compiler's note: I'll give you a proposed solution. We know where they operated from and who controls the pirates nests. I say go in and kill them all in a few well placed strikes and destroy all their seafaring equipment as well, i.e. boats. Then promise to destroy the remainder if they ever again try a pirate raid on our ships. Done properly, this will be much more economical and effective than creating another on-going sink hole for American tax money, blood, sweat and tears. This is a military event, not a criminal event or state department affair. If they do it again, promise to bury what is left of the dead leaders from the our next and final raids in the bodies of a hog. Now this is also a stimulus event for our nation's farmers. Enough of this politically correct stuff -- "don't tread on us" is the real solution.)

By Jeff Bliss

April 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. military is considering attacks on pirate bases on land and aid for the Somali people to help stem ship hijackings off Africa’s east coast, defense officials said.

The military also is drawing up proposals to aid the fledgling Somalia government to train security forces and develop its own coast guard, said the officials, who requested anonymity. The plans will be presented to the Obama administration as it considers a coordinated U.S. government and international response to piracy, the officials said. ....

Blogger becomes casualty of Iran cyber-wars

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The first line of his first blog from Tehran in September 2006 asks: "What is freedom?"

Omidreza Mirsayafi answered his own question. "I don't know," he wrote, "but I know someday I will see its shadow falling on my land."...

Veterans ALERT: Major Leftist Group Posing As Veterans Aid Society!

(Compiler's note: A must read.)

Pat Dollard of the Young Americans has exposed the following group as a major leftist organization funded by none other than George Soros. More on that:

An insidious, treacherous, anti-military, anti-democracy and anti-capitalist organization called “Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America”, IAVA, is posing as a veteran’s aid and support group in an attempt to turn the last non-Leftist bastion of America into the Left’s mightiest arm of real force.

They are dedicated to one mission, and one mission only: indoctrinate the average service member into a Leftist ideologue loyal to George Soros’ and Obama’s neo-Marxist revolution. Go to this link and scroll down to the bottom, and you will see the IAVA’s “report card” on politicians’ performance as supporters of the troops. John McCain is given a D, Barack Obama a B.

George Soros is a financier of the IAVA. ( From Blackfive: But Burden says what really bothers him about IAVA’s report card is its insistence that its grades are nonpartisan. He points to IAVA’s funding: Jonathan Soros, son of liberal financier George Soros, is sponsoring the group’s annual dinner next month. At the same time, the IAVA uses technology provided by Democracy in Action, a self-described “progressive nonprofit” that provides discount services to liberal groups. And, Burden points out, Rieckhoff once delivered the Democratic response to one of President Bush’s radio addresses.) They used to operate under the moniker Operation Truth before they came up with the less radical sounding IAVA. Blackfive did an expose on Operation Truth.

The IAVA, led by Paul Rieckhoff, claims to operate as as a “non-partisan” group, but as you can tell by both the report card linked above, and the fact that Rieckhoff blogs exclusively for the Huffington Post as the face of the IAVA, they are anything but. You can put the fact that Rieckhoff makes such a bluster about his alleged “firecely non-partisan” stance into the “Me thinks thou do protest too much” file.

Anyone who operates behind such a curtain of blatant deception is a coward, a predator, and fits the vernacular appellation of “weasel”. Don’t presume that the term “traitor’ hasn’t come to my mind, either.

IAVA Predatory Advertisement:

Pat Dollard repeated much of Reickhoff’s “history” from his propaganda machine…Visit Pat’s site to read more on that.

I am going to take this one step further. Reickhoff is a traitor. He is undermining the democracy of this country. He is leading veterans to become apologists for Obozo. The IAVA is evil in its structure and thought through its the funding machine.

ALERT ALERT ALERT — All veterans stay away from the IAVA, they are not your friends. The source of funding comes from George Soros who is bent on the destruction of the USA, the same country you fought to keep free and safe!

A tribute to our Navy SEAL snipers

By Michelle Malkin - April 12, 2009 09:31 PM

Captain Richard Phillips paid tribute to the Navy and the SEAL snipers who shot and killed three pirates during rescue operations today.

Here’s a video clip from a recent documentary on Navy SEAL snipers. God bless ‘em:

The Navy SEALs page is here.

***

Details from Bloomberg News:

Sharpshooters firing from the fantail of a U.S. Navy destroyer killed three pirates holding an American cargo-ship captain in a lifeboat, ending a five-day ordeal that unfolded amid a surge in piracy off Somalia’s coast.

Richard Phillips, 53, captain of the Maersk Alabama, was untied, pulled from the lifeboat and brought unharmed aboard the USS Bainbridge, said Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

The Navy acted because Phillips’s life was threatened by pirates who were aiming weapons at him, Gourtney said. The on- scene commander “had seconds” to make a decision, he said.

…The Bainbridge had the lifeboat under tow shortly after 7 p.m. local time, roughly an hour after sunset, according to Gortney and a Navy press release. The vessel was 25 to 30 meters away when special forces commandos opened fire, Gortney said.

“We pay a lot for their training,” Gortney said of the snipers. “We got a good return on their investment tonight.”

Homeland Security on guard for 'right-wing extremists'

(Compiler's note: A must read article.)

Returning U.S. military veterans singled out as particular threats

from WorldNetDaily

WASHINGTON – A newly unclassified Department of Homeland Security report warns against the possibility of violence by unnamed "right-wing extremists" concerned about illegal immigration, increasing federal power, restrictions on firearms, abortion and the loss of U.S. sovereignty and singles out returning war veterans as particular threats.

The report, titled "Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," dated April 7, states that "threats from white supremacist and violent anti-government groups during 2009 have been largely rhetorical and have not indicated plans to carry out violent acts."

However, the report goes on to suggest worsening economic woes, potential new legislative restrictions on firearms and "the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks."

Are you ready for a second Declaration of Independence? Sign the petition promoting true freedom once again!

The report from DHS' Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines right-wing extremism in the U.S. as "divided into those groups, movements and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups) and those that are mainly anti-government, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."

"[T]he consequences of a prolonged economic downturn – including real estate foreclosures, unemployment and an inability to obtain credit – could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities similar to those in the past," the report says.

It adds that "growth in these groups subsided in reaction to increased government scrutiny as a result of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and disrupted plots, improvements in the economy and the continued U.S. standing as the pre-eminent world power."

"Proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans likely would attract new members into the ranks of right-wing extremist groups as well as potentially spur some of them to begin planning and training for violence against the government," the report continues. "The high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by right-wing extremists in anticipation of restrictions and bans in some parts of the country continue to be a primary concern to law enforcement."

Most notable is the report's focus on the impact of returning war veterans.

"Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to right-wing extremists," it says. "DHS/I&A is concerned that right-wing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize veterans in order to boost their violent capacities."

The report cites the April 4 shooting deaths of three police officers in Pittsburgh as an example of what may be coming, claiming the alleged gunman holds a racist ideology and believes in anti-government conspiracy theories about gun confiscations, citizen detention camps and "a Jewish-controlled 'one-world government.'"

It also suggests the election of an African-American president and the prospect of his policy changes "are proving to be a driving force for right-wing extremist recruitment and radicalization."

The report also mentions "'end times' prophecies could motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food, ammunition and weapons. These teachings also have been linked with the radicalization of domestic extremist individuals and groups in the past, such as the violent Christian Identity organizations and extremist members of the militia movement."

"DHS/I&A assesses that right-wing extremist groups' frustration over a perceived lack of government action on illegal immigration has the potential to incite individuals or small groups toward violence," the report continues.

The report states the DHS will be working with state and local partners over the next several months to determine the levels of right-wing extremist activity in the U.S.

Last month, the chief of the Missouri highway patrol blasted a report issued by the Missouri Information Analysis Center that linked conservative groups to domestic terrorism, assuring that such reports no longer will be issued. The report had been compiled with the assistance of DHS.

The report warned law enforcement agencies to watch for suspicious individuals who may have bumper stickers for third-party political candidates such as Ron Paul, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin.

It further warned law enforcement to watch out for individuals with "radical" ideologies based on Christian views, such as opposing illegal immigration, abortion and federal taxes.

Chief James Keathley of the Missouri State Patrol issued a statement that the release of the report, which outraged conservatives nationwide, prompted him to "take a hard look" at the procedures through which the report was released by the MIAC.

"My review of the procedures used by the MIAC in the three years since its inception indicates that the mechanism in place for oversight of reports needs improvement," he wrote. "Until two weeks ago, the process for release of reports from the MIAC to law enforcement officers around the state required no review by leaders of the Missouri State Highway Patrol or the Department of Public Safety."

"For that reason, I have ordered the MIAC to permanently cease distribution of the militia report," he said. "Further, I am creating a new process for oversight of reports drafted by the MIAC that will require leaders of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Department of Public Safety to review the content of these reports before they are shared with law enforcement. My office will also undertake a review of the origin of the report by MIAC."