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Odinga/Obama’s Fellow Homelanders Lose Faith in Their Favourite Son
Kenyans lose faith in their favourite son
By Matt Brown, 11/9/09
NAIROBI – A year ago, as Barack Obama swept into the White House on a wave of excitement, Kenyans danced in the streets and feted their favourite son.
Newspaper headlines read “Son of a Kenyan rises to the helm” and “Obama the great”. Kenya declared the US election day a national holiday. Hopes were high that Mr Obama, whose father was Kenyan, would heap unprecedented attention on Kenya and Africa.
This year, however, there was no holiday commemorating Mr Obama’s victory. Kenyans have stopped talking about Mr Obama as if he were a saviour.
A full plate of domestic and international issues has kept Mr Obama busy, and he has spent just a fraction of his time dealing with Africa. Mr Obama’s tough love for Kenyan leaders has many politicians here bristling at US policy toward its east African ally.
“The honeymoon is over,” said Joshua Kivuva, a political-science professor at the University of Nairobi. “The memory of Kenyans is extremely short. One year is enough for the average Kenyan to forget that there was this president named Obama from whom they expected a lot.”
Mr Obama’s trip to Ghana in July was the earliest first-term visit to Africa of any American president. Kenyans, however, thought he should have first visited their country, where Mr Obama’s grandmother and step-siblings live.
His decision to avoid Kenya was seen as a snub to the country’s leaders who have failed to enact reforms after deadly post-election violence last year.
With wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a full domestic agenda, Mr Obama was slow to craft his Africa policy.
One of his big accomplishments was engaging with Sudan to help end the conflict in Darfur and steer the country away from civil war.
Scott Gration, Mr Obama’s Sudan envoy, has worked to keep Sudan’s historic 2010 election on track.
Mr Obama has dealt with Kenya indirectly through his emissaries. Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state and highest-ranking American official to visit Kenya, told leaders here that the Obama administration was concerned at the slow pace of reforms.
That message was echoed by Johnnie Carson, the top diplomat for Africa, who has shuttled in and out of Kenya delivering the country’s leaders stern warnings from Mr Obama.
The latest salvo from the White House came last week when Washington said it was banning Amos Wako, the attorney general of Kenya, from travel to the United States. Washington has criticised Mr Wako for failing to tackle corruption and allowing a culture of impunity that analysts say could lead to more violence during the 2012 elections.
Kenyan leaders were quick to criticise the travel ban. “It is with regret that an assistant minister of a friendly country walks into our country uninvited, makes fairly unacceptable and reckless statements and then leaves,” Moses Wetangula, the foreign minister, told reporters. “It is not right.”
Mr Carson sent letters to 15 high-ranking Kenyan leaders in September warning them that they could face US sanctions. Mwai Kibaki, the president, sent an official letter of protest to Mr Obama, who has not responded.
See Also: CLINTON ATTACK ON KENYA OVER CORRUPTION, by Matt Brown, 8/5/09 – The National:
Murdoch Aims to Block Google
11/9/09
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch says he will explore ways to block Google from using news content from his global empire.
Speaking to Sky News Australia, the Australian-born billionaire said he would try to remove articles from Google’s search indexes, including Google News.
The threat comes as on many occasions over the past months Murdoch has accused Google of being a “kleptomaniac”, acting as a “parasite” for including news content from his empire, including the Sun, The Times and the Wall Street Journal, in its news pages.
The 78-year-old media mogul maintains that search engines cannot use headlines and paragraphs of news stories as search results.
Earlier this year, Murdoch announced that the websites of his News Corporation would start charging readers for access by June next year. He, however, said last week that the plan could now be delayed.
Reacting to Murdoch’s threat to block Google, a statement for the search giant described Google News and web search as a “tremendous source of promotion for news organizations, sending them about 100,000 clicks every minute.”
CONTINUED HERE.
Ann Coulter BONUS COLUMN! FT HOOD AND GUILTY: LIBERAL ‘VICTIMS’ AND THEIR ASSAULT ON AMERICA
Last week, thirteen troops at Fort Hood did not survive America’s culture of victimhood, described in my book, Guilty: Liberal “Victims” and Their Assault on America
In modern America, the guilty are sanctified, while the innocent never stop paying – including with their lives, as they did at Fort Hood.
Before shooting up a medical facility on that Army base, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar.”
While Hasan gave a shout-out to Allah before shooting, President Obama gave a shout-out to “Dr. Joe Medicine Crow” before getting around to mentioning the massacre on the day it happened.
President Obama’s response to abortionist George Tiller was “I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller.”
President Obama’s response to the slaughter of 13 Americans by a Muslim at a U.S. military installation was to instruct Americans not to “jump to any conclusions.”
There was a risk that right-wingers’s would start playing the old “Blame The Perpetrator” game.
While the rest of us were supposed to avoid coming to the obvious conclusion, liberals went to work establishing a counterintuitive conclusion — which they plan to make conventional wisdom by Wednesday.
The mainstream media and government officials waited for no information – indeed actively avoided learning any information — before leaping to the conclusion that Hasan’s mass murder was set off by traumatic stress.
Hasan’s family members, egged on by the media, portray their murderous relative as the victim – of vague taunts by fellow servicemen for being a Muslim.
CNN began its article on the massacre: “The bumper sticker reading ‘Allah is Love’ was torn off and the car was keyed.”
A Muslim mows down 13 Americans and immediately we’re supposed to start feeling sorry for the Muslim. (The bumper sticker incident did not occur on the military base where Hasan committed mass murder and the perpetrator had already apologized to Hasan.)
The Army’s top brass, Gen. George Casey, responded to the massacre by announcing: “Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength.”
As described in “Guilty,” the more culpable a person is, the more beloved he is in modern America’s cult of victimology. Continued HERE.
See Also: FT HOOD KILLER PRAYED WITH 9/11 TERRORISTS! –
UK Telegraph: Fort Hood shooting: Texas army killer linked to September 11 terrorists
Can we start drawing conclusions yet?
And: DON’T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS! – UK Telegraph: Fort Hood gunman had told US military colleagues that infidels should have their throats cut
Gold To 5K- Peter Schiff on Fox Business-11-9-09
via Guerilla News Channel
http://www.europac.net/
http://www.youtube.com/user/SchiffReport http://www.schiffforsenate.com/
Michelle Malkin Goes After Ft. Hood Shooter & ‘Muslims In The Military’
From FOX’s Glenn Beck: Michelle Malkin Goes After Fort Hood Shooter, President Obama & ‘Muslims In The Military’ – 11/09/09
Officials: U.S. Aware of Hasan Efforts to Contact al Qaeda
U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.
It is not known whether the intelligence agencies informed the Army that one of its officers was seeking to connect with suspected al Qaeda figures, the officials said.
Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said that he requested the CIA and other intelligence agencies brief the committee on what was known, if anything, about Hasan by the U.S. intelligence community, only to be refused.
In response, Hoekstra issued a document preservation request to four intelligence agencies. The letter, dated November 7th, was sent to directors Dennis Blair (DNI), Robert Mueller (FBI), Lt. Gen Keith Alexander (NSA) and Leon Panetta (CIA).
Hoekstra said he is “absolutely furious” that the house intel committee has been refused an intelligence briefing by the DNI or CIA on Hasan’s attempt to reach out to al Qaeda, as first reported by ABC News.
“This is a law enforcement investigation, in which other agencies—not the CIA—have the lead,” CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said in a response to ABC News. ” Any suggestion that the CIA refused to brief Congress is incorrect.”
Official US Air Force Document Reveals US preparing for war in Latin America
An official document from the Department of the US Air Force reveals that the military base in Palanquero, Colombia will provide the Pentagon with “…an opportunity for conducting full spectrum operations throughout South America…” This information contradicts the explainations offered by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and the US State Department regarding the military agreement signed between the two nations this past October 30th. Both governments have publicly stated that the military agreement refers only to counternarcotics and counterterrorism operations within Colombian territory. President Uribe has reiterated numerous times that the military agreement with the US will not affect Colombia’s neighbors, despite constant concern in the region regarding the true objetives of the agreement. But the US Air Force document, dated May 2009, confirms that the concerns of South American nations have been right on target. The document exposes that the true intentions behind the agreement are to enable the US to engage in “full spectrum military operations in a critical sub-region of our hemisphere where security and stability is under constant threat from narcotics funded terrorist insurgencies…and anti-US governments…”
The military agreement between Washington and Colombia authorizes the access and use of seven military installations in Palanquero, Malambo, Tolemaida, Larandia, Apíay, Cartagena and Málaga. Additionally, the agreement allows for “the access and use of all other installations and locations as necessary” throughout Colombia, with no restrictions. Together with the complete immunity the agreement provides to US military and civilian personnel, including private defense and security contractors, the clause authorizing the US to utilize any installation throughout the entire country – even commercial aiports, for military ends, signifies a complete renouncing of Colombian sovereignty and officially converts Colombia into a client-state of the US.
The Air Force document underlines the importance of the military base in Palanquero and justifies the $46 million requested in the 2010 budget (now approved by Congress) in order to improve the airfield, associated ramps and other installations on the base to convert it into a US Cooperative Security Location (CSL). “Establishing a Cooperative Security Location (CSL) in Palanquero best supports the COCOM’s (Command Combatant’s) Theater Posture Strategy and demonstrates our commitment to this relationship. Development of this CSL provides a unique opportunity for full spectrum operations in a critical sub-region of our hemisphere where security and stability is under constant threat from narcotics funded terrorist insurgencies, anti-US governments, endemic poverty and recurring natural disasters.”
Continued Here
House health care overhaul faces Senate stone wall
WASHINGTON – The glow from a health care triumph faded quickly for President Barack Obama on Sunday as Democrats realized the bill they fought so hard to pass in the House has nowhere to go in the Senate.
Speaking from the Rose Garden about 14 hours after the late Saturday vote, Obama urged senators to be like runners on a relay team and “take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people.”
The problem is that the Senate won’t run with it. The government health insurance plan included in the House bill is unacceptable to a few Democratic moderates who hold the balance of power in the Senate.
If a government plan is part of the deal, “as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote,” said Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent whose vote Democrats need to overcome GOP filibusters.
“The House bill is dead on arrival in the Senate,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said dismissively.
Democrats did not line up to challenge him. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has yet to schedule floor debate and hinted last week that senators may not be able to finish health care this year.
Read More Here
State Worker Beat Up At SEIU Meeting
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) A state worker is recovering aftera bloody brawl at a union hall. He says members of the local SEIU 1000 beat him up and sent him to the hospital all because he wanted to expose allegedl corruption within the union.
Ken Hamidi is a state worker at the California Franchise Tax Board. Last night he walked into a union hall in Sacramento for an SEIU local 1000 meeting.
“We had every right to be here, very simple; it wasn’t anything private or anything exclusive,” said Hamidi.
But Hamidi says the union members did not want him there.
“Three, four people jumped at me, wrestled with me, then did all that,” said Hamidi. “I was covered in blood and then over to the emergency room.”
Photos of Hamidi in the hospital show him bloodied from the brawl. So why did this happen? Besides being a state worker, Hamidi says he’s an unpaid reporter for a cable access show and a vocal critic of the SEIU. He calls the state workers’ union corrupt.
“This is a union hall that is leased and is being furnished and equipped and everything with our money,” said Hamidi.
Hamidi says he came to the hall to expose how he says SEIU union leaders are spending tens of thousands of dollars on a political race, he claims, they have no right to do. After he and a photographer walked in to the meeting, it didn’t take long for Hamidi to be right out the door and on his way to the hospital.
We called SEIU union leaders to get their side of the story, but they refused to comment.
No criminal charges have been filed in this case.
Racial clash in NYPD: Brass probe tense standoff in which white cop pressed black detectives for ID
The NYPD is investigating a confrontation between white uniformed cops and black hate-crime detectives who claim they were racially profiled, the Daily News has learned.A detective and a sergeant had to be physically restrained during the tense, profanity-laced standoff – which sparked a debate among police brass about who was out of line.
The uniformed officer repeatedly demanded identification from the detectives, who were following up on a possible bias crime.
“It’s quite disappointing that these detectives were subjected to the very same type of conduct that they were investigating,” said the detectives’ lawyer Eric Sanders.
The detectives were investigating an incident in which a black woman’s car windows were shot out in the predominantly white neighborhood of Gravesend, Brooklyn.
Hate crime task force members Stephon Garland and Gregory Wilson, who are black, and Faisal Khan, who is Pakistani, were wearing suits for the door-to-door canvass.
About 15 members of the Shomrim Jewish Community patrol arrived, and someone dialed 911, alleging the detectives were police impersonators, according to a report reviewed by The News.
The detectives identified themselves over the air to the radio dispatcher, but the situation escalated when uniformed cops from the 61st Precinct responded and demanded their ID cards.
Khan told Officer Craig Malamed, who is white, that he and his partners were from the task force and what they were doing.
After Khan and Wilson showed the cop their IDs, Malamed complained to his sergeant that Garland was sitting in the SUV and had not displayed identification.
Garland, the report states, called the cop a “f—–g d–k.”
An NYPD spokesman said the incident is under review to determine whether there were violations of department rules on either side.
“Detective Garland believes that he was treated in a disrespectful manner because of the color of his skin,” the report states.
Garland also told investigators he was “very upset” by the manner he was treated by the Jewish community.
Community-based Jewish patrols like Shomrim and Shmira have been criticized for inflaming racial tensions and allegedly taking the law into their own hands.
The son of a black cop was allegedly beaten by a Shmira member last April in Crown Heights, Brooklyn
African-Americans slam Obama in White House protest
Decrying Barack Obama as “white power in black face,” hundreds of African-Americans marched on the White House Saturday to protest policies of the first black US president, and demand that he bring US troops home.
“African-American protestors march past the White House in Washington, DC. Decrying Barack Obama as “white power in black face,” hundreds of African-Americans marched on the White House Saturday to protest policies of the first black US president, and demand that he bring US troops home.”
More than 200 people gathered for the first public demonstration by African Americans against the Obama administration since his historic inauguration in January, and slammed the president for continuing what they described as Washington’s “imperialist” agenda around the world.
“We recognize that Barack Hussein Obama is white power in black face,” civil rights activist Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the Black is Back coalition which arranged the protest, called into a megaphone as the group marched outside the mansion’s gates.
“He is a tool of our imperialist enemies and we demand our freedom. And we demand that Obama withdraw all the troops from Afghanistan right now.”
Protesters also called for Obama to order troops out of Iraq and to scrap Africom, the controversial year-old United States Africa Command, and demanded “hands off” Venezuela and ends to the Cuba embargo and the Zimbabwe blockade.
Several demonstrators held up placards bearing messages such as “US out of Afghanistan” and “Stop US war against Iraq.”
Charles Baron, a New York city councilman and former member of the Black Panthers, a Black Power movement in the mid-1960s and 1970s, attacked the president for turning a cold shoulder to the plight of African-Americans.
“We’re not satisfied with him, and… this hope and change rap has not been a reality for black people,” Baron told AFP during the demonstration.
Continued Here
Why is Fort Hood a Surprise?
By David Rushton Friday, November 6, 2009
I have long been mystified as to why Americans and Canadians do not understand Islam. It is very simple. While most Christians and Jews pay only lip service to their bibles the Muslims believe in the koran with every part of their being. They rise before dawn to pray and they pray five times a day. They mean business in their worship of the false god allah.
They believe in every verse of the koran and the Hadith. But Americns have never read the koran so they are socked by such carnage as was caused at Fort Hood.
So let me quote just a few verses from the koran. Are you ready?
Infidels (unbelievers) are the Muslim’s undoubted enemies (Sura 4:101).
This ideal is instilled in the minds and hearts of Muslim children by their mothers.
Muslims are to besiege them and lie in ambush everywhere” for them.
(Sura 9:5) That’s us they are to besiege because we do not believe in and follow the teachings of Mohammed.
Seize them and put them to death wherever you find them, kill them wherever you find them, seek out the enemies of Islam relentlessly” (Sura 4:90)
I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, Smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger tips of them. (Koran 8:12)
Take not Jews and Christians for friends. They are friends to one another. He who takes them for friends is one of them.” Sura 5:51
Believers, make war on the infidels who are your neighbors and let them find you rigorous. (Sura 9:123).
Allah loves those who “fight for his cause” (Sura 61:3).
If a Muslim does not go to war, Allah will punish him. (Sura 9:39)
Muslims are to be “ruthless to unbelievers but love Muslims (Sura 48:29).
Kill any person you wish if it be a “just cause.” (Sura 6:152)
‘’I have been ordered to fight with people till they say, none has the right to be worshipped but allah ‘’ Hadith 4:196
Mohammed also said, Know that paradise is under the shade of the swords.’’ Hadith vol. 4:73
On July 4th 2002 a Muslim taxi driver in Los Angeles shot to death two people at the El Al terminal in LAX and three more were wounded. For weeks thereafter Psychologists and Psychiatrists wondered why this apparently peaceful man had killed these people. But the answer was very clearly pinned to his front door that morning. A note on the door said simply “Read the Koran.”
A few years earlier a Muslim soldier Hassan Akbar in Kuwait hurled a grenade into a tent full of American Soldiers. Two officers were killed and 14 injured. Everybody wondered what prompted him to do it. Simple, he had been reading the Koran and he believed those soldiers were his enemies.
So why waste time trying to discover what prompted Major Nidal Malik to open fire at Fort Hood. He was a Muslim and he believed in the koran. The only mystery to me is why the army would allow any Muslim to be a member. The koran clearly states Infidels (unbelievers) are the Muslim’s undoubted enemies. Yes, we Christians and Jews are their enemies. We did not say that, they did.
Read More Here
George W. Bush Visits Fort Hood, Wounded Soldiers; Obama goes Camp David to relax
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) ― Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, visited wounded soldiers and their families near the site of the worst mass shooting on an Army post in the United States.
The Bushes made their private visit to Fort Hood’s Darnall Army Medical Center on Friday night. Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in an e-mail that the couple thanked Fort Hood’s military leaders and hospital staff for the “amazing care they are providing.”
http://cbs11tv.com/wireapnewstx/George.W.Bush.2.1298076.html
Saturday afternoon, Obama will make a statement in the Rose Garden. Then, he and the first lady travel to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.
Computers, records seized at ACORN offices in La.
By Cain Burdeau 11/6/09
NEW ORLEANS – State investigators raided ACORN offices on Friday, taking away computer hard drives and documents as part of a probe into alleged embezzlement and tax fraud when the organization’s national headquarters was based in New Orleans.
“This is an investigation of everything — ACORN, the national organization, the local organization and all of its affiliated entities, specifically as it relates to any potential violations of Louisiana law,” Assistant Attorney General David Caldwell said.
ACORN staff on the scene declined to comment, but an attorney for the group said in a statement the raid was prompted by allegations that former ACORN employees had removed or altered electronic documents and may do so in the future.
Attorney Pamela Marple said ACORN was cooperating and called the raid exhaustive, saying investigators wanted “virtually every document in the possession of ACORN and any related entity.”
The raid was the latest development for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Videotapes released recently showed ACORN employees offering tax advice to two people in Baltimore posing as a prostitute and her pimp. The videos led Congress and state governments to cut funding for ACORN.
State prosecutors said their probe into the New Orleans offices stemmed from allegations made last year by board members involving embezzlement at ACORN nearly a decade ago.
ACORN last year settled an internal dispute and a lawsuit involving accusations that Dale Rathke, the brother of the group’s founder, Wade Rathke, made around $948,000 in improper credit card charges in 1999 and 2000. The Rathke family and a donor repaid the money and no charges were ever brought.
Last month, Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, the father of David Caldwell, said he would step up an investigation into allegations that the embezzlement may have been as high as $5 million.
CONTINUED HERE.
Obama’s Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting
A bad week for Democrats compounded by an awful moment for Barack Obama.
President Obama didn’t wait long after Tuesday’s devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships.
After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed. The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that the president would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance. At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation called for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective.
But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a “shout-out” to “Dr. Joe Medicine Crow — that Congressional Medal of Honor winner.” Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?
Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter. The president should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in. That’s the least that should occur.
Continued Here
Updated: Nidal Hasan – Homeland Security Policy Institute’s presidential transition task force last year?
“Nidal Hasan also appears to be the same person who participated in the Homeland Security Policy Institute’s presidential transition task force last year. He was affiliated with the Uniformed Services University. This is the May 2009 report listing his name as a task force participant (see page 29, eighth name down on the left side).”
Covering the Fort Hood Shootings, the Day After
By Al Tompkins – 11/6/09
Today, the horrible news from Fort Hood will spread to the rest of the country as friends and families learn that their loved ones are among the dead or injured in the shootings there. It will require a high degree of journalistic sensitivity to tell their stories. It would be a good time for you to revisit your protocols about when to release names. Here are some guidelines I wrote that might help as you plan funeral coverage.
Overnight, a good bit more information was revealed about the alleged shooter, psychiatrist and Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. The information may shed light on why military officials were interested in Hasan’s online writing.
On May 20, 2009, a person calling himself by the suspected shooter’s name commented on a document published on the hosting service, Scribd.com. The comments attributed to Hasan attempt to explain the difference between suicide and martyrdom. In the post, Hasan attempts to explain that giving one’s life can be a military act, not purely a suicidal act. But, discomforting as it might be for a Major in the military to be talking about suicide bombings involving U.S. soldiers, the comment does not seem to me to be overtly hostile toward Americans, soldiers or the military.
Hasan, a Muslim, was reportedly about to be deployed to Iraq and family members said he was “mortified” by the prospect. Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison told reporters he was to be deployed November 28.
Just before midnight Thursday, CNN aired video of a man believed to be Hasan shopping at a small market around 6:20 Thursday morning. The man was wearing flowing white clothing, not military clothing. The store clerk told CNN the man, who he identified as Maj. Hasan, said recently he was concerned about going to Iraq, where he could have to fight fellow Muslims.
In all probability, we will hear more today about possible motives behind the rampage.
SEE ALSO: Feds Eyed Ft. Hood Killer for Posts Praising Suicide Bombers (Updated)
AND: WND’s Jerome Corsi Claims Fort Hood Shooter Advised Obama [UPDATE]
This story has unfolded on social media, with some news organizations using Twitter to keep people updated.
- Killeen Daily Herald is tweeting the latest developments.
- Austin American-Statesman created a separate Twitter accountto cover the shootings; that account already has 3,300+ followers.
- The New York Times created a Twitter List of places covering the shootings and also embedded the feed on their Web site.
- Waco TV station KWTX is using Twitter to share information.
- The U.S. Army Twitter page is keeping people informed, tweeting late Thursday night, “Not expecting many new investigation updates this evening, but will keep you posted. Continue to keep those affected in thoughts & prayers.”
- The U.S. Army Facebook site shows an outpouring of support for military families.
- The Muslim Military Members organization has a Web site that includes lots of background for U.S. military who are Muslim. It has several chat boards on specific topics.
Michelle Bachmann – November 5, 2009 Tea Party On The Capital Steps!
(Michelle Bachmann)
Bernie Kerik NYC #1 Cop Pleads Guilty To ‘Lying To The White House’!
Former NY City Police Commissioner.
Considered by President Bush for Homeland Security Secretary.
Too Big To Fail is Too Big to Exist: Sen. Bernie Sanders Says Break ‘Em Up!
Senator Bernie Sanders introduced legislation that would break up financial institutions that are too big to fail. “If an institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist,” Sanders said. “We should break them up so they are no longer in a position to bring down the entire economy. We should end the concentration of ownership that has resulted in just four huge financial institutions holding half the mortgages in America, controlling two-thirds of the credit cards, and amassing 40 percent of all deposits.” Sanders’ legislation would give Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner 90 days to compile a list of commercial banks, investment banks, hedge funds and insurance companies that he deems too big to fail. The affected financial institutions would include “any entity that has grown so large that its failure would have a catastrophic effect on the stability of either the financial system or the United States economy without substantial Government assistance.” Within one year after the legislation became law, the Treasury Department would be required to break up those banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions.
The perilous condition of financial institutions deemed too big to fail played a major role last year in undermining the American economy and driving the country into a severe recession. As Wall Street cratered, taxpayers were put on the hook for a $700 billion bank bailout. Teetering banks also were propped up by at least $2 trillion more from the Federal Reserve in secret loans at virtually no interest.
Since the bailouts and the resulting shakeout on Wall Street, the four largest banks in America (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup) now have strengthened their domination of the home mortgage and credit care industries. Just five American banks (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley) own a staggering 95 percent of the $290 trillion in risky derivatives held at commercial banks. (Derivatives are the risky side bets made by Wall Street gamblers that led to the $182 billion bailout of AIG, the $29 billion bailout that allowed JP Morgan Chase to acquire Bear Stearns, and forced the collapse of Lehman Brothers.)
One result of the burgeoning concentration of ownership has been outrageously high bank fees and interest rates for credit cards, mortgages and other financial products.
“No single financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of American jobs or to our nation’s economic wellbeing. No single financial institution should have holdings so extensive that its failure could send the world economy into crisis,” Sanders said. “We need to break up these institutions because they have done just tremendous damage to our economy.”
To watch the weekly Web video “Senator Sanders Unfiltered,” click here.
To read the bill, click here.
To take our poll on Wall Street, click here.
To read about the bill and discuss it online at The Huffington Post, click here.
To sign the petition to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, click here.
Secret copyright treaty leaks. It’s bad. Very bad.
By Cory Doctorow
The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama’s administration refused to disclose due to “national security” concerns, has leaked. It’s bad. It says:
- * That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn’t infringing will exceed any hope of profitability.
- * That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet — and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living — if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel.
- * That the whole world must adopt US-style “notice-and-takedown” rules that require ISPs to remove any material that is accused — again, without evidence or trial — of infringing copyright. This has proved a disaster in the US and other countries, where it provides an easy means of censoring material, just by accusing it of infringing copyright.
- * Mandatory prohibitions on breaking DRM, even if doing so for a lawful purpose (e.g., to make a work available to disabled people; for archival preservation; because you own the copyrighted work that is locked up with DRM)
CONTINUED HERE (MUCH MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC.)
Political Insider Nathan Deal says he’ll ask for Barack Obama’s birth certificate
U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, now a Republican candidate for governor, this morning declared himself in sympathy with those questioning whether President Barack Obama was born in the U.S.A.
The occasion was an online chat the congressman had with supporters this morning. And the question came from Tom Crawford of Capitol Impact.
Do you believe that Barack Obama is a native-born American citizen who is eligible to serve as president? I am asking because your comments on this issue have been a little ambiguous. I would appreciate your clearing this up.
At 9:17 a.m., Deal tapped out this:
I am joining several of my colleagues in the House in writing a letter to the President asking that he release a copy of his birth certificate so we can have an answer to this question.
This is a new position for Deal. Back in August, my AJC colleague Aaron Gould Sheinin asked much the same question. This was the response he received from Deal campaign spokesman Harris Blackwood:
“He began receiving letters and e-mails about this long before the president took office. He has maintained in response to each one that he believes the president was born in the state of Hawaii two years after it became a state, is an American citizen and therefore is fully qualified to be president of the United States.”
“Awkward” will not describe the next meeting to discuss water negotiations between Deal and U.S. Rep. John Lewis.
In a subsequent Twitter message, Deal declared his online chat to be a “huge success.” And attempting to sweep up the birthers may not hurt him in a Republican primary. But it doesn’t polish Deal’s credentials as a general election candidate.
PICTURE OF MALIK NIDAL HASAN
There very little official information about Malik Nidal Husan, the alleged gunman in the Fort Hood shooting.
It’s not even clear how exactly his name is spelled. We’ve seen news reports referring to him as Malik Nadal Husan, Malik Nidal Husan, Malik Nadal Hussan, Malik Nidal Hussan, Nidal Malik Husan, and Nidal Malik Hussan.
“Virginia state medical licensing records list a Nidal Malik Hasan as a psychiatrist for the Army Medical Corps, with his primary practice at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood,” McClatchy reports. “The phone number listed for him in the Virginia records, which carried a Maryland area code, was unanswered.”
According to the records, Hasan completed a residency in psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. in 2007 and additional training in disaster and preventive psychiatry at Uniformed Services University Of the Health Sciences F. Edward Herbert School of Medicine, Bethesda, Md.. At least 12 people were killed and 31 wounded in a shooting at Fort Hood Army Base near Killeen, Texas, when at least one gunmen opened fire on soldiers who were making their final deployment preparations.
At the Center for Traumatic Studies we found this profile.
Nidal Hasan, M.D., M.P.H.
Fellow, Disaster and Preventive Psychiatry
Department of Psychiatry
F.Edward Hebert School of Medicine
Uniformed Services University of the Health Science
http://www.businessinsider.com/found-picture-of-malik-nidal-hasan-2009-11
12 People Killed and 31 Wounded in Fort Hood Shooting
Twelve people have been killed and 31 wounded in a shooting spree at a Texas military base in a murderous rampage that officials believe was carried out by an Army officer.
The suspected gunman was identified by ABC News as Major Malik Nadal Hasan.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, told Fox News that military sources informed her that the gunman was about to be deployed to Iraq.
The shooter was killed and two other suspects, who are also soldiers, have been apprehended, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone said.
The general said there were “eyewitness accounts of more than one shooter,” and the others were tracked to an adjacent facility.
Cone called the attack “a terrible tragedy, stunning.” He said the community was “absolutely devastated.”
President Obama called the Fort Hood shootings a “horrific outburst of violence.”
“It if difficult enough to lose” soldiers overseas, but said it is “horrifying that they should lose their lives at an Army base in the U.S.,” he said.
Continued Here
World first as swine flu found in US cat
Vets in the US state of Iowa said Wednesday that a household cat had tested positive for swine flu — the first known case in the world of the new pandemic strain spreading to the feline population.
The domestic shorthair, a 13-year-old castrated male, apparently caught A(H1N1) off its owners — two of the three members of the family had previously contracted the deadly virus.
“This is the first cat that we are aware of with the pandemic H1N1,” said Brett Sponseller, an assistant professor of veterinarian microbiology who helped treat the pet at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
After ruling out most common causes of respiratory diseases, a team of university and state vets looked at the family history of the owners and guessed swine flu might be the cause.
After five days of tests, their fears were confirmed.
“This was a big deal and everyone involved understood that,” said Sponseller, adding that the owners had since recovered and that the cat had been given extra fluids and antibiotics and was “doing very well.”
Cats have previously been diagnosed with H5N1, a virus commonly known as bird flu that spread from poultry to humans, but this is thought to be a first for swine flu and has possible implications for the feared pandemic.
Sponseller said the danger of an infected cat spreading the A(H1N1) virus to humans or to other cats was unknown but didn’t appear to be high.
The prevalence of the disease in the cat population was also unknown, but the vet said he believed more cats will now be tested and confirmed to have the virus.
The cat owner, an employee at the Iowa vet school, insisted on anonymity and is not revealing the pet’s name, Sponseller said.
“Indoor pets that live in close proximity to someone who has been sick are at risk,” said Iowa state veterinarian David Schmitt.
“It is wise to monitor their health to ensure they aren’t showing signs of illness,” he said in a statement.
The United States First Black Corporate President
Does Barack Obama represent African Americans? All Americans? Gangster banksters? Or our transnational corporate elite in general? Glen Ford visited Capital University in Columbus Ohio last month to explore and explain…
Glen Ford came to Columbus to speak at Capital University on October 7 on behalf of the Citizen’s Grassroots Congress. He spoke on “The United States’ first black corporate President” and about the current economic situation with banks failing and being bailed out.
CFR Recording Suggests Creating False Scarcity to Drive Up Demand for H1N1 Vaccine
Laughter as dignitaries discuss making vaccine mandatory, tricking public into taking it
A recording of a recent Council On Foreign Relations symposium reveals attendees discussing ways and means of getting the public to take the H1N1 flu vaccine in spite of the mass resistance that has arisen due to questions over it’s safety.
A Free Credit Score Followed by a Monthly Bill
By RON LIEBER
On television it’s hard to miss the wildly popular band of slackers singing ruefully from a shabby apartment or while waiting tables in pirate regalia. The ruined credit that led to their financial misfortune might have been sparkling if only they’d tracked their status on freecreditreport.com.
The Federal Trade Commission is not amused. It has long believed that the company that owns freecreditreport.com is deliberately diverting people from a government-mandated site where consumers can get free credit reports by law, and using the reports as a lure for a $14.95 monthly service that alerts subscribers to important changes in their credit status.
In an unusual salvo, the government has even produced its own spoof videos featuring a trio remarkably similar to the gang in the earlier commercials, singing a warning: “Other sites may turn your head; they say they’re free, don’t be misled. Once you’re in their tangled web, they’ll sell you something else instead.”
But while the government has taken issue with the ads, it has had little to say about credit monitoring services themselves, a rapidly expanding niche approaching $1 billion in sales for which millions of people have signed up, often unwittingly. The problem, say critics, is that most people really don’t need it.
Credit monitoring provides customers with real-time updates about changes to their credit files that might affect how lenders see them. These services can be useful for identity theft victims, for example, who want e-mail alerts about new accounts that thieves might have opened in their name.
Yet for the vast majority of consumers whose credit status doesn’t change quickly or drastically, a monitoring service is a waste of money, these critics say. Keeping a close eye on your bills and checking your credit report several times a year is enough.
And that can be done without spending a penny because the government requires the three major credit bureaus — Experian, which owns freecreditreport.com, Equifax and TransUnion — to provide one free report annually to consumers.
“Does the average person really need to see their credit reports more than once every four months? Do you need to look at it daily?” asked Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org and a former member of Experian’s consumer advisory panel, referring to credit monitoring services. “That’s paranoia.”
While other companies sell credit monitoring too, Experian is the biggest player in the lucrative niche of selling monthly monitoring. Nine million people are spending a total of $650 million to $700 million annually on the services, according to Carter Malloy, a Stephens Inc. analyst. Experian’s market share is more than twice that of its three main competitors combined. To replenish its rolls, the company relies heavily on its slacker ads, spending $54 million in 2008 to blanket the airwaves, according to TNS Media Intelligence.
The monitoring business is profitable enough that big credit card companies, including Capital One and Discover, now partner with Experian to sell private-label versions of the monitoring service directly to their customers, taking a cut of the fees and giving the rest to Experian.
So far, the F.T.C. has focused mostly on the free credit report come-on. In the last five years, Experian has paid $1.25 million to settle F.T.C. charges that it misled consumers who may have been seeking their free credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com, but ended up paying for a subscription on the similarly named freecreditreport.com. continued here.
Iran opposition to apologise to US for embassy siege
“Student’s Day is marked every Nov 4 by large crowds outside the embassy building celebrating the takeover of the “Den of Spies” and shouting slogans such as “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.
By Damien McElroy and Ahmad Vahdat
Leaders of Iran’s opposition movement are to make an unprecedented apology to the US on the 30th anniversary of the storming of the American embassy in Tehran.
In a gesture likely to provoke fury among hardliners in the Tehran regime, they will apologise on Wednesday for the hostage crisis that gripped the world for 444 days and led to a decisive break between Iran and the US, which is now routinely denounced as “the Great Satan”.
Organisers of the Green Movement, the umbrella group that seeks to overturn the official result of the June presidential election, plan to use the official commemoration of the take over to make a fresh assault on the revolutionary credentials of Iran’s leadership.
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, an exiled film-maker who spearheads the opposition campaign overseas, said Iranians should repudiate the events of 1979, when a group of pro-regime agitators took over the US embassy and held diplomats and other occupants.
“Thirty years ago in the turmoil of the revolutionary zeal an indefensible act of hostage taking was committed that the new generation of Iran are not proud of at all,” he said. “We know very well how that deplorable action hurt the noble American people and how it led to three decades of unnecessary and painful bad relations between our two nations.
“Only a small and repressive minority who rule Iran today still insist on keeping Iran on a confrontation course with the US, Britain and the West and indeed they have now taken the Iranian people as hostage to their destructive policies.”
Protesters plan to deliver a letter addressed to President Barack Obama to the US embassy in London and deliver commemorative plaques to American embassies across Europe. CONTINUED HERE.
FBI Says ‘Money Mule’ Scams Now Top $100 Million
By Kevin Poulsen
The hackers looting bank accounts of small and mid-sized businesses around the county are hitting new victims every week, and have now racked up approximately $100 million in attempted losses, the FBI said Tuesday.
“The infection vector has not been determined in every case,” the bureau’s Internet Crime Complaint Center wrote in an intelligence note on the growing scam. “However, FBI analysis has identified more than two dozen different pieces of malware on the compromised account holders’ computers all containing key loggers.”
Using these Trojan horses, cybercrooks have been intercepting victims’ web-banking credentials and then initiating money transfers to mules around the country. The mules are consumers who’ve been lured into fake work-at-home scams, in which their employment involves receiving money and then forwarding the funds to Eastern Europe.
The money has been siphoned through wire transfers, and through Automated Clearing House, or ACH, networks, the bureau said. ACH networks are normally used for direct deposits and online bill payment.
“In one case, the subjects used a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack against a compromised ACH third-party provider to prevent the provider and the bank from recalling the fraudulent ACH transfers before money mules could cash them out,” the FBI reports. “These ACH transfers ranged from thousands to millions of dollars.”
Just last week the FBI had put the losses at $40 million, according to a story by WashingtonPost.com reporter Brian Krebs, who’s been closely following the attacks. On Thursday the FDIC warned U.S. banks to watch for suspicious activity that could indicate a customer has been recruited as a mule.
This November 5th! Multi-Freedom Candidate Mass Donation Day.
An example of one of these candidates, Peter Schiff (statements 2006-2207):
Please join us this November 5th for the largest one day
multi-candidate donation event in history.
Please pledge via feedburner below for the candidates of your choosing. Your pledge is to confirm your commitment to donate the pledged amount on November 5th at the
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Doug Hoffmans’ GOP Opposition Shares Socialist Alliance
“Better a donkey in office that acts like a donkey than a donkey in elephant’s clothing making a complete ass of the GOP. ”
The GOP elite’s $1 million object lesson – and the message of NY-23
By Michelle Malkin
Conservatives owe NY-23 candidate Doug Hoffman immeasurable gratitude. He overcame impossible odds (single digits just a month ago) to come within two points of defeating Democrat Bill Owens. Hoffman had zero name recognition. National Republican Party officials dumped nearly $1 million into the race on behalf of radical leftist GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava, who then turned around, endorsed Owens and siphoned off 5 percent of the vote with her name still on the ballot after she dropped out.
Conservatives’ money went to pay for specious attack ads against Hoffman run by the NRCC like this.
Conservatives’ money went to support a GOP candidate who shares the same socialist alliances with fellow SEIU/ACORN/New Party/Working Families Party activist Patrick Gaspard, the Obama White House political director who intervened in the race to secure Scozzafava’s endorsement of Owens.
Hoffman’s candidacy illuminated the stark difference between GOP political opportunists willing to pimp out their endorsements to any old ACORN-embracing, Working Families Party-consorting, Big Labor crony who puts an “R” by her name — and movement conservatives who refuse to “mooooderate” for the politically expedient sake of mooooderation as dictated by out-of-touch Beltway party leaders. The NRCC/RNC’s $1 million debacle will cost much more than that.
As I’ve repeated many times over the last several weeks:
One thing is guaranteed at the conclusion of the NY-23 special congressional election: The Beltway Republicans who endorsed radical leftist Dede Scozzafava are going to have indelible egg stains on their faces. And GOP establishment fund-raising organizations will be the poorer for it.
To illustrate the point: This blog now has a regular feature spotlighting readers’ RNC rejected solicitation forms of the day.
Today’s rejected RNC donor form comes from reader Bud:
Which brings me to my syndicated column today.
Hoffman may have lost narrowly, but NY-23 is a much broader victory for conservatives who believe the Republican Party should stand for core limited government principles. Scozzafava, who was endorsed by far Left blogger Markos Moulitsas Zuniga and backed by Planned Parenthood, the National Education Association, and card-check-promoting trade unions, was denied the congressional seat because movement conservatives refused to support Arlen Specter in a skirt. This is a victory of principle.
Maine Voters Repeal Law Allowing Gay Marriage
By Amy Goodnough, 11/4/09
In a stinging setback for the national gay-rights movement, Maine voters narrowly decided to repeal the state’s new law allowing same-sex marriage.
With 87 percent of precincts reporting early this morning, 53 percent of voters had approved the repeal, ending an expensive and emotional fight that was closely watched around the country as a referendum on the national gay-marriage movement. Polls had suggested a much closer race.
With the repeal, Maine became the 31st state to reject same-sex marriage at the ballot box. Five other states – Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont – have legalized same-sex marriage, but only through court rulings and legislative action.
The Maine vote was particularly discouraging for gay-rights groups because it took place in New England, the region that has been the most open to same-sex marriage, and because opponents of the repeal had far outspent backers. Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, had enthusiastically backed the state law allowing gay marriage, passed by the legislature in May but put on hold until the referendum took place.
The repeal came a year after California voters banned same-sex marriage with a constitutional amendment. Preliminary results showed strong opposition to the repeal in Portland, the state’s biggest city, but not enough to counter widespread support in more conservative regions to the north.
In another Election Night setback for gay-rights supporters, Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey, who supports gay marriage, lost to Christopher Christie, a Republican who opposes it. Many believed the legislature there was close to passing a gay marriage bill, but with Mr Corzine’s defeat all bets are off.
CHRISTIE WINS NJ; MCDONNELL TAKES VIRGINIA
WASHINGTON – Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year.
Conservative Republican Bob McDonnell’s victory in the Virginia governor’s race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and moderate Republican Chris Christie’s ouster of unpopular New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was a double-barreled triumph for a party looking to rebuild after being booted from power in national elections in 2006 and 2008.
The outcomes were sure to feed discussion about the state of the electorate, the status of the diverse coalition that sent Obama to the White House and the limits of the president’s influence — on the party’s base of support and on moderate current lawmakers he needs to advance his legislative priorities.
His signature issue of health care reform was dealt a blow hours before polls closed when Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid signaled that Congress may not complete health care legislation this year, missing Obama’s deadline and pushing debate into a congressional election year.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_el_ge/us_election_rdp
USSC Seeks Opinion On Ariz Immigration Case
By Kristina Peterson
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–The U.S. Supreme Court asked the Solicitor General to comment on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s challenge to an Arizona immigration law on Monday.
At issue is whether federal immigration law prevents states from imposing their own penalties on businesses that employ illegal immigrants.
“Without immediate action by this Court, the crazy-quilt of state and local immigration statutes will continue to expand, multiplying burdens on employers and unfairness to employees,” the Chamber of Commerce argued in its brief to the high court.
The Chamber filed suit after Arizona passed a law in 2007 imposing penalties on businesses that hire illegal immigrants and requiring all employers to use an online verification system.
The Chamber argued that Arizona’s law violates the intent of the national immigration law Congress passed in 1986. That law created a “comprehensive scheme” prohibiting the employment of illegal aliens and prevented states from imposing civil or criminal sanctions against employers except for “licensing and similar laws.” Congress also specified that use of the online verification system would be voluntary.
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard countered in a brief to the court that the state law falls within the domain of the licensing provision. And while Congress prohibited employers nationally from requiring the use of the verification system, states still have the right to mandate its use, Goddard argued.
Both the district court and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the Arizona statute did not interfere with federal law.
The case is Chamber of Commerce v. Criss Candelaria, 09-115
Michael Fumento on the Pandemic Hysteria
By Jeffrey Tucker
The last time I wrote about the politics of the flu, Bush was trying to get everyone hopped up over the impending bird flu (Avian flu) pandemic that would require that government have all power in order to save us. Since then, I’ve largely stopped paying attention to the waves of pandemic hysteria that sweep around popular culture. I’ve vaguely noted that the swine flu seems to be the thing of the moment, but, actually, there are so many varieties of hysteria that I’m having a hard time keeping them straight.
Thank goodness Michael Fumento is following all of this with a great eye for detail.
When the sacrosanct World Health Organization (WHO) made its official declaration in June, we were 11 weeks into the outbreak, and swine flu had only killed 144 people worldwide–the same number who die of seasonal flu worldwide every few hours. The mildest pandemics of the 20th century killed at least a million people worldwide. And even after six months, swine flu has killed about as many people as the seasonal flu does every six days.
In Australia and New Zealand, flu season has ended, and almost all cases have been swine flu. Yet even without a vaccine, these countries are reporting fewer flu deaths than normal. (In New Zealand, that’s just 18 confirmed deaths compared with 400 normally.) Swine flu is causing negative deaths!
It also seems that my own lack of clarity over this bird v. pig issue was not an accident:
[WHO] was losing credibility over the refusal of avian flu H5N1 to go pandemic and kill as many as 150 million people worldwide, as its “flu czar” had predicted in 2005. Around the world, nations stockpiled antiviral medicines and H5N1 vaccine. So when pig flu conveniently appeared, the WHO essentially crossed out “avian,” inserted “swine,” and WHO Director-General Margaret Chan could boast: “The world can now reap the benefits of investments over the last five years in pandemic preparedness.”
Finally, as to why WHO is promoting this stuff, Fumento links to a speech by the Director General, in which she promotes a soft-socialist agenda in the name of health, the WHO as world central planner.
Thank you Michael for doing all the hard work here.
Obama Outlawing Texting While Driving: It’s a bad way to form the rules of a society.
“The (Obama) ban says, You don’t know what is good for you so you must be forced to do what the government thinks is good for you. The ban gets support because people generally think that while they are responsible and good at calibrating what is safe and unsafe, others are not. Through this method, all freedoms could be abolished.”
A Penchant for Controlling Others
We all want freedom for ourselves, but many people have doubts about the way others might use their own freedom. Under these conditions, the state is there to help. Get enough people to favor enough restriction, and the state is good to go, administering every aspect life from its smallest to its largest detail.
Every day presents more cases, but the most recent case is stunning. It turns out that 97% of people polled support a universal ban on texting while driving. Half of those surveyed say that the penalty should be as severe as that for drunk driving. Among these, how many do you suppose do text and drive but don’t want to admit it to the pollster? Probably plenty. And yet I couldn’t find a single online defense of the practice anywhere on the web.
The truth is that it is not necessarily unsafe to text behind the wheel. It all depends on the situation. If you are in a traffic jam, and are late to an appointment, the ability to text can be a lifesaver. Or if there are no cars around, you might be able to risk it. On the other hand, it would probably be a mistake to attempt this doing 80 mph around slower traffic on a freeway.
How can we know the difference between when it is safe and when it is not? The principle applied on American roads is that the driver himself makes that decision. If this principle didn’t make sense, there would be no way that the roads themselves could work at all. CONTINUED HERE.
CNN poll: 54% disapprove of Obama economic performance
By Ed Morrissey
In an otherwise unremarkable poll of adults, as opposed to voters or likely voters, this result stands out, especially after the Obama administration’s attempts to both spin the numbers and blame George Bush for the economy. Fifty-four percent of respondents to the latest CNN poll disapprove of Barack Obama’s performance on the economy, a 17-point swing in six weeks. That isn’t the worst of the poll, either; 57% now disapprove of Obama’s performance on health care, a 19-point swing in that same time.
CNN, of course, doesn’t mention the details on either in its own reporting on the poll:
FHA: The Next Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
BAD DEBT COULD TRIP THIRD GIANT
FHA: After Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell, this agency took up the slack
A year after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac teetered, industry executives and Washington policymakers are worrying that another government mortgage giant could be the next housing domino.
Problems at the Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees mortgages with low down payments, are becoming so acute that some experts warn the agency might need a government bailout.
Running questions about the FHA’s future — underscored by interviews with policymakers, analysts and home buyers — came to the fore on Thursday on Capitol Hill. In testimony before a House subcommittee, the FHA commissioner, David H. Stevens, assured lawmakers that his agency would not need a bailout and that it was managing its risks.
But he acknowledged that some 20 percent of FHA loans insured last year — and as many as 24 percent of those from 2007 — faced serious problems, including foreclosure, offering a preview of a forthcoming audit of the agency’s finances.
“Let me simply state at the outset that based on current projections, absent any catastrophic home price decline, FHA will not need to ask Congress and the American taxpayer for extraordinary assistance — we will not need a bailout,” Stevens said in his testimony.
But to its critics, the FHA looks like another Fannie Mae. CONTINUED HERE.
* * * See Also: 20 Year Old Buys Home with $183,000 FHA Loan and 3.5% Down:
Excerpt – “Denise Tejada bought a house last month at the age of 20, thanks in large part to a loan guaranteed by the Federal Housing Authority.
This story offers a dramatic demonstration that, despite the housing bubble causing the worst economic downturn in generations, the ideology of home ownership is alive and well in the United States and still being supported by the government.
Without question, Tejada’s loan is toxic–to her and to the taxpayers who are backing the loan. Her house cost $155,000. Tejada’s loan was apparently made on a micro-down payment of just 3.5%, the minimum down payment to qualify for an FHA loan. On top of this, however, she got an additional government backed loan to make improvements. Her total loans amount to $183,0000. In short, she was immediately underwater on her new house.
The monthly payments on her debt amount to $1328. Her income is $2470, leaving her with just $285 a week to live on. She’s paying 54% of her income to make the mortgage payments. She earns that income by holding down one full time and two part time jobs. Obviously, this woman has a strong work ethic. But it also means her income is precarious. With unemployment still rising, she obviously should be worried about losing one of her three jobs. A loss of one of them would likely leave her unable to make the debt payments.
10 signs the next housing bubble is underway >>
Tejada appears to be using imaginary numbers about the value of her house. She says that when she bought it, the house was just a “box” with no kitchen or bathroom. Now it is “gorgeous”. She claims the renovation has increased the value of her home from $155,000 to $255,000.
“I bought my house for $155,000. And now, after all the fixing, after all the remodeling, my house is worth $255,000. So just within a month period, I made a $100,000,” she tells Market Place’s Scott Jagow.
As far as we can tell, this is just mark-to-imagination valuation.”
Aborted Fetus Cells Used in Beauty Products
By Valerie Richards, 11/3/09
A San Francisco cosmetics company has ignited an outcry among pro-lifers for including an unexpected ingredient in its anti-aging creams: skin-cell proteins from an aborted fetus.
Children of God for Life, a watchdog group that monitors the use of fetal material in medical products, called last week for a boycott of all treatments manufactured by Neocutis Inc., which acknowledges that the key ingredient in its product line was developed from an aborted boy.
“There’s just no excuse for using aborted babies in skin-care products,” said Debi Vinnedge, executive director of Children of God for Life, a 10-year-old organization based in Murfreesboro, Tenn. “The reaction, the shock and anger I’ve seen is incredible.”
In a statement released Friday, in response to a wave of condemnation from pro-life and religious blogs, Neocutis defended the use of its trademarked ingredient, Processed Skin Cell Proteins, or PSP, arguing that the fetal cell line was harvested in a responsible, ethical manner for use in treating severe dermatological injuries.
The company compared its situation to that of researchers who used fetal kidney cells to develop the polio vaccine.
“Our view – which is shared by most medical professionals and patients – is that the limited, prudent and responsible use of donated fetal skin tissue can continue to ease suffering, speed healing, save lives and improve the well-being of many patients around the globe,” said the statement.
The ingredient was developed at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland from proteins in the skin tissue of a 14-week-old male baby electively aborted at the university’s hospital and donated to the Swiss university. The abortion was deemed medically necessary because the baby could not survive to term, according to Neocutis. CONTINUED HERE.
Shocker. New Video Surfaces Showing Obama’s Pastor & Mentor Praising Marxism… This Year
Jim Hoft via Breitbart
Once again… Thank you state-run media for vetting the radical candidate Obama.
Accuracy in Media reported on Rev. Jeremiah G-D AmeriKKKa Wright’s speech from the September 17, 2009, anniversary celebration of Monthly Review,
Wright is being introduced in the video by Robert W. McChesney, co-founder of Free Press, an organization which has come under scrutiny for its links to the Obama Administration and dedication to the transformation and control of the private media in the U.S.
In an article in the socialist Monthly Review, “Journalism, Democracy, and Class Struggle,” McChesney declared, “Our job is to make media reform part of our broader struggle for democracy, social justice, and, dare we say it, socialism.”
In the video, which captures Wright’s appearance at a September 17, 2009, anniversary celebration of Monthly Review, Wright said that while the “corporate media” provide a “binary lens” of the world, in such terms as “communist versus Christian,” Monthly Review offers what it calls “no-nonsense Marxism.”
He added: “You dispel all the negative images we have been programmed to conjure up with just the mention of that word socialism or Marxism.”
He called America “land of the greed and home of the slave.”
There is much more at AIM.
OBAMA’S YOUTH CORPS
Back in 1980 one of my sons sold books for SOUTHWESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY. At that time the book company recruited college students, who went door to door and sold educational type books. It was a great learning experience for the students and my son earned enough during the summer to pay for his senior year in college. The Obama administration is now recruiting college students that will not only get paid for knocking on doors but will “earn college credits” while advocating for change. It’s called ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA (OFA) and could be a part of Obama’s young and educated civilian army.
The OFA website states: “Students and young people were critical in building the movement that helped elect President Obama last year. By becoming a National Organizing Intern, you’ll be part of the grassroots effort to make the change we fought for a reality in 2009 and beyond. As an Organizing Intern, you’ll work side by side with OFA staff and community leaders to help build support for President Obama’s agenda. You’ll learn core organizing principles that are crucial for any campaign and play an important role in building our organization in your state. If you’re passionate about making sure every American has quality health care, reviving our economy and building a clean energy future, don’t miss this great opportunity. No previous experience is needed in order to apply.”
I wonder if Mr. Obama read PROVERBS 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” How much training and indoctrination will these young people receive before they become full fledged soldiers in Obama’s Civilian Army? If they haven’t been thoroughly brainwashed while attending the government run public schools, they will most certainly be “educated” by the anti-capitalists, anti-Christian, anti-Constitution left-wing of the Democratic Party. Although they won’t have been taught to consider themselves Communist, they will understand “Social Justice” and they will be the “caring persons” who will lead their generation into “The New World Order.”
Also – is just any college going to accept credit hours for knocking on doors? Will a college accept credit hours for a student’s Marxist ideas? Will only a liberal college accept Obama hours? Will “knock-on-door-Obama-hours” be transferable from one college to another? And there’s the part about “No previous experience is needed in order to apply.” I believe that statement was used by Bill Clinton when he was interviewing interns.
© 2009 Derry Brownfield – All Rights Reserved
EU to police drivers with black boxes on all cars
“In America, black boxes became widespread after manufacturers agreed to adopt them on a voluntary basis. They are now standard in more than two-thirds of new vehicles.”
By Steven Swinford
THE European Union is drawing up plans for aircraft-style black box recorders to be fitted to all cars to help the police identify who is responsible for crashes.
A £2.4m, three-year study commissioned by the European commission’s transport arm has recommended the mandatory installation of the boxes in all cars. They will record 20 types of data, including speed, the car’s most recent movements and whether the driver braked or indicated.
The information will be used by police and insurance firms to reconstruct crashes and determine who was at fault. It could then be used in court cases. Insurers would be able to expose bogus claimants by checking their account of an accident against what really happened.
Researchers believe the technology will improve safety. The study, called Project Veronica, found drivers with black boxes were 10% less likely to be involved in a fatal accident, and their repair bills fell by as much as 25%.
Ralf Schmidt-Cotta, director of the study, which is being carried out at the German car-parts group Continental, said: “The technology is like an independent, neutral witness. For police and insurance companies, it will be invaluable.
“It will also revolutionise road safety because of the psychological impact of having the boxes installed. Drivers know they cannot get away with simple excuses after an accident because their movements are recorded. They therefore drive more carefully.”
The boxes, which cost about £500, are little bigger than a pack of cards and are fitted behind the dashboard or under the floor. They are connected to sensors that monitor the car’s movements.
They are triggered by sharp changes in speed or the inflation of an airbag, allowing them to record collisions with pedestrians and cars. To allay privacy concerns they will keep only data recorded for 30 seconds before a crash and 15 seconds afterwards. The boxes will also alert emergency services to an accident.
In Britain, the boxes are installed as standard in many emergency vehicles. When the Metropolitan police put them in 3,500 of their cars in 1999 there was a £2m reduction in accident costs in 18 months.They are also used in some newer models of car, although the data are not standardised.
In America, black boxes became widespread after manufacturers agreed to adopt them on a voluntary basis. They are now standard in more than two-thirds of new vehicles.
Both motoring groups and the government are concerned about their use in the EU. The Department for Transport said it had concerns about privacy and legal issues, while a spokesman for the AA warned that making black boxes mandatory would be impractical.
He said: “The practicalities are horrendous. Who pays for it? Will it integrate with the car’s other features? This is a technology which needs to evolve on a voluntary basis.”
Schmidt-Cotta dismissed privacy concerns. He said: “We are not monitoring these vehicles for 24 hours, just for 45 seconds during a collision. It would simply provide the police with better data to investigate crimes.” SOURCE
Apple Using Google To Dampen Windows 7 Hype
By Kevin McLaughlin, Channel Web
11/2/09
Apple (NSDQ:AAPL) is digging deep into its bag of marketing tricks in a bid to deflect some of the buzz around Windows 7, and it’s doing so with the assistance of Google (NSDQ:GOOG).
On Monday, Google search queries on the terms “Windows 7 download” and ” Windows 7 upgrade” were returning surreptitious sponsored links for Apple, as first noted by the blog The Next Web.
The sponsored links contain messages that are intended to steer users away from Windows 7 and into the comforting arms of Apple products. “Thinking of Upgrading? Avoid Windows 7 headaches. Make the switch to Mac. It’s easy,” reads one message.
“If you have to upgrade, make the ultimate upgrade. Switch to Mac,” reads another.
Apple didn’t respond to an email request for comment on the Google ads, so it’s unclear how much it’s spending to steer Web searchers away from Windows 7. CONTINUED HERE.
Councils get ‘Al Capone’ power to seize assets over minor offences
Draconian police powers designed to deprive crime barons of luxury lifestyles are being extended to councils, quangos and agencies to use against the public, The Times has learnt.
The right to search homes, seize cash, freeze bank accounts and confiscate property will be given to town hall officials and civilian investigators employed by organisations as diverse as Royal Mail, the Rural Payments Agency and Transport for London.
The measure, being pushed through by Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, comes into force next week and will deploy some of the most powerful tools available to detectives against fare dodgers, families in arrears with council tax and other minor offenders.
The radical extension of the Proceeds of Crime Act, through a Statutory Instrument which is not debated by parliament, has been condemned by the chairman of the Police Federation. Paul McKeever said that he was shocked to learn that the decision to hand over “intrusive powers” to people who were not police was made without consultation or debate.
“The Proceeds of Crime Act is a very powerful tool in the hands of police and police-related agencies and it shouldn’t be treated lightly,” Mr McKeever said. “There is a behind the scenes creep of powers occurring here and I think the public will be very surprised. They would want such very intrusive powers to be kept in the hands of warranted officers and other law enforcement bodies which are vetted to a very high standard rather than given to local councils.”
His concerns are shared by leading legal figures, who believe that there is a risk of local authorities abusing the powers to search people’s homes, seize their money, freeze their accounts and confiscate their property. They also see parallels with the spread of counter-terrorist surveillance powers to monitor refuse collections and school catchment areas.
Wideranging confiscation powers were given to police and law enforcement bodies in 2003 to seize the cash and property from drug dealers, people-traffickers and money launderers. They were viewed as “Al Capone powers” — a means of getting at the Mr Bigs of organised crime by seizing wealth accrued from criminality. David Blunkett, then Home Secretary, said law enforcement was targeting “the homes, yachts, mansions and luxury cars of the crime barons”.
The expansion of seizure powers is part of a Home Office plan to “embed” financial seizure across the criminal justice system. Ministers set a target to recover £250 million in criminal assets by 2010, rising to £1 billion per year soon after. CONTINUED HERE.
Supreme Court Refuses to Stop Release of Documents in Priest Sex Cases
11/2/09
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States Supreme Court on Monday turned away a last-ditch appeal to stop the release of documents from sexual abuse lawsuits against priests in a Roman Catholic diocese in Connecticut.
The court refused to hear the appeal from the diocese, in Bridgeport, which has fought for years to prevent the release of the documents. Last month, the justices refused to grant a delay while they considered the diocese’s full appeal.
The order was issued without comment.
The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Hartford Courant have asked to see the documents. The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that more than 12,000 pages from 23 lawsuits against six priests should be unsealed.
The documents include depositions, affidavits and motions.
The records have been under seal since the diocese settled the cases in 2001. They could shed light on how Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York handled the allegations when he was the bishop of Bridgeport.
The diocese says the First Amendment prohibits civil authorities from intruding in internal church decisions about priest assignments. CONTINUED HERE
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