Tuesday, May 17, 2011

FROM THE PATRIOT POST EDITORIAL TEAM

Brief · May 16, 2011




The Foundation

"Born in other countries, yet believing you could be happy in this, our laws acknowledge, as they should do, your right to join us in society, conforming, as I doubt not you will do, to our established rules." --Thomas Jefferson



Political Futures

Obama thinks immigration policy is a laughing matter"[O]bama's most recent invitation to civil discourse -- on immigration -- came just 11 minutes after he accused opponents of moving the goal posts on border enforcement. 'Maybe they'll need a moat,' he said sarcastically. 'Maybe they want alligators in the moat.' Nice touch. Looks like the Tucson truce -- no demonization, no cross-hairs metaphors -- is officially over. After all, the Republicans want to kill off the elderly, throw the disabled in the snow and watch alligators lunch on illegal immigrants. The El Paso speech is notable not for breaking any new ground on immigration, but for perfectly illustrating Obama's political style: the professorial, almost therapeutic, invitation to civil discourse, wrapped around the basest of rhetorical devices -- charges of malice compounded with accusations of bad faith. 'They'll never be satisfied,' said Obama about border control. 'And I understand that. That's politics.' ... There is zero chance of any immigration legislation passing Congress in the next two years. El Paso was simply an attempt to gin up the Hispanic vote as part of an openly political two-city, three-event campaign swing in preparation for 2012. ... [F]or Obama, immigration reform is not about legislation, it's about re-election. If I may quote the president: I understand that. That's politics." --columnist Charles Krauthammer



Government

"[T]he federal government expects to collect $2.2 trillion in revenue this year. The problem is that it wants to spend $3.8 trillion. You can do a lot with $2.2 trillion. You can fund Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, debt service, unemployment, welfare, and national defense at their 2008 levels. My recollection of 2008 is that it was not exactly a time of Spartan fiscal discipline. Funding the majority of the federal government at 2008 levels is not 'default.' It's not anything like default. It's not in the same category of things, events, or concepts as default. ... We like to think that the American people are on our side when it comes to the size and scope of government, but they aren't. Reforming entitlements is still going to be hard. Even reforming stupid spending is going to be hard: We all had a good laugh at Harry Reid's federally subsidized cowboy poetry festival, but there are a million morsels of pork just like it, not to mention big non-pork spending that has to be addressed, too. And now, with a weak economy and a gloomy near-term outlook, conservatives are stuck doing the job we really should have done back in 1994-2000. But it's not going to get any easier. But on the debt ceiling? Let them sweat." --columnist Kevin D. Williamson



Liberty

"One of the shameful hallmarks of a dictatorship is the restriction of movement -- telling citizens or groups they cannot travel or relocate freely. We are now witnessing a shocking example of that dictatorial practice at the hands of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which is insisting that a major U.S. employer may not move some of its operations from one state to another because to do so might somehow violate workers' rights. The case in point involves famed aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, which is building a second assembly line for its new 787 jetliners in South Carolina. That's a no-no, says the NLRB. ... The NLRB has filed a complaint against Boeing, a firm headquartered in Chicago, for daring to choose where they may locate one of their plants. In this case, Boeing is being told it cannot make the move on the specious grounds that the move constitutes an unfair labor practice. The unfair labor practice? South Carolina has a state right-to-work law, which ensures employees the right to either join a union or not to join a union as they see fit. Imagine that, a law that allows a worker to choose whether or not to join a union! ... When a federal agency takes it into its grubby hands to dictate where a firm may locate some of its facilities America stands at the dividing line between freedom and tyranny." --columnist Michael Reagan



Opinion in Brief

"[T]he Obama administration is gutsily punishing right-to-work states -- even states that merely require secret ballots in order to obviate coercion by union thugs. What are Americans supposed to do to earn money? Obama doesn't care: Ordinary Americans are irrelevant to the Democrats' electoral ambitions -- they exist only to justify the hiring of more government workers. The Democrats have now officially abandoned working-class Americans. Obama is doing what's in his and his party's self-interest, rather than concerning himself with the mass of American citizens. He is using his executive authority to reward gays, illegal aliens, do-nothing government employees, far-left union bosses, abortion industry executives and global warming kooks. Are you on that list of Obama's friends? Democrats blithely act as if big labor, pro-illegal-immigration, pro-government union policies combined with massive government red tape and huge socialist programs will have no effect on jobs. They incessantly repeat 'gutsy call' for 'you'd have to have been brain-dead not to make the call to kill bin Laden,' hoping the Democratic Party will suddenly seem macho. Then, after a few weeks of robotically chanting 'gutsy call,' they can get back to their true passion -- destroying jobs -- at which point they will robotically chant Bush's name to explain why millions of Americans have lost their jobs under Obama. How gutsy." --columnist Ann Coulter



The Gipper

"Without timely expression and emphatic endorsement, our own belief in the principles of human freedom and representative government must eventually atrophy and wither." --Ronald Reagan



Re: The Left

"For a week people have been asking, 'Why won't the president release Osama bin Laden's photo?' That's the wrong question. We should be asking, 'Why was Barack Obama in such a hurry to tell us bin Laden was dead?' The White House says the information in bin Laden's compound is the equivalent of a 'small college library,' potentially containing incalculably valuable and unique data on al-Qaeda operations, personnel and methods. ... I'm no expert on such matters -- though I've talked to several about this -- but even a casual World War II buff can understand that the shelf life of actionable intelligence would be extended if we hadn't told the whole world, and al-Qaeda in particular, that we had it. It's a bit like racing to the microphones to announce you've stolen the other team's playbook even before you've had a chance to use the information in the big game. But that's exactly what President Obama did. ... [I]t seems that the White House planned to crow as soon as possible. Why? Nobody I've talked to can think of a reason that doesn't have to do with politics or hubris." --columnist Jonah Goldberg









For the Record

"When you look at other countries and the history of the world in general, we are all just amazingly, unbelievably wealthy in this country. We have technology and opportunities that are insane; we can't even comprehend how well off we are compared to people who used to have to live in huts and fight for every meal. When you look at it objectively, every one of us in this country is a billionaire. And what did we do to earn all this incredible wealth? For most of us, the answer is: absolutely nothing. We were just born with it. So we take it for granted. And we demand even more. There is another type of rich person, though -- the working rich. The people who create. These are the people who made all the benefits we enjoy in society today. Thanks to their creativity and initiative, we have all the technological marvels we enjoy today. Because of their hard work, we have all these companies that give us cushy 9-to-5 jobs where we earn sums of money most of the world couldn't even imagine possessing. And are we thankful? Do we say, 'Thank you, rich people, for making all these things so we can benefit from them. I can't even believe how simple and easy my life is because of you'? No, we demand more from them, because we're the idle rich, and we think the working rich owe us everything." --columnist Frank J. Fleming



Faith & Family

"Robert Woodson would probably wince if you called him a 'community organizer.' That's because for the last 30 years as president of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, he has not spent time organizing the poor around ineffective government programs and other addictions; he has been helping them become self-sufficient. 'You can't learn anything by studying failure,' he says. 'If you want to learn anything, you must study the successful.' ... Woodson, who is African-American, as were all of those I met, tells me 'Every black community going back to 1784 had welfare based on morals.' The last 40 years, he says, have transformed the way we look at poverty: 'Until 1965, 80 percent of black families had two parents in the home. The '60s destroyed all that.' ... He is emphatic about what he says and he produces success when so many other programs fail: 'Faith in God transforms the inside and that faith transforms the outside.' ... Republicans could win over the votes of many of the poor who think their future lies with Democrats. It doesn't, not if Democrats continue to spend money on failed programs that have no power to change lives. This will require Republicans getting out of their comfort zones and hanging out with people who not only have found hope, but who can communicate hope to others." --columnist Cal Thomas



Reader Comments

"Mark, your essay Sunset or Sunrise on Liberty? is one of your finest! This tells it like it is in NO uncertain terms. Those in denial have a terminal case of cranial rectumitis brother. What you have clearly stated are the FACTS of the case ... and they are undisputed! Keep up the great effort! I got your back covered!" --Mike



"Mark Alexander's essay was really pointless and misses the reality of the situation. Our government is and has been operating outside the scope of the constitution for some time. Our first line of defense, the military, has let us down. I know this is blasphemy to your readers but the truth often appears to be just that. Our military is to defend us against foreign AND DOMESTIC enemies. They have not done this (although we are currently dismantling a nation who our own government admits was never a threat to us in Libya). It is not time to take action. That time has come and gone." --David



Editor's Reply: Spoken like one who has already thrown in the towel. For the record, and for your consideration, the full Sam Adams quote I referenced is: "Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, 'What should be the reward of such sacrifices?' Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!" David, don't give up.

"Regarding the image in Friday's Digest, John Boehner is less like Braveheart and more like Robert the Bruce -- you can't trust his loyalty, you're not sure if he believes in the cause, but because he holds the position he does, you need him." --Jim



"Guess what will happen if any of our young skulls full of mush would happen to bring their 'Rambama' action figure to school? You betcha, expulsion, suspension, and re-training on the evils of bringing weapons to schools under a zero-tolerance policy." --Major Stu





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The Last Word

"So far as morality is concerned, I happen to think it was dumb, perhaps even evil, to have given bin Laden such a nice send-off. I feel it sent the wrong message. I know President Obama and others believe it showed the world how fine we are. I think it showed the world that we are so cowardly that we will even show respect to pure evil. If it had been up to me, I would have wrapped bin Laden's sorry carcass in pigskin, which perhaps explains why I don't hold elective office. But certainly there had to have been an alternative to washing his body, wrapping it in a white sheet and saying a few respectful words over it in Arabic, before dumping him overboard. Frankly, I think attempting to show respect to someone whose brains you've just recently splattered on a wall is, to put it mildly, an empty gesture. But I think it's a perfect example of how misguided our war on terrorism has been. For the past decade, we have been walking on eggs where Muslims are concerned. Both Bush and Obama have displayed the attitude of a supplicant, speaking and acting like men who are far more concerned with public relations than with reality. Whether the topic is Gitmo, some nutty minister in Florida with a book of matches or the proper way to dispose of a monster's corpse, our pundits and presidents worry incessantly about how it's perceived in the Arab/Muslim world." --columnist Burt Prelutsky



Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!

The Patriot Post Editorial Team





(To submit reader comments click here.)





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Patriot News Review

As Debt Limit Reached, Agreement Still Far Off

Schools Arrange Secret Abortions

Watching Poll Numbers: Barack Obama Moves to Expand Oil and Gas Drilling

Gingrich Blasts House GOP's Medicare Plan; Agrees With Obama About Need for Insurance Mandate

Conservatives' Bill Aims for Strict Spending Limit of 18 Percent of GDP

Defense Secretary Gates Was Unsure of bin Laden Raid Intel; 'Had Real Reservations About the Intelligence'

More News





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The Right Opinion

Edwin J. Feulner: Good for Union Bosses, Bad for the Economy

Michael Barone: Obama's Hypocritical Rhetoric on Immigration Reform

Burt Prelutsky: Crime and No Punishment

Debra Saunders: Sarah Palin's Birther Baptism by Fire

George Will: Obama's Anti-Business Stance

Peggy Noonan: It's Off to the Races

Argus Hamilton: From The Comedy Store

Burt Prelutsky: We Are Better Than Them

Michelle Malkin: What Happened on AA Flight 1561

Charles Krauthammer: Demagoguery 101

Jonah Goldberg: White House Hoping Triumph Will Transfer

Suzanne Fields: Memory and Celebration in Israel

More Opinion





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Grassroots Commentary

Stop the Bleating

Getting the Schock Out of Peoria

Obama and 2012

The Brandon (Miss.) Way

El Presidente Does Not Mow Lawns

Spineless Parasites

More Commentary





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Policy and Analysis

Heritage Foundation Insider

Heritage Foundation Research

American Enterprise Institute

Center for Strategic and International Studies

The Cato Institute

Hoover Institution

National Rifle Association

Ludwig von Mises Institute

Citizens Against Government Waste

National Center for Policy Analysis

The Heartland Institute



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(Please pray for our Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world, and for their families -- especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who granted their lives in defense of American liberty.)





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Londa,




You know as well as I do that freedom doesn’t get denied all at once.



It gets eroded, piece by piece, over time.



Establishment Republicans are insisting on 6 more years of the badly misnamed “Patriot Act.”



Six more years of giving agencies like the ATF and DHS the authority to name anyone and everyone they wish as a “terrorist.”



These are the same Republicans who ran for office with a stance on “limited government.”



The only things “limited” by the so-called Patriot Act are the rights of people like you and me.



H.R. 1800, the bill introduced last Friday, would extend until December of 2017.



This Fourth Amendment shredding act allows the authorities to tap your phone and intrude on your privacy just by the simple act of labeling you as a “domestic terrorist.”



And remember what Big Sis Janet Napolitano said…



… right-wing, gun-toting veterans are the worst terrorists out there.



They are “radical extremists.”



That’s all it takes to have your Constitutional liberties stripped from you without a warrant or your knowledge.



I know that, like me, you don’t want Big Brother and Big Sister snooping around your private lives.



But this extension would give them six more years of being able to do just exactly that.





Roving, warrantless wiretaps of virtually EVERY form of electronic communication used by U.S. citizens.





Secret federal searches without warrants OR knowledge of the resident.





Blanket warrants for the search and seizure of all library records, without naming individual suspects or providing probable cause.





Judicial warrants replaced with “National Security Letters” signed by unaccountable Obama Administration bureaucrats and gag orders for those served with these letters which make it illegal to tell anyone about it — including your spouse and your priest!





Drastic expansion of the definition of “domestic terrorism,” which is sure to include gun owners.





Expands asset seizure to permit the taking of assets from anyone “suspected” of terrorism, even if that person is NEVER charged or sent to trial.





Lone wolf provisions which allow the government to spy on ANYONE even if they’re not associated with a terrorist organization or foreign national, without due process or notification.





And the fact that House Republicans, who are supposedly on the “right” side, brought this to the floor makes me wonder about their true loyalties.



Are they to the people, or the establishment?



I won’t sit by quietly and wonder.



I will call them and make my voice heard…



Will you make your voice heard?



Please call your members of Congress at (202) 224-3121 and tell them to stand for freedom and liberty and oppose H.R. 1800, the reauthorization of the Patriot Act.



Once you’ve called your Congressman, click here to chip in $15 or $20 to the National Association for Gun Rights. Your financial support helps us keep fighting the anit-gunners in Washington.



Make sure your member of Congress knows where you stand. Give him or her a call and demand that they support freedom and liberty by opposing the re-authorization of the Patriot Act.



For Freedom,





Dudley Brown

Executive Director

National Association for Gun Rights





P.S. The National Association for Gun Rights is working overtime trying to get these alerts out to true patriots like yourself. Chip in $10 and help me continue this fight. The National Association for Gun Rights will not compromise when it comes to your freedom.









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THREE THINGS THAT FAITH IS MADE OF

Three Things That Faith Is Made Of




KNOWLEDGE

BELIEF

TRUST



KNOWLEDGE - the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association. (1)



Knowledge - Faith cometh by hearing.



Romans 10:17 (NKJ)

So then faith comes by hearing, & hearing by the word of God. .



First thing we must hear the word of God. Seek to know God, Seek & know what the Gospel is.



John 3:15-18 (NKJ)

15) "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life".

16) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life".

17) "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

18) "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.



The knowledge of Forgiveness, is free to us. The knowledge of our adoption into God's family. The knowledge of how Jesus Christ changes our hearts.

The knowledge of how He has changed us. The knowledge that Jesus Christ is our mediator between God & us. The knowledge of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ & that He was made a curse for us.



Galatians 3:13 (NKJ)

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree").



BELIEVE - means to a firm religious faith, to accept as true genuine or real, to have a firm conviction as to the goodness efficacy; or ability of something. (1)



Believe that the word is true. Believe that God hears us when we cry out to Him with a sincere heart. Believe that God wrote the Bible/ Gospel. Believe that the blood of Jesus Christ washes us from all sin. Believe that Jesus Christ rose from the grave.

Believe the promises of God! Believe in eternal life & that we have it. Believe in Gods Power! Believe that God the Father, Jesus the Son, & the Holy Spirit is real & alive!!



Mark 1:15 (NKJ)

and saying, The time is fulfilled, & the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, & believe in the gospel.



Mark 9:23 (NKJ)

Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."



Mark 11:23 (NKJ)

"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed & be cast into the sea,' & does not doubt in his hears will come, but believes that those things he say will come to pass, he will have whatever he says.



Luke 8:50 (NKJ)

But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying "Do not be afraid; only believe, & she will be made well.



TRUST - assured reliance on the character, ability, strength or truth of someone or something. one in which confidence is place. Depend in God to be confident; Hope.

To commit or place in one's care or keeping. (1)



Trust in Faith. Trust the blood of Jesus Christ is life & not death. Trust in casting all your cares upon Jesus. Trust in rest in Him for peace. Trust in totally committing yourself to Him. Trust that Jesus is an intercessor for us. Trust that you are saved. Trust brings Jesus nearer to us. Trust in God's Word. Trust in God's power. Trust in God's promises for us.



2 Corinthians 1:9-10 (NKJ)

9) Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but God who raises the dead.

10) who delivered us from so great a death, & does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,



2 Corinthians 3:4 (NKJ)

And we have such trust through Christ toward God.



1 Thessalonians 2:4 (NKJ)

But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.



1 Timothy 2:4 (NKJ)

who desires all men to be saved & to come to the knowledge of the truth.



Hebrews 2:13 (NKJ)

And again; "I will put My trust in Him."





(1) Found in Merriam- Webster Collegiate Dictionary Eleventh Edition.



FROM PROPHECY NEWS

Supporting Israel dangerous in California




http://www.onenewsnow.com/





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The race to replace former Congresswoman Jane Harman (D) in California's 36th District recently took a heated turn, when one conservative candidate was booed and threatened.



Conservative candidate Craig Huey (R) was booed during his remarks at a recent candidates' forum in Venice. All contenders competing for Harman's seat addressed the crowd, which consisted primarily of liberals, progressives, and Hollywood-types. Huey says he was hissed and interrupted every time he spoke or tried to answer a question. And when asked about his stance on Israel, the crowd was outraged.



"The issue of Israel came up, and I talked about [how] there should be no compromise in our defense of Israel, no compromise in keeping the integrity of Jerusalem, not dividing it, [and] that it's the only true democracy in the Middle East," the conservative accounts. "I went on about Israel, and people thought that the audience would get violent."



The business owner and longtime political activist explains that roughly 50 percent of the Venice forum crowd support a liberal candidate who is anti-Israel. Consequently, Huey, his wife, and colleagues were fearful for his physical safety.



"At the very end, what basically happened was my wife and I went out towards the back, and the campaign managers of some of the other candidates came up to us and said, 'You better have security take you outside because it's just not safe for you to go out to your car by yourself," he explains.



The election to replace Harman will take place on May 17.

Homeland Security Warning - Al Qaeda Could May Try to Replicate Fukushima-type Meltdowns




http://www.hstoday.us/





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A May 5 "intelligence brief" prepared by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official at the Pacific Regional Information Clearinghouse (PacClear) in Hawaii, warned Al Qaeda might try to cause the meltdown of certain vulnerable nuclear power plants in the US and Europe by replicating the failure of the electric supply that pumped cooling water to the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. The plant's primary and backup power supplies were knocked out by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March, resulting in partial meltdowns of the plant's reactors.



Only a week after the intelligence brief was circulated, federal officials dispatched a security alert notifying US power plant operators to raise the level of their security awareness.



According to the analysis in the “for official use only” intelligence brief, which was obtained by Homeland Security Today, “the earthquake and tsunami in Japan were ‘acts of nature,’ but a catastrophic nuclear reactor meltdown could potentially be engineered by Al Qaeda” by replicating the cascading loss of electric power that knocked out the Fukushima nuclear power plant’s ability to cool its reactors’ fuel rods, which led to the partial meltdowns of the reactors, causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.



Even today, highly radioactive fuel rods are fully exposed in the No. 1 reactor at the plant. The six-reactor complex has been bellowing radiation since March 11, and the International Atomic Energy Agency said the "overall situation ... remains very serious." On Thursday, plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said the amount of water leaking from the No. 1 reactor is more serious than previously believed, meaning it's likely there is severe damage to the reactor.



The intelligence brief issued by PacClear, “Recreating Fukushima: A Possible Response to the Killing of Usama Bin Laden - The Nuclear Option,” cautioned that “the death of Osama Bin Laden may serve as an impetus to apply lessons learned from Fukushima to attack the United States or another Western country.”



Several senior counterterrorism officials told Homeland Security Today that despite the apparent amateurism of some Al Qaeda attacks and plots that were thwarted in recent years, “we still must remain cognizant of the fact that Al Qaeda is capable of sophisticated attacks,” one said, noting in the same breath that the terrorist organization “is now under increased pressure to avenge their leader’s murder at the hands of infidels with something spectacular.”



Indeed. Intelligence collected from Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan during the May 2 raid in which he was killed, has disclosed that he continued to urge his lieutenants to focus on carrying out another 9/11-scale attack on US soil that would kill many thousands - or more. The intelligence further showed that the terrorist leader remained obsessed with acquiring, and using, weapons of mass destruction.



"I consider Al Qaeda, now being pushed by Anwar Al Awlaki [the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, and a possible heir to Bin Laden], in the position to begin planning for a new '9/11 style' attack using a weapon of mass destruction ... not to say they will not continue their recruiting of 'lone wolf' types - I do believe the long term goal of Al Qaeda 2.0 to be a spectacular attack to the US infrastructure that would cause significant and permanent damage to a significant portion of the continental US," Homeland Security Today was told by former Army Special Forces Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, author of, Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan - and the Path to Victory.



A successful attack resulting in a reactor meltdown could potentially cause hundreds of thousands of deaths from cancer, at a minimum.



The ensuing panic would probably be the most immediate danger.



Besides the immense clean-up costs and potential environmental damage, the economic blow to the nuclear power industry would be devastating worldwide.



It’s no secret that US authorities have uncovered numerous efforts by Al Qaeda to obtain nuclear weapons and radiological materials over the years.



“Although we know from their own statements as well as intelligence and security success in blocking a number of efforts, Al Qaeda has been determined to acquire deliverable weapons of mass destruction [WMD], including nuclear, for a long time,” veteran CIA operations officer and Islamist jihad expert, Clare Lopez, told Homeland Security Today.



The new intelligence brief pointed out that “the disaster in Fukushima may have provided the knowledge Al Qaeda needs to carry out such an operation” in lieu of possessing “a prepositioned [nuclear] weapon.”



"While the Al Qaeda organization may, or may not, possess either a nuclear device or radiological material," the brief stated, "the pressure on the organization to fulfill that threat is now enormous. If Al Qaeda does possess such a weapon, the danger is obvious. If, however, there is no such device or material in Al Qaeda’s control, then it is likely that Al Qaeda and [Bin Laden’s] supporters may attempt an attack comparable in scale that will at least be perceived as a ‘nuclear’ response to Bin Laden’s death.”



“Surely, the determination to strike, and especially now after the killing of [Bin Laden], remains intense,” Lopez said.



And “the scenario described [in the PacClear alert] is completely believable,” maintained Charles Faddis, a 20-year career covert CIA operations officer who headed the National Counterterrorism Center’s WMD terrorism unit when he retired several years ago. “All you have to do to cause a meltdown is kill the cooling system. Cutting the power would do that. So would blowing up the pumps or rupturing the right pipes.”



Author of, Willful Neglect: The Dangerous Illusion of Homeland Security, which discussed at length the vulnerability of nuclear power plants to terrorist attacks, Faddis stressed to Homeland Security Today that “security at nuclear plants is not adequate, and there are no moves afoot to improve it. Nothing has changed in the last few years.”



Faddis also outlined his concerns about the security and vulnerability of US nuclear power facilities in an op-ed he wrote in March 2010.



Similarly, US State Department cables leaked to Wikileaks revealed that US officials have been concerned that Japan has not provided adequate security at its nuclear power plants to defend against potential terrorist attacks, Asahi Shimbun reported Tuesday.



The intelligence briefing stated that “the disaster in Fukushima may have provided the knowledge Al Qaeda needs to carry out such an operation. The global focus on the disaster in Japan has made the vulnerabilities of our aging nuclear infrastructure painfully apparent. In the past, preparations to defend a nuclear facility mostly focused on protecting the reactor vessel from breach.”



The briefing pointed out that “studies commissioned after the 9/11 attacks were mostly concerned with the capability of an airplane strike in effecting such a breach,” but “the March 11th earthquake and tsunami demonstrated that simply turning the power off [with] some reactor designs can result in a catastrophic failure within a matter of hours …”



“It is conceivable," the briefing stated, "that Al Qaeda may attempt to recreate this series of failures at another nuclear facility in the West as a way of fulfilling their pledge of a ‘nuclear’ revenge,” which is a reference to Bin Laden’s May 1998 endorsement of the use of nuclear weapons against the US and its allies. In a statement called, "The Nuclear Bomb of Islam," which was issued under the auspices of the "International Islamic Front for Fighting the Jews and Crusaders,” Bin Laden stated "it is the duty of Muslims to prepare as much force as possible to terrorize the enemies of God."



Earlier that year, in February, Bin Laden and his number two, Ayman Al Zawahiri, had endorsed a fatwa, published in the Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper, that stated Muslims should kill Americans - including civilians - anywhere in the world where they can be found.



Then, towards the end of 2004, Michael Scheuer, the former CIA officer who headed the Agency’s Bin Laden unit from 1996 to 1999, revealed that on May 21, 2003, a prominent Saudi cleric had issued a formal fatwa that authorized Bin Laden and other terrorist leaders to use weapons of mass destruction against the US and its allies.



The intelligence brief on a potential Al Qaeda threat to Western nuclear power plants began by pointing out that “statements under interrogation by the imprisoned Khalid Sheikh Mohammed put Al Qaeda on record as threatening to detonate a nuclear weapon presently hidden in a Western country if [O]sama Bin Laden were to be captured or killed.”



While noting that KSM, as the confessed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks is colloquially referred to by intelligence officials, had made these threats “some eight years ago” following his March, 2003 capture outside of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, they were “not widely disseminated until its [public] release as part of the [recent] Wikileaks disclosures.”



Mohammed told his CIA interrogators that Al Qaeda would unleash a “nuclear hell storm” in the event that Bin Laden was killed or captured by the US.



While KSM mentioned possible “attacks on nuclear power plants” in his manifold interrogation sessions, (some 186 of which apparently included waterboarding), KSM also ominously claimed that the terrorist strike “teams” that would carry out these attacks “were not necessarily [to be] Arab or Middle Eastern in appearance,” according to the "Secret" 2006 Joint Task Force-Guantanamo (JTF-GITMO) assessment of KSM, also recently made public by WikiLeaks.



According to the “Secret” Sept. 10, 2008 JTF-GTMO recommendation that former Al Qaeda operational chief, Abu Al Libi, continue to be detained under Department of Defense (DOD) control that was also leaked to Wikileaks, “Al Libi has knowledge of Al Qaeda possibly possessing a nuclear bomb. Al Qaeda associate Sharif Al Masri stated in June or July 2004, upon encountering difficulties in moving the nuclear bomb, [Al Libi] commented if Al Qaeda was able to move the bomb, Al Qaeda would find operatives to use it …”



Fortunately, as it turned out, Al Libi also “told Sharif Al Masri that Al Qaeda currently had no operatives in the US. The operatives would be Europeans of Arab or Asian descent. The device was reportedly located in Europe. Sharif Al Masri reported [that Al Libi] would know about the bomb and its exact location,” though he was in Pakistani custody by May 2, 2005.



“Sharif Al Masri believes if UBL were to be captured or killed, the bomb would be detonated in the US, [Al Libi] would be one of those able to give the order.”



But Faddis doubts that Al Libi’s nuclear plot ever got that far: “I doubt they have a prepositioned [nuclear] weapon. If they had one, they would have used it.”



Lopez agreed, saying, “it seems likely they would have deployed such capability by now if they'd been successful” in acquiring a nuclear bomb. “I think it unlikely that Al Qaeda unilaterally has been able to acquire and deploy, ready to strike, a nuclear or even dirty bomb capability in the West.”



Other past and present senior federal counterterrorism authorities said they concur with Faddis and Lopez.



According to Shaffer, “there have been approximately seven credible attempts by the Taliban and Al Qaeda elements to gain access to the Pakistani nuclear program - that is they have attempted to steal a viable/complete nuclear weapon.”



“Therefore, based on this level of effort, the likelihood of Al Qaeda already having one ‘in place’ is highly unlikely,” surmised the veteran Afghan intelligence specialist. ”But their desire to obtain a weapon or weapons is real and will continue.”



The PacClear intelligence brief pointed out that “the root cause of the Fukushima meltdowns was a lack of electrical power to keep the all important cooling systems online. It is important to understand that a functioning nuclear power station of the Fukushima design relies on outside power sources for this.”



There were three tiers of redundant power protection for the Fukushima nuclear power plant: the outside power grid, which was brought down by the earthquake; the diesel generators, which were knocked offline by the tsunami; and the battery backup power, which expired after eight hours.



“After all power was lost and pumps stopped circulating, the radioactive rods began to overheat and melt down, causing one of the worst nuclear disasters in history,” the PacClear briefing noted.



Continuing, the brief stated that “an air strike by a small general aviation plane or truck bomb aimed specifically at the electrical power, perhaps coupled with a Mumbai style disruption, might be sufficient to interrupt power long enough for a meltdown to begin. Blueprints and detailed descriptions and pictures are widely available on the internet in the aftermath of Fukushima …”



But "even if [an] attack did not succeed in damaging the plant,” the PacClear circular warned, “the economic damage that would result from the mere perception of another incident would be severe to both the nuclear industry and the overall economy as frightened investors again pull their money back. It should be remembered that the number one target of Al Qaeda as articulated by Bin Laden is the West’s economic strength.”



A spokesman for Britain's Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), which polices the UK's nuclear facilities, told the Christian Science Monitor “we are confident of the security of our [nuclear power plant] sites.”



Disturbingly, a year ago when former New Jersey resident Sharif Mobley, who holds dual Yemeni-American citizenship, tried to shoot his way out of a hospital in San'a, Yemen, killing one guard and wounding another in an escape attempt following his arrest in a roundup of suspected AQAP operatives, it was revealed that he'd worked at three US nuclear power plants from 2002 to 2008.



According to reports, people who knew Mobley said he openly espoused jihadist ideology during the period he worked in the nuclear power industry, raising serious questions about whether security authorities ever investigated his radicalization. Mobley passed federal background security investigations in 2008, but apparently his unconcealed radicalization was either missed, or of no concern to security investigators, officials said.



Mobley reputedly had extensive contact with AQAP leader Anwar Al Awlaki. According to US intelligence authorities familiar with the Yemini investigation, Mobley had direct, on-going communication with Al Awlaki. Yemini security officials declared that Mobley was "an Al Qaeda member involved in several terrorist attacks.”



“Here's the thing,” Faddis had previously told Homeland Security Today, “all this discussion about whether or not [Mobley] worked in an area which allowed him access to nuclear fuel is missing the point. All the pumps and controls for the cooling system are outside the concrete containment. They can be destroyed relatively easily. You get a car bomb or even a team with satchel charges inside, and they can do the job.”



“So, the whole issue is penetrating the external security of the plant. You don't have to get inside the containment,” Faddis said, adding, “one key element to penetrating security would be having someone who had been inside the plant and knew where the guards were, how many there were, how they were armed, etc. This guy would know all of that in spades given his extended access. In short, this is a very big deal and a very bad sign, and we ought to take heed and get our act together when it comes to the defense of nuclear power plants.”



Despite the vulnerabilities of nuclear power plants that Faddis and the Government Accountability Office pointed out in recent years, Lopez said “I think it's much more likely that spontaneous, uncoordinated and less complex revenge attacks may be launched in the near future than that a complex attack vs. Western nuclear facilities would be ready to go any time soon.”



“The primary response may not be immediate, just close enough to be viewed as a direct response,” the PacClear intelligence brief stated. “Failing that, a significant date in the history of either Al Qaeda or [a] nuclear calamity might be chosen.”



The brief added “it is more likely that Salafist supporters, inspired by the death of Bin Laden, will attempt to carry out attacks on their own. As this report was written, five young Bangladeshi men were arrested outside of Britain’s largest nuclear facility, only hours after the death of Bin Laden was announced … The young men in question have since been released, but a satisfactory explanation of their intent and actions has not.”



According to reports, the five men – all in their 20s and from London - were arrested May 2 on suspicion of terrorism while taking photos near the Sellafield nuclear power plant in northeastern England. They were held under a 2000 British anti-terrorism law that allows police to arrest suspects without a warrant and hold them for up to 48 hours without charge.



According to a spokesperson for the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, which led the investigation of the men, “officers have conducted a thorough investigation and a decision has been made to release the five men without charge,” London's The Sun reported.



Still, in such light, the 2008 JTF-GITMO detainee assessment of Abu Al Libi offers yet more worrisome operational indicators, particularly his close contacts over the years in the United Kingdom, and his vigorous and varied recruiting efforts, which were reported to include US-resident Somalis, Muslim Indians and at least one UK-resident Jamaican operative.



Lopez asked whether there’s “a reasonable mid-longer-term threat” to nuclear power plants as described in the alert. “Yes, I do think so,” she concluded, adding, “although I'm no expert on nuclear facilities site security, it's at least my impression that they're pretty well-secured from many different perspectives…”



“Even given the massive multiple hits that the Japanese facility took (earthquake, tsunami, multiple points of failure)," Lopez said, "they still managed to avoid the most catastrophic of consequences. I'm hopeful that we and the Europeans would, too” in the event that terrorists were able to carry out the sort of frightening scenario that was outlined in the PacClear alert.



Some outside observers see in the new intelligence bulletin nothing but further scare-mongering related to the upcoming budgetary battles on Capitol Hill. “A nice fantasy,” quipped one slightly cynical non-profit nuclear industry watchdog, off the record.



Yet, perhaps it will be Osama Bin Laden who gets the last laugh.



When asked by a Pakistani journalist if he had nuclear weapons on October 7, 2001, Bin Laden's four word response was: "Go to next question..."



As Lopez has repeatedly stressed, Al Qaeda will not cease in its efforts to strike the US in spectacular ways.

FROM PROPHECY NEWS

FEMA to confiscate food from local farms in emergencies?




http://www.naturalnews.com/





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Since our nation's founding the federal government has, in times of emergency, claimed extra-constitutional powers and authority. Under the guise of acting in the public's best interests, Washington has taken away privacy rights, free speech, and habeas corpus, among others. There's no reason to think it wouldn't happen again.



With that in mind, would it surprise you to find out that if disaster strikes in your part of the country, the federal government is prepared to take over local food supplies, in part by confiscating farms?



It shouldn't, says "Farmer Brad," a Texas-based farmer who said in an interview about food security with Mike Adams for Natural News TV that during Hurricane Katrina, an inventory of local farms and what they produced was conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.



"FEMA was doing an inventory of all the farms around ... metroplexes," he said, which included nearby Houston and other large cities. "They started calling up farms and wanted to know where farms were, and they were being prepared to maybe take food if they need to, from farms, you know, for a crisis like that."



Brad, of HomeSweetFarm.com, said that while the agency didn't come right out and say they would confiscate crops and cattle, "they were making food assessments, you know, what is in the local food shed in a metroplex."



He said the agency's assessment took into account a number of potential emergencies and disasters, including spikes in fuel prices or even sudden disruptions - anything that might hinder or prevent the delivery of food to stores. Such scenarios would also lead to dramatic increases in food prices as well, Brad said.



"The distribution system for food is so fragile, you know, and there's only enough food in these grocery stores to last, literally, for just a couple of days," he said, noting that store shelves during Katrina were stripped bare "within hours."



Worse, Brad said, because of mass evacuations from the big cities, traffic choked local roads, making even short-distance travel impossible. He said he and his family couldn't even get into town to go to the store.



"We heard all kinds of stories from our local residents about what it was like - people camping out in the Walmart parking lot; grocery stores were empty; food wasn't coming in," he said. "We had people from 90 miles away from Houston and some other metroplexes coming into our town because we were one of the few that still had gas."



Brad said that FEMA didn't send agents to farms but made phone calls instead asking, "what are you producing, how much land do you have, wanting to get the details of the local food sheds in the area." He said he and local farms were voluntarily providing the information but that the food security aspect of the questions made them all "a little suspicious."



As people flee the large cities, Brad says most of them will be unprepared and that his farm - through theft or through confiscation - will likely be "wiped out."

FROM PROPHECY NEWS

Media Ignores what happened on AA Flight 1561




http://www.onenewsnow.com/





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If you listen to the passengers and crew who flew on American Airlines Flight 1561 last weekend, there's no doubt about what happened on their harrowing trip: A Yemeni man shrieking "Allahu akbar!" at the top of his lungs more than 30 times rushed the cockpit door twice intending to take down the plane and kill everyone on board.



The clammy, sweaty lone male passenger exhibited classic symptoms of what Middle East scholar and author Daniel Pipes has dubbed "Sudden Jihad Syndrome" -- a seemingly random outbreak of threatening behavior or violence by a hysterical Muslim adherent who had not previously exhibited signs of Islamic radicalization. It took at least four men to tackle and restrain Rageh Ahmed Mohammed al-Murisi. "There was no question in everybody's mind that he was going to do something," passenger Angelina Marty told the San Francisco Chronicle.



And no, that "something" did not mean enlisting his fellow flyers in a midair flash mob performance of the "Hallelujah Chorus."



Not everyone was so grounded in reality. Bleeding-heart sympathizers seriously speculated that al-Murisi had simply mistaken clearly marked lavatory doors for the clearly marked cockpit door (because, you know, it's normal to shout "God is great" repeatedly just before relieving yourself as your plane is about to land). Some federal authorities and media whitewashers proclaimed that al-Murisi's motives were "unknown."



If only al-Murisi had been screaming phrases from the Constitution. The Selective Motive Determination Machine -- the same one that rushed to pin the Tucson massacre on the Tea Party, the GOP and Fox News without a shred of evidence -- would have kicked in to full gear.



On Wednesday, a San Francisco judge denied al-Murisi bail. Unburdened by the paralyzing prissiness of political correctness, federal prosecutors noted that "Allahu akbar" was the same refrain invoked by the 9/11 hijackers over Shanksville, Pa., and by the would-be Christmas Day bomber over Detroit. Not to mention Fort Hood jihadist Nidal Hasan, the Frankfurt, Germany, jihadist who killed two U.S. airmen on a bus in March, the young Portland, Ore., Christmas tree lighting bomb plotter, every last suicide bomber across Europe, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, and every last evil al-Qaida beheader broadcast on video over the past decade.



So how, despite a massive transportation and homeland security apparatus, did al-Murisi get into this country and get on a plane? He had no keys, no luggage, $47 cash, two curious posted checks totaling $13,000, and a trove of expired and current state IDs from New York and California -- where relatives said he had not notified them that he was coming. He is young, male, brought no family with him, had no job or other discernible income, and hails from the terror-coddling nation of Yemen. Yes, the same Yemen that is Osama bin Laden's ancestral home, harbors al-Qaida operatives who are burning the "torch of jihad," and is deemed a "special interest country" whose citizens warrant increased scrutiny by DHS when they cross the border illegally.



As I reported last month, a federal watchdog revealed that TSA's counterterrorism specialists failed to detect 16 separate jihad operatives who moved through target airports "on at least 23 different occasions." Neutered by Islamophobia-phobia and an "overtime over security" mentality, our State Department consular offices' and airline security bureaucracy's stance toward the al-Murisis slipping through their snaking lines is:



Nothing to see here; move along.



At least the heroes of Flight 1561 who refused to sit silent learned the proper 9/11 lesson. "I swore to myself that I would never be a victim" after the 2001 attacks, passenger Larry Wright, one of the men who brought al-Murisi down, told reporters earlier this week. The only effective homeland security begins and ends with a culture of self-defense. Just as there are no atheists in foxholes, there are no "see no jihad, hear no jihad, speak no jihad" delusionists on airplanes with Allahu akbar-chanting flyers beating down doors.





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