Kamis, 15 Maret 2012
AFTER INVESTING $400M IN PEUGEOT, GM MIGHT CLOSE EURO PLANTS
AFTER INVESTING $400M IN PEUGEOT, GM MIGHT CLOSE EURO PLANTS
Given the fact that even the CEO admits there are “profitability” concerns in Europe, why did the Detroit automaker, which still owes U.S. taxpayers approximately $25 billion, invest $400 million in France’s fledgling Peugeot?
http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/03/12/ctd_gm_europe_akerson.fortune/
Mayor Bans outdoor homeless feeding.
What is your reaction to Mayor Nutter's decision?
Nutter Moves To Ban Feeding Homeless In Parks: MyFoxPHILLY.com
‘FAITH ISSUES’: MA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ALLEGEDLY REMOVES ‘ST. PATRICK‘S DAY’ NAME FROM CELEBRATION
‘FAITH ISSUES’: MA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ALLEGEDLY REMOVES ‘ST. PATRICK‘S DAY’ NAME FROM CELEBRATION
Should St. Patrick's Day be changed to ”O’Green Day/Tasting’ of the Green”? Why or why not?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/ma-elementary-school-removes-st-patricks-day-name-to-remedy-faith-issues/
MEGYN KELLY: ASKING MARINES TO DISARM IS LIKE SAYING ‘WE DON’T TRUST YOU NOT TO SHOOT DEFENSE SECRETARY’
MEGYN KELLY: ASKING MARINES TO DISARM IS LIKE SAYING ‘WE DON’T TRUST YOU NOT TO SHOOT DEFENSE SECRETARY’
Does this incident raise “troubling questions about whether our leaders trust our troops”? Do you think a message was being sent that they are not even trusted “not to shoot” Leon Panetta?
WASHINGTON, March 7—Under question from Sen. Sessions at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey indicated that "international permission," rather than Congressional approval, provided a 'legal basis' for military action by the United States.
TAKING LIBERTIES: WI PET ORDINANCE FORCES HOMEOWNERS TO CHOOSE — YOUR PET OR YOUR HOUSE
TAKING LIBERTIES: WI PET ORDINANCE FORCES HOMEOWNERS TO CHOOSE — YOUR PET OR YOUR HOUSE
Is it just too bad for Fido or is this an example of over-regulation?
Americans, War, Presidents, and 9/11
American war presidents engage in ruthless and merciless warfare that is devastating and complete, resulting in total annihilation, and, if possible, short: from the American Revolution through World War II this was the case. As a matter of fact, the American war tradition is in line with the Western manner of warfare.
Cf. The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece, Victor Davis Hanson, University of California Press (2009):
http://www.librarything.com/work/1755303/53908828
Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power, Victor Hanson, Anchor (2002):
http://www.librarything.com/work/25331
However, during the Korean War Eisenhower accepted a truce but this agreement can be understood to his credit. It shortened the conflict and resulted in an enduring peace. Once a Republican president made peace in Korea, not one American serviceman was killed in action during the remaining seven and a half years of his presidency. No American president since Ike can make that claim.
Something significant must have occurred during the Eisenhower years. In fact, Eisenhower himself warned about the change: the military-industrial complex. In 1961, Eisenhower warned the Americans about a permanent armament establishment which is unique and new in American history.
Cf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY&feature=player_embedded
Eisenhower warned against "unwarranted influence" in the world and the "disastrous rise of misplaced power" (Eisenhower, 17 January 1961, Farewell Address to the Nation). Americans did not heed the warning.
There is plenty of blame to go around for both parties but Democratic presidents have been particularly prone to re-make the world in their image. Both John F. Kennedy but particularly Lyndon Baines Johnson escalated the war in Vietnam while deceiving Americans about the real costs and ultimate number of casualties in the war.
Cf. Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam, H. R. McMaster, Harper Perennial (1998):
http://www.librarything.com/work/13326/42305403
Since 1980 there has been a dramatic increase in United States military operations which is in direct contrast with the pre-1960 period. Both political parties and subsequent administrations have engaged in military operations with abandon in an attempt to engage in nation building and creating the world in our image. For those Americans born after 1960 and 1980 or for those who operate from an ahistorical perspective it must be particularly difficult for them to grasp that this new normal is out of step with the American war tradition in our history.
The normative U.S. war-making machine is now fully engaged and we are paying a hefty human and economic price for our folly. The folly of our ways is not obvious with a vibrant economy but it certainly should be by now. As Max Boot states:"In the emerging global division of labor, the richest economies have prospered based not on the possession of natural resources or vast populations, as in the past, but by creating a favorable climate for innovation and investment – for the exploitation of human, not physical, capital" (Cf. War Made New: Weapons, Warriors, and the Making of the Modern World, Max Boot, Gotham [2007], p.214:
http://www.librarything.com/work/1397318/summary/48789047 ). Formerly, America could rely on our natural resources or growing population but neither are enough any more and we are no longer the world's leader of innovation and private capital investment.
"Fewer [Americans] still drew any correlation between economic distress at home and the predicament into which the United States had worked itself abroad. As far as Washington was concerned (either George W. Bush's or Barack Obama's), domestic and foreign policies continued to occupy two different, largely unrelated spheres. Nothing that had occurred during the eight years of the second Bush era, it seemed, had overturned that conviction. . . . If President Obama remains similarly oblivious to any correlation between the nation's economic woes and the flawed national security policies he inherited, that will be far more puzzling, however. After all, the moment you acknowledge the linkage between Bush's ill-advised global war and our current economic disarray, whole new avenues of analysis open up. Getting to root causes suddenly becomes a possibility. It's akin to recognizing that smoking causes cancer or that prolonged alcohol abuse can produce liver damage: to make the connection is to redefine the problem. New strategies of prevention present themselves. The chief one: avoid patently self-destructive behavior. . . . Only then will it become possible to avoid the patently self-destructive behavior that today finds America facing the prospect of perpetual conflict that neither our army nor our economy can sustain" (Cf. The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism, Andrew Bacevich, Metropolitan Books [2008], pp. 184-186):
http://www.librarything.com/work/5654532/43172030
Obama has enthusiastically promoted the military-industrial complex and no significant improvement in United States foreign policy has occurred. Although Obama inherited a largely pacified Iraq, he has no reliable and safe exit strategy from the region, a situation that to Bush's credit, he had largely mollified before Obama's inauguration. Moreover, Obama dramatically escalated the war in Afghanistan, and involved us in Libya which presented no vital national security threat. On several fronts Obama has weakened our national security which we will be paying for in the years to come (Cf. How The Obama Administration Threatens Our National Security, Victor Davis Hanson, Encounter Books (2009): http://www.librarything.com/work/9556105/59090613).
I'll confine myself to Libya for the sake of space but Obama lied as Johnson misled the American people about boots on the ground (Cf. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/ ), lost around 20,000 surface-to-air missiles (Cf. http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=2281782&spid= ), and has not prevented sharia law and its
Islamist proponents from gaining power in a post-Gadaffi Libya (Cf. http://www.scribd.com/doc/62823350/Libya-Draft-Constitutional-Charter-for-the-Transitional-Stage ). An almost identical set of conditions led to the escalation of placing American troops in harm's way in Afghanistan. Obama has committed the same mistakes of history in Libya.
We are committed now in perpetual, global warfare that makes us not a twit safer or secure. An adult American conversation that distinguishes between military adventurism as engaged in by both Obama and Bush needs to take place. We have an incredibly talented and totally competent American military which is being squandered in global fiascoes that have little hope of return on our investment of blood and treasure.
Is 9/11 a fight worth fighting? Absolutely. Do I hear any of the eight Republican candidates question that that fight is not worth fighting? No, I don't hear that.
To our advantage we have a trained and fit military that, despite the lack of leadership by subsequent Commanders-in-Chief, is expert in interdicting high-value targets, stopping drug-running, discovering caches of weapons, rooting out false identities, securing borders and protecting civilians. And, where are these wonders of virtue, commitment, and teamwork? It is the incredible American military that is squandered by placing them in Libya, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in places where their efforts are not appreciated nor welcomed.
Imagine for just a moment if these troops were deployed along the Southern border and you can begin to imagine an America where our borders are secure; the military is used to best advantage, protecting American citizens, and our investments pay off in technological innovation and expertise because it directly benefits an enlightened and aware America that desperately needs jobs and economic growth.
If you can imagine American troops being deployed for America, and on behalf of Americans, you begin to appreciate what the Founders envisioned for their descendents: "We the People of the United States, in Order to . . . insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Cf. The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece, Victor Davis Hanson, University of California Press (2009):
http://www.librarything.com/work/1755303/53908828
Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power, Victor Hanson, Anchor (2002):
http://www.librarything.com/work/25331
However, during the Korean War Eisenhower accepted a truce but this agreement can be understood to his credit. It shortened the conflict and resulted in an enduring peace. Once a Republican president made peace in Korea, not one American serviceman was killed in action during the remaining seven and a half years of his presidency. No American president since Ike can make that claim.
Something significant must have occurred during the Eisenhower years. In fact, Eisenhower himself warned about the change: the military-industrial complex. In 1961, Eisenhower warned the Americans about a permanent armament establishment which is unique and new in American history.
Cf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY&feature=player_embedded
Eisenhower warned against "unwarranted influence" in the world and the "disastrous rise of misplaced power" (Eisenhower, 17 January 1961, Farewell Address to the Nation). Americans did not heed the warning.
There is plenty of blame to go around for both parties but Democratic presidents have been particularly prone to re-make the world in their image. Both John F. Kennedy but particularly Lyndon Baines Johnson escalated the war in Vietnam while deceiving Americans about the real costs and ultimate number of casualties in the war.
Cf. Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam, H. R. McMaster, Harper Perennial (1998):
http://www.librarything.com/work/13326/42305403
Since 1980 there has been a dramatic increase in United States military operations which is in direct contrast with the pre-1960 period. Both political parties and subsequent administrations have engaged in military operations with abandon in an attempt to engage in nation building and creating the world in our image. For those Americans born after 1960 and 1980 or for those who operate from an ahistorical perspective it must be particularly difficult for them to grasp that this new normal is out of step with the American war tradition in our history.
The normative U.S. war-making machine is now fully engaged and we are paying a hefty human and economic price for our folly. The folly of our ways is not obvious with a vibrant economy but it certainly should be by now. As Max Boot states:"In the emerging global division of labor, the richest economies have prospered based not on the possession of natural resources or vast populations, as in the past, but by creating a favorable climate for innovation and investment – for the exploitation of human, not physical, capital" (Cf. War Made New: Weapons, Warriors, and the Making of the Modern World, Max Boot, Gotham [2007], p.214:
http://www.librarything.com/work/1397318/summary/48789047 ). Formerly, America could rely on our natural resources or growing population but neither are enough any more and we are no longer the world's leader of innovation and private capital investment.
"Fewer [Americans] still drew any correlation between economic distress at home and the predicament into which the United States had worked itself abroad. As far as Washington was concerned (either George W. Bush's or Barack Obama's), domestic and foreign policies continued to occupy two different, largely unrelated spheres. Nothing that had occurred during the eight years of the second Bush era, it seemed, had overturned that conviction. . . . If President Obama remains similarly oblivious to any correlation between the nation's economic woes and the flawed national security policies he inherited, that will be far more puzzling, however. After all, the moment you acknowledge the linkage between Bush's ill-advised global war and our current economic disarray, whole new avenues of analysis open up. Getting to root causes suddenly becomes a possibility. It's akin to recognizing that smoking causes cancer or that prolonged alcohol abuse can produce liver damage: to make the connection is to redefine the problem. New strategies of prevention present themselves. The chief one: avoid patently self-destructive behavior. . . . Only then will it become possible to avoid the patently self-destructive behavior that today finds America facing the prospect of perpetual conflict that neither our army nor our economy can sustain" (Cf. The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism, Andrew Bacevich, Metropolitan Books [2008], pp. 184-186):
http://www.librarything.com/work/5654532/43172030
Obama has enthusiastically promoted the military-industrial complex and no significant improvement in United States foreign policy has occurred. Although Obama inherited a largely pacified Iraq, he has no reliable and safe exit strategy from the region, a situation that to Bush's credit, he had largely mollified before Obama's inauguration. Moreover, Obama dramatically escalated the war in Afghanistan, and involved us in Libya which presented no vital national security threat. On several fronts Obama has weakened our national security which we will be paying for in the years to come (Cf. How The Obama Administration Threatens Our National Security, Victor Davis Hanson, Encounter Books (2009): http://www.librarything.com/work/9556105/59090613).
I'll confine myself to Libya for the sake of space but Obama lied as Johnson misled the American people about boots on the ground (Cf. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/12/us-boots-on-ground-in-libya-pentagon-confirms/ ), lost around 20,000 surface-to-air missiles (Cf. http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=2281782&spid= ), and has not prevented sharia law and its
Islamist proponents from gaining power in a post-Gadaffi Libya (Cf. http://www.scribd.com/doc/62823350/Libya-Draft-Constitutional-Charter-for-the-Transitional-Stage ). An almost identical set of conditions led to the escalation of placing American troops in harm's way in Afghanistan. Obama has committed the same mistakes of history in Libya.
We are committed now in perpetual, global warfare that makes us not a twit safer or secure. An adult American conversation that distinguishes between military adventurism as engaged in by both Obama and Bush needs to take place. We have an incredibly talented and totally competent American military which is being squandered in global fiascoes that have little hope of return on our investment of blood and treasure.
Is 9/11 a fight worth fighting? Absolutely. Do I hear any of the eight Republican candidates question that that fight is not worth fighting? No, I don't hear that.
To our advantage we have a trained and fit military that, despite the lack of leadership by subsequent Commanders-in-Chief, is expert in interdicting high-value targets, stopping drug-running, discovering caches of weapons, rooting out false identities, securing borders and protecting civilians. And, where are these wonders of virtue, commitment, and teamwork? It is the incredible American military that is squandered by placing them in Libya, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in places where their efforts are not appreciated nor welcomed.
Imagine for just a moment if these troops were deployed along the Southern border and you can begin to imagine an America where our borders are secure; the military is used to best advantage, protecting American citizens, and our investments pay off in technological innovation and expertise because it directly benefits an enlightened and aware America that desperately needs jobs and economic growth.
If you can imagine American troops being deployed for America, and on behalf of Americans, you begin to appreciate what the Founders envisioned for their descendents: "We the People of the United States, in Order to . . . insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Rabu, 14 Maret 2012
IRS faces federal lawsuit for ‘unlawful power grab’
For more visit http://www.ij.org/IRS
Congress never gave the IRS the authority to license tax preparers, and the IRS can't give itself that power.
But last year the IRS imposed a sweeping new licensing scheme that forces tax preparers to get IRS permission before they can work. This is an unlawful power grab that exceeds the authority granted to the IRS by Congress.
The burden of compliance will fall most heavily on independent tax return preparers and small businesses. Unsurprisingly, big firms such as H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt support the licensing scheme. As The Wall Street Journal explained: "Cheering the new regulations are big tax preparers like H&R Block, who are only too happy to see the feds swoop in to put their mom-and-pop seasonal competitors out of business."
These regulations are typical government protectionism. They benefit powerful industry insiders and at the expense of entrepreneurs and consumers, who will likely have fewer options and face higher prices. But tax preparers have a right to earn an honest living without getting permission from the IRS. And taxpayers—not the IRS—should be the ones who decide who prepares their taxes.
That is why on March 13, 2012, three independent tax preparers joined the Institute for Justice in filing suit against the IRS in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This lawsuit challenges the IRS's statutory authority to impose this licensing scheme, and seeks to overturn regulations that would affect an estimated 350,000 tax return preparers, forcing many of them to stop working in the occupation of their choice.
U.S. AND OTHERS BALK AS CHINA FURTHERS MONOPOLY ON MATERIALS NECESSARY TO POWER YOUR SMARTPHONE
U.S. AND OTHERS BALK AS CHINA FURTHERS MONOPOLY ON MATERIALS NECESSARY TO POWER YOUR SMARTPHONE
Here MSNBC discusses how the issue with Chinese exports will remain a “political football” during the election year:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
CNN covers China’s position on its rare earth exports and why it has such a strong hold on the market for these elements:
Ian Hunter and the Rant Band, Music of the Rolling Stones (Hot Rocks 1964-1971) - Carnegie Hall, NYC - 3/13/12
"Tumbling Dice"
"With the Rant Band, Mr. Hunter’s take on “19th Nervous Breakdown” laid bare some rockabilly twang."
Andy Burton is on backing vocals, Steve Holley plays the drums, also, former Rant bassist Tony Shannahan is up there. 'Jack The Mechanic' Petruzzelli (2001 Rant Band guitarist) was present as well as Christine Oldham who sang back up on the last two Hunter releases.
Jovanotti, TV on the Radio, Ronnie Spector, Peaches, Rich Robinson, Juliette Lewis, Marianne Faithful, David Johansen, Steve Earle, Ian Hunter, Mountain Goats, Glen Hansard, Art Garfunkel, Jackson Browne, Gomez, Angelique Kidjo, Rickie Lee Jones, Taj Mahal, Deva Mahal, Rosanne Cash, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Jackie Greene, Marc Cohn, John Sebastian, Christine Ohlman, Lenny Kaye, Shanahan, Jay Dee Daugherty, Jack Petruzzelli, Glen Burtnik,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjSpJscRcCg
EXCLUSIVE: O'KEEFE VIDEO EXPOSES VOTER FRAUD-FRIENDLY POLICIES IN VERMONT
Caught on Tape: Dead People and Clones Offered Ballots in Vermont Primary
On Super Tuesday in Vermont, Poll workers caught on tape handing out Ballots in names of dead people and giving out ballots in living people's names to anyone who walked in. Bars, hotels and city clerk issuing civil union all required ID.
They handed the ballots out to people under the following names:
Adam Berger
Cooper Fellows
Roger Audette DEAD
John E. Adams
Lucas Hertweck
Mahamud Somo DEAD
Travis Houle
Evan R Bean
Selasa, 13 Maret 2012
New study finds Obama's regulations cost $46B a year...
http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/washington-secrets/2012/03/regulation-nation-new-study-finds-obama%E2%80%99s-regs-cost-46-billion
Senin, 12 Maret 2012
VIDEO REPORTEDLY SHOWS DEM. REP. RECEIVING AWARD FROM COMMUNIST MEDIA ARM
VIDEO SHOWS REP. RECEIVING AWARD FROM COMMUNIST MEDIA ARM
In the video, taken on February 26, Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) can be seen accepting Peoplesworld.org’s Rudy Lozano-Chris Hani Social Justice award at the Unity Center in Chicago. Peoplesworld.org is a website that enjoys a “special relationship with the Communist Party USA.” And according to the video — and an introduction given by someone in it — the Unity Center is home to the Communist Party USA in Chicago and People’s World.
Should Americans feel comfortable knowing elected officials have Communist support? Is Communism consistent with American values? Why or why not?
One Nation Under Surveillance
Are the drones invasive and threaten the privacy and civil liberties of Americans, or, are these effective tools for fighting crime? Why?
Below is the video with some explanation of the drone’s implications for the U.S. Homeland:
Here is a video clip of the Shadowhawk police drone in action, courtesy of Vanguard Industries:
Abu Dhabi Gallup Center Poll Under Dalia Mogahed is Suspect and Why
The poll has been taken but what is the Muslim opinion about Shariah law in the United States, and just exactly what do they think the Quran says about "infidels?" And why does a "poll" tell the U.S. government and its citizens what they should be doing? The new poll was done by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center under the direction of center director Dalia Mogahed. Mogahed has been identified by Muslim reformer Tarek Fatah during a recent speech in Toronto as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in a position to influence Obama's policy.
Mogahed is problematic herself. Tarek Fatah, the Canadian Muslim reformer, identifies Mogahed as one of the problematic Obama appointees in the U.S. government. In 2009, Obama nominated Mogahed to sit on his Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. According to DiscovertheNetworks.org, she co-authored the book “Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think” with the dhimmi apologist Esposito. Here, though, is where much of the controversy surrounding her stems from:
In early October 2009, Mogahed was interviewed on a British television program hosted by Ibtihal Bsis, a member of the extremist Hizb ut Tahrir party, which seeks to facilitate the non-violent destruction of Western democracy and the creation of a worldwide Islamic state governed by Sharia law. Bsis and another guest (also a member of Hizb ut Tahrir) stated that Sharia should be “the source of legislation” for all nations in the world; they also repeatedly condemned the “man-made law” and the “lethal cocktail of liberty and capitalism” that existed in Western societies. Mogahed did not dispute any of their assertions.
Critics were upset over Mogahed’s refusal to take a stand against these claims. But, even more bizarre was her discussion during the interview of the West’s take on Sharia law (and her defense of it). DiscovertheNetworks.org notes:
Instead, Mogahed stated that the Western view of Sharia was “oversimplified,“ and that the majority of Muslim women around the world associate Islamic Law with ”gender justice.“ ”I think the reason so many women support Sharia is because they have a very different understanding of Sharia than the common perception in Western media,” she said.
Who Speaks for Islam—What Do a Billion Muslims Really Think?
Levantine Cultural Center and OneNation present an evening with Dalia Mogahed, co-author of the Gallup book "Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think," and Obama appointee on Muslim affairs. She is joined by "24" showrunner/writer Howard Gordon in a conversation moderated by KPFK radio host Dr. Nile El Wardani.
In early 2010, Tablet Magazine called Mogahed, “The most important person shaping the Obama Administration’s Middle East message.” In the article, concern over her potential inability to distinguish between radicals and moderates is cited. The Investigative Project on Journalism has documented Mogahed's comments as well, claiming that she has been a staunch defender of both the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).
She has claimed that it would not be fair be unfair to see these groups become “disenfranchised” because of “misinformation” that is perpetuated. She has been quoted claiming that “there is a concerted effort to silence, you know, institution building among Muslims. And the way to do it is [to] malign these groups. And it’s kind of a witch hunt.”
These individuals appear sympathetic to the causes and goals that Islamism embraces. Still, Fatah’s warning to Canadians and recent history do expose the potential for unsettling connections within the Obama regime. Earlier this year, Robert Spencer reiterated the Obama
administration’s connections with the Muslim Brotherhood:
Obama first reached out to the Brotherhood when he chose the leader of a Muslim Brotherhood-linked group that had been named an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas terror funding case to give a prayer during his inauguration ceremonies. Ingrid Mattson, then-president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), offered this prayer at the National Cathedral on Obama’s Inauguration Day—despite the fact that the ISNA has admitted its ties to the Brotherhood…
Obama didn’t ask Mattson to explain the ISNA’s links to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. On the contrary: He sent his senior adviser, Valerie Jarrett, to be the keynote speaker at the ISNA’s national convention in 2009.
This appointee and the highly placed nature their appointments are troubling according to Fatah.
Mogahed's poll asked questions Muslims are sure to understand what they need to give as the answer to present the best front possible. But they don't get to the heart of the matter on whether they want Shariah in the United States ultimately. That's not to say they would get honest answers if they did ask those questions but its a start.
The motivation for most Muslims answering the call to Islamism is what they believe. They engage in jihad based on their ideology, their belief system. Because the center behind this poll can't face that ideology or belief system, they swallow this line that not only has it never been proven, but repeatedly disproven that poverty causes terrorism. The study trumpets the relative affluence of the Muslim community in America as if it tells us something about terrorism when it actually tells us exactly nothing. In any case, they're not asking the right questions to start with. They're asking questions that are tailored to give the picture of a Muslim community that is much more moderate than it really is.
Further, the "poll" tells the government of the U.S. it should "expand its report on anti-Semitism to include Islamophobia," and "track reports of discrimination against U.S. Muslims in a similar manner to reports of discrimination based on anti-Semitism."
The Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice also should "raise awareness, particularly within Muslim-American communities, of the procedures required to file a complaint," and "local and state police as well as the FBI should launch a national strategy to address the challenges in community-law enforcement relations."
The "recommendations" from the "poll" also note that the government should "engage and leverage Muslim Americans' expertise in the nation's foreign policy."
"As the most culturally diverse religious community in America, significant minorities of the Muslim-American community may not only speak multiple languages but may have also traveled, worked, and conducted research and business globally," the poll instructs. "Such experiences and expertise should be more widely drawn upon in forming global policy."
Counter-terrorism expert Robert Spencer has weighed in on the report:
Minggu, 11 Maret 2012
All the Above Energy Policy of Obama
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/real-news-from-the-blaze-panel-debates-obamas-all-of-the-above-energy-agenda/
NASA Mayan, Not the End of the World
Are you worried about the end of the Mayan calender? According to NASA, should you be worried? Why or why not? Do you think the video presents enough evidence that rebuffs any end of the world?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/worried-about-the-world-ending-in-2012-nasa-releases-video-saying-dont/
Pink Slime
USDA BUYS 7 MILLION POUNDS OF ‘PINK SLIME’ FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES
Michelle Obama leads a very public campaign to announce that healthier foods would be coming to school cafeterias and military mess halls.
Nonetheless, the Federal government-controlled school lunch program includes the USDA seven million pounds of “pink slime.”
What is pink slime? Do you think the Federal government should feed it to American children? Would you eat it and want it fed to your children? Why or why not?
On the Season Premiere of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution filmed in Los Angeles and aired on April 12, 2011, Jamie demonstrates how 70% of America's ground beef contains leftover cow parts (a.k.a. "pink slime") containing e.coli and salmonella that has been treated with ammonia. Ammonia treated meat can be found in virtually all conventional grocery stores, fast food restaurants, many national restaurant chains, and school cafeterias. The saddest part is that the USDA allows this ammonia treated meat to enter the marketplace and with no labeling requirement on the packaging to inform the consumer that the meat their about to buy contains ammonia, thus hiding the truth and pulling a wool over the consumer's eye. This is certainly a rude awakening to the majority of Americans that don't know where the meat in their fridge, the meat in their conventional local grocery store, the meat in their fast food hamburger, and the meat in their restaurant made hamburger comes from. How do you avoid this poison? Buy beef that has come from grass fed cows, which can be found at natural and organic grocery stores and your local farmers market. No matter the size of your town or city, grass fed beef (real beef) is not out of reach. Unlike ammonia treated beef, grass fed beef is clearly labeled and contains no ammonia.
Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html?_r=3&pagewanted=all
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/usda-buys-7-million-pounds-of-pink-slime-for-school-lunches/
Military Heat Weapon
Vehicle-Mounted Active Denial System (V-MADS)
The Active Denial System (ADS) is a non-lethal, directed-energy weapon developed by the U.S. military. It is a strong millimeter-wave transmitter primarily used for crowd control (the "goodbye effect"). Some ADS systems such as HPEM ADS are also used to disable vehicles.[3] Informally, the weapon is also called pain ray. Raytheon is currently marketing a reduced-range version of this technology. The ADS is currently being considered for deployment in the Iraq War.
Fox News’ Peter Doocy
Sabtu, 10 Maret 2012
Jumat, 09 Maret 2012
Islam's grand vision about women, Koran
Koran 4:34 "Allah has made men superior to women because men spend their wealth to support them. Therefore, virtuous women are obedient, and they are to guard their unseen parts as Allah has guarded them. As for women whom you fear will rebel, admonish them first, and then send them to a separate bed, and then beat them. But if they are obedient after that, then do nothing further; surely Allah is exalted and great!"
Thus, according to the Koran, men are superior, women may be admonished, shunned, and then a man can "beat them."
Thus, according to the Koran, men are superior, women may be admonished, shunned, and then a man can "beat them."
Kamis, 08 Maret 2012
The Battle of Big Ideas, Part 1: CONSTRAINED vs. UNCONSTRAINED
To keep these messages coming go to http://www.declarationentertainment.com
Before you can build a political house, you have to know what materials you have on hand. In Part 1 of The Battle of Big Ideas, Bill looks at the two visions of Mankind that Thomas Sowell has labeled "Constrained" and "Unconstrained," and the examples of their twin Revolutions: the Constrained American Revolution and the Unconstrained French Revolution.
‘REAL NEWS’ PANELIST BUCK SEXTON BREAKS DOWN THE IMPLICATIONS OF MCCAIN’S NEW CYBER SECURITY BILL
‘REAL NEWS’ PANELIST BUCK SEXTON BREAKS DOWN THE IMPLICATIONS OF MCCAIN’S NEW CYBER SECURITY BILL
Should your social media information alert homeland security?
DEFENSE SEC. PANETTA STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF ‘LEGAL BASIS’ & ‘INTERNATIONAL PERMISSION’ FOR MILITARY ACTION
DEFENSE SEC. PANETTA STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF ‘LEGAL BASIS’ & ‘INTERNATIONAL PERMISSION’ FOR MILITARY ACTION
Should the U.S. seek a “legal basis” and “international permission” for military action? Why or why not?
WASHINGTON, March 7—Under question from Sen. Sessions at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey indicated that "international permission," rather than Congressional approval, provided a 'legal basis' for military action by the United States.
IS SEIU USING UNIONIZATION TO EXTORT MEDICAID MONEY FROM HOME CAREGIVERS?
Robert and Patricia Haynes of Macomb Township take care of their adult children — Melissa, 34, and Kevin, 30 — who suffer from hypertonic cerebral palsy and function at the level of six-month-olds. Now, some of the Medicaid assistance that is supposed to go to the Haynes family is being diverted to the coffers of the Service Employee International Union.
The Hayneses are not alone. Under this arrangement, the SEIU has skimmed nearly $29 million from 56,000 Michigan home health care providers, most of whom are self-employed or family members caring for loved ones. In 2005, the SEIU held a virtually unpublicized election that roped these providers into the union — even though more than 80 percent of them did not vote.
In June 2011, the Michigan House passed legislation that would prevent people from being designated government employees simply because they receive a subsidy. Michigan's Senate Republicans, who hold a supermajority, have not considered the bill, allowing the SEIU to collect $4 million more over the intervening eight months.
Obama Takes on the LRA
Why Washington Sent Troops to Central Africa, November 15, 2011
"Obama claimed that he decided to act because it "furthers U.S. national security interests and foreign policy." Yet it is not entirely clear how that could be true, since Kony and the LRA have not targeted Americans or American interests and are not capable of overthrowing an allied government."
"The U.S. mission might be viewed as a kind of payback for Uganda's cooperation in the war on terror. In addition, geologists recently discovered oil in and around Lake Albert -- another reason for closer cooperation and for stabilizing the area."
"The administration estimated that potential U.S. losses would be minimal, and that Kony would be a good addition to the list of international thugs removed during Obama's time in office."
"So domestic political agendas, which at least did not conflict with broad U.S. strategic interests, are the most probable explanations for Obama's decision."
"A superficial focus on the activities of one man and a few of his commanders largely sidesteps the point. Kony and his colleagues lead a dreadful but relatively small organization that punches above its weight. If achieving stability and relative prosperity in this blighted region of Africa is the real objective, devoting the month of November to the LRA will obviously not be anything like enough."
Guardian, Kony 2012: what's the real story?
Michael Wilkerson, a journalist who has worked extensively in Uganda, starts busting some of the myths around Kony and the situation in Uganda. He writes:
It would be great to get rid of Kony. He and his forces have left abductions and mass murder in their wake for over 20 years.
But let's get two things straight:
1) Joseph Kony is not in Uganda and hasn't been for six years;
2) The LRA now numbers at most in the hundreds, and while it is still causing immense suffering, it is unclear how millions of well-meaning but misinformed people are going to help deal with the more complicated reality.
• In October last year, Obama authorised the deployment of 100 US army advisers to help the Ugandan military track down Kony, with no results disclosed to date.
• The LRA is much smaller than previously thought. It does not have have 30,000 or 60,000 child soldiers. The figure of 30,000 refers to the total number of children abducted by the LRA over nearly 30 years.
It also makes the point that there is currently no threat to remove the US advisers who are working with the Uganda government to track down the army – Invisible Children's key aim is to force the US government to keep them there.
Arthur Larok, Action Aid's, a relief organization, director in Uganda who states:
Six or 10 years ago, this would have been a really effective campaign strategy to get international campaigning. But today, years after Kony has moved away from Uganda, I think campaigning that appeals to these emotions … I'm not sure that's effective for now. The circumstances in the north have changed.
Ugandan journalist Angelo Opi-aiya Izama has written about "One salient issue the film totally misses is that the actual geography of today's LRA operations is related to a potentially troubling `resource war'".
"Since 2006, Uganda discovered world class oil fields along its border with DRC. The location of the oil fields has raised the stakes for the Ugandan military and its regional partners, including the US."
John Vidal of the Guardian, a British newspaper, stated: "They call themselves `a movement' seeking to end the conflict in Uganda and stop the abduction of children for use as child soldiers, but behind the slick website and the touchy-feely talk about `changing the course of human history', there's a hard-nosed money-making operation led by US filmmakers and accountants, communication experts, lobbyists and salespeople."
"The organisation's accounts show it's a cash rich operation, which more than tripled its income in 2011, with more than two thirds of its money coming from `general donations'.
The accounts suggest nearly 25% of its $8.8m income last year was spent on travel and film-making with only around 30% going toward programes on the ground. The great majority of the money raised has been spent in the US. $1.7 million went on US employee salaries, $357,000 in film costs, $850,000 in film production costs, $244,000 in `professional services' - thought to be Washington lobbyists - and $1.07 million in travel expenses."
Wolfgang Zeller of the Centre of African Studies in Edinburgh published on northern Uganda in the highly respected journal Foreign Affairs:
"While the extreme atrocities committed by the LRA cannot be justified by any 'political cause', the LRA did originally emerge as a direct reaction to extreme atrocities committed since the late 1980s by the government and armed forces of Uganda against the Acholi people in northern Uganda. The person in charge since 1986 until today is Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni, who is himself a former rebel army leader and came to power by force."
Update: Florida Honor Killing, Fatimah Abdallah
Tampa Police Detective Sonja Wise hand wrote on August 18, 2009 the word “Homicide” as the Type Of Offense on page 3 of 34 of the Tampa PD General Offense report. Please note the heading at the top of the page which states "Death-Accidental" was posted at a later date. Detective Wise wrote the day before on August 17, 2009 the words “Unexplained Death” for the Type Of Offense on page 2 of 34. Two days after the offense Detective Wise went from calling Fatimah’s death “Unexplained” to “Homicide.”
Fox News tells Florida Family Association that not enough people are willing to talk on camera about the death of Fatimah Abdallah to make a one hour special report.
Unfortunately, the silence and cover up of the Tampa honor killing will typify similar cases in the future. Thus, the Islamist violent crimes committed in America will likely grow.
Rabu, 07 Maret 2012
We Hold These Truths, Priest Spoken Word
We Hold These Truths || Spoken Word
Are you troubled by issues of religious liberty? Are you concerned about the direction this country is headed? Why or why not?
Behind-the-Scenes: We Hold These Truths
This video was filmed at St. Thomas More parish on the south side of Chicago. For those that know Church history and the role of St. Thomas More as a defender of the Church it may seem as if this was done deliberately to make a point. We can honestly say that if it was done deliberately it was not by us, but by God. We were looking for a visually stunning church to frame this important message and this is the one that opened up for us. In fact the other plans we had fell threw for various reasons to our surprise. We filmed for four and a half hours and then took a break to celebrate mass. Afterwards we filmed for another hour and then called it quits to go eat some great Chinese food.
The partnership between Spirit Juice Studios and Fr. Pontifex has truly been a divinely inspired arrangement and we look forward to making more videos in the future. The hard work and sacrifice was well worth it. The issue of religious liberty for Catholics and all Americans is an important issue that we all need to speak up about. Join the movement at http://phatmass.com/action
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/spiritjuicestudios
Twitter: https://twitter.com/spiritjuice
Video website: http://www.spiritjuicestudios.com/
Fr. Pontifex: http://frpontifex.com/
Music by Tony Anderson (used with permission): http://www.soundcloud.com/23violins
Behind-the-Scenes Photography:
Directed, Shot & Edited: Rob Kaczmark
Lyricist: Fr. Claude (Dusty) Burns aka Fr. Pontifex
Producers: dUSt, Danny Hidalgo, Kyle Escamilla, Rob Kaczmark
Re-Recording Mixer: Manuel Lopez III
Special thank to St. Thomas More and Rev. Charles Fanelli, Pastor for allowing us to film in the church. http://www.stthomasmorechicago.org
YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS MICH. $1M LOTTERY WINNER DEFEND WHY SHE’S STILL ON FOOD STAMPS
YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS MICH. $1M LOTTERY WINNER DEFEND WHY SHE’S STILL ON FOOD STAMPS
Lottery winner still using Michigan Bridge card
Islamic misogyny
Islamic misogyny, see Ibn Warraq's "Lifting the veil of tears," and Reza Afshari's"Egalitarian Islam and Misogynist Islamic Tradition: A Critique of the Feminist Reinterpretation of Islamic History and Heritage."
THE VETTING: OBAMA EMBRACES RACIALIST HARVARD PROF
Obama embraces Derrick Bell.
Obama Protesting at Harvard in 1991
REVEALED: THE RADICAL RACIAL IDEAS OF THE PROF. OBAMA RAVES ABOUT IN NEW HARVARD VIDEO
YouTube Restricts Video Of Engineer Proving How Useless TSA Scanners Are
How To Get Anything Through TSA Nude Body Scanners
What is your reaction?
Transcript on Official Blog: http://tsaoutofourpants.wordpress.com/
Media / Official Inquiries: See Below for Contact
This video is here to demonstrate that the TSA's insistence that the nude body scanner program is effective and necessary is nothing but a fraud, just like their claims that the program is safe (radiation what?) and non-invasive (nude pictures who?). This video is not intended to teach anyone how to commit criminal acts, nor is intended to help "the terrorists" -- if I could figure this out, I'm sure they've long figured it out, and by exposing it to the public, we now have an opportunity to correct it. The scanners are now effectively worthless, as anyone can beat them with virtually no effort. The TSA has been provided this video in advance of it being made public to give them an opportunity to turn off the scanners and revert to the metal detectors. I personally believe they now have no choice but to turn them off.
Please share this video with your family, friends, and most importantly, elected officials in federal government. Make sure they understand that your vote is contingent on them fixing the abuse that 200,000 passengers face from the TSA on a daily basis.
I'd like to thank:
Travel Underground - http://www.travelunderground.org/
Freedom to Travel USA - http://fttusa.org/
Legislators who have stood up to the TSA - especially Dr. Ron Paul & Sen. Rand Paul
...and all those who have both publicly and privately stood up to the TSA.
My legal battle against the TSA's nude body scanner and pat-down molestation program continues in court, soon with a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. If you'd like to donate to this effort, send PayPal to: jon [at] fourtentech.com
Copyright (C) 2012 Jonathan Corbett. All rights released for any non-commercial purpose.
Produced using Windows Live Movie Maker (Premiere kept crashing my computer!) on a PC. :) Video recorded using an HP TrueVision HD Web cam, except for "hidden camera" sections using an iPod 4G. Audio using an audio-technica mic (that really wasn't intended to be used this way) mixed with Ableton Live.
Contacts:
Media & Official - jon [at] fourtentech.com -- please no phone calls, I will respond to all e-mail inquiries very quickly.
All others - please leave a note on my blog (link above). I do read them all and generally reply if your post needs a response.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2111417/TSA-nude-body-scanners-Jonathan-Corbett-video-exposes-loophole.html
YouTube Restricts Video Of Engineer Proving How Useless TSA Scanners Are
http://www.infowars.com/man-demonstrates-why-tsa-body-scanners-are-worthless-for-security-purposes/
Court Rules Police Can Search Cell Phones Without Warrant...
The ruling is an invasion of privacy that far outweighs the needs of law enforcement.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/03/06/police-given-direct-line-to-cell-phone-searches/
High school's chant of 'USA! USA!' deemed racist...
Racial incident mars high school game
"USA, USA, USA," they chanted.
San Antonio Independent School District officials took the chant as a racial insult to a school with all minority players from a school with mostly white ones.
Is chanting `USA, USA!' racist? Is it racist in this situation? Should we assume Americans are racist? Why or why not?
Selasa, 06 Maret 2012
SPOTTED: Contraceptives near Georgetown law school
SPOTTED: Contraceptives near Georgetown law school
Are contraceptives readily available, and inexpensive or free, adjacent to Georgetown University, without a government mandate compromising religious liberty?
VIDEO: LIBYAN JIHADISTS BRUTALIZE BLACK AFRICANS, FORCE THEM TO EAT FLAGS IN CAGE
The term for black in Arabic, abid, means slave.
Boston Dynamics Robot
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/darpa-cheetah-robot-can-run-faster-than-you-dpgoha-20120306
http://www.bostondynamics.com/bd_contact.html
Victory Mosque, Sacrificed Survivors, Allen West
A film, produced by Christian Action Network and entitled, “Sacrified Survivors,” focuses upon the contentious so-called Ground Zero mosque that has created intense debate across America. According to Politico, the film prominently features 9/11 victims’ family members and their opposition to the planned house of worship and community center. Adding to the controversy, Republican Rep. Allen West invited some of these families to attend the event.
In a press release on Tuesday, West’s office described the film — and the event — as follows:
As plans for a mosque move forward at Ground Zero, just steps away from the twin towers site, 9/11 survivors and family members are experiencing yet another type of Islamic jihad. PRB Films tells their poignant and shocking stories in this new film, “SACRIFICED SURVIVORS: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Mega Mosque.”
Survivors fear after this week, the country will again become complacent and 9/11 will become a distant memory. They believe they must work to keep people vigilant and fighting against the march of radical Islam through attempts like the Ground Zero mosque. As retired New York City firefighter Tim Brown says, “If this mosque is built, it will be like 9/11 all over again for the families who lost loved ones.”
In a press release on Tuesday, West’s office described the film — and the event — as follows:
As plans for a mosque move forward at Ground Zero, just steps away from the twin towers site, 9/11 survivors and family members are experiencing yet another type of Islamic jihad. PRB Films tells their poignant and shocking stories in this new film, “SACRIFICED SURVIVORS: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Mega Mosque.”
Survivors fear after this week, the country will again become complacent and 9/11 will become a distant memory. They believe they must work to keep people vigilant and fighting against the march of radical Islam through attempts like the Ground Zero mosque. As retired New York City firefighter Tim Brown says, “If this mosque is built, it will be like 9/11 all over again for the families who lost loved ones.”
One of the attending family members, Jack McDermot, who lost a son on 9/11, stood his ground in opposing the construction of the community center and mosque:
“I think it’s a tragedy that people are attempting to do something which is very distasteful to me, and I will support anyone or anything that’s done to put a stop to it.”
In addressing the crowd, West explained what may very well be his reasoning for hosting the event in the first place:
“my fear is that maybe we could end up forgetting what happened on 9/11 because of certain things such as political correctness or this desire to be a multicultural America. But in being a multicultural America we must never forget the fundamental principles and value that make us great.”
He continued, discussing his views about faith and religion. In a pointed notation, he explained his belief that Islam must go through the “reform process” just as other world religions have been forced to do:
“I think we have to understand that the major religions of this world—Judaism and Christianity—did go through reformations. Now we look at this next major religion…they need to go through a reform process as well.”
Of course, this comment will be looked at by some as an effort to tie together the radical actions of a small subset of Islamic adherents with the wider pool of believers.
Below, watch these comments, among others, in a video:
Allen West Hosts Anti-Mosque Event On Capitol Hill
But for those claiming that West is trying to legally restrict individuals from the right to build at Ground Zero, it‘s important to note that he drew a distinction between what’s legal and what is, in his view, morally acceptable:
“Nobody is saying you cannot build a mosque in New York City. That’s not the question. The question is will you honor and hold in reverence what we just heard today? This is a sacred site for some people, this is a site that really is a burial ground. Do we really want this to happen? It’s not about the constitution, it’s about what’s morally right.”
In an article posted on Wednesday, Death and Taxes’ Andrew Belonsky wrote, “Representative Allen West has quite the record of inflammatory rhetoric.” In the title of the piece, Belonsky essentially calls West “anti-Islam.” ThinkProgress shared these views, writing:
There’s room for a healthy debate about how to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks on the United States, but Sacrificed Survivors, with its distorted version of events and bigoted attacks on Islam, poisons that debate rather than contributing to it. The only thing it proves is how marginal Rep. West’s views — and sense of what constitute a dignified, respectful, and productive conversation about religion and national security — continue to be.
Green Firms Get Fed Cash, Give Execs Bonuses, Fail
Green Firms Get Fed Cash, Give Execs Bonuses, Fail
Senin, 05 Maret 2012
Bibi with Obozo: Israel, Iran
The body language is revealing. Bibi's head bobs up and down in agreement with Obama but once Obama tries the we are still employing sanctions and continuing diplomatic efforts Bibi just listens. Then, Obama gets lectured, looks annoyed, and smirks with the "Satan" references but without any genuine smile or positive feeling.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
All-American Barry Soetoro and the Indonesian Transgender Nanny
"Several longtime residents of Obama's old Menteng neighborhood confirmed that Turdi had worked there as his nanny for two years, also caring for his baby sister Maya. When asked about the nanny, the White House had no comment. . . . at a cocktail party in 1969, that she met Ann Dunham, Barack Obama's mother, who had arrived in the country two years earlier after marrying her second husband, Indonesian Lolo Soetoro. . . . Dunham was so impressed by Evie's beef steak and fried rice that she offered her a job in the family home. It didn't take long before Evie also was 8-year-old Barry's caretaker, playing with him and bringing him to and from school."
"Neighbors recalled that they often saw Evie leave the house in the evening fully made up and dressed in drag. But she says it's doubtful Barry ever knew."
"He was so young," says Evie. "And I never let him see me wearing women's clothes. But he did see me trying on his mother's lipstick, sometimes. That used to really crack him up.""
"Many neighbors would remember Turdi ... she was popular here at that time," says Rudy Yara, who still lives across the street from Obama's former house. "She was a nice person and was always patient and caring in keeping young Barry."
"Evie hopes her former charge will use his power to fight for people like her. Obama named Amanda Simpson, the first openly transgender appointee, as a senior technical adviser in the Commerce Department in 2010."
"For Evie, who's now just trying to earn enough to survive each day on Jakarta's streets, the election victory itself was enough to give her a reason — for the first time in a long time — to feel proud."
"Now when people call me scum," she says, "I can just say: 'But I was the nanny for the President of the United States!'"
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ap-exclusive-obamas-transgender-nanny-outcast-15847122#.T1VUfvG5xrp
Previous reports have documented Barry Soeotoro's Nanny before.
KATT WILLIAMS SPEAKS ON CNN ABOUT MEXICAN RANT!
KATT WILLIAMS SPEAKS ON CNN ABOUT MEXICAN RANT!
Cf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ8mIEJSFZU&feature=player_embedded
Sep 3, 2011
"Comedian Katt Williams on Saturday partly walked back an apology for making insensitive remarks to a Mexican member of his audience, telling CNN that he is not sorry for what he said, but apologizes to anyone who thought he was being hateful. "I meant what I said and I said what I meant," Williams said, referring to his back-and-forth with a heckler during a performance a week ago. A written statement apologizing for the remarks had been released by his publicist on his behalf this week, but the comedian said that it didn't come from him. Video of the exchange, delivered during a performance at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, was posted online. Williams singled out a man seated near the stage and asked him if he was Mexican." - CNN
Minggu, 04 Maret 2012
#3347 - Hamas Preacher from Khan Yunis, Gaza: Al-Aqsa Cannot Remain under the Control of "Apes and Pigs," "Asses Carrying Books," and "Panting Dogs" Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas/Gaza) - February 24, 2012 - 01:36
#3347 - Hamas Preacher from Khan Yunis, Gaza: Al-Aqsa Cannot Remain under the Control of "Apes and Pigs," "Asses Carrying Books," and "Panting Dogs"
Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas/Gaza) - February 24, 2012 - 01:36
Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas/Gaza) - February 24, 2012 - 01:36
9/11 Audio Tape Released for the First Time
A New Type of War: The Story of the FAA and NORAD Response to the September 11, 2001 Attacks
I posted some excerpts here.
4. American 11
At 8:24:38, American 11 began a turn to the south and the following transmission came from American 11:
082444 AA11 keying 2 transmissions.mp3
This Boston Sector controller heard something unintelligible over the radio, and did not hear the specific words “[w]e have some planes” at the time. The next transmission came seconds later:
082457 Nobody move.mp3
The controller has told the media and Commission staff during interviews, when he heard this second transmission, he “felt from those voices the terror” and immediately knew something was very wrong. He knew it was a hijack.”[xiv]
At 8:34, as FAA headquarters received its initial notification that American 11 had been hijacked, the Boston sector controller received a third transmission from American 11.
083359 Nobody move please going back to airport.mp3
American 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46:40. [Word of the crash of an airplane began to work its way quickly through the FAA's New York Center.]
084739 AA11 Discussion To First Impact Line 5114.mp3
083815 AA11 Powell Cooper Deskins.mp3
The United States’ military defense of its homeland on 9/11 began with this call. Indeed, this was the first notification received by the military – at any level – that American [11] had been hijacked. NEADS promptly ordered to battle stations the two F-15 alert aircraft at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, about 153 miles away from New York City.[xxi]
083922 NEADS weapons and MCC battle stations.mp3
084000 AA11 Panta 45 battle stations cape tape.mp3
At NEADS, the reported hijack was relayed immediately to Battle Commander Colonel Robert Marr, who was stationed in the Battle Cab in preparation for a scheduled NORAD exercise. Col. Marr asked the same question – confirming that the hijacking was “real-world” – then ordered fighter pilots at Otis Air Force Base in Massachusetts to battle-stations.[xxii]
He then phoned Maj. General Larry Arnold, commanding General of the First Air Force and CONR. Col. Marr advised him of the situation, and sought authorization to scramble the Otis fighters in response to the reported hijacking. General Arnold instructed Col. Marr “to go ahead and scramble the airplanes and we’d get permission later. And the reason for that is that the procedure … if you follow the book, is they [law enforcement officials] go to the duty officer of the national military center, who in turn makes an inquiry to NORAD for the availability of fighters, who then gets permission from someone representing the Secretary of Defense. Once that is approved then we scramble an aircraft. We didn’t wait for that.”[xxiii] General Arnold then picked up the phone and talked to the operations deputy up at NORAD and said, “Yeah, we’ll work with the National Military Command Center (NMCC). Go ahead and scramble the aircraft.”[xxiv]
The scramble order was passed from the Battle Commander (BC) to the Mission Crew Commander (MCC), who passed the order to the Weapons Director (WD).[xxv] Almost immediately, however, a problem arose. The Weapons Director asked: “MCC. I don’t know where I’m scrambling these guys to. I need a direction, a destination.”[xxvi] Because the hijackers had turned off the plane’s transponder, the plane appeared only as a primary track on radar.
083800 AA11 NEADS ID techs react to Powell.mp3
F-15 fighters were ordered scrambled at 8:46 from Otis Air Force Base and vectored toward military airspace off the coast of Long Island.[xxvii]
084555 NEADS Powell Otis scramble.mp3
As the order to scramble Otis fighters came at 8:46, American 11 was hitting the World Trade Center and United 175 was being hijacked in New York Center’s airspace. The military did not hear anything about United 175 until it crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Working over the phone with the FAA Center in Boston, at least one NEADS tracker found a primary track roughly eight miles east-northeast of Manhattan, but the track faded before he could confirm it with Boston Center.[xxviii] Unbeknownst to the military, the Otis fighters were scrambled [at] nearly the exact time that American 11 crashed into the North Tower. Radar data show the Otis fighters were airborne at 8:53. [xxix]
The Mission Crew Commander explained to the Battle Cab the plan:
084629 NEADS MCC summary for BC 25 miles Z point.mp3
Shortly after 8:50, while NEADS personnel struggled to locate American 11, word reached the floor that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.[xxx]
4.3 Commission Findings and Assessment
The interplay at the operational levels of the FAA and NORAD regarding American 11 is notable in several respects. First, and most important, Boston Center and NEADS took immediate actions to facilitate a quicker response than a strict following of the official protocols would have allowed for. Boston Center elected to request assistance directly from the Northeast Air Defense Sector. When the request reached NEADS, the Battle Commander and the CONR Commander, rather than seeking authorization to scramble aircraft through the chain of command and, ultimately, the Secretary of Defense, chose to authorize the action on their own and, as General Arnold (CONR Commander) put it, “seek the authorities later.” It is difficult to fault either decision. Given the emergent nature of the situation, the reports of “trouble in the cockpit,” and the fact that there was no easily identified transponder signal emitted from the aircraft, the necessity to shortcut the hijack protocols seems apparent. It is clear, moreover, that the protocols themselves were ill-suited to the American 11 event; the multi-layered notification and approval process assumed a “classic” hijack scenario in which there is ample time for notice to occur, there is no difficulty in locating the aircraft, the hijackers intend to land the aircraft somewhere, and the military’s role is limited to identification and escort of the aircraft. Indeed, the hijack protocols were not reasserted on 9/11 until the attacks were completed.
However, bypassing the established protocols for air emergencies, though justified in the case of American 11, may have had an unintended ill effect as the day wore on; leadership at the national levels at the FAA and DoD [was] not involved – or [was] involved only after the fact – in the critical decision making and the evolving situational awareness regarding American 11. As the Commission has presented in its June 2004 public hearing and in the official “9/11 Commission Report,” they [national leaders] would remain largely irrelevant to the critical decision making and unaware of the evolving situation “on the ground” until the attacks were completed.
The critical information NEADS received would continue to come from Boston Center, which relayed information as it was overheard on FAA teleconferences. Indeed, at one point that morning the Mission Crew Commander, in the absence of regular communication from anyone else at FAA, encouraged the Military position at Boston Center to continue to provide information: “if you get anything, if you – any of your controllers see anything that looks kind of squirrelly, just give us a yell. We’ll get those fighters in that location.”[xxxii] The NEADS ID Technicians would complain repeatedly that morning: “Washington has no clue what the hell is going on… Washington has no clue.”[xxxiii]
0944 Washington has no clue.mp3
The first part of the tape seems altered or it as severely distorted in contrast with the other audio when a voice is heard to say: "Washington has no clue."
The Boston Military FAA representative, when interviewed, expressed astonishment that he had been the principal source of information for the NEADS personnel on the morning of 9/11; he stated his belief that he must have been one of several FAA sources constantly updating NEADS that morning.[xxxiv] No open line was established between NEADS and CONR and either FAA headquarters or the Command Center at Herndon until the attacks were virtually over.
It is clear that, as the order to scramble came at 8:46, just as American 11 was hitting the World Trade Center, the military had insufficient notice of the hijacking to position its assets to respond. This reality would also be repeated throughout the morning. Indeed, the eight minutes’ notice that NEADS had of American 11 would prove to be the most notice the sector would receive that morning of any of the hijackings, and the sector’s inability to locate the primary radar track until the last few readings would also recur.
5. UNITED 175
084131 AA11 UA175 ZNY report of suspicious transmission Boston.mp3
The controller turned United 175 away from the aircraft (American 11) as a safety precaution. At this point, United 175 had entered New York Center’s airspace and unfortunately, the controller responsible for United 175 was the same controller assigned the job of tracking the hijacked American 11. At 8:47, nearly simultaneously with the impact of American 11 into the World Trade Center, United 175′s assigned transponder code changed from 1470 to 3020, and then again to 3321.[vii] These changes were not noticed, however, for several minutes, as the controller was focused on trying to determine the location of American 11, which had disappeared as a primary radar track. Indeed, New York Center was completely focused on the situation with American 11, as indicated in the following report given by New York Center on a teleconference that had been established between their center, Boston Center and the Command Center. (Note that this report was made at approximately 8:48, just minutes after the impact of American 11 into the North Tower, though that was not known by the individual at the time).
The controllers observed the plane in a rapid descent; the radar data terminated over lower Manhattan.[xvii] At 9:03:02, United 175 crashed into World Trade Center’s South Tower.[xviii]
090608 AA11 Confirmed on tape we have planes line 5114.mp3
At exactly the same time that the “we have planes” was confirmed, both Boston Center and New York Center closed down their airspace.[xxi] The result of this action was that aircraft were not permitted to depart from, arrive at, or travel through those Centers’ airspace until further notice.[xxii]
090230 NEADS notified of UA175.mp3
The ID Technicians were on the phone with Boston Center seeking further information on United 175 when they found out that the plane may have crashed.[xxv] Before retrieving the flight’s vital statistics for NEADS, Boston Center confirmed the second crash at the Trade Center.[xxvi] There had been no prior notification that the plane was hijacked, or, for that matter, missing.[xxvii] The fighters from Otis Air Force Base were south of Long Island at the time.[xxviii]
The Mission Crew Commander’s reaction to the second explosion at the World Trade Center was to reject the idea of holding the fighters in military air space away from Manhattan.
090727 Panta over Manhattan some kind of play DRM 1 CH 2.mp3
The FAA cleared the air space. Radar data show that at 9:13, when the Otis fighters were about 115 miles away from the city, the fighters exited their holding pattern and set a course direct for Manhattan. They arrived at 9:25 and established a combat air patrol (CAP) over the city.[xxix]
Because the Otis fighters had expended a great deal of fuel in flying first to military air space and then to New York, the battle commanders were concerned about refueling. As NEADS personnel looked for refueling tankers in the vicinity of New York, the Mission Crew Commander considered scrambling the Langley fighters to New York to provide back-up for the Otis fighters until the NEADS Battle Cab ordered “[b]attle stations only at Langley.”[xxx]
090830 Langley battle stations not scramble D1 CH 5.mp3
The alert fighters at Langley Air Force Base were ordered to battle stations at 9:09.
090925 Langley BS Norfolk tower.mp3
Col. Marr, the battle commander at NEADS, and General Arnold, the CONR Commander, both recall that the planes were held on battle stations, as opposed to scrambling, because they might be called upon to relieve the Otis fighters over New York City if a refueling tanker was not located, and also because of the general uncertainty of the situation in the sky.[xxxi] According to retired Col. William Scott at the Commission’s May 23, 2003 hearing, “At 9:09, Langley F-16s are directed to battle stations, just based on the general situation and the breaking news, and the general developing feeling about what’s going on.”[xxxii] NORAD had no indication that any other plane had been hijacked.
5.3 Commission Findings and Assessment
The most noteworthy aspect of the time sequence recounted above is a time that is not mentioned: 8:43. In the days immediately following 9/11, both NORAD and FAA identified 8:43 as the time at which NORAD was notified of the hijacking of United 175; this time was picked up by The Washington Post and other prominent media outlets, and widely disseminated in the public record. The tapes and transcripts, corroborated by witness interviews, show, however, that 8:43 could not have been the time of notification. The FAA controller did not notice the change in transponder signal from United 175 until 8:51; there is no way that FAA could have notified NORAD of the hijacking at 8:43 when it did not even realize there was a problem with the flight until eight minutes later.
The Commission has been unable to identify the source of the inaccurate 8:43 hijack notification time for United 175. Both FAA and NORAD, however, eventually dropped that notification time from their official version of events; neither can account for its original inclusion.[xxxiii]
The inclusion of an 8:43 notification time in the early press releases from FAA and NORAD muddied the public record by raising questions about whether the Otis fighters were vectored properly; a flight path into military air space is difficult to justify when there is a reported second hijacking and one aircraft has already crashed into the World Trade Center. The actual flight path taken by the fighters is defensible given the fact that the second hijacking was reported as it was concluding; the Mission Crew Commander wanted the fighters eventually over New York City, but in the absence of a second emergent event was willing to hold the fighters over military airspace until the FAA could clear a path.
6. AMERICAN 77
The controller tracking American 77 told the Commission he first noticed the aircraft turning to the southwest, and then saw the data disappear. The controller looked for primary radar returns. He searched along its projected flight path and the airspace to the southwest where it had started to turn. No primary targets appeared. He tried the radios, first calling the aircraft directly, then the airline. Again there was nothing. At this point, the Indianapolis controller had no knowledge of the situation in New York. He did not know that other aircraft had been hijacked. He believed American 77 had experienced serious electrical and/or mechanical failure, and was gone.
6.3 Military Notification and Response
By no later than 9:21, FAA’s Command Center in Herndon, some FAA field facilities and American Airlines had started to search for American 77 and feared it had been hijacked. Four minutes later, at 9:25, Command Center reported to FAA Headquarters all the information Command Center had learned regarding American 77.[xxv] The military was completely unaware the search for American 77 had begun. In fact, the military would hear once again about American 11, a plane that had already crashed, before they received any notification that American 77 was lost.
6.4 Commission Findings and Assessment
The sequence outlined above is again noteworthy for its omission of notification times that have been widely circulated. In the official NORAD version of the events of 9/11, as presented to the Commission in May 2003, at 9:16, NORAD was notified that United 93 was a possible hijack and that notification was followed, at 9:24, by the notification that American 77 was a hijacked aircraft. According to retired Col. William Scott at the Commission’s May 23, 2003 hearing, the FAA notified NORAD of the hijacking of United 93 at 9:16 (forty-five minutes prior to crash), and of the hijacking of American 77 at 9:24 (14 minutes prior to crash). Retired Col. Scott also indicated that the fighters at Langley Air Force Base were scrambled at 9:25 to meet the threat to Washington posed by American 77.[xxxi]
Retired General Larry Arnold amplified this information in testimony before the Commission, stating: “9:24 was the first time that we had been advised of American 77 as a possible hijacked airplane. Our focus – you have got to remember that there’s a lot of other things going on simultaneously here – was on United 93, which was being pointed out to us very aggressively I might say by the FAA. ¼ We were advised [American 77] was possibly hijacked. And we had launched almost simultaneously with that, we launched the aircraft out of Langley to put them over top of Washington, DC, not in response to American Airlines 77, but really to put them in position in case United 93 were to head that way.”[xxxii]
Based on its review of the tapes, transcripts and other records obtained under subpoena, as corroborated by witness interviews at NEADS, Commission staff can state unequivocally that the timeline and testimony presented at the Commission’s May 23, 2003 hearing were not true. The 9:24 notification time for American 77 (as well as the claimed 9:16 notification for United 93) was inaccurately derived from a handwritten log maintained by the staff working for the Mission Crew Commander (the operational commander on watch). Called the “MCC/T Log,” it was the principal log of events kept at NEADS on 9/11. At 9:24, the log records: “American Airlines #N334AA hijacked.”[xxxiii] This tail number refers not to American 77 but to American 11, the first hijacked aircraft. The subpoenaed tapes confirm that this time corresponds to the receipt of the tail number information on American 11 and to reports that American 11 was still airborne and headed towards Washington DC.[xxxiv]
Nor were the Langley fighters scrambled to meet the threat posed by American 77. The first notification to the military (NEADS) that American 77 is missing (there is no mention of it being hijacked at this point) comes at 9:34, ten minutes after the scramble has already been ordered at Langley Air Force Base.
The Langley fighters were initially scrambled not because of United 93, which had not been hijacked, nor because of American 77, which had not been reported to NEADS, but because of the mistaken report that American 11 had in fact not hit the World Trade Center, but was heading south towards Washington, DC. The fighters were ordered scrambled initially toward New York, and then vectored toward Baltimore, in an effort to intercept that mistakenly reported aircraft. The best evidence for both this false report and the resulting scramble is the subpoenaed NEADS tape, quoted above, which records the Mission Crew Commander’s immediate reaction to the report: “Okay. American Airlines is still airborne, 11, the first guy. He’s headed towards Washington, okay? I think we need to scramble Langley right now, and I’m going to – I’m going to take the fighters from Otis and try to chase this guy down if I can find him.”[xxxv] Seconds after that reaction, the Mission Crew Commander ordered the scramble of the Langley fighters.
This report of American 11 heading south – the cause of the Langley scramble – is reflected not just in taped conversations at NEADS, but in taped conversations at FAA centers, on chat logs compiled at NEADS, CONR, and NORAD, and in records extending to the highest levels of the federal government. [xxxvi] The false report was also readily acknowledged in interviews of operational personnel. Nonetheless, it is not recounted in a single public timeline issued by FAA or DOD, nor in a single public statement by government officials. Instead, the scramble at Langley is attributed to the reported hijacking of American 77, United 93, or some combination of the two.
When interviewed, Col. Marr stated that he had discounted the report that American 11 was still airborne, and insisted that the Langley scramble was in response to “everything else that was going on” that morning, and referred specifically to United 93. When informed that United 93 had not been hijacked by the time of the Langley scramble, and that American 77 was not reported missing to the NEADS air defenders until after the Langley scramble had occurred, Col. Marr was unable to point to any other complicating factors that might have led to the Langley scramble.[xxxvii]
Col. Marr’s recollection is belied by the tapes and transcripts from the morning of 9/11, the testimony of his subordinates, and the contemporaneous records from the day. The Mission Crew Commander and the ID Technicians who were on duty that morning had no doubt that the sequence revealed on the tapes, in which the Mission Crew Commander orders Langley scrambled in immediate response to the news that American 11 is still airborne, was in fact what occurred.[xxxviii]
The Commission has been unable to identify the source of the mistaken information regarding American 11. The Boston Center Military Desk person who provided the information to NEADS had been listening in on an FAA teleconference out of Washington, DC. A Senior FAA official who was working at Headquarters that morning recalls having passed the information to others, but does not know its source.[xxxix]
What is clear is that the introduction of a third hijacking into the FAA system proved to be extremely confusing, raising doubts as to the identities of the two planes that had crashed into the World Trade Center and leading, ultimately, to the false report that one of the original hijacked aircraft was still airborne, heading for Washington.
Overall, this sequence of events regarding American 77 again belies NORAD’s official timeline and the testimony given at the Commission’s May 23, 2003 hearing. Notification of American 77 as a missing aircraft came at 9:34, after the Langley fighters had already taken off. Remarkably, the notification, when it occurred, came completely fortuitously, not as the result of existing notification protocols between FAA and NORAD. The ID Technician at NEADS called Washington Center at the prompting of the Boston FAA Military desk, in order to find further information about American 11. If NEADS had not placed that call themselves, the NEADS air defenders would have received no notification whatsoever that American 77 was missing prior to its crash. Given the facts that there had already been two suicide hijackings and that the FAA – both at the Command Center and at several regional centers – had been searching for American 77 for over thirty minutes, the failure of FAA proactively to notify NORAD of the missing aircraft seems egregious, even in hindsight.
Even when FAA controllers at Dulles Tower did pick up the primary radar track of an unknown aircraft southwest of Washington, no one at FAA thought ask for military assistance. Once again, the NEADS air defenders received word of the unknown target from Boston Center’s Military position, which happened to overhear the discussion of the sighting on a teleconference originating from Washington.
8. UNITED 93
United 93 again radioed Cleveland Center at 9:25, checking in at 35,000 feet. The controller replied, “United ninety-three, Cleveland, roger.”[v] The controller then engaged in conversation with several aircraft about the evolving situation in New York City and the prospects for flights to be allowed to land in Philadelphia; while the controller was extremely discreet, it was clear what he was talking about. The time was 9:26.
092556 Midex 150 Philiadelphia.mp3
The controller, who was moving planes away from each other as the traffic built in his sector from the ground stop in New York and Boston, warned several planes, including United 93: “United 93 that traffic for you is one o’clock twelve miles eastbound three seven zero.” The aircraft acknowledged: “Negative contact we’re looking United Ninety-three.”[vi] Then, at 9:28, the controller and the pilots of several other flights heard “a radio transmission of unintelligible sounds of possible screaming or a struggle from an unknown origin …”[vii] The controller responded: “Somebody call Cleveland?”[viii] This was followed, at 9:29, by a second radio transmission, with sounds of screaming and someone yelling “Get out of here, get out of here,” again from an unknown source.[ix] The Cleveland Center controllers began to try to identify the possible source of the transmissions, and noticed that United 93 had descended some 700 feet.
One of the strangest is a tape of unintelligible screaming.
0928 UA93 last normal and first trouble.mp3
87. 0928 UA93 last normal and first trouble
Cleveland Center Controller: United 93, that traffic for you is one o’clock, twelve miles eastbound, three seven zero.
UA93: Negative contact, we’re looking, United ninety three.
UA93: Hey (indistinct yelling).
Cleveland Center Controller: Somebody call Cleveland?
AA1060: Roger American, ah, 1066, with you. We’re at three seven oh, we’re, ah, slowing, ah, due to the delays if possible going eastbound.
Cleveland Center Controller: That’s American 1066?
UA93: (Indistinct yelling) mayday (indistinct yelling).
Cleveland Center Controller: You got United 93?
Cleveland Center Controller 2: United 93, south of Chardon, descended.
Cleveland Center Controller: What’s that?
Cleveland Center Controller 2: I just sayin’ it looks like he descended there.
Cleveland Center Controller: I don’t think so. United 93, verify three five zero.
Cleveland Center Controller 2. United 93, Cleveland
Cleveland Center: Go ahead (indistinct).
Cleveland Center Controller 2: Do you have United 93 south of Chardon?
Cleveland Center: We hear some funny noises we’re trying to get him. Do you have him?
Cleveland Center Controller 2: No.
Cleveland Center: Thank You. United 93, Cleveland.
Cleveland Center Controller: United 1523 did you hear your company, ah, did you hear, ah, some interference on the frequency, ah, couple a minutes ago, screaming?
United1523: Yes I did seven ninety seven and, ah, we couldn’t tell what it was either.
Cleveland Center Controller: Ok. United 93, Cleveland, if you hear the center, ident.
AA1060: American 1060. Ditto on the other transmissions.
Cleveland Center Controller: American 1060, you heard that also?
AA1060: Yes sir, twice.
At 9:32, a third radio transmission came over the frequency: “keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb on board.”[xi]
0932 UA93 bomb on board.mp3
Then, at 9:39, another radio transmission came over the frequency from United 93:
0939 UA93 bomb on board and controller followup.mp3
90. 0939 UA93 Bomb on Board and Controller Follow-up
Ziad Jarrah: This is the Captain. I would like you all to remain seated. We have a bomb on board and are going back to the airport and have our demands, so please remain quiet.
Cleveland Center: Ok, that’s United 93 calling? United 93 understand you have a bomb on board, go ahead.
ExecJet 956: Command Center, ExecJet 956, that was the transmission.
Cleveland Center: ExecJet 956, did you understand that transmission?
ExecJet 956: Affirmative, he said there was a bomb on board.
Cleveland Center: That’s what you got out of it also?
ExecJet 956: Affirmative.
Cleveland Center: Roger, United 93, go ahead.
093601 ZOB call re want to scramble military here.mp3
Indeed, from 9:34 to 10:08, a Command Center facility manager provided several updates to the Deputy Administrator and other executives at FAA headquarters as United 93 approached the Washington, DC area. Specifically, at 9:41, Command Center notified headquarters that United 93 had reversed course from its intended flight path and was descending:
0941 UA93 CC to HQ FAA over Akron.mp3
At 9:42, Command Center learned through a television news report that a plane had struck the Pentagon.[xvii] FAA headquarters also knew the Pentagon had been attacked by an aircraft.[xviii] Shortly after Command Center heard about the crash at the Pentagon, Command Center’s National Operations Manager, Ben Sliney, ordered all FAA facilities to instruct all airborne aircraft to land at the nearest airport.[xix] At the time the order was given, there were approximately 4,500 commercial and general aviation aircraft in the skies over the United States. All aircraft landed without incident. This was an unprecedented order. The air traffic control system handled it with great skill.
0949 Pulling Jeff away.mp3
[The timing of this conversation is consistent with the FAA Administrator Jane Garvey and her staff's having joined the Air Threat Conference Call run by Richard Clarke from the White House Situation Room. There is no evidence that the report passed to FAA Headquarters from the Command Center reached the military in a timely fashion.]
At 9:53, FAA headquarters informed Command Center that the Deputy Director for Air Traffic Services was talking to Deputy Administrator Monte Belger about scrambling aircraft.[xx] Then, at 9:56, Command Center informed headquarters they lost track of United 93 over the Pittsburgh area.[xxi] Within seconds, Command Center located United 93 and informed headquarters:
0958 UA93 20 miles Johnstown.mp3
At 10:00, Command Center advised headquarters that “United ninety three was spotted by a VFR at eight thousand feet, eleven, eleven miles south of Indianhead, just north of Cumberland, Maryland.[xxii] At 10:01, just two minutes before United 93 crashed, Command Center provided FAA headquarters with the following update:
1000 UA93 Rocking wings.mp3
At 10:08, five minutes after United 93 crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, Command Center forwarded this update to headquarters:
100744 UA93 Report of black smoke AA77 Q re police report.mp3
At 10:17, Command Center advised headquarters of its belief that United 93 had “crashed fifteen miles south of Johnstown, Pennsylvania”.[xxiii]
No one from FAA headquarters requested military assistance regarding United 93. In fact, the executive level managers at FAA headquarters did not forward the information they received from Command Center regarding United 93 to the military.
8.2 Military Notification and Response
NEADS first received a call about United 93 from the military liaison at Cleveland Center, at 10:07. This call was the first notification the military – at any level – received about United 93. Unaware that the aircraft had already crashed, Cleveland passed to NEADS the aircraft’s last know latitude and longitude. NEADS was never able to locate United 93 on radar because it was already in the ground.
100701 UA93 ZOB to NEADS bomb on board.mp3
When the information that United 93 had turned off its transponder and had a potential bomb on board reached the mission crew commander, he was dealing with the arrival of the Langley fighters over Washington and what their orders were with respect to potential targets. While NEADS searched for the radar track on United 93, the Mission Crew Commander and his Weapons Director engaged in the following conversation shortly after 10:10 concerning the rules of engagement:
100901 UA93 negative clearance to shoot.mp3
Nasypany: One five two seven, mode 3, do we have a track number? 1527, ode 3 we got a track number?
Nasypany: Ok, we got a mode 3 on this, ah, United 93.
Nasypany: How close are you?
[Background] Unknown: (Indistinct).
[Background] Sr. ID Tech: (Indistinct) three nine five one north.
Nasypany: Three nine five one north.
[Background] Sr. ID Tech: Zero seven eight four six west.
Nasypany: Zero seven eight four six west.
[Background] Sr. ID Tech: This is the guy with the bomb on board.
Nasypany: Got it.
[Background] Unknown: I just got off the phone with the Colonel and he has one E3 on, that’s on its way out here (indistinct).
Nasypany: Toledo was—look for him. Hey, I need a track number.
Nasypany: Ok. Hey, Brian, ok, 2 Syracuse birds will be airborne in less than 20 minutes, any weapons?
[Background] Unknown: (Indistinct) near Pittsburg, mode 3, one five two seven.
Nasypany: We don’t know. Just press with that.
[Background] Unknown: We have any committed on the one aircraft with a bomb on it?
Nasypany: We’re gettin to it. We don’t know where it is, we’re gettin’ track on it.
Unknown: Pass that to weapons.
Nasypany: Yeah. Ok. Got it.
[Background] Unknown: United nine three, mode 3, one five two seven.
Nasypany: Negative, negative clearance to shoot.
Nasypany: Jaime?
[Background] Unknown: One five two seven Brian.
Nasypany: God dammit. Foxy?
Fox: I’m not really worried about code words (indistinct).
Nasypany: Fuck the code words. That’s perishable information. Negative clearance to fire. ID type, tail. Hey, let your guys know also.
As the news of a bomb on board United 93 spread throughout the floor, the NEADS air defenders searched for the primary radar target and the Mission Crew Commander tried to locate assets to scramble toward the plane. At approximately 10:11, the commander got on the phone with an Air National Guard Unit in Syracuse:
101145 NEADS discussion with Syracuse Cdr.mp3
NEADS Identification Technicians called Washington Center to provide a “heads up” to them about United 93, but Washington Center provided NEADS with startling new information on the flight:
101418 ZDC to NEADS UA93 is down.mp3
The time was 10:15 and the call was NEADS’ first notice that United 93 had crashed.[xxiv] The actual time of the crash was 10:03:11.
By 10:15, the NEADS air defenders knew that two aircraft had crashed into the World Trade Center, a third had crashed into the Pentagon, Delta 1989 had landed safely in Cleveland and was not a hijack, and United 93 had crashed in Pennsylvania.
The minutes after 10:15 were spent on the floor at NEADS attempting to mobilize other fighters from the eastern seaboard, and anticipating the arrival of Air Force Once in the Washington area. The Mission Crew Commander was notified at 10:25 that “Air Force One is airborne out of Florida heading to Washington. We’ve got those four F-15s coming out of Langley. They’re done rolling. Two of them will be diverted to escort at the appropriate time.” [xxv]
Then, at 10:32, the MCC Technician read information that had just come across the Chat Log from CONR in Florida:
103200 chat log shoot-down words.mp3
107. 103200 Chat Log Shootdown words
Floor Leadership: You need to read this. Region Commander has declared that we can shoot down tracks if they are not responding to our, uh, directions.
MCC Position: Ok. I’ll pass that to weapons.
Floor Leadership: Ok.
MCC Position: The Region Com, the Region Commander has declared that we can shoot down aircraft that do not respond to our direction. Copy that?
Weapons: Copy that sir.
MCC Position: So if you’re trying to divert somebody and he won’t divert—
Major Fox: D-O is saying no.
MCC Position: No? It came over the chat. Foxy, you got a conflict on that, you got a conflict on that direction?
Major Fox: Right now, no, but—
MCC Position: Ok.
Floor Leadership: Hey—
MCC Position: Ok.
Floor Leadership: You read that from the Vice President, right? The Vice President has cleared—
MCC Position: Vice President has cleared us to intercept tracks—
Floor Leadership: Of interest—
MCC Position: And shoot them down if they do not respond, per CONR CC.
The NEADS air defenders have expressed considerable confusion over the nature and effect of this order in interviews with Commission staff.[xxvi] Indeed, Colonel Marr indicated to staff that he actually believes he withheld the order from the floor for several minutes because he was unsure of its ramifications,[xxvii] while both the Mission Crew Commander and the Weapons Director indicated that they withheld the order from the pilots flying Combat Air Patrol over Washington, DC and New York City because they were unsure how the pilots would or should proceed with such an order.[xxviii] The Weapons Director [struggled with repeated requests from the pilots and controllers for clarification of the rules of engagement, but ultimately responded:]
1051 Currently at peace.mp3
1053 New direction coming down.mp3
1053 Boston track of interest.mp3
110. 1053 Boston track of interest
Panta One: Zulu five five thirty BRA seventeen thousand, flanking two eight zero.
Background: Goin' over Boston.
Controller: Yes.
Major Fox: If you have a track of interest—
Panta One: Panta's dropping a group, BRA, ah, zero six zero (indistinct).
Controller: Hold on, they're talkin' to me right now, just a second.
Controller: Panta, Huntress, stand by one.
Controller: Ok, ok, give me what you were talkin' about.
Background: (Indistinct) I need you to give me (indistinct).
Controller: Tell me what you need to tell me.
Controller: This is for Panta One, correct, they're capping over—
Major Fox: Yes.
Controller: Boston—ok, what.
Major Fox: Any track of interest that's headin' towards a major city you will ID, if you cannot diver them away from a major city, you are to confirm with me first, most likely you will get clearance to shoot.
Controller: And tell me, I have to tell them that in the clear?
Major Fox: You can tell them exactly in those words
Controller: Ok.
Background: (Indistinct).
Controller: Stand by. I gotta pass this right now.
Controller: Panta one, Huntress.
Panta One: Panta One
Controller: Panta one call all, all and any tracks of interest, verify if they were going toward a major city, mission ID, unsuccessful, divert, ask for our clearance to shoot.
1102 Controller asks for kill direction.mp3
111. 1102 Controller asks for kill direction
Controller: MCC, when able, ah, the kill direction, once again, I want it one more time before I tell these guys. I'm just gonna give them a brief. I'm not goin' to tell them to do nothin'. I'm gonna say what, what to expect, though.
[Background] Major Fox: Just, tell ‘em right now we have intercept authority only—
Cobra One: Huntress, Cobra One.
Controller: Stand by.
1103 Cleared to engage.mp3
112. 1103 Cleared to engage
Controller: I told them our mission is to protect major centers and we're goin' to take you and drag you down to Pittsburgh, and do this, because I got a tanker comin' now. But, ah, I just want to give them an ROE because it's gonna' be auto-ops once he's down there. So I want to make sure I got clear concise words to him before he leaves. Granted they only got four turrets of guns
[Background] Unknown: If they don't, ah, if they do not, don't respond to divert to hand signals and divert procedures and are headed toward a major area then you are cleared to engage.
Controller: Wilco.
Controller: Cobra and Apex, this is Huntress.
Cobra One: Huntress.
Huntress: Okay, there is still a bit of traffic airborne, they're not all completely down, I imagine it's all low south of you, if you'll hold two loops before the tanker gets, ah, Oh, shit, I need a check list.
Cobra One: Cobra Onecopies
Controller: OK, I have ah ROE instructions, are you ready to copy?
Cobra One. Stand by, Huntress.
Cobra One: This is, ah, Cobra One, go ahead.
Controller: Ok the, OK the direction ah protectin' the major centers, when you're overhead the major center, be it Pittsburgh in this case, you're, you have intercept authority on any traffic in the area. And if, if the traffic does not respond to, ah, hand signals, divert procedures, anything like that, and they continue to press in a threatening manner towards the major center, you're cleared to engage.
Cobra One: Cobra copies.
The shoot-down [authorization] order was the first official “rules of engagement” (ROE) of the morning to come down through the chain of command at DOD to NEADS. At virtually the same time, the Department of Defense elevated its alert status to DEFCON 3. This alert posture was suited more to a Cold War conflict than to al Qaeda’s attack. Nonetheless, the shift to an elevated alert status signified the reassertion of authority by the national command structure. The air defense of the United States – subsequently called operation “Noble Eagle” – had at last begun.
8.3 Commission Findings and Assessment
The operational facts of the military response to United 93, as reflected in the tapes and transcripts as corroborated by contemporaneous logs and witness interviews, contrast sharply with the official explanations of that response. The military did not receive notice that United 93 was a hijacking at 9:16, as reported to the Commission, in May 2003, by NORAD; that notice came at 10:07.
At 9:16, the MCC/T Log records: “United tail #N612UA/75 S0B/”[xxix] This tail number corresponds not with United 93 but with United 175, which had crashed into the World Trade Center. A corresponding conversation on the subpoenaed tapes confirms that at 9:16 NEADS was receiving confirmation of the tail number of the United 175 flight.[xxx]
Furthermore, at 9:16, the plane had not yet even been hijacked. In fact, the sounds of the initial struggle on board United 93 that resulted in its hijacking are not audible on the air traffic radio frequency in Cleveland Center until 9:28. As late as 9:25, moreover, according to FAA controller transcripts, the pilot of United 93 radioed in: “United ninety-three checking three-five-oh (35,000 feet).”
The “ground truth” revealed by the tapes, as corroborated by Commission staff, also belies the official version of the response to United 93 that is built on the early notification time. “Air War Over America,” for instance, the 1st Air Force’s official history of 9/11, offers the following accounts by two of the key NORAD participants:
(Colonel Robert Marr, NEADS Commander): “With all available alert fighters in the air, Marr and his crew were still faced with United Flight 93. The plane was headed west, so controllers began looking for any other fighter jets that might be nearby. `We don’t have fighters that way and we think he’s headed toward Detroit or Chicago,’ Marr says. `I’m thinking Chicago is the target and know that Selfridge Air National Guard Base (Mich.) has F-16s in the air. We contacted them so they could head 93 off at the pass. The idea is to get in there, close in on him and convince him to turn… As United Airlines Flight 93 was going out, we received the clearance to kill if need be. In fact, General Arnold’s words almost verbatim were: `We will take lives in the air to save lives on the ground.’” [xxxi]
(General Larry Arnold, CONR Commander): “…we watched the 93 track as it meandered around the Ohio-Pennsylvania area and started to turn south toward DC. By now the Pentagon has been hit and we have aircraft on orbit… They are now orbiting over Washington, DC, and have been for a while. As United 93 headed toward DC, the desire is to move the fighters toward that aircraft.”[xxxii]
The record demonstrates, however, that no-one at any level in NORAD (or DOD) ever “watched the 93 track” start to turn south toward DC. The only track that NEADS watched was the Delta 1989 track, which turned toward Cleveland. In fact, NORAD never saw United 93 at all. The Selfridge fighters were contacted not regarding United 93, but Delta 1989. Most important, NORAD certainly never “received the clearance to kill if need be” on United 93; indeed, as determined by Commission staff, as late as 10:10 the ROE orders given by the NEADS Mission Crew Commander were “negative clearance to shoot” regarding targets over Washington, DC.[xxxiii]
10. CONCLUSION
The primary source material from 9/11 – the contemporaneous logs, other records, and tapes obtained by the Commission largely through subpoena and set forth at length in this monograph – reveal a sequence of events that had never been made public prior to the Commission’s June 17, 2004 hearing. That sequence reveals that the military received hijack notification on American 11 nine minutes prior to its crash, and no hijack notification on any of the other flights prior to their crashes. The FAA’s failure to notify NORAD or NEADS on United 175 is explained by its preoccupation with American 11; its failure to notify NORAD or NEADS on American 77 is explained by its loss of radar and radio contact with the aircraft. More difficult to understand is the failure to notify the military or request assistance on United 93, when FAA headquarters knew about the hijacking within six minutes of its occurrence and twenty-nine minutes prior to its crash. See Summary Tables.
At 10:02 that morning, [with one of the Trade Center Towers having collapsed and the other in flames, with the Pentagon burning and confusion reigning at the highest levels of government and command, and with a desperate struggle taking place, unbeknownst to the military, in the skies over Pennsylvania,] an officer on the floor at NEADS was recorded observing, “This is a new type of war.”
New type of war.mp3
He was right. America’s air defense system was unprepared for the 9/11 attacks. FAA controllers and managers and the NEADS air defenders struggled, under difficult circumstances, to improvise a homeland defense against an unprecedented challenge they had never encountered and had never trained to meet.
[At the end of the day, however, although the decisions they had made that morning ran counter to the existing training and rules, and were made under the most intense pressure, the NORAD air defenders were well aware of the historical significance of those decisions. Prepared or not, they had ushered all of us into a new era.]
0911 National terrorist day.mp3
Cf. www.rutgerslawreview.com/2011/full-audio-transcript
Cf. http://www.rutgerslawreview.com/2011/a-new-type-of-war/
For the first time, the full audio recordings of communications between military and civilian air traffic controllers as they were dealing with the hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001, have been made public. The multimedia document, published by the Rutgers Law Review, provides a rare real-time look at how government agencies were responding as the hijacking of the four planes was unfolding.
"We have a problem here. We have hijacked aircraft headed towards New York and we need you guys to, we need someone to scramble some F-16s or something up here to help us out," a worker at Boston Center's Traffic Management Unit said at 8:37 a.m., according to the recordings. No planes had struck any targets yet.
The official on the other end of the line, unaware they were minutes away from witnessing firsthand the worst terror attack in U.S. history, asked if it was all a test.
"No, this is not an exercise, this is not a test," the worker said.
While some of the recordings had been played during the 9/11 Commission hearings in 2004, other parts had not been heard before they were transferred to the National Archives after the commission was shut down the same year.
Another portion showed the abject horror from officials as they witnessed United Flight 175 slamming into the World Trade Center.
"Hey, can you look out your window right now?... Can you see a guy at about 4,000 feet, about five East of the airport right now?... Do you see that guy -- look -- is he descending into the building also?" one official asks another. Seconds after the person on the other end of the line says yes to all the hurried questions, the plane explodes inside the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
"Wow. Another one just hit it hard. Another one just hit the World Trade," someone says in the background of the recording. "Oh my God."
The 9/11 Commission staff had started compiling the recordings and transcripts into the multimedia document released today but had not completed it in time to be released with the 9/11 Commission report.
Miles Kara, a retired Army colonel and investigator for the 9/11 Commission, aided by a team from the Rutgers School of Law whose dean is former 9/11 Commission Senior Counsel John Farmer, dug out the original electronic files and completed what commission staff called the "audio monograph".
According to the New York Times, which first reported on the release of these recordings, one key tape remains unreleased: the recording from the last half hour in the cockpit of United Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania instead of its intended target in Washington DC. Though it was played at the trial for one of the plotters, the families of the passengers who took on the hijackers requested the audio not be made public.
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