Shelter and Heating

Why consider shelter important? You never know what is going to happened just last week there was a 5.8 Earthquake in So. Cal about a month ago there was one in Japan over 6 on the Richter scale. It did not do a lot of structural damage, but it did displace some people. Parts of the Country are prone to flood, fire or tornado. Several times a year during the Spring and Winter people can not live in their homes because high winds blowing trees over, ice storms or any number of other things. Homes become uninhabitable because fire or loss of electric also. We talked last Saturday about getting your financial house in order. Now we need to look at our physical one in order.

Do you have a plan for what you will do? Do you have tools on hand to remove a fallen tree and material to temporally patch the roof? What will you do with your family and or pets?
Think about what you have available to you;
1. Do you have a ladder and gloves on hand?
2. Do you have a chainsaw or bow saw on hand?
3. Do you have tarps or building materials on hand?
None of this will help you if don’t have it on hand. You won’t be able to run to the hardware store and grab a tarp during the storm. It would not take much room to have this stuff available to you.
What is your plan if the electric goes out? If you have a electric stove, do you have an alternate way to cook and bake? What about your heater, does it require electric for the motor to run or to ignite the fuel, you won’t have heat or ac. If you don’t have heat, you will freeze, the pipes will freeze. If you don’t have ac, your better off, but you don’t want heat stroke. Without electric most modern phones won’t work, get an old non-electric one. Without electric you don’t pump water. With out electric you can’t open cans, unless you have a manual can opener.
Generator will solve some of those problems on a limited scale at least. But you still need to make the house habitable. So scrap plywood and tarps can be made to make a good temporary fix, once you remove the tree. What if it is a flood, do you have a means to pump out the basement it is filled with water? That is a lot of five gallon buckets. Do you even have some empty five-gallon buckets lying around?
Can you see anything around the yard you could drape a tarp over to keep the rain off you and your family? In a pinch the swing set in the yard, put a tarp or poly sheeting over it and weigh the ends down and you have a big tent. Do you have a shed, empty it and find shelter in it.
Think out side the box now, because if or when the time comes for you to need it, you will be under enough pressure, think about it now, before you have to.
Do you have camping gear? There is the best of the temporary solutions. Set up and camp in the back yard. Do you have a camper, set it up and use it.
Do you have a friends house you could go to, or a safe place to retreat to?
There are a lot of things that our homes provide that we take for granted. What will you do for sanitation? Most people in the city of suburbs need electric for the septic system to work right. What about light to read by or walk safely by, at night? We will cover all these topics later in future blogs.
Not trying to make a big production out of it this time like I said last week my plan is to just introduce you to the idea of what is needed now and go further into depth in later blogs.
About heating, not such a big deal unless it is cold outside. As i said a lot of homes when you don't have electricity you can't cook, heat water, heat your home or in some cases you can't get out (because of electric locks).
You need to consider how you will safely heat your home without elect, it seems every year we hear about some family asphyxiating themselves trying to use a grill indoors (http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-07032008-1558135.html). Carbon monoxide us a big deal and should be very careful with it. A regular gas grill will alleviate some of those concerns, like cooking and heating water. Just do it safely, do it away from the sides of the house. There are a lot of products in the stores that will heat safely, but again won't do you much good if they are on the stores shelves and not yours when you need them. Kerosene heaters are safe and good, propane heaters work well, a fireplace is ok but an insert in the fire place is better or a wood stove. That way you at least have a use for the tree that fell on the house, right? When you are trying to heat, try to block off several rooms, instead of trying to heat the whole house. Just keep in mind your pipes if you can, but in the end pipes can be fixed, but you and yours can't.

Here are the results of the last seven days for earthquakes (22 over 5.0)
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php

Floods
http://www.noaawatch.gov/floods.php

Forrest fires
http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm

Fire victims 'ran for our lives'
By Janet Kornblum, USA TODAY
MIDPINES, Calif. — When a wall of flames shot up a canyon and forced Steve and Linda Hakanson to run from their home of 20 years they barely had time to grab a few photos, clothes and some of their pets.
"We basically all ran for our lives," said Steve Hakanson, 58, a contractor newspaper distributor.
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wildfires/2008-07-31-wildfire_N.htm

Storm and Hurricane
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

We did not even talk about some of the ings that will make you evacuate, like Chemical spills or a problem at a nuclear reactor. Again just something to think about. This from FEMA

Evacuation Plans
When community evacuations become necessary, local officials provide information to the public through the media. In some circumstances, other warning methods, such as sirens or telephone calls, also are used. Additionally, there may be circumstances under which you and your family feel threatened or endangered and you need to leave your home, school, or workplace to avoid these situations.
The amount of time you have to leave will depend on the hazard. If the event is a weather condition, such as a hurricane that can be monitored, you might have a day or two to get ready. However, many disasters allow no time for people to gather even the most basic necessities, which is why planning ahead is essential.
Evacuation: More Common than You Realize
Evacuations are more common than many people realize. Hundreds of times each year, transportation and industrial accidents release harmful substances, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes. Fires and floods cause evacuations even more frequently. Almost every year, people along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts evacuate in the face of approaching hurricanes.
Ask local authorities about emergency evacuation routes and see if maps may are available with evacuation routes marked.
Evacuation Guidelines
Always:
If time permits:
Keep a full tank of gas in your car if an evacuation seems likely. Gas stations may be closed during emergencies and unable to pump gas during power outages. Plan to take one car per family to reduce congestion and delay.
Gather your disaster supplies kit.
Make transportation arrangements with friends or your local government if you donot own a car.
Wear sturdy shoes and clothingthat provides some protection,such as long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and a cap.
Listen to a battery-powered radio and follow local evacuation instructions.
Secure your home:Close and lock doors and windows.Unplug electrical equipment, such as radios and televisions, and small appliances, such as toasters and microwaves. Leave freezers and refrigerators plugged in unless there is a risk of flooding.
Gather your family and go if you are in- structed to evacuate immediately.
Let others know where you are going.
Leave early enough to avoid being trapped by severe weather.

Follow recommended evacuation routes. Do not take shortcuts; they may be blocked.

Be alert for washed-out roads and bridges. Do not drive into flooded areas.

Stay away from downed power lines.

Important DocumentsStore important documents such as insurance policies, deeds, property records, and other important papers in a safe place, such as a safety deposit box away from your home. Make copies of important documents

You need to have a plan to care for your pets and animals

If you evacuate your home, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PETS BEHIND! Pets most likely cannot survive on their own; and if by some remote chance they do, you may not be able to find them when you return.

Plan for Pet Disaster Needs
Identifying shelter. For public health reasons, many emergency shelters cannot accept pets. Find out which motels and hotels in the area you plan to evacuate to allow pets -- well in advance of needing them. There are also a number of guides that list hotels/motels that permit pets and could serve as a starting point. Include your local animal shelter's number in your list of emergency numbers -- they might be able to provide information concerning pets during a disaster.
Take pet food, bottled water, medications, veterinary records, cat litter/pan, can opener, food dishes, first aid kit and other supplies with you in case they're not available later. While the sun is still shining, consider packing a "pet survival" kit which could be easily deployed if disaster hits.
Make sure identification tags are up to date and securely fastened to your pet's collar. If possible, attach the address and/or phone number of your evacuation site. If your pet gets lost, his tag is his ticket home. Make sure you have a current photo of your pet for identification purposes.
Make sure you have a secure pet carrier, leash or harness for your pet so that if he panics, he can't escape.

Prepare to Shelter Your Pet
Call your local emergency management office, animal shelter, or animal control office to get advice and information.
If you are unable to return to your home right away, you may need to board your pet. Find out where pet boarding facilities are located. Be sure to research some outside your local area in case local facilities close.
Most boarding kennels, veterinarians and animal shelters will need your pet's medical records to make sure all vaccinations are current. Include copies in your "pet survival" kit along with a photo of your pet.
NOTE: Some animal shelters will provide temporary foster care for owned pets in times of disaster, but this should be considered only as a last resort.
If you have no alternative but to leave your pet at home, there are some precautions you must take, but remember that leaving your pet at home alone can place your animal in great danger! Confine your pet to a safe area inside -- NEVER leave your pet chained outside! Leave them loose inside your home with food and plenty of water. Remove the toilet tank lid, raise the seat and brace the bathroom door open so they can drink. Place a notice outside in a visible area, advising what pets are in the house and where they are located. Provide a phone number where you or a contact can be reached as well as the name and number of your vet.

During a Disaster
Bring your pets inside immediately.
Have newspapers on hand for sanitary purposes. Feed the animals moist or canned food so they will need less water to drink.
Animals have instincts about severe weather changes and will often isolate themselves if they are afraid. Bringing them inside early can stop them from running away. Never leave a pet outside or tied up during a storm.
Separate dogs and cats. Even if your dogs and cats normally get along, the anxiety of an emergency situation can cause pets to act irrationally. Keep small pets away from cats and dogs.
In an emergency, you may have to take your birds with you. Talk with your veterinarian or local pet store about special food dispensers that regulate the amount of food a bird is given. Make sure that the bird is caged and the cage is covered by a thin cloth or sheet to provide security and filtered light.

After a Disaster
If after a disaster you have to leave town, take your pets with you. Pets are unlikely to survive on their own.
In the first few days after the disaster, leash your pets when they go outside. Always maintain close contact. Familiar scents and landmarks may be altered and your pet may become confused and lost. Also, snakes and other dangerous animals may be brought into the area with flood areas. Downed power lines are a hazard.
The behavior of your pets may change after an emergency. Normally quiet and friendly pets may become aggressive or defensive. Watch animals closely. Leash dogs and place them in a fenced yard with access to shelter and water.

If you have large animals such as horses, cattle, sheep, goats, or pigs on your property, be sure to prepare before a disaster.
Preparation Guidelines:
Ensure all animals have some form of identification that will help facilitate their return.
Evacuate animals whenever possible. Arrangements for evacuation, including routes and host sites, should be made in advance. Alternate routes should be mapped out in case the planned route is inaccessible.
The evacuation sites should have or be able to readily obtain food, water, veterinary care, handling equipment and facilities.
Make available vehicles and trailers needed for transporting and supporting each type of animal. Also make available experienced handlers and drivers.Note: It is best to allow animals a chance to become accustomed to vehicular travel so they are less frightened and easier to move.
If evacuation is not possible, a decision must be made whether to move large animals to available shelter or turn them outside. This decision should be determined based on the type of disaster and the soundness and location of the shelter (structure).
Cold Weather Guidelines:
When temperatures plunge below zero, livestock producers need to give extra attention to their animals. Prevention is the key to dealing with hypothermia, frostbite and other cold weather injuries in livestock.
Making sure your livestock has the following help prevent cold-weather maladies:
Shelter
Plenty of dry bedding to insulate vulnerable udders, genitals and legs from the frozen ground and frigid winds.
Windbreaks to keep animals safe from frigid conditions.
Plenty of food and water
Also, take extra time to observe livestock, looking for early signs of disease and injury. Severe cold-weather injuries or death primarily occur in the very young or in animals that are already debilitated. Cases of coldweather-related sudden death in calves often result when cattle are suffering from undetected infection, particularly pneumonia. Sudden, unexplained livestock deaths and illnesses should be investigated quickly so that a cause can be identified and steps can be taken to protect remaining animals.
Animals suffering from frostbite don’t exhibit pain. It may be up to two weeks before the injury becomes evident as freeze-damaged tissue starts to slough away. At that point, the injury should be treated as an open wound and a veterinarian should be consulted.

Imaine enforsing the laws has effect on how many stay? Why did not we try this earilier, how about trying it everywhere?
Study: Illegal residents decline
Updated 7/30/2008 11:08 PM
By Emily Bazar, USA TODAY
The number of illegal immigrants in the USA has fallen sharply as state and federal officials intensify a crackdown on undocumented migrants and jobs grow scarce in the faltering economy, according to a report Wednesday by a group that advocates reduced immigration.
Using Census data, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) estimates that the illegal immigrant population dropped by 10% to 11.2 million from August 2007 through May.
"Illegal immigrants are responding to changing conditions and leaving the country in significant numbers," says Steven Camarota, director of research at CIS.
His study found that the number of legal immigrants rose from 26.6 million to 27.6 million over the same period.
"It doesn't seem like America is more unpleasant for immigrants," he says. "It seems more unpleasant for illegal immigrants."
Camarota acknowledges that the study has limitations. The Census may undercount immigrants, he says, and his estimate of illegal immigrants calculates that 80% of those people counted by the Census as foreign-born Hispanics ages 18 through 40 with a high school education or less are in the USA illegally.
Jeffrey Passel, a demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center, uses the same Census data in his work. Camarota's analysis "makes a lot of assumptions from what he's actually measuring to what he's concluding," Passel says. "I don't know if it's right or not."
The study says stepped-up enforcement is the primary reason for the exodus.
Pat Reilly, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, cites her agency's workplace raids, deportations and efforts to track down illegal immigrants with criminal records. Tougher enforcement "has made entering and staying in the United States illegally less attractive as the probability of being arrested and detained is greater than ever before," she says.
Groups that advocate for immigrants dispute the study's findings.
Angela Kelley, director of the Immigration Policy Center in Washington, D.C., says the illegal immigrant population is "nearly impossible" to measure. She faults the study for ignoring non-Hispanics.
She questions whether immigrants are leaving the USA or just moving from one place to another within the country to find work.
"Once folks have their roots here, it's very difficult to just go all the way back to their country," she says.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-07-30-immigration_N.htm


Some still rail over U.S. fence
Updated
670 MILES OF FENCE ALONG U.S.-MEXICO BORDER
By Emily Bazar, USA TODAY
McALLEN, Texas — Opponents of the U.S.-Mexican border fence in the Rio Grande Valley have launched a last-ditch volley of lawsuits to stop construction of the barrier, which began Sunday.
Mayors, environmentalists, landowners and shopkeepers say the fence will destroy plant and animal species, hurt the local economy and encroach on private property.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), rushing to meet a Dec. 31 congressional deadline, argues it will keep out illegal immigrants, drug runners and terrorists.
On Thursday, the University of Texas-Brownsville and Texas Southmost College settled its legal battles with DHS. The department agreed not to condemn any university land or build fencing on campus. The university pledged to raise the height of existing fencing and install cameras and other devices.
Opponents say the fence won't stop people who are determined to cross. In a region linked with Mexico through family and economic ties, they say, the fence sends a message that Mexicans, including those who enter legally, aren't welcome.
"The fence is already taking its toll," says Monica Weisberg-Stewart, owner of Gilberto's Discount House here. She says about 60% of her customers are Mexicans. Many have told her that they feel insulted by the fence.
"My customers say, 'We think twice now whether to come,' " she says.
At stake: Balancing security, economic links
Weisberg-Stewart is part of the Texas Border Coalition, a group of communities, judges and others who sued the government. The suit argues in part that officials failed to negotiate with landowners as required when acquiring land.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says his department followed the law and has taken pains to consult voluntarily with landowners in more than 100 meetings and contacts with more than 600 property owners.
He says, however, that DHS must balance negotiations with deadlines. "We know the smugglers are not going to pause while we sort out all the varying viewpoints," he says.
"We have a right as a country to determine who gets admitted and who doesn't," Chertoff says. "We have to have the tools in place to let the Border Patrol do the job."
Congress ordered DHS to build 670 miles of fence along the 2,000-mile border by the end of this year. As of July 11, it had finished 335 miles.
About 70 miles will be in the Rio Grande Valley.
The entire border will not be fenced. Fencing is intended to deter or slow illegal crossers, so it will go where agents need more time to catch them, says Ronald Vitiello, chief of the Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley sector. It will be used in conjunction with technology such as night-vision cameras and ground sensors.
McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez shares Weisberg-Stewart's concern that the fence alienates legal visitors and hurts the economy. He says 36% of all city sales are made to Mexicans.
Cortez says the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency doesn't need the fence because it has other means of control, such as clearing riverbanks of brush so agents can spot people crossing. "What American doesn't want" secure borders? he asks.
Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates less immigration, questions Cortez's argument. "It's simply not plausible to say you favor border enforcement and then oppose all of the actual steps needed to have the border enforced," he says.
'I don't want money'
An Associated Press-Ipsos poll in March found Americans split: 49% supported the fence and 48% opposed it.
In June, environmental groups joined the city and county of El Paso, a Native American tribe and others to file a lawsuit challenging Chertoff's waiver of environmental and land management laws to speed construction. In part, the suit says the waivers violated the Constitution because they are not subject to judicial review. The Supreme Court declined to hear a similar case.
Frontera Audubon, an environmental group, is a plaintiff. Executive Director Wayne Bartholomew says the valley is home to a delicate ecosystem that exists nowhere else in the country. Endangered and threatened species such as ocelots live there.
Development, farming and other pressures mean only 5% of the original ecosystem remains, he says, and the fence would further fragment it.
About 25 miles west of here, Aleida Flores Garcia, 48, owns 30 acres in Los Ebanos, home to the last hand-operated ferry on the Rio Grande that shuttles passengers to and from Mexico.
She and her husband, Jorge Garcia, 43, have built the property into La Paloma Ranch Retreat. They built a boat ramp and put in picnic tables and playground equipment. They host fishing derbies.
They planned cabins, but Garcia realized the fence would cut off about 25 acres. The government tells her she'd still have access to most of it through a gate.
The government offered Garcia $8,800 for the land it needs. Garcia won't sell and has received a letter of condemnation. She plans to fight in court. "I don't want money," she says. "The sentimental value is worth a lot more."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-07-31-borderfence_N.htm

Saudi religious police ban pet cats and dogs
Wed Jul 30, 9:43 AM ET
RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi Arabia's religious police have announced a ban on selling cats and dogs as pets, or walking them in public in the Saudi capital, because of men using them as a means of making passes at women, an official said on Wednesday.
Othman al-Othman, head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Riyadh, known as the Muttawa, told the Saudi edition of al-Hayat daily that the commission has started enforcing an old religious edict.
He said the commission was implementing a decision taken a month ago by the acting governor of the capital, Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz, adding that it follows an old edict issued by the supreme council of Saudi scholars.
The reason behind reinforcing the edict now was a rising fashion among some men using pets in public "to make passes on women and disturb families," he said, without giving more details.
Othman said that the commission has instructed its offices in the capital to tell pet shops "to stop selling cats and dogs".
The 5,000-strong religious police oversees the adherence to Wahabism -- a strict version of Sunni Islam, which also forces women to cover from head to toe when in public, and bans them from driving.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080730/wl_mideast_afp/saudireligionanimaloffbeat

Couch Potatoes Rejoice: Scientists Say 'Exercise in a Pill' Possible to Fight Obesity, Diabetes
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Here's a couch potato's dream: What if a drug could help you gain some of the benefits of exercise without working up a sweat? Scientists reported Thursday that there is such a drug — if you happen to be a mouse. Sedentary mice that took the drug for four weeks burned more calories and had less fat than untreated mice. And when tested on a treadmill, they could run about 44 percent farther and 23 percent longer than untreated mice. Just how well those results might translate to people is an open question. But someday, researchers say, such a drug might help treat obesity, diabetes and people with medical conditions that keep them from exercising. "We have exercise in a pill," said Ron Evans, an author of the study. "With no exercise, you can take a drug and chemically mimic it." Evans, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute reports the work with colleagues in a paper published online Thursday by the journal Cell. They also report that in mice that did exercise training, a second drug made their workout much more effective at boosting endurance. After a month of taking that drug and exercising, mice could run 68 percent longer and 70 percent farther than other mice that exercised but didn't get the drug. Both drugs have been studied by researchers for other uses. The no-exercise drug is in advanced human testing to see if it can prevent a complication of heart bypass surgery. Evans noted the drugs might prove irresistible for professional athletes who seek an illegal edge. He said his team has developed detection tests for use by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Evans said he has no financial interest in either drug or the test. Resveratrol, a substance being studied for anti-aging effects, has also been reported to enable mice to run farther before exhaustion without exercise training. But the drugs in the new study appear to act more specifically on a process in muscles that boosts endurance, the researchers said. Still, it takes more than just altered muscles to turn a sedentary mouse into a distance runner, Evans said, and "honestly, I just don't know how that happens. Whether it would happen in a person, I don't know. I think it's a small miracle it happened at all." In fact, Evans said that when the experiment with sedentary mice was suggested by an outside scientist who was reviewing the lab's research, "I didn't think it was going to work." The no-exercise drug is called AICAR. Previous experiments suggest that it might protect against gaining weight on a high-fat diet, which might make it useful for treating obesity, Evans said. But it would have to be taken for a long time, he said, so its safety in people would have to be assured. Experts who study muscle agreed that a drug like AICAR may prove useful someday in treating obesity and diabetes. Many drug companies are working on such drugs in diabetes because in animals, AICAR stimulates muscles to remove sugar from the blood, noted Laurie Goodyear of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. People who can't exercise because of a medical condition like joint pain or heart failure might also benefit from such a drug, experts said. But Eric Hoffman of the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., noted that AICAR mimics only aerobic exercise, not the strength training that might be more useful to bedridden people or the elderly, for example. He also cautioned that it's not clear whether the new mouse results can be reproduced in people. Goodyear said exercise has such widespread benefits in the body that she doubts any one pill will ever be able to supply all of them. "For the majority of people," she said, "it would be better to do exercise than to take a pill."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,395321,00.html

One third of British Muslim students say it's acceptable to kill for Islam
By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 9:13 AM on 28th July Nearly one third of Muslim students believe it can be acceptable to kill in the name of religion, according to a survey published yesterday.
It also found that 40 per cent want to see the introduction of Islamic sharia law in Britain, 40 per cent think it wrong for Muslim men and women to mix freely together, and 33 per cent want to see a worldwide Islamic government based on sharia law.
The findings were described by researchers at the Centre for Social Cohesion think tank, which commissioned the poll, as 'deeply alarming'.
But a prominent Muslim student group called the report 'weak and unrepresentative' and said it undermined 'positive work carried out by Islamic societies'.
The Centre for Social Cohesion, founded last year to study religion and tolerance, has drawn attention to the extremist influence of Islamic societies and study centres at British universities.
The survey was based on a YouGov poll of 1,400 students, 600 of them Muslims, at 12 universities with influential Islamic societies.
These included eight in London, among them the London School of Economics, Imperial College, and the School of Oriental and African Studies, and the universities of Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester and Manchester.
It found that a large minority of Muslim students express views that are strongly socially conservative or which suggest they are open to extremist thinking.
While 32 per cent justified killing in the name of religion if the religion was under attack, 60 per cent of students active in Islamic societies did so. Four per cent thought killing to promote religion was permissible.
More than half, 54 per cent, wanted an Islamic political party to stand up for Muslims at Westminster.
There was strong criticism of the British Government over Iraq - 66 per cent of Muslim students said they had lost respect for it.
But 30 per cent of Muslim students said their respect for British society had grown because of the negative public reaction to the Iraq war.
Report author Hannah Stuart said: 'These findings are deeply alarming. Students in higher education are the future leaders of their communities, yet significant numbers of them appear to hold beliefs which contravene liberal, democratic values.
'These results are deeply embarrassing for those who have said that there is no extremism in British universities.'
Miss Stewart also said that ministers should be wary about treating university Islamic societies as representative because their members appeared to be more extreme than other Muslim students.
The Federation of Student Islamic Societies called the survey mischievous.
Its president Faisal Hanjra said: 'This is yet another damning attack on the Muslim community by elements within the academic arena whose only purpose seems to be the undermining of sincere efforts by mainstream Muslim organisations to tackle the threat of terror which wider society faces.
'The report is methodologically weak, it is unrepresentative and above all serves only to undermine the positive work carried out by Islamic societies across the country.'
Concerns over extremism among the 90,000 Muslims studying at British universities have grown alongside the spread of radical groups, including the Hizb ut-Tahrir organisation which Tony Blair said in 2005 should be banned.
Terrorists who have passed through British universities include Kafeel Ahmed, who died after driving a burning vehicle into a Glasgow airport terminal last year, and Jawad Akbar, jailed for life in April 2007 for conspiring to attack shopping malls and nightclubs. He was said to have become involved in militancy while a student at Brunel University.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1038953/One-British-Muslim-students-say-acceptable-kill-Islam.html

Web jihadist employed by federal contractorCommunications worker says dead GIs 'bring great happiness to me'
Posted: July 27, 20087:33 pm Eastern© 2008 WorldNetDaily
A young American Muslim has been employed by a federal contractor while running a radical website promoting al-Qaida.
Until just last week, 22-year-old Samir Khan worked at the Charlotte, N.C., branch of Convergys Corp., which in March was awarded part of a $2.5 billion federal contract to set up emergency communications centers in the event of terrorist attacks and other national disasters.
The company and Khan parted ways after a local news crew showed up at his office to interview him about his jihadist website, which features graphic photos of dead U.S. soldiers and praise for al-Qaida leaders and terrorists, who he calls "martyrdom bombers."
In one photo posted on his site, American soldiers are shown in a plane heading to Iraq above the caption, "Here they come." A second photo posted below it shows flag-draped coffins aboard a U.S. military plane with the words, "And here they go."
Khan, a Saudi immigrant, says the U.S. is losing the war on terror, while "the Muslims are winning." He says video he posted recently of "the mujahideen" blowing up a U.S. outpost in Iraq "brought great happiness to me."
He shows no remorse even for relatives of dead American troops grieving back home.
"I have no concern," he told the New York Times in a video-streamed interview. "If they moan and groan and cry, it's not going to change a thing."
"They are the people of the Hellfire," he added. "Every disbeliever will go to Hellfire."
Khan claims the 9/11 attacks, which he replays on his website, were justified under Islamic jihad.
"Osama bin Laden did September 11th because it was an act of retaliation," he says on his site, emphasizing the word "retaliation."
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A U.S. citizen, Khan says his website is protected free speech. He also says he is not recruiting terrorists or soliciting violence. "I'm not telling people how to build bombs."
Officials, however, say the FBI has been closely monitoring his English-language site, "The Ignored Puzzle Pieces of Knowledge," which is hosted from Amman, Jordan.
Terror experts warn that Khan, who speaks fluent English, is helping al-Qaida in its new push to recruit English-speaking American converts to Islam to carry out attacks on the homeland.
Through watchlists, counter-surveillance and security profiling, the U.S. and European authorities have been able to disrupt al-Qaida plots using Arab and Pakistani Muslims. In response, the terror network is trying to lower its Arab profile.
A recent report by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee states, "Over the last year, al-Qaida also made a tactical decision to increase its production of online propaganda and make more of it accessible to English-speaking audiences,"
The report adds that the group has sought out English translators.
Experts say Khan's site, which includes anti-Semitic rants, is unique because it is written in English and makes al-Qaida propaganda accessible to an American audience. They say the site is popular among young, homegrown jihadists, whose numbers are growing thanks to the virtual training and chat rooms that such Internet sites provide.
The trend worries members of Congress such as N.C. Rep. Sue Myrick, who co-chairs the House Anti-Terrorism Caucus and is aware of Khan's activities in her district.
"They are using the Internet for training, al-Qaida is," she said. "They're telling people how to do everything they want them to do. They're recruting people on the Internet."
Khan's former employer Convergys told WBTV News in Charlotte that Khan did not work on a government program but declined to specify what his job duties were during his employment there.
It's not clear how the Cincinnati-based company overlooked his radical ties in its hiring process. Khan has been in the national news since at least October 2007, when the New York Times first ran a feature on "The Internet Jihadi." Since then, Fox News and other major media have covered the story.
Khan, who was born Samir Ibn Zafar Khan in December 1985 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is short and stocky, with a sparse beard, long hair and glasses. He lives with his parents in an upscale house in Charlotte.
Khan's father, Zafar, is a member of the Islamic Center of Charlotte and gives lectures there. Guest speakers at the mosque have included radical cleric Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=70671

Wider Antiterror Role for Elite Forces Rejected
By THOM SHANKER
Published: May 21, 2008
WASHINGTON — The military’s elite Special Operations Command has quietly stepped back from a controversial plan that gave it the authority to carry out secret counterterrorism missions on its own around the world.
The decision culminates four years of misgivings within the military that the command, with its expertise in commando missions and unconventional war, would use its broader mandate too aggressively, by carrying out operations that had not been reviewed or approved by the regional commanders.
A new Special Operations commander, Adm. Eric T. Olson of the Navy Seals, has now said publicly that he intends to play a different role, and will instead continue the command’s new mission as coordinator of the military’s counterterrorism efforts around the world.
The shift reverses what Donald H. Rumsfeld put in place as defense secretary in 2004, when he said he wanted the Special Operations Command, based in Tampa, Fla., to operate unilaterally; he believed that it would be more aggressive in hunting down terrorists than the regional commanders, who are tied most closely to conventional forces.
Roger D. Carstens, a 20-year veteran of Special Operations missions who is now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington policy institute, said the Special Operations Command finally “came to the conclusion that its role is not to be that of a global Lone Ranger who shows up at the last second to dispatch the bad guys.”
“That just can’t be done,” Mr. Carstens said, “or rather it should not be done.”
The change is the latest rejection of initiatives that Mr. Rumsfeld set forth during almost six years as defense secretary, before stepping down in 2006. His successor, Robert M. Gates, has increased the size of the ground forces, a move Mr. Rumsfeld resisted; signed off on a plan to keep more troops in Europe than Mr. Rumsfeld had envisioned; and called for future budgets to focus on the weapons needed to fight insurgents and terrorists today, rather than on investments in next-generation technology advocated by Mr. Rumsfeld.
Mr. Gates, a former director of central intelligence, has also reined in some Pentagon intelligence operations and has otherwise sought to ease tensions caused by what intelligence officials saw as Mr. Rumsfeld’s attempts to give the Pentagon a more dominant role in American spying efforts.
It is not known how Mr. Gates views the decision by the Special Operations Command to back away from Mr. Rumsfeld’s view of its role. Mr. Gates has not discussed it publicly, and senior aides said they were not privy to his thinking on the matter.
But senior Pentagon and military officers made clear that the Special Operations Command was not independently carrying out its own secret counterterrorism missions, but was instead coordinating counterterrorism planning across the military, as well as fulfilling its traditional role of training and equipping Special Operations forces for the armed services.
Mr. Rumsfeld outlined his views in 2004 by advocating what was known as a new Unified Command Plan, one that would have shifted the center of gravity within the military. It declared that the Special Operations Command “leads, plans, synchronizes, and as directed, executes global operations against terrorist networks.” He stressed that his reorganization was intended to permit the command to send out its own small teams to capture or kill terrorists.
But Admiral Olson used a speech in March to the Center for a New American Security to register disagreement with that approach. “There was some sense that from our headquarters in Tampa we were in the business of directing specific activities that were really in the area of operations of other commanders, and we really don’t do that,” he said in the speech. He initially spoke off the record, but under an agreement with his command, the policy institute later posted his remarks on its Web site, http://www.cnas.org/. “What we really do is, we synchronize plans and planning in the global war on terror,” he added.
Counterterrorism missions continue to be carried out under regional commanders, Admiral Olson said. Officers at the Special Operations Command, he said, “receive the plans, review the plans, coordinate the plans, deconflict them.” He also said the command made recommendations to the Joint Chiefs and the defense secretary “on how resources ought to be allocated around the world to match the demands of the global war on terror.”
Senior officials familiar with the admiral’s thinking say his comments reflect the same deliberate approach that his predecessors have adopted in interpreting Mr. Rumsfeld’s directive, and they say it is in keeping with the instruction that the Special Operations Command carry out its own missions only when first directed by the president or the defense secretary. Senior officials said that such missions had rarely, if ever, actually happened.
Mr. Carstens, of the Center for a New American Security, said that when the Unified Command Plan was first approved by Mr. Rumsfeld, many people thought the Special Operations Command would conduct military operations regardless of whether regional commanders had approved the missions. He said the Rumsfeld vision had been rejected. “It is not what we thought it was going to be when we first received the authority,” Mr. Carstens said. The way missions are carried out today, he added, “is not much different than what we have always done.”
In many ways, Mr. Rumsfeld’s goals for the Special Operations Command are being carried out by a subordinate unit, the Joint Special Operations Command.
That command is in charge of the armed forces’ most secretive counterterrorism units, and is credited with capturing or killing many of the most wanted terrorist or insurgent leaders, including Saddam Hussein. This elite command operates in full coordination with the regional commanders in the Middle East, East Asia and other parts of the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/washington/21military.html?_r=3&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

I'll stating a series about American Terrorists, this time is the source is Wikipedia, It is interesting how i forget about things sometimes and need to be reminded.

The Buffalo Six (also known as Lackawanna Six, Lakawanna Cell, or Buffalo Cell) is a group of six Yemeni-Americans who were convicted of providing material support to al-Qaeda. The six are American citizens by birth.
Their Background
They traveled to Afghanistan in spring 2001, before the September 11, 2001 attacks, while the country was still ruled by the Taliban, who were then giving sanctuary to Osama bin Laden, who in turn used it as a base for al-Qaeda training.[1] The group visited what later became known in the American media as the "al-Farooq terrorist training camp."[2]
In the late summer of 2002, one of the members, Muktar al-Bakri, sent an e-mail in which he described an upcoming wedding and another in which he mentioned a "big meal". In the past the word "wedding" had been used as a code for a terrorist attack and "big meal" as code for an explosive.[citation needed] The CIA, who were monitoring him, sounded the alarm and al-Bakri was arrested by Bahrainian police, just before the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York[3]. Upon arrest al-Bakri told the FBI he had overheard talk of an attack and had used code because he was afraid Al-Qaeda were monitoring his e-mail.
The other five were arrested in Lackawanna, New York, a city adjacent to Buffalo, New York in September 2002. On September 14, 2002, the FBI held a press conference in Buffalo to announce the arrests of five of the local al-Qaeda suspects. The FBI Special Agent in charge of the investigation, Peter Ahearn, stated that there was no specific event triggering the arrests, which followed four to eight months of investigations.[2]. Later, FBI counterterrorism chief Dale Watson told The New York Times that the bureau's response was that "we are probably 99 percent sure that we can make sure these guys don't do something - if they are planning to do something." Watson paraphrased the President's response as that "under the rules that we were playing under at the time, that's not acceptable. So a conscious decision was made, 'Let's get 'em out of here'"[3].
Investigators found a rifle, a telescopic sight, and a cassette tape in Al-Bakri's house. Investigators say that when played, the tape "asks Allah to give Jews and their enablers (U.S.) a black day."
Their Sentence
All six pleaded guilty in court to terrorism related charges. They were Mukhtar Al-Bakri, Sahim Alwan, Faysal Galab, Shafal Mosed, Yaseinn Taher, and Yahya Goba.
Yahya Goba and Mukhtar al-Bakri received ten-year prison sentences. Yaseinn Taher and Shafal Mosed received eight-year prison sentences. Sahim Alwan received a nine and a half year sentence. All sentences were for single counts of "providing support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization". In discussing the plea bargain agreements, US prosecutors commented the defendants had cooperated with federal terrorism investigators, providing detailed information on Al-Qaeda membership, training, and methods.
Information was gained from Wikipedia

Here is a year old story about one of them also from FOX news

American Terrorist Threatens U.S. in New Al Qaeda Video
CAIRO, Egypt — An American member of Al Qaeda threatened foreign diplomats and embassies in the Islamic world calling them "spy dens" in the terror network's latest video released Sunday.
The 1 hour, 17 minute-long video also featured a computer animated recreation of a March 2006 suicide attack that killed U.S. diplomat David Foy in Karachi, Pakistan and testimony from a man who claimed to be the bomber.
"We shall continue to target you, at home and abroad, just as you target us, at home and abroad, and these spy dens and military command and control centers from which you plotted your aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq," said Adam Gadahn, also known as Azzan al-Amriki.
Click here to watch the video.
The California-born Gadahn was charged with treason in the U.S. last fall and has been wanted since 2004 by the FBI, which is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction. He last appeared in a video in May threatening the United States with an attack worse than Sept. 11, 2001.
The authenticity of the video, which was first carried on the Web site of terrorism expert Laura Mansfield, could not be independently confirmed but it featured the logo of Al Qaeda's media production house, as-Sahab.
The U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group also said it had obtained a copy of the video. Militant Web forums have been announcing the imminent arrival of a new video featuring Gadahn for days.
In the video, Gadahn is seen wearing a traditional Arab red-and-white checkered scarf, and he spoke in English with Arabic subtitles. It was not known when his footage was filmed, because he did not describe any recent specific events.
"Years of bitter trial and experience have revealed the danger (embassies) pose and shown that the only way to deal with them when they refuse to leave of their own accord is to expel them by force," Gadahn said.
The Al Qaeda message also focused on the testimony of suicide bomber Abu Othman, who was shown sitting in a leafy shaded garden explaining how he had once fought in Afghanistan and his reasons for going on jihad, or holy war, against the United States.
"These embassies are used to spread moral degradation and encourage women to display themselves and wear make up," said Othman. "They also promote adultery and drinking."
"I joined the jihad but then my father came and took me home, but I convinced my parents about the blessings of jihad and they let me return and fight," he added.
Othman was shown helping to wire his white compact car with explosives and at the end of the video, he hugged his friends goodbye before driving off into the night to carry out his mission.
Al Qaeda's No. 2, Ayman Zawahri, also appeared on the video praising Othman's decision and he outlined the crimes of Western countries against the Islamic world, showing images of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as mosques being destroyed.
The March 2006 attack that killed Foy, which was claimed by Al Qaeda, also killed three Pakistanis and wounded about 50 others. It happened a day before U.S. President George W. Bush's made an official visit to Pakistan.
Pakistani security officials had identified the suicide bomber as Raja Tahir. It was not immediately known if Tahir was the same person who appeared in the video.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292167,00.html


Fairfax stuck in middle of Saudi Academy dispute July 31, 2008 - 7:19am
Hank Silverberg, WTOP Radio
FAIRFAX, Va. - Local politicians say the U.S. State Department is dragging its feet over the controversy surrounding a local religious school run by the Saudi Arabian government.
The Islamic Saudi Academy has come under scrutiny after a federal commission said some of the textbooks being used promoted violence and intolerance. After waiting for the State Department to act, Fairfax County has now put itself in the middle of the dispute after renewing the school's facilities lease.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly says the county couldn't say no to the school without State Department guidance.
"That lease should have been, and should still now be reviewed by the Department of State. Local government can't bear that responsibility," Connolly says.
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., says new research places the school under diplomatic rules.
"(The Academy's) characteristics certainly give the secretary a strong basis for concluding that it's got to be dealt with. The State Department has jurisdiction, the Saudi Ambassador is chairman of the school," Wolf says
A State Department spokesman says the department expects revisions to the controversial texts in time for the new school year.
http://wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1451178

Saudi school director enters plea in abuse case July 30, 2008 - 3:49pm
FAIRFAX, Va. - The director of a Saudi-funded Islamic school in northern Virginia accused of promoting religious hatred has pleaded guilty to failing to report suspected child abuse.
Abdalla Al-Shabnan, director of the Islamic Saudi Academy, was fined $500 after pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor count alleging that he failed to inform authorities about suspected sexual abuse of a 5-year-old girl who attended the school.
Prosecutors dropped an obstruction of justice charge.
A federal commission reported last month that the school's textbooks promote intolerance and teach that it is permissible for Muslims to kill adulterers and those who convert from Islam. The school denies the allegations.
http://wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1406704

Up date on the effects of Heller VS DC
Chicago suburb ends gun ban after D.C. ruling
Morton Grove first to outlaw possession in '81
Friday, August 1, 2008 MORTON GROVE, Ill. (AP) In 1981, this quiet northern Chicago suburb made history by becoming the first municipality in the nation to ban the possession of handguns.
Twenty-seven years later, Morton Grove has repealed its law, bowing to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that affirmed homeowners' rights to keep guns for self-defense.
It's one of several Illinois communities - reluctant to spend money on legal fights - rushing to repeal their gun bans after the court struck down a D.C. ban, even as cities such as Chicago and San Francisco stand firm.
Mayor Richard Krier acknowledges Morton Grove's place in history, but he said that didn't affect the village board's 5-1 decision Monday to amend its ordinance to allow the possession of handguns. The village still bans the sale of guns.
"There hasn't been any pressure" to keep the ban, Mr. Krier said, noting that the village's ordinance has been under scrutiny since the Supreme Court agreed to hear the D.C. case. He also pointed out that the mostly residential village has never had a big problem with gun crime.
Though Morton Grove's gun ban is five years younger than Washington's, it's considered the first in the country because the village is a municipality, whereas Washington is a federal district.
Gun rights advocates hailed the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision affirming that individuals have a right to own guns and keep them in their homes for self-defense.
The National Rifle Association and others carried their enthusiasm straight to federal court, suing the city of Chicago and Mayor Richard Daley, a vocal supporter of gun control, and the Chicago suburbs of Morton Grove, Evanston and Oak Park.
Wilmette, another northern Chicago suburb, voted to repeal its ban. Officials there said they think they weren't sued by the NRA because the village stopped enforcing its 1989 ban after the high court ruling.
"In my mind we had to repeal," said Wilmette Village President Chris Canning, who is also a lawyer. "I knew that our ordinance would not survive constitutional scrutiny."
Todd Vandermyde, an NRA lobbyist in Illinois, said communities working to repeal their gun bans simply see the handwriting on the wall.
"Some communities are truly seeing what is contained in the Supreme Court decision, and they're reacting appropriately," he said.
"Others want to spend taxpayer money on some Don Quixote-type quest," he said, referring to Chicago, whose lawyers insist the city's ban will withstand any legal challenges.
"We have no plans to amend our ordinance at this time," said Jennifer Hoyle, spokeswoman for Chicago's law department, noting that the ordinance has survived three previous court challenges. "We're prepared to take this fight to the Supreme Court if necessary."
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said last month that his city would "vigorously fight the NRA" and defended the ban as good for public safety.
Even Washington has remained defiant, quickly enacting gun regulations that advocates say are still among the strictest in the country.
Gun control advocates say communities should not rush into repealing gun bans, arguing that if Chicago and San Francisco win in court, bans elsewhere would be protected.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/01/chicago-suburb-ends-gun-ban-after-dc-ruling/

Well the DOW was up 180 points and oil went up 5 buck, watch for the spike in prices at the pump. It is amazing how quick the prices go up and how slow they come back down. But i guess that is just me.

Update on the Samonella thing. It is a good short article and it has a time line which is helpful if you don't remember the whole thing

FDA: Salmonella tracked to Mexican farm
WASINGTON (AP) — The salmonella strain linked to an outbreak of the disease in the USA has been found in irrigation water and a serrano pepper at a Mexican farm, U.S. government health officials said Wednesday.
Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food safety chief, called the finding a key breakthrough in the case, as did another health official.
"We have a smoking gun, it appears," said Dr. Lonnie King who directs the center for foodborne illnesses at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Acheson said the farm is in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Previously, the FDA had traced a contaminated jalapeno pepper to a farm in another part of Mexico.
Acheson and other officials were questioned at a congressional hearing about why the investigation originally focused on tomatoes.
The officials insisted that tomatoes still cannot be ruled out and that it is quite possible that the outbreak was caused by several different kinds of contaminated produce.
The outbreak has sickened more than 1,300 people since April.
Tomatoes had been the prime suspect in the U.S. outbreak for weeks. But last week, the FDA said only jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico were implicated in the U.S. salmonella outbreak. The FDA said then it had found the same strain of salmonella responsible for the outbreak on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno in a south Texas produce warehouse.
If it turns out the tainted irrigation water was also used on tomatoes, it could provide some of the evidence that federal authorities are looking for to back their original focus on the fruit.

OUTBREAK TIMELINE
April 10: Officials confirm first salmonella saintpaul case in this outbreak.
June 3: FDA warns consumers in New Mexico and Texas not to eat certain types of raw red tomatoes.
June 7: FDA warns consumers nationwide not to eat certain types of raw red tomatoes.
July 17: FDA lifts warning about tomatoes.
July 21: FDA finds outbreak strain of salmonella saintpaul on a jalapeno pepper from Agricola Zaragoza Inc. of McAllen, Texas.
July 25: FDA tells consumers that U.S.-grown jalapeno and serrano peppers are not connected to the outbreak.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-07-30-salmonella-mexico_N.htm

I'm sorry about this one, well no i'm not it is the real world. As you can see from the header of my blog, what i think about it. I could literally fill it with nothing but missing and abused kids and other sick stories. I'm trying not to do it. Every once and a while i'll do one like this just bear with me. The first story is just one that is hard to believe, why they are still in jail and the crooks and criminals are free. But like my old Pastor used to say, "if it does not make sense, then there is a buck in it somewhere". The others are about abuse of children. We are all about "for the children, for the children" but people abuse them physically and use them. It makes me sick. So here goes




Glenn Beck: Ramos & Compean - The Whole Story
July 29, 2008 - 12:43 ET
Border Patrol Fundraiser Shirt ***All of Glenn's proceeds from the sale of this shirt will be donated to a legal defense fund for Agents Ramos and Compean.***
GLENN: We've added a lot of new stations and, you know, a lot of new people that, you know, are just, they stumbled in, they might have been drunk and the radio stuck on this station and then they're like, I can't turn it off now; I don't know what happened. And so now they're forced to listen. So there's a lot of people in the audience that doesn't -- they're not really even aware of some of the things that we have discovered on the Compean and Ramos case. These are the two border agents that were thrown in jail for what it looked like shooting somebody in the back or in the butt as they were running away, just this poor helpless victim and then trying to cover it up. That's what it looks like. That's what the government would like to have you believe. That is not the case. We go to Tara Setmayer who has been on this case now for how long, Tara? Two years? SETMAYER: Almost two years, yeah.

GLENN: And you and your illustrious boss in Washington have been on this case trying to set this right and so far you're beating your head against the wall. Let's start with the story, and if we could tell the story here in a five minute period here as much as you can, tell everybody the history of this case.
SETMAYER: Well, in February 2005 Ramos and Compean were on routine patrol down in Fabens, Texas along the border. A drug smuggler was detected -- well, they didn't know he was smuggling drugs yet. A border breach was detected by Compean, he radioed it in. They gave chase to a van, started to speed back toward the border. The individual, which is Aldrete Davila, he abandoned the van and decided to head for the border on foot. At the time other border patrol agents joined the pursuit and the drug smuggler confronted Compean on the other side of a drainage ditch on his way back to Mexico. At the time Compean tried to arrest him, he tried to apprehend him, they got into a scuffle and shots were fired. In the meantime Ramos is climbing down this drainage ditch to assist his fellow border agent. He hears shots fired. As he emerges, he sees Compean on the ground, he sees a drug smuggler running away. He shoots at him. He thinks he has a gun. He doesn't know what's happening. He shoots at him. He hits him, but he doesn't know he hit him because the guy kept running and escapes back to Mexico, where on the other side of the border there were other people waiting to pick him up and take him away. As they walk back, they noticed that inside this van is a million dollars worth of marijuana, about 750 pounds. So other agents are on scene including two supervisors. The mistake they made, they did not orally report the shooting.

GLENN: But it's important at this point of the story to know that supervisors were on the scene.

SETMAYER: Yes.

GLENN: Others were there. It is almost a loophole there that they nailed them on and said, well, they didn't report the shooting. The idea was they didn't need to report the shooting. People were on the scene.

SETMAYER: That's right. And border patrol regulations state that they're only supposed to orally report it. That supervisor is supposed to file a written report. So this is a policy violation. It's not criminal. Well, three weeks go by. They catalog the drugs. You know, the guy absconded, he escaped to New Mexico. You know, routine day on the border so one would think. Anyone who knows or is familiar with what's going on in the southern border, it's a war zone there. So the fact that they weren't shot is actually a good thing. A few weeks go by and we find out that the Department of Homeland Security has opened up an internal affairs investigation because the drug smuggler that they shot grew up with a border patrol agent in Arizona. The incident happened in Texas. Their families talk and they find out that Aldrete Davila has been shot by a border agent. So this agent in Arizona takes it upon himself to research what's going on, look for the shooting report. GLENN: Okay. Stop for a second. This is an important thing for people to really focus on for just 10 seconds. A border agent who grew up with a drug smuggler in Mexico. Their families still talk. The drug smuggler called -- the drug smuggler's mother called the border agent and said, "My son's just been shot on the border," et cetera, et cetera. So you've got the connections now between the U.S. border agents and a drug smuggler. Now, it's never been -- nobody's ever accused this guy of being a dirty border agent, if I'm not mistaken, Tara, right?
Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames.
SETMAYER: Oh, that's correct. No one questioned or investigated the nature of this relationship.
GLENN: Correct.

SETMAYER: I mean, he was best friends with the drug smuggler's brother. He accompanied the drug smuggler's sister on her 15th birthday. They have close ties. So we move forward. No one seems to think anything's wrong with that. They move forward and Homeland Security opens up this investigation. They send Christopher Sanchez, who is the investigator, down to Fabens, Texas and they send him over into Mexico to find the drug smuggler. They offer him immunity, free border crossing cards and free healthcare to come back across the border and testify against Ramos and Compean. Now, at this point Ramos and Compean are arrested, and I have to tell you that when they interviewed the other agents who were on scene, those other agents' stories changed dramatically from their initial version of events to what they testified to at trial. Basically they were all given proffer letters, which is some sort of an immunity deal after --

GLENN: We won't come after you.

SETMAYER: That's right, we won't come after you if you tell us the "Real" story.

GLENN: Right.

SETMAYER: Which was that Ramos and Compean shot an innocent guy as he was running away. Now, anyone who knows Ramos and Compean or just looks at the basic facts of this case, it's reasonable for them to believe this gentleman was armed. Sara Carter, who is a reporter who broke this story nationally, she interviewed Davila's family and they said that he's been running drugs since he was 14 years old and he was never seen without a gun. Now, during the trial that image of Mr. Davila was completely changed. He was a poor innocent waif who was just smuggling drugs one time to pay for money for his sick mother's medicine -- to get money for his sick mother's medicine. We all know that that's not true. As a matter of fact, while he was under immunity waiting to testify against the agent, he smuggled another load of drugs four months before the trial. The government knew it and they went before the judge and asked all of that evidence to be sealed so the jury would never hear about it.

GLENN: Which is highly unusual when somebody is convicted -- or when somebody else is arrested again. During a trial usually that person is thrown out.

SETMAYER: Well, the interesting thing about this, Glenn, is that he actually was not arrested. According to the -- this is --

GLENN: I know.

SETMAYER: This is where it gets interesting. According to the DEA report which we were able to obtain, about six months after all hell broke loose, they had already been convicted and Johnny Sutton was denying that the October load ever happened and he was, you know, speaking in lawyer, lawyerly terms to try to deny that that had ever happened because it was all under seal. One day the DEA documents show up at my door and it was proof and it was a full account of what happened in October of 2005 before the trial. And what happened is that Davila was identified as dropping off a load of 800 pounds of drugs at a stash house in Texas. When the DEA and border patrol raided that stash house, they were told by the U.S. attorney's office that no one was to be taken into custody at that time. That came from Johnny Sutton's office. So it's very curious why they didn't pursue arresting anyone at the stash house even though they fully identified -- the occupants of that stash house fully identified Aldrete Davila as being the individual who dropped off that load of drugs. So no, technically he wasn't arrested. Why the hell not.

GLENN: Now, Johnny Sutton at the time said there weren't any of these cards that helped people go across the border and if he knew where he was, he would make sure that he was arrested and all of these things, which have all turned out to be false. Johnny Sutton I believe is a dirty official and I believe the dirt and the grime go all the way to the President of the United States. I think this is a -- my spider senses, everything in me tells me something isn't right. But to try to get anybody to talk is impossible. I've talked to several people who have been instrumental in this case and other cases like it, who have been -- who are instrumental at the highest levels that are now starting to say, "Wait a minute, you know what, I was part of, you know, X, Y and Z and now I see I've been lied to and being used and we're in real trouble because there's something else going on. But they won't go on the air because some of these people are still sitting in those positions and they are trying to figure out what it is. But they are looking.

SETMAYER: Glenn, let me tell you. When we first start -- when members of congress first started to raise the profile of this case a year and a half ago, right before the agents had to report for it to begin their prison terms in January, there were a lot of very strange things going on, including the fact that Department of Homeland Security officials lied to four Texas members of congress.

GLENN: This is where I got involved.

SETMAYER: Yes. This is in September of 2006 when members of congress first started to investigate, they asked for a briefing from Homeland Security to say, okay, what's really going on here. Well, those Homeland Security officials told those members of congress that, one, Ramos and Compean confessed; two, they knew the guy was unarmed; and three, that they said they wanted to shoot some Mexicans that day. Well, that didn't sit too well with those members of congress. So they asked for proof of these allegations. And guess what, that proof never happened. And for four and a half months after that, the official report of investigation that was used to prosecute these gentlemen was not released. It hadn't even been finished yet, which is highly unusual. And it took members of congress complaining and going public about it for the Homeland Security department to finally release the report of investigation which they did under classified -- it was classified first. And then we said, that's not acceptable. So they released a redacted version. And guess what. None of what they claimed was in that report.

GLENN: Didn't the -- didn't the head of Homeland Security or one of the head guys of Homeland Security actually say in testimony in congress that you had been -- congressman, I'm sorry, you have been misled?

SETMAYER: Yes. He said misinformed. It was the inspector general Richard Skinner. He was being questioned by congressman John Culberson and that was his response: Well, I'm sorry, but you were misinformed. Well, you know, where I come from, that's called a lie.

GLENN: Yeah. Now, Tara Setmayer is with Congressman Rohrabacher and she and the congressman has been on this nonstop. Congressman is going to join us tone. In a few minutes I'm going to play some audio. Dan, is this the first time this audio has been heard? Okay. You probably have not heard this audio most likely. It is audio from the jurors saying, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. If I would have known these things about the drug smuggler, things would have been wildly different." And it shows how -- because remember, "The jurors have spoken. Don't you believe in the rule of law?" No, not when the rule of law has been so turned upside down on its head. Justice is justice. You've got to make sure that it is equally applied and there's not something else going on. There is something else going on. We're going to give you that audio which has not been heard and has not been played on this program until today. We will give you this audio here in just a second. And also somebody who has been very, very close to this case with some more insight coming up in just a minute. But also when -- Tara, when we come back, Tara actually had to speak to Compean and Ramos yesterday. It was just Ramos yesterday that you spoke to?

SETMAYER: Yes, just Ramos.

GLENN: And she broke the news to him. Remember, he's in solitary confinement, quote, for his own protection. We will get that story from her coming up in just a second. Don't miss a second of the next few minutes on the Glenn Beck program.

GLENN: Tara, yesterday -- we've got about two minutes. Tell me what happened yesterday afternoon when you had to deliver the news yesterday afternoon that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had denied the appeal for Compean and Ramos?

SETMAYER: Now, I had my normal status call scheduled already yesterday and we got the decision about 30 minutes before I had to speak to Nacio and so, I being sure that his lawyer was on the phone, because I honestly couldn't bring myself to break the news to him but I was on the call and it was devastating. It was one of the most difficult conversations I've ever had to endure. Nacio was crushed. You know, he was obviously upset and his biggest concern was, Tara, what can you do to get me out of solitary confinement. These gentlemen are enduring conditions worse than prisoners of Guantanamo Bay. He is in a cell 23 hours of 24 hours a day. He is not allowed on weekends. He is not allowed to watch television. He is not allowed to socialize with anyone. He is in the hole.

GLENN: He does, he does listen to the radio, right?

SETMAYER: He does.

GLENN: He does listen to this program?
SETMAYER: He does. He's listening to this program. And Nacio, we're fighting for you. We're going to do what we can to get you out of there and keep your head up because the American people are behind you and members of congress are behind you and we're going to do whatever we can to get you out of there.
GLENN: You know, Nacio, I know you're listening. It is -- I, last week, what is it, two weeks ago I actually spent some time with your wife and it was -- I didn't take it lightly when I looked her in the eye and said, there's a lot of us fighting. There's a lot of us that believe in this cause and we are not going to give up. And it was something that you don't say lightly to somebody who has somebody in prison for something that you believe is an unjust verdict but I tell you it is a sentiment that runs through a large sector of our society that is aware of this case.
SETMAYER: Well, Glenn, I agree with you and it's amazing to me how the President and Johnny Sutton can sleep at night if they looked into the eyes of the wives and the children of these agents, I can't imagine they would feel the same way. I can't believe, was it really worth it for them.
GLENN: Tara, we will talk to you again and thank you so much for your hard work. And we'll also give you an opportunity to speak directly to Nacio Ramos coming up on the program here.


Man Accused Of Sex Assault Of Girl, 1, After Christening
Alleged Assault Took Place At Child's Christening Party
POSTED: 1:43 pm EDT July 28, 2008
UPDATED: 3:43 pm EDT July 28, 2008

ANNANDALE, Va. -- A 25-year-old Fairfax-area man is accused of sexually assaulting a 1-year-old baby girl at a party to celebrate the child's christening.
Investigators said baby's parents were cleaning up Saturday night at the banquet hall facility of the Annandale Boys and Girls Club after a late-night party celebrating the baby's christening.
Investigators said the parents left their sleeping child in the care of several family members in the party room. One of the family members found the victim crying in the hands of an unknown man and took the child from him, police said

The victim’s mother discovered the child was injured, and the parents immediately took her to Inova Fairfax Hospital for treatment, authorities said.
Investigators were called the hospital early Sunday morning.
Police arrested Juan Miguel Sejas Castellon. He was taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center and charged with one count of animate object penetration and one count of abducting an infant child with the intent to defile.


http://www.nbc4.com/news/17015587/detail.html

Beware your children: They might be 'Climate Cops'Company recruits kids to keep records, bust parents for 'energy crimes'
Posted: July 28, 20088:44 pm Eastern© 2008 WorldNetDaily

A new website campaign designed by a British power company recruits children through games, badges and cartoons to enlist as "Climate Cops," actively keeping records on their parents and neighbors for violations of "energy crimes" against the planet.
The "Climate Cops" website encourages children to investigate family and friends and "then build your 'Climate Crime Case File' and report back to your family to make sure they don't commit those crimes again (or else)!" The site also warns children that they "may need to keep a watchful eye" to prevent future violations.
A link on the site for teachers to download free materials for building lesson plans indicates the website is targeting children from ages 7-11.
The so-called crimes children are to watch for are listed on a poster (visible at right) and range from leaving the tap running and failing to use energy-saving light bulbs to running the dryer on a sunny day and putting hot food in the refrigerator.
The website also encourages children to download a series of "Climate Crime Cards" (such as the one pictured below) in which enlisted "Climate Cops" can keep an ongoing record of their family's violation of energy "crimes."

Recruiting children to spy on and keep records of their parents' infractions reminds some of Adolf Hitler's Nazi youth program, only with an environmentalist bent. The author of the blog EU Referendum wrote: "In a system which has echoes of Hitler's Deutsches Jungvolk movement … perhaps successful graduates can work up to becoming block wardens, then street and district 'climate crime Fuehrers,' building a network of spies and informers."
Hitler's youth program, which began in the 1920s and ended in 1945, enlisted children to be trained in the ideals of the Nazi party. Eventually folded into the German Sturmabteilung, also known as the SA or the "brownshirts," the Hitler Youth were given authority over different regions to report and keep records on neighbors, especially Jewish neighbors, as part of Nazi Germany's fear- and propaganda-based social control efforts.

A blogger at Watts Up With That? wrote, "I find this method of indoctrinating school children to normal everyday living being harmful to the earth with the 'climate crime' connotation as distasteful and wrong headed."
"I have no problems with energy conservation, in fact I encourage it," the blogger wrote, "But combining such advice with a 'climate cop' idea is the wrong way to get the message across. Can you imagine what sort of reaction the neighbors will have? … Will the result of this now be hiding your electric dryer behind false walls so the kids and neighbors don't see it?"
The "Climate Cops" website was created by the British power company npower, which has received recognition for investing in community causes through partnerships with youth sports programs, cancer victim support charities and an environmental group called The National Trust.
The website targets children with flashy graphics and cartoon characters. The site's opening video shows cartoon depictions of hurricanes and floods, stating, "Climate change is threatening our world. The more energy we waste the worse it gets. It's time to fight back."
Children who visit the site can then play games, including one game in which "Climate Cops" chase down a gas-guzzling SUV that discharges incandescent light bulbs to slow them and another in which children zap as many energy wasters as they can find before a poor polar bear's iceberg melts.
Those who complete the site's three games receive code numbers that unlock a codeword, enabling visitors to "join the elite cadets and train to become a Climate Cop." The codeword then unlocks a download, where successful "cadets" can print out a "Climate Cop ID".

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=70811

Doc, what’s up with snooping?

By Micheal Graham
They’re watching you right now.They counted every beer you drank during last night’s Red Sox game.They see you sneaking out to the garage for a smoke.They know if you’ve got a gun, and where you keep it.They’re your kids, and they’re the National Security Agency of the Nanny State.I found this out after my 13-year-old daughter’s annual checkup. Her pediatrician grilled her about alcohol and drug abuse.Not my daughter’s boozing. Mine.“The doctor wanted to know how much you and mom drink, and if I think it’s too much,” my daughter told us afterward, rolling her eyes in that exasperated 13-year-old way. “She asked if you two did drugs, or if there are drugs in the house.”“What!” I yelped. “Who told her about my stasher, I mean, ‘It’s an outrage!’ ”I turned to my wife. “You took her to the doctor. Why didn’t you say something?”She couldn’t, she told me, because she knew nothing about it. All these questions were asked in private, without my wife’s knowledge or consent.“The doctor wanted to know how we get along,” my daughter continued. Then she paused. “And if, well, Daddy, if you made me feel uncomfortable.”Great. I send my daughter to the pediatrician to find out if she’s fit to play lacrosse, and the doctor spends her time trying to find out if her mom and I are drunk, drug-addicted sex criminals.We’re not alone, either. Thanks to guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics and supported by the commonwealth, doctors across Massachusetts are interrogating our kids about mom and dad’s “bad” behavior.We used to be proud parents. Now, thanks to the AAP, we’re “persons of interest.”The paranoia over parents is so strong that the AAP encourages doctors to ignore “legal barriers and deference to parental involvement” and shake the children down for all the inside information they can get.And that information doesn’t stay with the doctor, either.Debbie is a mom from Uxbridge who was in the examination room when the pediatrician asked her 5-year-old, “Does Daddy own a gun?”When the little girl said yes, the doctor began grilling her and her mom about the number and type of guns, how they are stored, etc.If the incident had ended there, it would have merely been annoying.But when a friend in law enforcement let Debbie know that her doctor had filed a report with the police about her family’s (entirely legal) gun ownership, she got mad.She also got a new doctor.In fact, the problem of anti-gun advocacy in the examining room has become so widespread that some states are considering legislation to stop it.Last year, my 7-year-old was asked about my guns during his physical examination. He promptly announced to the doctor that his father is the proud owner of a laser sighted plasma rifle perfect for destroying Throggs.At least as of this writing, no police report has been filed.“I still like my previous pediatrician,” Debbie told me. “She seemed embarrassed to ask the gun questions and apologized afterward. But she didn’t seem to have a choice.”Of course doctors have a choice.They could choose, for example, to ask me about my drunken revels, and not my children.They could choose not to put my children in this terrible position.They could choose, even here in Massachusetts, to leave their politics out of the office.But the doctors aren’t asking us parents.
They’re asking our kids.Worst of all, they’re asking all kids about sexual abuse without any provocation or probable cause.The American Academy of Pediatrics has declared all parents guilty until proven innocent.And then they wonder why we drink.

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=23952

Doctors will question your kids
Encouraged by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), pediatricians across the United States have begun questioning children about their parents' habits, in some cases even filing police reports based on this information, according to an opinion article published in the Boston Herald. Article author Michael Graham recounts that his own children were asked by their doctor whether their parents used drugs and alcohol, owned guns, or were abusive. The doctor did not seek parental permission before asking the questions, nor did he inform them that they were being asked; Graham and his wife found out only after their children came home from the visits. "The doctor wanted to know how much you and mom drink, and if I think it's too much," Graham reports his daughter saying. "She asked if you two did drugs, or if there are drugs in the house. The doctor wanted to know how we get along. And if, well, Daddy, if you made me feel uncomfortable." Graham also reports the case of an Uxbridge, Massachusetts man who had his legal gun ownership reported to the police by his daughter's doctor. The doctor filed a police report after asking the 5-year-old girl if her father owned a gun, then following up with questions to her and her mother about the type and number of the weapons. Graham blames the trend on guidelines issued by the AAP, which classifies parents as "persons of interest" and encourages doctors to ask children questions in order to uncover inappropriate or illegal behavior. "The paranoia over parents is so strong that the AAP encourages doctors to ignore 'legal barriers and deference to parental involvement' and shake the children down for all the inside information they can get," Graham writes. According to Graham, anti-gun advocacy by pediatricians is widespread enough that "some states are considering legislation to stop it." "What this interrogation of children demonstrates," added consumer health advocate Mike Adams, "is just how deeply the medical establishment now believes it has total authority over the lives of patients. This kind of behavior is arrogant, outrageous and should be outlawed," Adams said.
http://www.naturalnews.com/022764.html

Do we really want to Chip our kids?
NaturalNews) A Rhode Island school district has announced a pilot program to monitor student movements by means of radio frequency identification (RFID) chips implanted in their schoolbags.The Middletown School District, in partnership with MAP Information Technology Corp., has launched a pilot program to implant RFID chips into the schoolbags of 80 children at the Aquidneck School. Each chip would be programmed with a student identification number, and would be read by an external device installed in one of two school buses. The buses would also be fitted with global positioning system (GPS) devices.Parents or school officials could log onto a school web site to see whether and when specific children had entered or exited which bus, and to look up the bus's current location as provided by the GPS device.The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has criticized the plan as an invasion of children's privacy and a potential risk to their safety."There's absolutely no need to be tagging children," said Stephen Brown, executive director of the ACLU's Rhode Island chapter. According to Brown, the school district should already know where its students are."[This program is] a solution in search of a problem," Brown said.The school district says that its current plan is no different than other programs already in place for parents to monitor their children's school experience. For example, parents can already check on their children's attendance records and what they have for lunch, said district Superintendent Rosemary Kraeger.Brown disputed this argument. The school is perfectly entitled to track its buses, he said, but "it's a quantitative leap to monitor children themselves." He raised the question of whether unauthorized individuals could use easily available RFID readers to find out students' private information and monitor their movements.Because the pilot program is being provided to the school district at no cost, it did not require approval from the Rhode Island ethics commission
http://www.naturalnews.com/023445.html

FBI Warns of Storm Worm Virus

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 2:18 PMBy: Newsmax Staff

The FBI and its partner, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), have received reports of recent spam e-mails spreading the Storm Worm malicious software, known as malware.
These e-mails, which contain the phrase “F.B.I. vs. facebook,” direct e-mail recipients to click on a link to view an article about the FBI and Facebook, a popular social networking website. The Storm Worm virus has also been spread in the past in e-mails advertising a holiday e-card link.
Clicking on the link downloads malware onto the Internet connected device, causing it to become infected with the virus and part of the Storm Worm botnet. A botnet is a collection of compromised computers under the remote command and control of a criminal “botherder.”
Most owners of the compromised computers are unsuspecting victims. They have unintentionally allowed unauthorized access and use of their computers as a vehicle to facilitate other crimes, such as identity theft, denial of service attacks, phishing, click fraud, and the mass distribution of spam and spyware.
Because of their widely distributed capabilities, botnets are a growing threat to national security, the national information infrastructure, and the economy.
“The spammers spreading this virus are preying on Internet users and making their computers an unwitting part of criminal botnet activity. We urge citizens to help prevent the spread of botnets by becoming web-savvy. Following some simple computer security practices will reduce the risk that their computers will be compromised,” said Special Agent Richard Kolko, Chief, FBI National Press Office. Everyone should consider the following:

The FBI and its partner, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), have received reports of recent spam e-mails spreading the Storm Worm malicious software, known as malware.
These e-mails, which contain the phrase “F.B.I. vs. facebook,” direct e-mail recipients to click on a link to view an article about the FBI and Facebook, a popular social networking website. The Storm Worm virus has also been spread in the past in e-mails advertising a holiday e-card link.
Clicking on the link downloads malware onto the Internet connected device, causing it to become infected with the virus and part of the Storm Worm botnet. A botnet is a collection of compromised computers under the remote command and control of a criminal “botherder.”
Most owners of the compromised computers are unsuspecting victims. They have unintentionally allowed unauthorized access and use of their computers as a vehicle to facilitate other crimes, such as identity theft, denial of service attacks, phishing, click fraud, and the mass distribution of spam and spyware.
Because of their widely distributed capabilities, botnets are a growing threat to national security, the national information infrastructure, and the economy.
“The spammers spreading this virus are preying on Internet users and making their computers an unwitting part of criminal botnet activity. We urge citizens to help prevent the spread of botnets by becoming web-savvy. Following some simple computer security practices will reduce the risk that their computers will be compromised,” said Special Agent Richard Kolko, Chief, FBI National Press Office.
Everyone should consider the following:
· Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
· Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as officials soliciting personal information via e-mail.
· Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
· Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
· Validate the legitimacy of the organization by directly accessing the organization's website rather than following an alleged link to the site.
· Do not provide personal or financial information to anyone who solicits information.

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/storm_worm_virus/2008/07/30/117563.html