Eeyores news and view

Your Guide to Avoiding a Terrorist Attack
NYPD publishes handbook for landlords, security personnel
Warning that New York's skyscrapers remain a top terrorist target, the NYPD released a detailed guide today to making them safer.
World Trade Center: Before & After 9/11
View SlideshowSee photos of the World Trade Center before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and the pit known as Ground Zero in the aftermath.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly touted a 100-page report "Engineering Security" as an ideal safety roadmap for property owners.
"We have also provided in the publication and online the tools to calculate the risk to your building," Kelly told a group of owners gathered at One Police Plaza.
Police used the example of how a truck bomb filled with explosives can be loaded and driven to a target to illustrate the continuing terrorist threat. The report urged property owners to improve perimeter security, design buildings that can better withstand a blast, step up screening of visitors, design emergency evacuation plans and safeguard air systems in the event of a chemical attack.
These are not just lessons from 9-11, police said. The NYPD outlined more then 10 terrorist plots in past past years with the city in the cross-hairs of al Qaeda as well as homegrown groups. These included plans to attack the Citicorp Center and other landmarks, as well as plots on trains and transportation hubs.
"Terrorist intention to attack New York city's people, building or critical infrastructures is unambiguous," said David Cohen, Deputy Commissioner of the NYPD's Intelligence Division.
Officials said the report was designed to help existing buildings as well as future ones. The NYPD has given its opinion on plans for ground zero and the building of the New Yankee Stadium and Citifield. Real Estate Groups and the city's building commissioner welcomed the report.
"It will also act as an important tool for property owners to identify how to protect their buildings in the design phase," said Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri.
Other suggestions include using hard, fire-resistant substances to build walls and floors and posing glass facades "away from [higher-risk] buildings," and installing X-ray machines to scan packages.
"We understand that the threat of terrorism will remain a serious concern for the foreseeable future – and we continue to do everything possible to prevent another attack and mitigate the harmful effects one might cause," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "At the same time, we know that enhanced security does not need to come at the expense of aesthetic appeal, functionality, and environmental sustainability."
The FDNY, Department of Buildings and Department of City Planning and various professional organizations also lent insight into the final project.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Your-Guide-to-Avoiding-a-Terrorist-Attack-.html

Feds could seize Calif. parks if closed by budget
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The California governor's office says federal officials are threatening to seize six state parks if they are closed to help balance the state's budget.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed closing 220 state parks.
But the National Park Service warned in a letter to Schwarzenegger that six of those parks are on former federal land that could revert to the U.S. government if they are not kept open as parks.
State officials say they're trying to work with federal authorities to forestall a possible seizure. The state could also lose federal park funds.
The parks are Angel Island and Mount Diablo near San Francisco; Point Sur in Big Sur; and beaches at Fort Ord Dunes near Monterey, Point Mugu near Malibu; and Border Fields along the Mexican border.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D995Q9I00&show_article=1

Fuel tax could be replaced with by-the-mile road tax
The year is 2020 and the gasoline tax is history. In its place you get a monthly tax bill based on each mile you drove — tracked by a Global Positioning System device in your car and uploaded to a billing center.
What once was science fiction is being field-tested by the University of Iowa to iron out the wrinkles should a by-the-mile road tax ever be enacted.

Besides the technological advances making such a tax possible, the idea is getting a hard push from a growing number of transportation experts and officials. That is because the traditional by-the-gallon fuel tax, struggling to keep up with road building and maintenance demands, could fall even farther behind as vehicles' gas mileage rises and more alternative-fuel vehicles come on line.
The idea of shifting to a by-the-mile tax has been discussed for years, but it now appears to be getting more serious attention. A federal commission, after a two-year study, concluded earlier this year that the road tax was the "best path forward" to keep revenues flowing to highway and transportation projects, and could be an important new tool to help manage traffic and relieve congestion.
The decision by the 15-member National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission was unanimous, which surprised Robert Atkinson, the group's chairman. But he said it became clear as the commission's work progressed that a road tax on miles traveled was the best option.
"If you're committed to the system being improved then it was a no-brainer," he said.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/nation/story/71078.html

The Dog Flu Virus: Are You or Your Pet at Risk?
In today’s Science Times, health reporter Donald McNeil writes about a new flu virus circulating in dogs. Mr. McNeil writes:
While fears of a flu pandemic among humans have shifted from the lethal H5N1 avian flu to the relatively mild H1N1 swine flu, the H3N8 canine flu has been a quiet undercurrent in the United States, rarely discussed except among veterinarians and dog owners in the few areas where it has struck hard: Florida, New York City’s northern suburbs, Philadelphia and Denver.
Dr. Cynda Crawford, co-discoverer of the dog flu virus.This week, Dr. Cynda Crawford, one of the discoverers of the virus and a veterinarian at the University of Florida veterinary school, joins the Consults blog to answers readers’ questions about the dog flu and the first vaccine approved for it.
Do you have a question about canine flu? Post your questions for Dr. Crawford in the “Add your comments” box below. We will be posting Dr. Crawford’s responses in the coming week. Check back for regular updates.
http://consults.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/the-dog-flu-virus-are-you-or-your-pet-at-risk/?hp

Eeyore's News and View

Homeland Security drone patrolling NNY
A monitor inside an operations trailer shows a close-up view of a boat skimming across the water on Lake Ontario.

The image was taken from an unmanned aircraft more than three miles away.
A Predator B Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) has been temporarily based at Fort Drum since early June in an experiment by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office.
The Department of Homeland Security is using the extensive restricted air space over Fort Drum to test whether the drone could be a good fit along this stretch of the northern border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has five of the aircraft but so far none of them based permanently in the Northeast.
The Predator will operate out of Fort Drum for about three weeks for testing and training, and to evaluate its use to law enforcement.
John Stanton, director of CPB's Office of Air and Marine, said state, provincial and local law enforcement agencies were quick to take up the offer of added surveillance of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.
"So while we were flying, we were asked by our partner law enforcement agencies if we would be kind enough to be on the lookout for suspicious activities," Stanton said.
The surveillance also includes the land border between the U.S. and Canada after the border peels away from the St. Lawrence River.
By flying in restricted air space at 19,000 feet, the Predator avoids lower-level air traffic, cutting the risk of collisions, Stanton said.
The aircraft is virtually identical to Predators used by the military, with the exception of lower-power engine and no weapons, he said.
http://www.newswatch50.com/news/local/story/Homeland-Security-drone-patrolling-NNY/8ujqf9M2YkCXVlOmBVxFOg.cspx

Taliban averts attacks with U.S. equipment
Some Taliban fighters have been able to ward off attacks by U.S. aircraft by wearing special infrared patches on their shirts that signal that they are friends rather than foes.
The patches, which can also help suicide bombers get close to U.S. targets, are supposed to be the property of the U.S. government alone, but can be easily purchased over the Internet for about $10 each. Also available online: night-vision goggles and military-grade communications systems like the ones used by the terrorists who attacked the Indian city of Mumbai last year.
While stealing uniforms is as old as warfare itself, the Internet has made purchases of military equipment much easier and increased the risk to U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Some of the patches have been stolen during raids on U.S. resupply convoys in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But they can also be purchased in the United States and sent overseas with little detection.
In a recent investigation, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) bought patches using fake names and a front company with only a valid credit card. The patches reveal an American flag when looked at with an infrared light and were designed to avoid friendly fire during nighttime battles.
Jonathan Meyer, assistant director of forensic audits and special investigations for the GAO, told The Washington Times, "Based on our conversations with the Department of Defense, terrorists have used U.S. uniforms and the infrared patches to get close to U.S. and allied forces on the battlefield and at bases. This is more of a potential suicide-bomber risk."
Mr. Meyer helped lead the GAO investigation, which concluded that few regulatory controls exist for dual-use and military technology sold domestically.
Rep. Bart Stupak, Michigan Democrat, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce oversight and investigations subcommittee, said the infrared patches are also made in China.
"It is rather simple technology," he said. "We not only sell this to domestic people here, and they sell them to anybody, but you can get them from China, and the Chinese will sell them to others.
"They have been used by the enemy in the war. It's of grave concern because you don't know who is friendly or not," Mr. Stupak added.
Newsweek magazine first reported in 2007 that 4,800 such patches had been sold inadvertently in 2006 to 23 U.S. and Canadian companies by an Arizona-based company, Government Liquidation. The patches were still sewn onto uniforms that were sent out.
The GAO was able to purchase the patches from a New York-based military-supply dealer, but did not identify the seller's name.
"An enemy fighter wearing these [infrared] flags could potentially pass as a friendly service member during a night combat situation, putting U.S. troops at risk," the June 4 report said. "Nevertheless, these items are completely legal to buy and sell within the United States."
The report followed up on a 2008 GAO study that exposed the fact that military-surplus items, such as spare parts for fighter jets, could be purchased on eBay and Craigslist. That same year, an NBC team also was able to procure the infrared patches and have them sent to a mailing address in Amman, Jordan. Earlier, the Associated Press reported that F-14 spare parts had found their way to Iran from U.S. suppliers after the Pentagon sold the equipment to military wholesalers.
Rep. Brad Sherman, California Democrat and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that deals with export controls, said that it may be time to treat the infrared patches as a munition that would need to be controlled through the Arms Export Control Act.
"If there is an item that has only a military use, like the patches, the fact that they are nonlethal doesn't mean we should not treat them as munitions," he said. "The term 'munitions' perhaps should apply to anything that does not have a legitimate civilian use."
However, a retired four-star general, Jack Keane, said the risk had been overstated.
"Since the beginning of warfare, people have been dressing up as the enemy to infiltrate," he said. "We certainly have done this in the past to our enemies, and our enemies have done this to us."
Mr. Keane, who played a key role in developing the counterinsurgency strategy for Iraq, added, "There are other safeguards in addition to [these patches]. A visual identification and other identification is in the soldier's possession. There are multiple things that are being checked. When it comes to the tactical situation, infrared certainly helps identify where we are, but there is also a dialogue that is taking place describing the situation."
But "it would seem to me that something we are using to help identify ourselves should not be available to the general public, and it should be something that is only acquired through military channels," Mr. Keane said.
Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said the military was reviewing the GAO report.
"The Department of Defense takes force protection very seriously. As a matter of course, we are concerned any time sensitive equipment has the potential to fall into enemy hands," he said.
Other items acquired from U.S. companies by the GAO included a "triggered spark gap," a specialized medical component the size of a spool of thread that is also a necessary component for detonating a nuclear weapon. The investigators were also able to purchase an oscilloscope and an accelerometer, important gauges for measuring elements of nuclear explosions.
David Albright, president for the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington think tank, said the triggered spark gap "can be used in a nuclear weapon to fire high explosives and compress the nuclear core." He added that this sensitive item, whose medical use is to dissolve kidney stones, has shown up in the nuclear programs of Pakistan, North Korea and Iran.
The GAO concluded that "sensitive dual-use and military technology can be easily and legally purchased from manufacturers and distributors within the United States and illegally exported without detection."
At issue is a loophole in the U.S. arms-export control regime. Many kinds of dual-use items would require licensing and an end-user certificate - specifying the ultimate purchaser - if sold to a buyer overseas. But no such safeguards exist if the buyer is in the United States. It is also relatively easy to send sensitive equipment purchased in the U.S. to foreign countries through the mail.
Ed Timperlake, a former senior technology official in the Defense Department and an expert on what is known as "defense critical assets," said the loophole for domestic sales of sensitive technology is a counterintelligence risk.
"There are a lot of Chinese espionage agents and others grabbing anything they can, anything they can find. And with our free market they can find a lot," he said.
Mr. Timperlake added, "The GAO report is fair, and everyone I worked with knew their mission had life-and-death consequences, especially for troops in combat. The issue really comes down to more resources" for the FBI and other agencies.
A former U.S. undersecretary of commerce for industry and security, Mario Mancuso, said he did not find it surprising "that many of these items can be easily sold in the U.S."
"It would have been a more balanced report if the GAO had highlighted the many legitimate commercial uses these items have," he said. "This is important because, in my experience, most manufacturers are not trying to equip U.S. adversaries or turn a blind eye to illicit procurement efforts."
A spokesman for the Justice Department's National Security Division, Dean Boyd, said that since October 2007, the U.S. government has created 20 counterproliferation task forces to look at the issue.
Mr. Stupak said, however, that "no one is really taking responsibility" in the U.S. government for dealing with the problem.
The National Security Council, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have declined comment on the GAO report.
Matthew Borman, acting assistant secretary of commerce for export administration, said, "We are currently reviewing the findings in the GAO report, and we are always looking for ways to improve interagency cooperation. We know an effective export-control system requires a combination of domestic and international activities to educate parties on their export-control responsibilities, proactive compliance efforts and the conduct of enforcement investigations. We are committed to protecting U.S. national security, foreign-policy and economic interests by ensuring secure trade in high-technology items."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/22/taliban-averts-attacks-with-us-equipment/print/

Iran Police Quash Rally as Revolutionary Guards Warn Protesters
June 23 (Bloomberg) -- Iranian police massing in force broke up a demonstration over the disputed presidential election just hours after the Revolutionary Guards said they would crush further protest.
Police used tear gas and fired shots into the air to quell yesterday’s rally in central Tehran, the Associated Press reported. Witnesses said helicopters hovered overhead as about 200 protesters gathered in Haft-e-Tir Square before they were dispersed, AP said.
Security forces were deployed in the capital to prevent further demonstrations after hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets in more than a week of rallies. At least 17 people have been killed in the worst internal violence in the oil-producing nation of 66 million since the shah was overthrown in 1979.
Former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, the main challenger in the disputed June 12 election won by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, urged his supporters to continue peaceful protests. Another of the three defeated presidential candidates, former Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karrubi, yesterday called for a ceremony June 25 in memory of those killed in the protests.
The Revolutionary Guards, who answer directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and act as a counterweight to the Iranian army, warned the protesters to halt their activity.
‘Saboteurs Must Stop’
“The saboteurs must stop their actions” or face “the decisive and revolutionary action of the children of the nation in the Revolutionary Guards, the Basij and other security and military forces, to put an end to the chaos,” the state-run Mehr news agency cited the Revolutionary Guards as saying in a statement.
Also yesterday, the clerical Guardian Council, the top election body, acknowledged that the number of ballots cast in 50 districts surpassed the number of eligible voters in those areas, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
A council spokesman, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, said the discrepancies, in areas with a total electorate of about 3 million, may have sprung from voters being allowed to cast their ballot in cities or provinces other than those where they live.
The council has rejected a call from Mousavi for a new vote, offering only a partial recount. Opponents of Ahmadinejad’s victory say the ballot was rigged.
The protests and the divisions within the regime mark an unprecedented challenge to the authority of Khamenei, the successor of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the revolution.
Nations Warned
The Guards warned the international community including the U.S., U.K. and Israel to stop stirring unrest in the country. Iran has accused foreign nations of provoking the protests, a charge denied by Western diplomats.
The U.K.’s Foreign Office said yesterday it is evacuating families of diplomats and other Iran-based officials. The Italian Foreign Ministry discouraged that nation’s citizens from non-essential travel to Iran, while Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the police response “totally unacceptable.”
The 125,000-strong Guards, established to protect the Islamic Revolution, have their own ground, air and sea forces. Club-wielding members of the Basij volunteer militia, which is linked to the Guards, have played a role in suppressing the protests.
Without the Guards’ intervention, the protests won’t stop, Yossi Mekelberg, director of international relations at Regent’s College, London, said in an interview.
“This shows that it is very serious and can destabilize the regime,” he said.
Labeled as Terrorists
The U.S. designated the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force a terrorist organization in October 2007, accusing the paramilitary group of supporting attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. The focus of the Quds Force has been assistance to Islamic militant groups in other countries.
The Guards’ intervention came as splits within Iran’s ruling elite deepened after police arrested relatives of an ex- president and after Parliament’s current speaker said that most Iranians questioned Ahmadinejad’s electoral victory.
Security forces temporarily detained five relatives of former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, believed to be rallying support within the clerical establishment for Mousavi, state media said yesterday.
Rafsanjani, who heads the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body with the power to appoint or dismiss the supreme leader, may try to dislodge Khamenei, said Anoush Ehteshami, a professor of international relations at Durham University in the U.K.
Speaker Ali Larijani, who served as Iran’s nuclear negotiator until 2007, criticized the top election body for siding with Ahmadinejad and said most Iranians don’t accept the results.
‘Eat Its Own’
“There is some serious dissatisfaction within the ranks,” said Ilan Berman, an analyst with the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington. “Anytime a regime begins to eat its own, it signals significant transformation.”
On June 19, Khamenei reaffirmed Ahmadinejad’s electoral victory. The president was re-elected for a second four-year term with 63 percent of the vote to Mousavi’s 34 percent, according to the official tally.
Iran’s ril weakened 0.4 percent to 9,929.3 to the dollar yesterday, compared with 9,894.6 at the close of trading on June 19. The currency’s rate is managed by Bank Markazi, the central bank.
Iran’s governor at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, said the protests haven’t affected the country’s oil industry or crude exports. Iran is OPEC’s second-biggest producer.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTMTGmuvvDkM

Ammonia leak at NC plant kills 1, injures 3
June 20, 2009 - 5:30pm
LUMBER BRIDGE, N.C. (AP) - An ammonia leak Saturday at a poultry processing plant in North Carolina killed one worker and injured three others, authorities said.
Robeson County Sheriff Kenneth Sealey said the leak occurred about 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mountaire Farms plant in Robeson County in southern-central North Carolina, about 16 miles south of Fayetteville.
Sealey identified the worker who died as Clifton Swain of Fayetteville at a mid-afternoon briefing. Sealey did not have additional details about Swain. It was not immediately clear how he died or what caused the leak.
County Emergency Management Director Charles Britt told The Fayetteville Observer that the leak has been contained. The three injured workers, who were not identified, were taken to hospitals.
Two of the injured men were being treated at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton, N.C., said spokeswoman Amanda Crabtree. She did not provide further details.
Authorities have said that 30 to 40 people were at the plant when the leak occurred. Sealey said all workers have been accounted for at the plant, which employs 2,500 people.
A call to Mountaire Farms was not immediately returned Saturday. However, the company issued a statement expressing condolences for the victims and promising to cooperate with authorities.
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1701098

Eeyores News and View

Watch the names?
Holocaust Museum guard killed in shooting, gunman wounded
WASHINGTON — A Holocaust Museum guard died after being shot Wednesday in the crowded attraction and a gunman was seriously wounded in return fire, authorities said. The incident left panic-stricken visitors dashing for exits, witnesses said.
U.S. Park Police spokesman Sgt. David Schlosser said the gunman and officer were taken to George Washington University Hospital. According to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, the gunman was in critical condition.
"Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns died heroically in the line of duty today," a late-afternoon museum statement said. "There are no words to express our grief and shock over these events.
"He served on the museum's security staff for six years. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Officer Johns' family."
The museum will remain closed Thursday and flags flown at half-staff in the officer's honor, the statement said.
Two law enforcement officials identified the suspected gunman as James Wenneker von Brunn, 88, of Maryland's Eastern Shore. The officials did not want to be identified because they were not yet authorized to release the name to the public.
Von Brunn's name is prominent on white-supremacist Internet sites.
Schlosser said that about 12:50 p.m., a man, "armed with a long gun," entered the museum and fired at a security guard. Two other officers returned fire and wounded the gunman, according to museum spokesman Andy Hollinger.
"There were no threats" against the museum, said D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier. "The second he stepped into the building he began firing." Lanier said he was shooting a rifle.
Another guard was treated by EMS personnel at the scene for wounds, including cuts, said D.C. fire spokesman Alan Etter.
Von Brunn was released from the federal penitentiary in Ray Brook, N.Y. on Sept. 15, 1989, after serving 5-1/2 years. He was convicted in 1983 of attempted kidnapping, burglary and assault with a deadly weapon in a 1981 incident at the Federal Reserve, said Felicia Ponce, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Von Brunn, a Holocaust denier, maintains a racist, anti-Semitic website and wrote a book titled Kill the Best Gentile.
Witnesses reported hearing at least five gunshots.
The museum normally has a heavy security presence with guards positioned both inside and outside. All visitors are required to pass through metal detectors at the entrance, and bags are screened.
The museum, located just off the National Mall near the Washington Monument, is a popular tourist attraction. It draws about 1.7 million visitors each year.
Maria Hernandez, 19, of Manassas, Va., was in the lobby with her grandparents when she heard what she thought were "firecrackers."
"It was toward the entrance of the museum," she said. "I think it was someone trying to run through the metal detector."
She saw Johns bleeding on the floor, she said. "There was just chaos, panic. We were scared, shaking."
Another visitor, Dave Unruh, 66, of Wichita, was at the museum with his wife, Karen, 66, and grandsons, Drew, 15, and Dalton, 17, when the shots rang out.
"We were scared to death," he said. He heard someone holler, "Hit the floor!" and he and his family obeyed the order until authorities herded them out of the building.
Anya Leck, 21, of Chicago, is attending Georgetown University this summer and was in the museum lobby when she heard a boom. "We all just ducked wherever we could," she said. She and eight others hid in an alcove until guards ran by yelling, "Go! Go! Go!"
"Everybody was just in shock," said Leck, who dashed out a back door with other visitors. She recalled the sounds of people crying and gasping as she lay on the ground.
A young visitor, Rebecca McDowell, 10, of Smith Center, Kan., said, "It was scary and I was crying."
Museum officials in Washington say they can't remember there ever being a shooting at a museum in the nation's capital, or even in any other museum in the USA, according to Linda St. Thomas, a spokeswoman for the multi-museum complex Smithsonian Institution, and to Dewey Blanton, a spokesman for the American Association of Museums in Washington.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-10-holocaust-museum-shooting_N.htm
http://wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1693510

Please quite it, tassing a 70 year old, please. They need to lose their job, what a scum bag, shoots her in the back. Big brave policeman.
Deputy Tasers woman, 72, during traffic stop
June 10, 2009 - 4:24pm

In this image taken from a May 11, 2009 video released by the Travis County Constable's Office, Kathryn Winkfein, right, is shocked with a Taser by Deputy Chris Bieze outside of Austin, Texas. Video released by the constable's Office shows Deputy Bieze confronting 72-year-old Winkfein after stopping her for speeding. (AP Photo/Travis County Constable's Office) By JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press Writer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Cursing and belligerent, the great-grandmother refused to sign her speeding ticket, got out of her truck and dared a deputy to shock her with a Taser.
So he did.
Video released by a Travis County Constable's Office shows 72-year-old Kathryn Winkfein hitting the ground and moaning while the shocks jolted through her body after the May 11 confrontation with Travis County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Bieze.
Winkfein was stopped for driving 60 mph in a 45-mph zone just west of Austin. A dashboard camera in the deputy's car shows the 4-foot-11 Winkfein refusing to sign her speeding ticket, getting out of her white pickup truck and cursing at the deputy constable.
Bieze then pushes her to get her away from traffic.
"You're gonna shove a 72-year-old woman," Winkfein says angrily, standing inches from the deputy.
"If you don't step back, you're going to get Tased," Bieze says.
"Go ahead, Tase me," Winkfein says. "I dare you."
The video shows Bieze using the Taser and Winkfein hitting the ground and moaning in pain.
"Put your hands behind your back or you're going to be Tased again," Bieze yells, and then hits her with another jolt.
Winkfein was eventually charged with resisting arrest, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and fines up to $4,000.
A telephone message left with Constable Sgt. Maj. Gary Griffin of the constable's office was not immediately returned Wednesday. Telephone calls to a number listed for Kathryn Winkfein in Marble Falls, about 50 miles west of Austin, went unanswered.
Griffin has defended Bieze's actions and that Winkfein was belligerent and difficult to handle.
But Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton, whose office does not oversee the constables, issued a statement Wednesday saying:
"I do not personally agree with the actions of the deputy constable as they are shown in the video. When I look at the video I am in awe of what happened."
http://wtop.com/?nid=104&sid=1693324

Why would the dummies let them board?
Two passengers on doomed Air France jet had names linked to Islamic terror groups
Two passengers with names linked to Islamic terrorism were on board the Air France flight which crashed with the loss of 228 lives, it emerged today.
Both were men in their 20s of unspecified nationality, but their bodies have not yet been found, making proper identification impossible.
French secret servicemen established the connection while working through the list of those who boarded the doomed Airbus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 31st.
It has also emerged that the laptop and boarding pass of British oil executive Arthur Coakley have been found in the wreckage of the jet.
Flight AF447 crashed in mid-Atlantic en route to Paris during a violent storm.
While it is certain that there were computer malfunctions – and that these were the most likely reason for the accident - terrorism has not been ruled out.
Soon after the fatal crash agents working for the DGSE (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure), the French equivalent of MI6, were dispatched to Brazil.
It was there that they established that two names on the passenger list are also on highly classified documents listing the names of radical Muslims considered a threat to the French Republic.
There were 32 nationalities represented on the Air France flight, including Moroccans and Lebanese.
The suspicious names are linked to radical Islamic groups including Al Qaeda, which was behind the 9/11 suicide attacks on the U.S.A.
A source working for the French security services told Paris weekly L’Express that the link was ‘highly significant’.
Agents are now trying to establish dates of birth for the two dead passengers, and family connections.
There is a possibility that the name similarities are simply a ‘macabre coincidence’, the source added, but the revelation is still being ‘taken very seriously’.
Bizarrely the full official list of dead passengers has not been released by Air France, despite it being more than week since the plane crashed.
Such lists are normally released within 72 hours.
France has received numerous threats from Islamic terrorist groups in recent months, especially since French troops were sent to fight in Afghanistan.
Security chiefs have been particularly worried about airborne attacks similar to 9/11. French investigators confirmed that that terrorism has not been ruled out, with an Air France spokesman adding that ‘all the indications’ are that the Airbus suffered some kind of catastrophic equipment failure.
A total of 41 bodies have so far been recovered from the zone 700 miles off Brazil 's northeast coast where the plane came down.
Brazilian and French officials are using DNA samples from relatives and dental records to identify the remains.
On Monday, a Brazilian crew recovered the tail fin from the plane - considered significant because it could narrow the area underwater where the black boxes are.
The cause of the disaster is not known, but initial suspicions are focusing on the plane's airspeed sensors which were giving faulty readings, according to automatic data alerts sent by the plane in its final minutes in the air.
A French nuclear submarine, the Emeraude, and a naval vessel containing robot submarines should reach the crash site within the next day or so.
A large amount of material has already been recovered, including possessions belonging to Briton Mr Coakley.
His wife Patricia said a local police liaison officer called at the family home in Sandsend, near Whitby, North Yorks, to say her husband's laptop and boarding pass had been found.
'I just want to remember him smiling and laughing. He was a wonderful man,' she said.
'We are just in limbo and still waiting for the phone call we will get from the authorities, but don't want.
'We cannot plan anything at this time until we get more news. But I don't want to fly out to Brazil.'
Mrs Coakley had spoken to her husband by phone shortly before he boarded the plane.
He had planned to take an earlier flight, but it was fully booked. He should have been in Brazil for two weeks on business and home on May 19, but was delayed.
She has been married to her husband for 34 years and the couple have three children Dominic, 31, Patrick, 29 and Mise, 25.
Mr Coakley, 61, was a structural design engineer and partner in the PD&MS firm based at Aberdeen.
He had many working contacts on Teesside and was also a director at Wilton Engineering Services based in Middlesbrough.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1192065/Two-passengers-doomed-Air-France-jet-names-linked-Islamic-terror-groups.html

London's Metropolitan Police accused of waterboarding suspects
Metropolitan Police officers subjected suspects to waterboarding, according to allegations at the centre of a major anti-corruption inquiry, The Times has learnt.
The torture claims are part of a wide-ranging investigation which also includes accusations that officers fabricated evidence and stole suspects’ property. It has already led to the abandonment of a drug trial and the suspension of several police officers.
However, senior policing officials are most alarmed by the claim that officers in Enfield, North London, used the controversial CIA interrogation technique to simulate drowning. Scotland Yard is appointing a new borough commander in Enfield in a move that is being seen as an attempt by Sir Paul Stephenson, the Met Commissioner, to enforce a regime of “intrusive supervision”.
The waterboarding claims will fuel the debate about police conduct that has raged in the wake of hundreds of public complaints of brutality at the anti-G20 protests in April.
The part of the inquiry focusing on alleged police brutality has been taken over by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. It is examining the conduct of six officers connected to drug raids in November in which four men and a woman were arrested at addresses in Enfield and Tottenham. Police said they found a large amount of cannabis and the suspects were charged with importation of a Class C drug. The case was abandoned four months later when the Crown Prosecution Service said it would not have been in the public interest to proceed. It is understood that the trial, by revealing the torture claims, would have compromised the criminal investigation into the six officers.
None of the officers under suspicion has been arrested, but the IPCC said last night: “This is an ongoing criminal investigation and as such all six officers will be criminally interviewed under caution.”
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Whilst the investigation is ongoing it is not appropriate to make assumptions. These are serious allegations that raise real concern. The Met does not tolerate conduct which falls below the standards that the public and the many outstanding Met officers and staff expect.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6466430.ece

Guess no one really has free speech
Exclusive: Miss California Carrie Prejean Loses Her Crown
Less than a month after being told by Donald Trump that she can keep her Miss California crown, Carrie Prejean was fired on Wednesday.
In a release first obtained by FOXNews.com, K2 Productions, the independent producers of the Miss California USA pageant, under license from Miss Universe, cited continued breach of contract issues as the reason for Prejean's firing.
"This was a decision based solely on contract violations," Keith Lewis, executive director of K2 Productions, said in the release. "After our press conference in New York we had hoped we would be able to forge a better working relationship. However, since that time it has become abundantly clear that Carrie has no desire to fulfill her obligations under our contract and work together.”
Prejean came under fire for her answer to a question about gay marriage two months ago in the Trump-owned Miss USA pageant, in which she was the runner-up. After the pageant, Prejean was continuously attacked as she defended her belief that gays and lesbians should not be given the right to marry in California. She became embroiled in more controversy when racy pictures of her were published that some construed as violations of her Miss California contract.
Trump came to her defense in a May 12 press conference attended by Prejean and Keith Lewis, calling her answer to the question "honest" and saying "we have determined ... that the pictures taken are fine." He allowed her to continue on as Miss California.
But it was Trump who gave the final OK to fire her, FOXNews.com learned.
"I told Carrie she needed to get back to work and honor her contract with the Miss California Organization and I gave her the opportunity to do so," Trump said in the same release. "Unfortunately it just doesn’t look like it is going to happen and I offered Keith my full support in making this decision."
Representatives for K2 and Donald Trump referred to the release when asked for fruther comment. Prejean did not respond for comment.
Prejean is not without supporters, however. The National Organization for Marriage, a group that opposes gay marriage, released a statement slamming Trump and the Miss California pageant.
"This cover story about a contract dispute doesn’t pass the smell test. Americans aren’t fooled that easily. God knows, and we know, the truth about Carrie: She’s a young woman of great beauty who chose truth over the glittering tiara that Hollywood offers,” said Brian Brown, Executive Director for NOM. “Of course they will try to punish her, but we know she will be fine in the end, because her values are in the right place.”
First runner-up Tami Farrell is slated to assume the role and responsibilities of Miss California USA. Additionally, the Miss Universe Organization will make the reigning Miss USA, Kristen Dalton, and Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza, available to K2 Productions to fulfill appearance requests that were declined by Prejean.
According to a source, Prejean has aspirations to write a book and pursue other opportunities, which she will be able to do now that she has been released from her duties as Miss California.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525716,00.html

Eeyores news and view

Exclusive Interview with Future Prediction Expert Gerald Celente
It’s the end of the world as the Greater Depression hits after 2010’s failed “W-recovery”
Human Events had the opportunity to interview forecaster extraordinaire Gerald Celente, President of Trends Research Institute, several days ago -- and the future he predicts looks bleak indeed. In fact, as Mr. Celente sees it, the Great Depression will seem like a mild recession as what waits for us in 2011 hits with the force of a Katrina financial hurricane.
In case you’re wondering who Mr. Celente is (if this is still possible), he’s appeared -- along with his predictions -- on Oprah, CNBC, Reuters, NBC, PBS, BBC, the Glenn Beck Show -- the list goes on an on. His Trends Report has been successfully predicting the major future trends impacting our lives for 3 decades, including calling the dot com crash back in the 1990's.
Mr. Celente's forecast on our impending future is based on his study of history. He says we are bent on destroying our currency, bankrupting our government, and unleashing a violent citizen-against-citizen eruption as the economy collapses into chaos and martial law fascism.
Quite a claim. And God help us if he is right -- again.
“We’re sounding the alarm about the ongoing downward economic cycle”, Gerald told Human Events. “In 2002, we predicted that the collapse of the American empire would fall like the World Trade Center in a thunderous crash -- in slow motion before our eyes. And now it’s happening.”
Mr. Celente follows over 300 trends: family, crime, war, education, consumer & business patterns which TRI synthesizes to predict the future.
“The US is becoming a shadow of what it used to be. Take education for example. The OECD group of developed countries ranks quality of life, education, health care of its member nations. The US is now falling down the table as one piece of data after another shows America is in decline. We’re no longer Win, Place or Show in quality of life, education, longevity… all the essentials where we used to be #1. And our economic underpinnings are failing.”
Mr. Celente puts part of the blame squarely on the federal government, and especially FED Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Geithner, and warns us not to believe a word they say “They’re the same people who didn't see it coming - are now telling us the worst is over, that ‘green shoots are spouting upwards’. But they were wrong before. They’re wrong on this too”.
“When you pump out tons of money manure into this system based on nothing – printing press paper, it’s like giving a patient with a chronic disease a pain killer -- it won’t cure the patient.”
“But let’s go beyond the economics. Our whole Constitution has been abrogated. The president simply writes an Executive Order to do whatever he wants. Nationalize the banks, take over the insurance industry, automobile industry, health care industry…
None of it is constitutional.”
When did the problem begin?
“After Dwight Eisenhower -- our last great president -- the Allied Supreme Commander in WWII – who warned us of the dangers of the military-industrial complex. We've become completely corrupted.”
“We became enmeshed in foreign entanglements. We forgot the lesson of England - and how their global imperial overreach destroyed their empire.”
Of course, the average American doesn’t think that we’re an empire. We’re not like the classical empires of old - raping, pillaging and stealing the wealth of invaded peoples. What does Mr. Celente have to say about this?
“What we’re doing is squandering our wealth, our resources, the genius of our scientists and the future of our children. We’re over-consuming in every way -- but under consuming our education and focusing on the quantity, not the quality, of what we’ve built. So much of today’s culture is counter-productive to what American built it’s foundation on -- a high-quality producing nation building things, not pushing paper.
"And we’ve become not only a consumer society but a low-quality consumer, as well as the most obese society in the world, eating low-quality high-carb, high-fat processed foods.”
“We’re now focused on the lowest cost, the lowest common denominator. Not the best and highest quality. We advertise buying cheapest as the most important thing.”
Mr. Celente argues that we’ve socially destroyed our productivity and have abandoned it to other countries.
“And we have fallen into a moral vacuum. Look at how people used to dress. Smartly. Not like the cheap hoods of today. Fashion now copies the lowest common denominator. Our children wear clothes without belts, and shoes without shoelaces, to copy the styles of the violent criminals -- who have these items removed by the police in prison so they can’t be used as weapons. That’s become the fashion statement of today’s youth. Like rap music from the ghetto. We’ve become an underdeveloped nation.”
Mr. Celente observes that "people used to think of America as that shining beacon on the hill with 'liberty and justice for all…' ." So what happened?
"Morality is missing from our American public consciousness. Start with Wall Street. It’s run by a criminal gang. The only question is ‘how much can you make, how much can you steal?’ At the bottom, the welfare recipient says ‘how much can I take?’ And the government is in on the take."
“Morality is absolutely the issue. We had a government where we were taught all our lives that we are a free enterprise system -- so we depend on our own strength, our entrepreneurial ideas. The world used to look to us for our innovative spirit.”
“This is being destroyed before our eyes. And our government has become more interventionist than any of the old empires could imagine.”
"Our society is now based on consumption -- 70% of the GDP. This is more than we produce. So to pay our bills, we use funny money invented in 1913 with the creation of the Federal Reserve and the fiat dollar based on credit (debt) -- the fractional reserve system. In 1930's you bought what you could afford. You saved up to buy your home. The easy credit of the 90's has destroyed the country. Now you borrow what you can’t afford - and the nation’s done the same."
Mr. Celente predicts the use of printing press money will cause the "greater depression".
"I predict continuing deflation of real estate, followed by extreme currency inflation -- ultimately becoming worthless. This is why gold is the only honest money -- the government can't counterfeit it. Look for it to top at least $2000 an ounce"
"Our unemployment numbers are also bogus. For example, the construction industry is really above 20% , and the government is creating low-level jobs, not real jobs. The US total real unemployment is more like 16%. Before the crisis is over, it will reach 25% - great depression numbers."
"When people have lost everything they have nothing to lose. Violence and crime will explode. Look at the OECD figures. The number of people not graduating from high school is exploding -- they're wacked out on drugs. New York City will look like Mexico City in a few years. The collapse of morality from top down -- and especially in the government -- makes it inevitable."
"What can we expect in the coming future", we asked.
"Washington has declared 'Economic Martial Law'. Wall Street is putting Main Street out of business. The key to watch is Christmas sales. They’ll fail. Christmas will be when reality sets in."
"Another trend we wrote about over 2 years ago was the tax revolt. What’s happened? Tax revenues have collapsed by 33%. And the wealthy people are leaving."
"We predict state secessionist movements will rival the breakup of the Soviet Union."
"The only way we can ever recover is to return to individual community, personal responsibility, local government. Next, average will disappear, Quality will return. Look at GM. Junk cars financed by junk bonds. Now owned by a junk government. As a consumer, don’t consume quantity -- consume quality."
"How will it all end?", we queried. Will the dollar survive?
"The dot com bubble should have burst and gone away in a short sharp recession. But the boys at the Fed re-inflated the economy by lowering interest rates to a 46 year low -- and in turn created the real estate bubble -- much bigger than the dot com bubble. "
"Now they’re creating the bailout bubble -- which will ultimately dwarf the real estate bubble. It will cause the implosion of the global economy world wide -- which will not be able to be repaired by creating yet another bubble. Every time the government fails, it tells a bigger lie and then a still bigger lie."
"These previous bubbles were not allowed to pop -- but they didn’t destroy the infrastructure of the country. This bailout bubble will."
"But this bubble will be the last one. After the final blowout of the bailout bubble, we are concerned that the government will take the nation into war. This is a historical precedent that’s been done over and over again."
"So, it’s not that the dollar that will survive. We may not even survive. Look at the German mess after WWI. It gave rise to Fascism and WWII. The next war will be fought with weapons of mass destruction."
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32152

Report points to prison security failures
WASHINGTON — A government inquiry into the most recent fatal assault of a federal correctional officer details multiple security breakdowns and underscores a fear among federal officials who say inmates have grown increasingly violent in their dealings with prison staff.
Jose Rivera's June 20 killing, captured by surveillance cameras inside the high security U.S. Penitentiary Atwater in California, provides a chilling view into the U.S. prison system where weapons are plentiful and some violent inmates are allowed to "sleep off" bouts of drunkenness fueled by homemade cocktails, according to a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) report obtained by USA TODAY.
During the attack, Rivera, a 22-year-old Iraq war veteran, struggled for his life while a locked door blocked several of his colleagues from responding.
"It was like Rivera was caught in a bear trap," said Mark Peacock, the officer's attorney. "If the staff was able to respond with adequate force, Rivera might have survived the attack."
Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley, who declined to comment on the Rivera report, says there is "a sense that assaults (on staff) are more severe." Following the Rivera killing, authorities recovered 175 weapons in the facility, the report states.
Bryan Lowry, president of the federal prison employees association, says overcrowding is endangering prison officers and staffers. According to BOP records, the system is 36% over capacity and 48% over capacity in high security units.
In the federal system, which manages 204,327 inmates, serious assaults to staffers increased slightly in 2008, from 72 to 82, according to BOP records. Less serious attacks (pushing, shoving) increased, from 1,281 in 2007 to 1,522 in 2008. Inmate slayings were up, from 12 in 2007 to 15 in 2008.
At the time of the Rivera attack, according to the report, he was assigned to lockdown a high security unit for the afternoon inmate count when he was allegedly slashed in the torso by convicted murderer Jose Sablan. The officer was wounded before he could secure Sablan and James Guerrero, a convicted armed robber, in their cell. Both inmates, according to the report, appeared to be intoxicated.
As surveillance cameras rolled, Rivera attempted to escape and activated his electronic body alarm to summon help. He was allegedly tackled by Guerrero, who pinned the officer down while Sablan continued to stab Rivera with a makeshift ice pick. Rivera was stabbed at least 17 times before an officer arrived with a key to the door.
"This delay to get responding staff into the unit could have been reduced," the report concluded.
The day before the attack, one prison guard raised questions about whether Guerrero, known as a "disruptive," could be housed safely in the same unit with Sablan, according to the FBI's report of its interview with the guard.
"Going to put him (Guerrero) with another killer," the guard told a colleague. "Okay if that's what you are going to do. We'll be lucky if he doesn't kill somebody before the night is out."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-07-prisonmurder_N.htm

Gender test spurs abortion fears
4:00AM Monday Jun 08, 2009 By Briony Sowden and Martin Johnston
The gender test is expected to sell for about $125. A new test to reveal the gender of a fetus in early pregnancy has sparked a row over whether it will lead to sex-selection abortions.
The American-designed IntelliGender test kit, which can be used from eight weeks after conception, went on sale in Australia last month. Its Australian distributor hopes to launch it in New Zealand within a fortnight.
David Portnoy, managing director of Melbourne-based Early Image, said yesterday that he was negotiating with health products companies Douglas Pharmaceuticals and API to supply the kits to New Zealand pharmacies.
He expected they would sell for about $125.
They do not test pregnancy, so do not require state approval under the Medicines Act, unlike pregnancy tests. To use the new test, a pregnant woman mixes her urine with the kit's chemicals in the supplied container. If it turns green or black, the fetus is a boy; orange or yellow indicate a girl.
The kits are claimed to be 90 per cent accurate, but because patents have not yet been issued, the maker will not reveal the supporting data or the science of how they work.
"The concern we would have is that people would then terminate pregnancies on the grounds of sex selection," said college president Dr Ted Weaver.
Anti-abortion group Voice for Life echoes this concern. Spokesman Bernard Moran said abortions for sex selection were a problem overseas and the test would facilitate this in New Zealand. "Certain ethnic minorities here might be more prone to use it."
Mr Moran was concerned to learn that the approval of the Health Ministry's Medsafe unit was not required. He said that although abortions were not permitted for sex selection, they were permitted on grounds of the mental health of the woman, and the Abortion Supervisory Committee had acknowledged that the way this was applied meant New Zealand, in effect, had abortion on demand.
Mr Portnoy, responding to the concerns about sex-selection abortions based on the test, said, "I would be amazed if anybody was to do anything so drastic based on a urine test that has a 90 per cent accuracy rate."
If a woman was intent on that course, she could, for a few hundred dollars, have a much more accurate test, such as amniocentesis.
Women can also have a state-funded ultrasound scan at 18 to 20 weeks after conception, or earlier in some cases, and these can mostly determine the sex of the fetus.
Medsafe group manager Stewart Jessamine said that until the maker of IntelliGender stated how it worked, "none of us know much about it as to whether it's anything better than a guess".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10577091

Trapped?? Victim??
Americans trapped in terror cell
June 9, 2009 - 7:25am
WASHINGTON - Six months ago, a startling development shook the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to the core.
It was the story of Burhan Hassan.
The 17-year-old slipped out of his house one night and flew to Somalia to fight alongside the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group al Shababb in their war against the Somali government.
He survived the war, and in recent days, realized he made a mistake and wanted to come home.
He almost made it.
"Friday at noon, a phone call was received from Mogadishu City, from one of the Somali kids who left Minneapolis with Hassan," said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in Minneapolis.
Jamal said Hassan's mother was told her that her son "had been shot [in the head] at point-blank range and killed and he had been buried."
Hassan's killing came just days before he was about to make his escape.
"He called his mother a week and a half ago from Mogadishu City. At the time, he was sick and suffering from malaria. His voice was weak and that was the last time we heard from him," Jamal said during a telephone conversation with WTOP.
Hassan, a straight-A student at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, had been convinced to leave the al Shababb organization, Jamal said.
"He was a victim. He was misled, indoctrinated, and a very vulnerable kid. He was put in harm's way, and when he made a choice to go back home, they killed him."
Hassan was going to leave for Kenya on Monday morning, June 8, to meet his mother at this U.S. Consulate in Nairobi "so that he could come back to Minnesota," Jamal said.
Hassan's bizarre story was a wake-up call for U.S. authorities.
"The FBI has had reports that some young men have left America to travel back to Somalia to fight in a cause that they've have chosen to fight in," FBI spokesman Rich Kolko said.
On election night in November 2008, while the world watched one man with African roots make history and headlines in the United States, Hassan and several of his friends were about to make news as well.
He and a few other boys sneaked away from their homes that night and boarded an airplane bound for Kenya. Their final destination was Somalia. Their plan was to fight alongside al-Qaida-inspired militants against what is left of the Somali government.
Aside from the threat these young radicals pose to U.S. national security, another is lurking right here in American communities - terrorist recruiters.
A Minneapolis journalist who spoke to WTOP on the condition of anonymity because of concerns for his safety made a very bold statement.
"The mosque brainwashed those kids," he said, suggesting the recruiters are working inside mosques in Minneapolis and other locations throughout the U.S.
Jamal believes recruiters in Hassan's hometown may be the ones who orchestrated his murder.
"There is this idea, that since he was coming back, individuals connected to al Shababb killed him for fear that if he came back, he might have some potential information that might endanger individuals living in the United States," Jamal said.
"It sends a very loud and clear message," Jamal said. "If you join al Shababb, you join at your own risk. It's like joining the mafia. You cannot disjoin. You cannot cancel the membership. If you join, you're in for good, otherwise they will kill you."
The FBI is working with the Somali-American community to help them reach out to the boys that may be vulnerable to the recruiters, Kolko said.
"The FBI is aware of this issue and we are certainly concerned about it and we know that the Somali-American community is equally concerned."
Kolko reiterated that going back to fight is "not a good cause of action," and trouble awaits them in the U.S. should they try to return.
"If someone comes back from anywhere in the world that has had terrorism training, the FBI would do the things that are necessary to help protect America."
Now, a mother is grieving for her murdered son.
Hassan's death also points out grave concerns for the other young recruits who left with Hassan to fight for their new-found ideals and now realize they've been duped and are trapped.
Minneapolis FBI Field Office spokesman Special Agent E.K. Wilson said the FBI is aware of the information, but could not comment because of an ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding how Hassan and the other boys' left the U.S.
http://wtop.com/?nid=778&sid=1692072

Eeyore's News and a View

SKorea says NKorea is likely to fire missileSEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Senior intelligence officials told South Korean lawmakers Wednesday that the projectile being prepared for launch in North Korea appears to be a long-range missile, not a satellite as claimed by the communist country.
The assessment came a day after North Korea announced it was preparing to send a satellite into orbit.
On Wednesday, the National Intelligence Service officials told a parliamentary committee meeting that they believe the North was preparing to launch a missile because the object's shape "is similar to" the country's long-range Taepodong missile, according to the office of lawmaker Park Young-sun, who attended the closed-door session.
In 1998, North Korea test-fired a Taepodong-1 ballistic missile over Japan and then claimed to have put a satellite into orbit. The country test-launched a Taepodong-2 missile believed capable of reaching Alaska in 2006, but it plunged into the ocean shortly after liftoff.
Media reports suggest the missile being readied for launch could be an advanced version of the Taepodong-2 with even greater range: the U.S. west coast.
Earlier Wednesday, the North's state media reported leader Kim Jong Il visited the province where Pyongyang says it was preparing to launch a satellite.
The Korean Central News Agency said Kim met workers in Hoeryong, in North Hamgyong Province. Hoeryong is about 110 miles (180 kilometers) from Hwadae, the county where North Korea said it was preparing for a satellite launch.
Hwadae also is the site for the 2006 test launch of the North's the Taepodong-2 missile.
South Korea's Unification Ministry said it has no evidence linking the North Korean leader's trip with the impending missile launch.
During the parliamentary committee meeting, the NIS officials also told lawmakers that another father-to-son succession appears likely in North Korea, Park said.
Park quoted the NIS officials as saying that it "appears possible" that one of Kim's three sons will inherit leadership because top officials there appeared to have shown little opposition to such a succession.
Kim, who turned 67 last week, has ruled the nuclear-armed North with absolute power since his father and North Korea founder Kim Il Sung died in 1994.
Kim has not anointed his successor, and speculation over who will succeed him has grown since he reportedly suffered a stroke in August.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D96IPJ200&show_article=1

Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban
The Ban Expired in 2004 During the Bush Administration.
By JASON RYAN
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2009
The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today.
Wednesday Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Obama administration will seek to reinstitute the assault weapons ban which expired in 2004 during the Bush administration.
As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.
Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border.
"I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum." Holder said at a news conference on the arrest of more than 700 people in a drug enforcement crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S.
Mexican government officials have complained that the availability of sophisticated guns from the United States have emboldened drug traffickers to fight over access routes into the U.S.
A State Department travel warning issued Feb. 20, 2009, reflected government concerns about the violence.
"Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades," the warning said. "Large firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico, but most recently in northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez."
At the news conference today, Holder described his discussions with his Mexican counterpart about the recent spike in violence.
"I met yesterday with Attorney General Medina Mora of Mexico, and we discussed the unprecedented levels of violence his country is facing because of their enforcement efforts," he said.
Holder declined to offer any time frame for the reimplementation of the assault weapons ban, however.
"It's something, as I said, that the president talked about during the campaign," he said. "There are obviously a number of things that are -- that have been taking up a substantial amount of his time, and so, I'm not sure exactly what the sequencing will be."
In a brief interview with ABC News, Wayne LaPierre, president of the National Rifle Association, said, "I think there are a lot of Democrats on Capitol Hill cringing at Eric Holder's comments right now."
During his confirmation hearing, Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee about other gun control measures the Obama administration may consider.
"I think closing the gun show loophole, the banning of cop-killer bullets and I also think that making the assault weapons ban permanent, would be something that would be permitted under Heller," Holder said, referring to the Supreme Court ruling in Washington, D.C. v. Heller, which asserted the Second Amendment as an individual's right to own a weapon.
The Assault Weapons Ban signed into law by President Clinton in 1994 banned 19 types of semi-automatic military-style guns and ammunition clips with more than 10 rounds.
"A semi-automatic is a quintessential self-defense firearm owned by American citizens in this country," LaPierre said. "I think it is clearly covered under Heller and it's clearly, I think, protected by the Constitution."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6960824&page=1

CONGRESS' PORKY POLS PIG OUT ON FINE $WINE
BIG BUCKS TO CANOES & TATTOOS
February 26, 2009
Posted: 1:53 am
February 26, 2009
WASHINGTON - Congress went on a pork-a-palooza yesterday, approving a massive spending bill with big bucks for Hawaiian canoe trips, research into pig smells, and tattoo removal - all while the nation faces an economic crisis.
Among the recipients of federal largesse is the Polynesian Voyaging Society of Honolulu, which got a $238,000 "earmark" in the bill.
EDITORIAL: OBAMA'S FUZZY TAX MATH
The group organizes sea voyages in ancient-style sailing canoes like the ones that first brought settlers to Hawaii.
The sailing club has a powerful wind at its back in the person of Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The bill also has a whopping 8 percent increase over last year for the numerous federal agencies it funds.
New York got its share of earmarks, among them $475,000 to "improve and expand" the Italian American Museum in Little Italy.
The project was pushed by New York Reps. Gary Ackerman and Jerrold Nadler. The latter touted it, among other earmarks, on his Web site.
Nadler also announced $4.5 million for new park development in Manhattan.
Uncle Sam's generosity extends upstate, where there's $950,000 to convert a railroad bridge over the Hudson River into a walkway in Poughkeepsie.
Earmarks totaled at least $3.8 billion - a figure used by the House Appropriations Committee.
But the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense calculates that there are an astonishing 8,570 earmarks at a cost of $7.7 billion.
The bill, which critics slammed as larded with pork, has big bucks to combat putrid stenches in the heartland, with $1.7 million for "Swine Odor and Manure Management Research."
That's on top of $1.9 million in each of the last two years, or nearly $6 million over the last three years.
The swine research center, at Iowa State University in Ames, got funds through the Agricultural Research Service, and aims to improve the smell of animals and the lagoons where waste is stored.
There's funding for mosquito trapping in Gainesville, Fla. - requested by Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. The research deals with the West Nile virus, and was funded at $1.2 million in each of the last two years.
The House packaged the bill from several spending measures held over from last year. It needs to pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Obama.
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, whom Obama vanquished in November, is calling on the president to veto it.
But Democratic leaders say the spending spree was a bipartisan affair, with up to 40 percent of the earmarks coming from Republicans.
Obama has criticized earmarks and insisted they be kept out of stimulus legislation - a suggestion that drew laughs from Republicans at the president's address to Congress Tuesday night.
Another earmark, by Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) provides $200,000 for a "tattoo-removal violence-outreach program" in Los Angeles.
The funds would buy a tattoo-removal machine to help gang members erase signs of their past.
Meanwhile, Obama is set to unveil a proposal today that sets aside $634 billion over the next 10 years for health-care reform.
He plans to pay for it, in part, by capping tax deductions for families that earn more than $250,000 a year.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02262009/news/politics/congress_porky_pols_pig_out_on_fine_wine_157027.htm
Recession, bailout, stimulus: US security threats?
February 26, 2009 - 7:20am
Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009, before the House Intelligence Committee`. Trillions of dollars in government spending might stabilize the economy, but for now it may have weakened some U.S. security interests abroad and hampered the nation's ability to respond financially to an attack at home. Blair told Congress that the slumping economy could foster extremism and anger at the U.S., which is seen as having caused the global economic meltdown. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke) By MATT APUZZO and EILEEN SULLIVAN
Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) - Trillions of dollars in government spending might stabilize the economy, but for now it may have weakened some U.S. security interests abroad and hampered the nation's ability to respond financially to an attack at home.
That curious conclusion by security and financial analysts reveals one of the unexpected consequences that could emerge from the government's bailout and stimulus plans. It also shows how intertwined the economy and national security have become. The top U.S. intelligence official, Dennis Blair, recently said the economy was the nation's foremost security concern.
"We have set the stage for a catastrophe," said James Rickards, a financial consultant at the research firm Omnis Inc. of McLean, Va., who provides security research for the Pentagon and others in the intelligence field.
Security officials long have worried about threats to financial institutions. In 2004, police increased security at the New York Stock Exchange and elsewhere in response to a perceived al-Qaida threat. But the focus was on car bombs, suitcase nuclear weapons or hijacked airplanes, not economics.
That's the way it has been for years.
The FBI and the Homeland Security Department's joint report on potential terrorist attack methods last year did not mention economic sabotage. The Homeland Security's five-year threat assessment focused primarily on weapons of mass destruction, leaving the limited discussion about economic attacks to a section on computer hackers.
If terrorists or countries wanted to send U.S. financial markets into a tailspin, they would not need an explosion. Several financial doomsday scenarios have circulated in intelligence and financial circles.
One goes like this: A foreign government or a terrorist group with substantial financial backing sets up several overseas hedge funds. Acting together, they dump U.S. stocks, perhaps by short-selling a major financial index or by targeting key U.S. companies. The attack begins slowly, picking up speed over several hours as it creates panic and confusion in the market.
The U.S. is more susceptible to such an attack today, analysts say, because Wall Street is so shaky. For instance, after the 2001 terrorist attacks, the government pumped money into the banking system to bolster the economy. Doing so again wouldn't be as easy. The government has already spent trillions on bank bailouts and short-term lending to try to prop up banks, with mixed results.
"Now, if the stock market crashes, banks are not going to be in a position to jump in. We're on our own," Rickards said.
To pay for the bailout and stimulus plans, the government must issue bonds, many of which will be bought by China and other countries. Beijing could use those bonds as a weapon. Selling them in bulk would send U.S. interest rates rising, providing a new drag on the economy.
Such a move could backfire on China because the economies of the two countries are closely tied. But U.S. officials have expressed fear about the threat. In January 2008, the Congressional Research Service said the best way for the government to allay those fears would be to stop spending so much and start saving more.
Yet spending in the name of economic recovery has reached record levels. That will make it harder for the U.S. to get tough with Beijing on human rights or threaten economic penalties during a diplomatic dispute, said George Foresman, a former Homeland Security undersecretary who now provides security consulting to financial companies.
When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to China this month, she said human rights concerns could not interfere with talks about the economic crisis. She then thanked China for continuing to invest in U.S. bonds and encouraged the nation to keep buying.
"The national security community is awakening to a new era," Foresman said. "They can't be overly focused on the Middle East at the expense of the rest of the world. And they can't be overly focused on the military at the expense of the global economy."
Blair, the national intelligence director, told Congress that the slumping economy could foster extremism and anger at the U.S., which is seen as having caused the global economic meltdown.
That surprised some lawmakers, including Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., who questioned any change of focus away from threats such as al-Qaida, Iran and North Korea.
"My intent in drawing attention to the economic crisis was more to inform policy of the things that could really cause real problems for the United States if they developed a certain way," Blair replied.
But Blair said he wouldn't be using the nation's spy satellites to look at economic data.
http://wtop.com/?nid=251&sid=1610926

Arctic melting a serious threat to national security
February 26, 2009 - 5:01am
WASHINGTON - Five countries own the Arctic - sort of.
A 1982 United Nations treaty called "The Law of the Sea" grants ownership of significant undersea portions to the U.S., Canada, Russia, Norway and Denmark, but any country can use it for transit.
Lately, that access has led to some sleepless nights for U.S. military and national security strategic planners.
Melting ice - whether it's the result of climate change or natural phenomena - has created a list of problems.
"It has national security implications, homeland security implications and commercial and natural resource implications that we need to address in a measured methodical way," says Rear Adm. Dave A. Gove, the oceanographer/navigator of the Navy.
From a national security perspective, Gove says as large chunks of ice break off and melt away, the U.S. needs to "make sure we understand certain potential vulnerabilities associated with the possibility of terrorism or access to the country."
Remote as it is, Alaska, with its forbidding climate, is an attractive target for terrorists and a portal to get into the homeland, experts say. Twenty years from now, if the melt continues and the waters in the region rise, so will grow Alaska's appeal to those with nefarious intentions.
Sitting at a large conference room table in his spacious and well appointed office at the U.S. Naval Observatory, Gove says the U.S. has not really paid much attention to Arctic vulnerability in the past, "because of the severity of the environment. But as the climate continues to change and provides greater access to that part of the world, we need to think about how to maintain American presence, naval presence and how to operate in the environment that still will be quite severe but more accessible."
There is reason to believe that top government officials are beginning to see it. In fact, one of former President George W. Bush's last executive orders on Jan. 9 was NSPD-66 / HSPD-25 to address the looming national security vulnerabilities in the Arctic.
The United States has broad and fundamental national security interests in the Arctic region and is prepared to operate either independently or in conjunction with other states to safeguard these interests. These interests include such matters as missile defense and early warning; deployment of sea and air systems for strategic sealift, strategic deterrence, maritime presence, and maritime security operations; and ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight.
NSPD-66 / HSPD-25
There are several countries with Arctic naval navigation capacity. The most capable are Canada, the U.K and Russia, but the Chinese "have also expressed an interest because of the natural resources that are available," Gove says.
Another potential problem bubbling beneath the surface is Russia's sovereignty claims.
"One example is the Bering Sea," Gove says.
The Bering Strait, which separates Alaska from Russia, is less than nautical 200 miles from either coast. Gove says that's a future issue that is yet to be dealt with.
Canada, the United States, Russia, Norway and Denmark, by law can claim the natural resources on, above and beneath the ocean floor up to 200 miles from their shoreline. They also can extend their claim up to 350 miles from shore for any area that is proven to be a part of their continental shelf.
Beyond the threat of terrorism and commercial interests of nations around the world lies the more troubling issue of intelligence gathering - much of which can be done with submarines.
"The Navy's mission and the national security strategy is to make sure that we are ready for any potential threats that might occur," Gove says.
"We have practical experience in the past with threats as a result of the Cold War. A great deal of activity that occurred in that part of the world primarily in the submarine force."
Despite that experience, Gove says the U.S. still needs to "understand what it's going to take to operate safely in that part of the world, and we haven't really optimized the submarine force which was built for use up there in the past."
Gove, who wrote an article in Proceedings Magazine, called "Arctic Melt: Reopening a Naval Frontier," says international intentions (with respect to the Arctic), "can be mercurial and perhaps change relatively quickly. So we need to be ready....We need to be understand what it's going to take to operate safely in that part of the world."
In the future, if sea levels continue to rise, research indicates current shorelines will migrate inland and the standard 200 nautical mile economic zone will shrink with them.
The prospect may have already set off an economic scramble that could result confrontation in the Arctic.
"The debate needs to be going on now in order to have us in the right position in five, in 10, in 20 years to be able to take advantage of and to protect our interest in that part of the world," Gove says
http://wtop.com/?nid=778&sid=1610692

eeyores news and view

Be a recycler, think small and outside the box. You don't need a Mcmansion
An $800 Portable House
When Bill Case told me that his combination house and pottery studio had cost him only $800 to construct, I was impressed. Then, when he pointed out that the entire structure was portable to boot, I was simply amazed!
"Well, I was broke at the time I built it," Bill explained. "I came to New Mexico in 1974 with nothing but my truck and the clothes I was wearing. The only asset I had was a friend's promise to let me use a piece of land he owned."
For an innovator like Bill, that offer seems to have been enough. He went to his pal's place at Canada de Los Alamos . . . leveled some of the land with a hand shovel . . . and—relying on his own ingenuity and an assortment of recycled materials—managed to pull a shelter up over himself.
"In order to earn a little pocket money, I arranged to haul trash from two motorcycle shops in Santa Fe," Case explained. "But instead of dumping the discards at the local landfill, I kept the material to use when building my house."
CRATE CREATIVITY
Bill, you see, had noted that many of the motorcycle crates were made up of a wealth of building materials. First, every one contained styrofoam padding in slabs from 2" to 8" thick. The enclosed bikes were also wrapped in a heavy plastic bag, and further protected by a stout mahogany frame. (Case figured that even the thick cardboard containers that surrounded all the other material would have some value.)
So, when he'd amassed enough crates, Bill combined them with a scrounged supply of scrap 2 X 4's to fabricate his home's well-insulated walls (see the accompanying diagram). The innermost styrofoam surface, of course, provides interior insulation. The next layer is a frame of cardboard-covered 2 X 4's (the paper product traps air pockets between the studs). Finally, plastic bags that once wrapped two-wheelers form a vapor barrier over the cardboard, and the shipping crate mahogany provides the exterior sheath.
When it came time to assemble a home from the made-up walls, Bill decided to build a portable dwelling. After all, he didn't own the land (and therefore didn't want to invest his effort in a house that he'd have to leave someday). Furthermore, since he'd be working alone, Case wanted to erect the house in sections that could be managed by one person.
To do so, Bill constructed his walls in 8' X 8' prefabricated panels, which are simply joined to each other with removable bolts. Braces were needed to hold the first pair of sections up, but the rest were able to stand unsupported once they were bolted together.
The home's ceiling was made from the same materials—and in the same man ner—as were the walls. "Putting on the roof was the hardest part of the job," Case recalls. "I had to raise a 20-foot beam and set it in place . . . climb up to get it squared away . . . climb back down to check it out . . . and climb up again if any adjustments were needed. I built the whole roof like that."
INEXPENSIVE INNOVATIONS
Bill made his own creosote (a mixture of tar and gasoline) to protect the structure's sole plate and any other areas that might otherwise have been prone to rotting as a result of contact with the earth. The preservative was applied over a batting of scrounged plastic bags.
Although Case had studied architecture, he says he used more common sense than planning when he designed his home: "All I did was make a few notes on the back of some envelopes." The builder did, however, devote a lot of thought to the placement of his windows. "I wanted them to look out over the most pleasing locations, and to let their sizes and shapes be determined by those of the pieces of glass I could obtain at little or no cost."
The glazing was scrounged from construction sites and picture frame shops, and the windows were positioned to bring in as much light as possible while opening upon views of the timbered hills around his home (and avoiding vistas cluttered with a neighbor's abandoned cars).
Bill's friends worried that the house—which has no foundation—would collapse in the first high wind . . . but their fears were unfounded. The building has withstood four angry New Mexico winters and seems likely to stand until Case decides to take it down.
Again, his mode of anchoring the structure was determined by economics. He just piled local rock against the interior walls and earth-bermed the outside. (Bags of pottery clay also help to hold down the studio's inside walls.)
A PROFITABLE STOVE
With the house erected and ready for occupancy, Bill attacked the problem of warming his dwelling. He built a fireplace, but it failed to "keep the icicles off the furniture". So the resourceful recycler set out in search of an efficient woodstove.
Finding commercially available heaters to be quite expensive, Case decided to go into debt for a $300 welding outfit instead. He then got hold of plans for a stove built from a 55-gallon drum and put together a couple of the woodburners. "They're pretty ugly," Bill admits, "but I learned enough by making mistakes on those two to construct a much better unit." The self-taught lessons proved to be worthwhile, too . . . because Bill went on to build 40 more such stoves that he sold to support himself and pay for the welding equipment.
All in all, Case finds that his heated house is quite adequate. He has a 12' X 16' living area and a 16' X 24' pottery studio . . . and the entire initial investment in his home and shop totals just $800. (Later, however, he spent an additional $200 for a yard light and a double layer of carpeting . . . which was used to cover the recycled plastic bags that, in turn, cover the dirt floor of his living quarters.)
What's more, he can take the whole house with him if he ever moves! "All I have to do is cut the sheathing over the joints with a Skilsaw . . . unbolt each section . . . pack the whole thing in my truck . . . and go! " Case laughs.
However, he isn't likely to leave soon, because Bill's now head of Arts and Crafts Marketing for the New Mexico Department of Commerce and Industry . . . and, despite the fact that he has a steady income, he still lives in his recycled home in Canada de los Alamos.
"It's not an attractive house," Bill summarized. "Everything about it was dictated by economic necessity. Nevertheless, the structure is quite livable . . . and such a house would be an inexpensive and workable way for a back-to-the lander to get through the first winter while building a permanent dwelling on his or her property."
ANOTHER SUGGESTION
While the $800 abode lacks thermal mass and is therefore difficult to heat with solar energy, the packing crate walls could be combined with either of two popular and inexpensive New Mexico building methods to remedy that shortcoming. The "Case Wall" could, for example, enclose an adobe structure (the material is wonderful for storing heat, but doesn't, by itself, provide good insulation) . . . or a person could erect such a wall around one of the stone and adobe-mortared houses popular in eastern New Mexico, which—again—provide thermal mass but have poor insulating qualities.
Even in its original form, however, Bill's portable dwelling stands as proof that there's no reason for anyone to freeze in a tent (or pay "double rent" by maintaining a dwelling in town) while building a dream house on his or her homestead acres . . . especially not while motorcycle shops are throwing away an awful lot of valuable building material!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Although many motorcycle manufacturers were using the crates described above when Bill Case built his low-cost shelter, you may have to do a little looking to locate such high-quality containers nowadays. Most firms now ship their products in less expensive plastic and/or metal-framed boxes, and those that still use the fine wooden crates—or their dealers—may well be asking a (usually reasonable) price for then.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1980-09-01/An-800-Portable-House.aspx

Political Interference Seen in Bank Bailout Decisions
Barney Frank Goes to Bat for Lender, and It Gets an Infusion
Troubled OneUnited Bank in Boston didn't look much like a candidate for aid from the Treasury Department's bank bailout fund last fall.
The Treasury had said it would give money only to healthy banks, to jump-start lending. But OneUnited had seen most of its capital evaporate. Moreover, it was under attack from its regulators for allegations of poor lending practices and executive-pay abuses, including owning a Porsche for its executives' use.
Nonetheless, in December OneUnited got a $12 million injection from the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. One apparent factor: the intercession of Rep. Barney Frank, the powerful head of the House Financial Services Committee.
Mr. Frank, by his own account, wrote into the TARP bill a provision specifically aimed at helping this particular home-state bank. And later, he acknowledges, he spoke to regulators urging that OneUnited be considered for a cash injection.
View Full ImageThe Washington Times /Landov
Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.), seen here leaving a December news conference, urged regulators to consider TARP money for a local bank.

As President Barack Obama's team sets about revising the $700 billion TARP program, following last week's release of the second half of the money, among the issues it faces is widespread dissatisfaction with way the program has been implemented. Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner, testifying Wednesday at his Senate confirmation hearing, acknowledged "there are serious concerns about transparency and accountability...confusion about the goals of the program, and a deep skepticism about whether we are using the taxpayers' money wisely."
Bankers, regulators and politicians complain of a secretive and opaque process for deciding which banks get cash and which don't. The goal of aiding only banks healthy enough to lend -- laid out by the Treasury when the program began -- clearly seems to have shifted, but in a way that's hard to pin down and that the Treasury has declined to explain. Part of the problem is that some powerful politicians have used their leverage to try to direct federal millions toward banks in their home states.
"It's totally arbitrary," says South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. "If you've got the right lobbyist and the right representative connected to Washington or the right ties to Washington, you get the golden tap on the shoulder," says Gov. Sanford, a Republican.
Several Ohio banks received funds after Ohio's congressional delegation complained bitterly about the treatment of Cleveland-based National City Corp., which regulators forced into a merger rather than provide with cash. And in Alabama, the state's top banking official says a windfall there -- five banks are slated to receive funds -- is testament to the influence of two powerful Alabama lawmakers who sit on key congressional committees.
TARP Funds by State
Click below for a sortable chart and interactive map detailing allocations by state and by institution.

More on the Bailout
On Dec. 3, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R., Ala.) forwarded a Dec. 2 letter from Alabama bank regulators complaining about the complexities of applying for federal funds. Alabama banks later received billions in funds.
The FDIC and Massachusetts slapped OneUnited Bank in Boston with a cease and desist order on Oct. 27, 2008, less than two months after it received $12 million in capital from Treasury.
A link between such lobbying and the release of TARP cash can't be proved. Treasury officials have said that political influence plays no role in the selection process. "The decisions are made by a committee of officials at Treasury based on recommendations and data provided by the regulators through the applications process," said Brookly McLaughlin, who was a spokeswoman for the Treasury until the Bush administration ended on Tuesday.
Restoring Credit Flow
Treasury and Federal Reserve officials have repeatedly said the TARP program was successful in its primary purpose, which was to bring the credit markets back from the precipice.
The task of further restoring credit flow now falls to Mr. Obama's team, which has spoken in favor of pumping more money into banks, as has Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. The new administration is weighing a range of ideas, including using at least $50 billion of the TARP money to prevent foreclosures, and possibly other measures such as setting up an "aggregator bank" to hold toxic assets now burdening banks' books.
The federal plan to invest in banks was controversial from the start. The Treasury said it would acquire preferred stock in banks, and sometimes warrants for common stock as well, but not any voting or management rights. Within the broad structure known as TARP, this is called the Capital Purchase Program.
At a hastily arranged meeting on Oct. 13, then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson basically forced the chiefs of the country's nine biggest banks to accept cash infusions. The government invested $125 billion in the nine. Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. subsequently returned for more money.
A further $125 billion was committed under the Bush administration to buy stakes in some of the remaining 8,500 U.S. banks and thrift institutions. More than 250 have received cash or commitments so far, totaling about $68 billion. The recipients range from large regional banks to Saigon National, a 12-employee lender catering to Vietnamese-American businesses in Southern California.
The procedure for getting a capital injection is complex. State and federal regulators sometimes complain that even they don't understand how it works.
A bank applies through its federal regulator, which either recommends to the Treasury that the bank receive money or quietly tells the bank to pull its application. A public turndown could be a death sentence because it would tell investors and consumers the government thinks the bank isn't viable.
If the regulator forwards the application, the Treasury decides whether to approve it. If the Treasury's reviewing team is uncertain, it sends the request to a panel of federal regulators to debate the matter.
The results have many in the industry scratching their heads. Two banks in Green Bay, Wis., have received federal investments. But in Arizona, a state hit hard by the housing slump, officials say they are perplexed that a dozen or so state-chartered banks haven't heard back from Treasury about the status of their applications.
Arizona's banking superintendent, Felecia Rotellini, says she is teaming up with local bankers and state legislators who plan to start lobbying Arizona's congressional delegation for help. "Some states are getting better treatment, and we just want it to be a level playing field," Ms. Rotellini says. "I think it's just a question of advocacy. It has to be a congressional voice."
A body set up to monitor the program, the Congressional Oversight Panel, has said the process of allocating money lacks transparency and accountability. The Treasury declines to explain why one bank is chosen for a federal investment and not another. Those that receive federal cash sometimes boast they have a government seal of approval, leaving banks that are shut out facing awkward questions about why they didn't.
In mid-October, days after summoning the nine big-bank executives to Washington to accept aid, the government took a far different approach with Cleveland's National City, which was struggling with soured real-estate loans.
National City executives consulted with their examiners at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which is a division of Treasury, about whether they should apply for a capital injection. Local OCC officials gave them the green light, according to people familiar with the matter.
In Washington, National City got a chillier reception. The company was facing mounting losses stemming in part from its ill-timed purchases of two Florida banks shortly before the state's real-estate market imploded. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan informed National City executives they shouldn't apply because their bank was too weak. Instead, he told the bank to sell itself. Within a week, it agreed to a $5.6 billion takeover by PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh. (PNC declined to comment.)
A political firestorm erupted in Ohio when it became clear the government had turned down National City, a 163-year-old bank with deep roots in Cleveland. Ohio's congressional delegation sent dozens of letters to Messrs. Dugan and Paulson and threatened to hold hearings on how the Treasury had supposedly wrecked a bank they said wasn't in immediate danger of collapsing.
Some lawyers, bankers and analysts say the case marked a turning point in the Treasury's handling of capital injections. For one thing, since then, some weak regional banks have pocketed billions of dollars in TARP funds.
In addition, Ohio banks are now faring better. Twelve Ohio banks have subsequently received a total of $7.7 billion in taxpayer funds. In neighboring Michigan -- like Ohio, hurt by the auto-industry slump -- only two banks have had federal infusions and a third has preliminary approval, for infusions totaling $638 million.
Among the Ohio beneficiaries is Huntington Bancshares Inc., of Columbus. It received a $1.4 billion federal investment in November, even though, like National City, it was hurt by souring real-estate loans and the weak regional economy. Amid mounting losses, the bank last week replaced its chief executive.
In Alabama, Colonial BancGroup Inc. asked for Treasury cash in November. With its application blessed by its state regulator and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Montgomery bank figured it was a shoo-in for funds, say people familiar with the bank.
Real-Estate Loans
But because Colonial was weighed down by real-estate loans, the Treasury sent the bid to its panel for reviewing controversial applications, consisting of four federal regulatory bodies: the FDIC, the Fed, the OCC and the Office of Thrift Supervision. Negotiations lasted several weeks. Eventually, the Treasury gave preliminary approval to Colonial's request for $550 million in capital.
The slow process infuriated Alabama officials. The same day that Colonial announced its application had been approved, Trabo Reed, Alabama's deputy banking superintendent, wrote a letter to Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, complaining that the government had dragged its feet and kept banks and state officials in the dark. The letter didn't specifically cite Colonial (which had no comment).
Rep. Bachus's office forwarded the letter to the heads of bank regulatory agencies and asked them to examine the situation. Since the letter was forwarded, two more Alabama banks have received TARP funding. Five Alabama banks, including Colonial, are slated to collect a total of about $4.2 billion.
In all, about 50 state-chartered Alabama banks applied, according to state banking superintendent John Harrison. He says his office helped shepherd them through the process, figuring that "the more applied, the more had the chance to get it."
Mr. Harrison says that in addition to Rep. Bachus, Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, "has been a big proponent for Alabama state-chartered banks...and he was really concerned that the TARP money went here." The banking official added: "We're blessed with a U.S. senator that was on the banking committee and Spencer Bachus being the ranking Republican" on the House panel. "I think [the Treasury] got the message."
Aides to Rep. Bachus said he did nothing more than forward Mr. Reed's letter and ask for consideration. Sen. Shelby has consistently opposed the financial-system bailout. His office denied that he was involved in helping Alabama banks get money. "Sen. Shelby has never intervened on anyone's behalf for TARP money," an aide to the lawmaker said.
The bank that Rep. Frank of Massachusetts went to bat for, OneUnited, saw its capital level sink in early September after the U.S. took control of the overextended mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. OneUnited, a closely held Boston-based lender with offices in Florida and California too, held large amounts of Fannie Mae preferred shares. Their value plunged after the U.S. put Fannie and Freddie into a federal conservatorship, acquired preferred shares in them and took warrants entitling the government to nearly 80% of their common stock.
The moves left OneUnited's capital badly depleted. A measure called "Tier 1 risk-based capital" equaled only 1.88% of assets at the bank, versus a desired level of about 6%. A OneUnited lawyer, Robert Cooper, says he called Rep. Frank and Rep. Maxine Waters of California, both Democrats, to complain that the Treasury's move had hurt the bank.
Rep. Waters heads the House Financial Services subcommittee on housing, and until last spring her husband, Sidney Williams, was a OneUnited director. Rep. Frank, besides heading the Financial Services Committee, has longstanding ties to OneUnited, and recalls having had a deposit account at a predecessor bank in the 1960s.
Later that month, Rep. Frank was intimately involved in crafting the legislation that created the $700 billion financial-system rescue plan. Mr. Frank says that in order to protect OneUnited bank, he inserted into the bill a provision to give special consideration to banks that had less than $1 billion of assets, had been well-capitalized as of June 30, served low- and moderate-income areas, and had taken a capital hit in the federal seizure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
"I did feel that it was important to frankly try and save them since it was federal action that put them into the dumper," Mr. Frank says.
Porsche for Executives
On Oct. 27, the FDIC and Massachusetts bank regulatory officials, alleging poor lending practices and executive-compensation abuses by OneUnited, slapped it with a strong enforcement action, a cease-and-desist order. Among other things, the officials told the bank to get rid of a 2008 Porsche for executives.
Mr. Cooper, the bank's attorney, dismisses the order as a "hastily cobbled together" action. "What we are talking about is a hiccup, a blip on the screen of an otherwise-stellar enterprise," he says. Asked whether the bank had sold the Porsche, he said only that it was complying with the order.
Mr. Frank -- who has played a leading role in both the initial design of TARP and current planning to revamp it -- says he spoke with a federal regulator and asked that OneUnited be given consideration for TARP money, "without in any way impinging on their general safety and soundness rules." Mr. Frank said he didn't remember which federal regulator he spoke with.
On Dec. 19, OneUnited received $12 million from the Treasury, on condition it raise $20 million from its shareholders, which it did.
Ms. McLaughlin, the spokeswoman for the Bush administration Treasury, said that OneUnited's application was subject to the same review process as other banks faced.
Mr. Frank said he didn't try to interfere with the regulatory process. "We have never told the regulators that they should ease up on them or not order them to do this or that," he said.
He cites the bank's status as the state's only financial institution owned by African-Americans. "We did say, yes, I thought it would have been a social tragedy if the one minority bank in Massachusetts that has been working so hard and had been overextended into housing was to be wiped out by a federal action, the Fannie-Freddie preferred [shares] thing, and that's why I think it was important to try to help them."
Rep. Waters said she was unaware that the bank received money. OneUnited was "just a small" bank, she said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123258284337504295.html

Asian economic woe grows as China slows and Japanese exports plunge
China's economy may have ground to a halt entirely between the third and fourth quarters of last year and Japanese exports plunged 35pc in December, underlining the scale of the slowdown in Asia.
China's national statistics bureau said gross domestic product had grown at an annual rate of 6.8pc in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to a gain of 9pc in the previous three months.
The annual rate of growth for the world's third-largest economy was the lowest since the second quarter of 1998. "The international financial crisis is deepening and spreading with a continuing negative impact on the domestic economy," said Ma Jiantang, head of the statistics bureau.
Although the annual rate of growth was 6.8pc, economists speculated that the actual growth between September and December last year could have been zero, or even negative.
"My rough assumption is that it was basically zero," said Stephen Green, an economist at Standard Chartered bank in Shanghai. However, he added, recent revisions to Chinese GDP figures made an accurate calculation impossible. Mr Green also predicted that GDP may not grow in the first quarter of this year, compared to the last quarter.
Japanese exporters endured a torrid December as demand for a range of goods fell sharply. Exports to the US fell 26pc, those to Europe dropped 41.8pc and those to China were down 35pc.
In China, much of the slowdown has been blamed on a lack of demand from the rest of the world for Chinese-made goods. Wen Jiabao, the prime minister, said earlier this week that the outlook for Chinese employment is "very grim" as factories shut down and foreign companies rein in their spending.
Mr Wen will visit the UK next week, and Gordon Brown has already called upon him to make sure that China plays its part in stabilising the global economy. "We need China to play a full role, in partnership with us, if we are to restore confidence, growth and jobs," said Mr Brown.
China, however, has insisted that it must get its own house in order first, and there are indications that the government has already instructed banks to unleash credit into the market. The value of loans issued in November and December soared by nearly 19pc.
"It is hard to overestimate the potential importance of this," said Mr Green. "Mature economies' banking systems are currently flooded with liquidity that is not being lent out. China's interbank market is similarly flooded, but the difference is that the banks are lending."
The banks are likely to be ordered to finance a large chunk of the Pounds400 billion fiscal stimulus package that the Chinese government announced in November. There is a further Pounds2 trillion of spending demands from local governments across China that they may also be called upon to help with, irrespective of the possibility of bad loans.
Other bright spots included a slight rebound in industrial production growth to 5.7pc in December from 5.2pc in November, and a strong set of retail sales figures, where growth was 19pc.
Goldman Sachs, which issued one of the most bearish predictions for Chinese economic growth in 2009, at 6pc, admitted that there are "rising upside risks" that they may be incorrect, given the money flooding into the market.
"Our checks with commercial banks suggest the value of loans extended in January is likely to be even larger than the amount in December," said Yu Song, an economist at Goldman, adding that falling inflation also raised the possibility of further interest rate cuts.
However, Goldman said that China could be hit by even weaker export demand and maintained its prediction for now. "It is way too early to even claim the worst is over," said Mr Green. "Exports and domestic consumption, as well as profit growth, are now slowing and they will continue to grind lower over the year. Property still looks fragile, as does private investor sentiment. Even if we reach 8pc growth for this year, it will not feel like it," he added.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/4312120/Asian-economic-woe-grows-as-China-slows-and-Japanese-exports-plunge.html

Will China lead the world into depression?
Oh no!
Albert Edwards at Societe Generale has issued another terror alert:
Sell everything. Hide in a bunker with plenty of whisky. The S&P 500 index of US shares is about to crash through its half-century support line to 500.
"Technicals say it is time to bail out. Cut equity expose and prepare for rout. US depression looking likely. While China's 2009 implosion could get ugly."
Mr Edwards -- who is of an "Austrian" persuasion, ie hates excess debt -- was one of the very few economists to see this whole crisis coming, and to issue warnings clearly and emphatically (unlike others who now claim to have been seers, but in fact hedged). He said interests rates would be slashed to zero and that bond yields would fall to the lowest in history. All this has occurred.
The key argument is that markets have been sold a pup on the China growth miracle and have massively underestimated the risks for the global FX and trading system as this unravels.
"The Chinese economy is imploding and this raises the possibility of regime change. To prevent this, the authorities would likely devalue the yuan. A subsequent trade war could see a re-run of the Great Depression.... Do you really trust politicians to "do the right thing"?
Mr Edwards has been tactically bullish on equities since the end of October when the MACD (Moving Average Convergence /Divergence Oscillator) for the S&P 500 broke upwards. This technical indicator broke down again two days ago.
He said the CBOE put/call ratio had dropped to the lowest level in a year (a contrary indicator).. Don't ask me to explain.. I am a technical dolt.
While a "deflationary quagmire" lies in store, this will not be a repeat of Japan's Lost Decade. Fed stimulus a l'outrance points to an inflation denouement down the road (2-3 years?).. hopefully not hyper.
He notes that China's electric power output has fallen for three months. The OECD's leading indicator for China has fallen off a cliff. Exports have collapsed across Asia.
"We continue to emphasize our long-held view that emerging economies are particularly vulnerable to a reversal in the global liquidity pump."
Mr Edwards said investors have a "touching faith" that China's authorities are in control of events.
"Could the economic situation in China become so bad that it threatens the regime itself? Of course it could. But before being swept away in a tidal wave of worker unrest it has one key tool in its economic armoury it has used before. MEGA-DEVALUATION. China has a track record of such things. At the end of 1993 the authorities devalued the yuan by 33pc."
A replay would be the surest route to a Smoot-Hawley II.
"Amid confidence that the ongoing, massive, monetary and fiscal stimulus will prevent a repeat of the Great Depression, will it instead be competitive devaluation and implosion of world trade that we should watch out for."
This is not my view. I believe the Chinese leadership will hold the line and behave responsibly, as they did in 1998. I wouldn't want to bet the farm that Albert Edwards is wrong.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/ambrose_evans-pritchard/blog/2009/01/15/will_china_lead_the_world_into_depression

Harley to cut 1,100 jobs as recession stings motorcycle maker
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Harley-Davidson (HOG) said Friday it will cut 1,100 jobs over two years, close some operations and consolidate others as it grapples with a slowdown in motorcycle sales.
The company also reported its fourth-quarter profit fell nearly 60%, and said it is slashing motorcycle shipments in 2009 to cope with reduced demand.

The iconic motorcycle maker said it will consolidate two engine and transmission plants in Milwaukee into its facility in Menomonee Falls, Wis. It will shrink its paint and frame operations in its York, Pa., plant and close its distribution facility in Franklin, Wis. Harley also said it will end its domestic transportation fleet operation.
The company said 70% of the job cuts will occur this year and the rest in 2010. The cuts will result in one-time charges of $110 million to $140 million over 2009 and 2010. Once they are finished, the cuts will save $60 million to $70 million per year.
Harley has been stung by the rapid downturn in motorcycle demand. The economic recession has prompted many consumers to put off purchases of its high-end bikes, while the credit crunch has kept some would-be customers from obtaining financing.
Harley said it is slashing motorcycle shipments in 2009 to 264,000 to 273,000 to cope with the down market. That would be a drop of 10% to 13% from a year earlier.
In 2008, Harley said it shipped 303,479 motorcycles, down 8% from 330,619 motorcycles in 2007.
Harley said its fourth-quarter profit fell 58% to $77.8 million, or 34 cents a share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $186.1 million, or 78 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.
Revenue fell 6.8% to $1.29 billion from the year-ago quarter.
The results fell short of Wall Street estimates. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected 57 cents a share on sales of $1.29 billion, on average.
Harley said its financial-services division swung to an operating loss of $24.9 million in fourth quarter.
The company said it is evaluating "a range of options" to provide funding for the ailing Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Many analysts have suggested the lending unit may have to be sold because it has been unable to unload its debt in the financial markets.
For the full year, Harley said its earnings fell 30% to $654.7 million, or $2.79 a share, from last year. Sales fell 2.3% to $5.59 billion.
Analysts expected $3.02 a share on sales of $5.61 billion in revenue.
Harley said it would not provide earnings guidance for 2009, but analysts call for $2.15 a share. Shares of Harley closed Thursday at $12.40 and are down 69% in the last 52 weeks.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/earnings/2009-01-23-harley_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Missiles kill 7 in NW Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Missiles fired from a suspected U.S. spy plane killed seven people Friday on the Pakistan side of the Afghan border, a lawless region where al-Qaida militants are known to hide out, officials said.
The strike was the first on Pakistani territory since the inauguration of President Barrack Obama.
Pakistani leaders had expressed hope Obama would halt the attacks, more than 30 of which have been launched since the middle of last year, reportedly killing several senior militants.
The pro-U.S. government routinely protests them as a violation of the country's sovereignty, but most observers speculate it has an unwritten agreement allowing them to take place.
One drone fired three missiles into the village of Zharki in North Waziristan, hitting two buildings, the intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
At least seven people were killed, but there identities were not immediately known.
The United States rarely acknowledges firing the missiles, which are mostly fired from drones believed launched from neighboring Afghanistan.
Pakistan's air force is not known to possess drones. NATO officers in Afghanistan say they respect Pakistani sovereignty.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D95SSHE80&show_article=1

Obama adviser: White males need not apply
Robert Reich tells House panel stimulus package should emphasize 'social return' over worker skill
Posted: January 22, 2009
12:17 pm Eastern
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
A top economic adviser to President Obama has told a congressional panel the billions of dollars in the proposed economic stimulus plan should be allocated with social issues in mind, to make sure the money doesn't go to just "white male construction workers" or the highly skilled.
Robert Reich, who served as labor secretary under President Clinton, was speaking to the House Steering and Policy Committee Jan. 7 about funding infrastructure projects across the nation.
"It seems to me that infrastructure spending is a very important and good way of stimulating the economy. The challenge will be to do it quickly, to find projects that can be done that will have a high social return, that also can be done with the greatest speed possible," Reich said.
"I am concerned, as I'm sure many of you are, that these jobs not simply go to high skilled people who are already professionals or to white male construction workers," he said.
The hearing took place two weeks before Obama was inaugurated.
"I have nothing against white male construction workers," Reich said. "I'm just saying there are a lot of other people who have needs as well.
"There are ways in which the money can be, criteria can be set so the money does go to others, the long term unemployed, minorities, women," he said.
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., appeared to agree, suggesting federal money be directed to specific groups of people.
The federal government, he said, must "remove the discretion" about where the funds go, or what projects would be involved, even to the point of eliminating any input from governors or state legislatures.
Reich agreed: "Governors ought to be, should be given a choice of signing on the bottom line or not."
Then Rangel noted the "middle class" would be unlikely to create any opposition to funds directed to minorities.
"One thing that you can depend on, you don't have to be worried about what the middle class is going to do. Things are so bad, they have to put food on their tables, get clothes for their kids, get them in school," he said.
Who is Barack Obama REALLY? Get the book that says his "change" is designed to uproot American culture and replace it with the failed, secular, socialist policies of the past.
Commentator Michelle Malkin said Reich's statements expose "the lie that the Obama administration is actually interested in revitalizing basic infrastructure for the good of the economy."
"No, what Team Obama really wants is to ensure that the least skilled, least qualified workers get jobs based on their chromosomes and pigment," she said.
Malkin cited Reich's own blog, where the Obama adviser wrote of the economic stimulus plan: "I'd suggest that all contracts entered into with stimulus funds require contractors to provide at least 20 percent of jobs to the long-term unemployed and to people with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level."
This, Malkin wrote, is "spoken like a true-blue wealth redistributor. The 'needs' (read: demands) of politically protected minorities trump the need for competently build roads and bridges."
On his blog, Reich makes his case for, "The Stimulus: How to Create Jobs Without Them All Going to Skilled Professionals and White Male Construction Workers."
"At least 2 percent of project funds should be allocated to such training. In addition, advantage should be taken of buildings trades apprenticeships -- which must be fully available to women and minorities," he wrote.
Race already has become an issue several times in the Obama administration.
As WND reported, Democratic Party strategist Donna Brazile admitted she swiped Obama's complimentary blanket from his inauguration ceremony and then joked it was not a criminal offense because, "We have a black president ... this was free."
Outrage also erupted over the inauguration benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowery, the 87-year-old civil rights pioneer, for asking God to help mankind work for a day when "white would embrace what is right."
Obama reacted to the benediction with a smile.
Reich's statements were highlighted in a video by NakedEmporerNews, which is embedded here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opxuUj6vFa4

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=86827