Chertoff Warns Of "Earth Shattering" Events

DHS Head's guts giving him trouble once more
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Monday, Feb 11, 2008



Department of Homeland Security Head Michael Chertoff has repeated the same fearmongering warning he made last year - he is worried "earth shattering" terror events are likely to be carried out soon.

Once again, Chertoff provides no specific details, he simply reminds Americans that they need to remain afraid of phantom terrorists:

"If you're asking me what keeps me up at night or what I most worry about -- in the short term, obviously, you worry about homegrown terrorists or somebody coming in with an explosive device or the kind of act of violence or terror that we've actually seen occasionally carried out in this country by people who are simply nuts or like a Timothy McVeigh." Chertoff told WTOP news.

"But in the longer run, in terms of something that would really be earth-shattering, the kinds of things I'm worried about are a nuclear or a dirty bomb attack or a nuclear or biological attack." Chertoff continued, citing the motive of toppling the already teetering US economy.

The threat from "Al Qaeda" is not over, Chertoff is at pains to remind us, "Just look at what's happened in the last year." he adds, referring to the fact that two men, since proven to be totally unconnected to "Al Qaeda", set a jeep on fire and drove it towards Glasgow airport in Scotland last August.

It was just last July that Chertoff cited a "gut feeling" when warning that Al Qaeda may attack the US, at the same time admitting there was not enough evidence of a pending attack to raise the nation's threat level.

He then toured the country warning attendees to his speeches that his gut feelings included simultaneous Los Angeles / San Francisco dirty bomb attacks.

Chertoff's hunches were much maligned by critics and spurred MSNBC's Keith Olbermann to lay out possible explanations for "Mr. Chertoff's remarkable revelations about his transcendently important, counter-terrorism stomach."

In recent times Chertoff has expressed disdain for those who have described the "war on terror" as hype, even taking a swipe at the 9/11 truth movement.

He is always keen to focus on his assertion that the internet is a breeding ground for terror and has publicly predicted that the next attack will be carried out by home grown web radicalized terrorists.

"I also think that the preparations that we need to have in place to deal with this threat are going to take a while to build, and we're building them as we speak." Chertoff concludes in the interview.

"But they're not going to be done in six weeks or even six months. So what is important is to stay focused on making the investments now that we will be very grateful for in several years if someone does get their hands on nuclear materials or a biological agent."

In other words, be Afraid, and stay afraid America.

Absurd Cop Video Warns of “Seven Signs of Terrorism”

Kurt Nimmo
Infowars
February 10, 2008

Once again, I am obliged to mention George Orwell and his novel, 1984. In the novel, Orwell describes the Youth League and the Spies, children in cahoots with the state who turn in their neighbors for all manner of imagined crimes. Winston Smith, Orwell’s protagonist, is called a “Eurasian” traitor and thought criminal by these heavily indoctrinated children, who would on the drop of a dime turn in their own parents to the thought police for the crime of unorthodoxy or nonconformity. In 1984, fear is rule of the day, as Big Brother is continually watching, not only through the eyes of children and omnipresent telescreens but through the acquiescence and sheepish compliance of the populace at large.

It would seem the Michigan State Police have taken a chapter from Orwell’s book. As the video above reveals, the cops in Michigan are encouraging citizens to snoop on all who “don’t belong” and who might engage in “suspicious behavior.” In the video, we are presented with a white homegrown terrorist in sunglasses and parka hood who wants to blow up a bridge with a backpack. Thanks to the diligence of ever watchful citizens, this fictional character, essentially a cartoon, is prevented from carrying out his attack and is arrested by the police.

Of course, as should be obvious by now, there are no homegrown terrorists inspired by al-Qaeda. In fact, the only putative terrorists about are created by the FBI, as the absurd case against a gang of impoverished black kids in Miami revealed well enough. And then there was the FBI contrived plot to blow up pipelines at Kennedy Airport in New York, and the one at Fort Dix, where “CWs,” short for “cooperating witnesses,” or rather federal informants, a euphemism for agents provocateurs, framed Muslims who worked for a pizzeria.

The Michigan State Police “educational” video is but another spin on the effort to convert neighborhood watch groups into antiterrorist informant cells. “I envision 100 million Americans looking for indicators of terrorism and promptly reporting it to a central database where it would get analyzed,” Mike Licata, a high school teacher and retired Air Force office who created CAT Eyes, told Carl Takei of the Boston Globe in 2003. “If Licata comes even close to his stated goal of 100 million informers, CAT Eyes would dwarf the citizen informer programs of the most repressive totalitarian states, making them appear amateurish by comparison.”

One third of the population snooping and informing on the other two thirds? Not even East Germany’s notorious Stasi had such ambitions, as only about one of every 50 East Germans collaborated with the Stasi, at the time in the 1980s one of the most extensive police infiltrations of a society in history. In America, naturally, we do things bigger and better.

Well before September 11, 2001 — on December 4, 1981, to be exact — Presidential Executive Order 12333 was signed by Ronald Reagan. It allowed the FBI, the military, and the CIA to infiltrate and “influence” domestic political groups and organizations, in other words it provided a legal green light for what was previously illegal under COINTELPRO, the program to subvert the constitutional rights of Americans.

“The CIA’s expanded role is especially ominous,” writes Brian Glick. “In the 60s, while legally banned from ‘internal security functions,’ the CIA managed to infiltrate the Black, student and antiwar movements. It also made secret use of university professors, journalists, labor leaders, publishing houses, cultural organizations and philanthropic fronts to mold US public opinion. But it apparently felt compelled to hold back — within the country — from the kinds of systematic political destabilization, torture, and murder which have become the hallmark of its operations abroad. Now, the full force of the CIA has been unleashed at home.”

As the Associated Press noted in October, 2002, the CIA “is increasing its presence at FBI field offices by assigning intelligence officers to domestic anti-terrorism teams,” a clear violation of its “legislative” charter, not that charters are of significance, as everything changed on September 11, 2001, at least according to our rulers and their minions. Of course, everything changed well before that date, as even a cursory glance at the CIA’s “family jewels” reveals.

As the above mentioned cases indicate, the FBI — with the assistance of the CIA, now ensconced in FBI field offices — is in the business of creating terrorism or the false impression of terrorism, never mind how fallacious or even absurd the examples are. All of this ridiculous hoopla, dutifully covered by the corporate media, itself long ago penetrated and co-opted by the CIA under Operation Mockingbird, results in the impression we are under siege, lately by al-Qaeda inspired blond haired and blue eyed terrorists with European surnames.

Thus it should not come as a surprise the Michigan State Police is in the “public relations” business of indoctrinating us against the fictional threat. As there are no al-Qaeda sleeper cells about, short of a handful of demented individuals posting on internet forums, it stands to reason there is no shortage of people ready to snoop, tattle and go after their neighbors for “suspicious behavior,” for instance insisting that the attacks of September 11 were an inside job.

In America, circa 2008, supporters of non-sanctioned political candidates fall victim to having their car tires slashed and are molested at political rallies for the crime of not enthusiastically supporting candidates selected by our rulers. In order to underscore the danger present, corporate media hacks such as Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly, reading from their Mockingbird scripts, warn of danger and violence to come, equating such people with homegrown terrorists and potentially violent lunatics.

Finally, it should be noted that the Michigan State Police’s “Seven Signs of Terrorism” video was “originally sent out to police and then to students. But, the response by community groups that have seen the tape has been so good, authorities are trying to free up some homeland security money to distribute it to even more people,” WZZM 13 reported in January, 2005. In short, the Ministry of Homeland Security pays to inculcate the masses in the bogus notion that white guys in parka hoods with bomb-stuffed backpacks are on the loose, ready at the drop of a hat to blow up bridges and presumably kindergarten classrooms.

It is all nonsense, but nonsense bought by millions of people who have spent the last few years supping up an unending stream of ludicrous propaganda, never mind the complete and glaring absence of any terrorist threat, from the CIA’s own bastard creation al-Qaeda or any other terrorist organization.

Washington State to Levy “Global Warming” Tax on Drivers

KXLY
February 9, 2008

Vehicle licensing fees in Washington State could spike dramatically, all in the name of global warming. Six Seattle Democrats in the state Senate are trying to push through a bill that would require the Department of Licensing to collect a greenhouse gas tax. Sponsors say the tax in Senate Bill 6923 is an effective way to fight global warming by giving the state more money to fund transportation alternatives. If it passes, there will be an extra tax on your yearly license tab fees, based on EPA estimated miles per gallon your vehicle gets. The bill states vehicles getting below 15 miles per gallon will be charged between $200 and $240 extra every year. Vehicles that get between 15 and 25 miles per gallon, will pay $100 to $180 dollars extra every year. Vehicles getting over 26 miles per gallon, will pay between $40 and $100 extra every year. Vehicles that don’t have an estimated fuel economy rating will be charged a fee based on engine size.

Ex-Boeing engineer charged in China spying case

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Boeing engineer was arrested on Monday on charges of stealing trade secrets for China about several aerospace programs, including the Space Shuttle, the U.S. Justice Department said.

It also announced a separate case in which a U.S. Defense Department official and two others from New Orleans were arrested on Monday on espionage charges involving the passing of classified U.S. government documents to China.

"We take every one of these cases very seriously," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein told a news conference.

"The threat is very simple. It's a threat to our national security and to our economic position in the world, a threat that is posed by the relentless efforts of foreign intelligence services to penetrate our security systems and steal our most sensitive military technology and information," he said.

Department officials said Dongfan "Greg" Chung, 72, of Orange, California, who was employed by Rockwell International from 1973 until its defense and space unit was acquired by Boeing Co in 1996, was arrested without incident at his residence.

He was accused in federal court in California of espionage involving economic secrets, conspiracy and other charges. If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of more than 100 years in prison, the officials said.

Chung, a China native who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, held a secret security clearance when he worked at Rockwell and Boeing on the Space Shuttle program, the officials said.

He retired from the company in 2002, but the next year he returned to Boeing as a contractor, a position he held until September 2006.

According to the charges against him, Chung took and concealed Boeing trade secrets relating to the Space Shuttle, the C-17 military transport aircraft and the Delta IV rocket.

DESIRE TO HELP 'MOTHERLAND'

Individuals in the Chinese aviation industry began sending Chung letters asking for specific information as early as 1979, the officials said. Chung responded in a letter with a desire to help the "motherland."

Between 1985 and 2003, Chung made multiple trips to China to give lectures on technology involving the Space Shuttle and other programs, and met with Chinese officials during those trips, the officials said. He also sent to China 24 manuals about the B-1 Bomber.

A Boeing spokesman, Dan Beck, said his company has been working with investigators.

"We do not comment on ongoing government criminal investigations and will not comment on the subject matter of the case," Beck said. "Boeing is not a target of the investigation and has been cooperating with the government."

The other case involved Gregg William Bergersen, a Defense Department official who had a top-secret security clearance, and Tai Shen Kuo and Yu Xin Kang, both of New Orleans.

Working under the direction of an individual identified in court documents only as "PRC Official A," Kuo cultivated friendships with Bergersen and others in the U.S. government and obtained from them sensitive classified information for China.

The officials said much of the information involved the U.S. sale of military equipment to Taiwan.

The criminal conduct spanned a two-year period from January 2006 to February 2008, said the documents filed in federal court in Virginia.

Kuo, a naturalized U.S. citizen who had a furniture business in New Orleans, gathered the secret information, the officials said. Kang, a Chinese citizen and a legal permanent U.S. resident, took the secrets from Kuo and gave them to the unidentified Chinese official.

Bergersen is a weapons systems policy analyst at the Arlington, Virginia-based Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which is part of the Defense Department. He received an undetermined amount of cash from Kuo for the secrets, the officials said.

Woman strip searched by police after calling THEM for help!

Article-
http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article...

Channel 3 News obtained exclusive video of Steffey's night in the Stark County jail cell. You can click the link at the bottom of the page to view it. A warning: it is difficult to watch.

Steffey declined to be interviewed for this story. But her husband, a high school educator, talked to Channel 3's Tom Meyer.

Greg Steffey said his wife is still traumatized. But the couple wants the story told to prevent it from happening to someone else.

"This could be your wife or anyone's wife," Greg Steffey said.

He said he still can't believe this happened to Hope, a 125-pound woman who, earlier that night, turned to police for help.

"You don't treat people like this," Greg Steffey said. "I don't think murderers are treated like this much less people charged with disorderly conduct."

Steffey's ordeal with the Stark County Sheriff's deputies began after her cousin called police for help.

In a 9-1-1 call, her cousin said Steffey had been assaulted by another cousin.

Poster Comment:
If you buy that pathetic excuse from those thug police.... your retarded. How can anyone make excuses for this type of behavior?! If you find yourself making excuses and apologies for this type of behavior, and you think its ok for the police to treat people like that.... Not only are you retarded, but your an evil retard!

Gates: Iraq Drawdown May Be Paused

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq (AP) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday endorsed, for the first time, the idea of pausing the drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq this summer.

"A brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense," Gates told reporters after meeting with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. Petraeus has indicated in recent weeks that he wants a "period of evaluation" this summer to assess the impact on Iraq security of reducing the U.S. military presence from 20 brigades to 15 brigades.

Of that five-brigade reduction, only one has departed thus far. The last of the five is to be gone by the end of July.

In his remarks at this U.S. base in southern Baghdad, Gates said Petraeus had given him his view on the drawdown, which some fear could result in giving up some of the security gains of recent months.

In endorsing Petraeus' suggestion of pausing after July, Gates made it clear that President Bush would have the final say. Until now it had been unclear how Gates felt about the idea of a pause; he had said publicly a number of times that he hoped conditions in Iraq would permit a continuation of the drawdown in the second half of the year.

In his remarks here, Gates indicated that he had begun some time ago to lean in Petraeus' direction.

"In my own thinking I had been kind of headed in that direction as well," Gates said. "But one of the keys is how long is that period (of pause and evaluation) and then what happens after that."

Although Petraeus and other senior commanders in Iraq had been suggesting the possibility of a pause in the drawdown, the idea runs counter to those in the military - particularly in the Army and Marine Corps - who worry that strains on troops from long and multiple combat tours will grow worse unless the drawdown continues after July.

Meantime, police and hospital officials said that twin car bombs struck near the compound of one of Iraq's most powerful Shiite politicians, killing at least six civilians and wounding 20. A dense cloud of black smoke rose over the offices of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the country's largest Shiite party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, or SIIC. More than dozen cars were destroyed in a blackened area, and a brick building was blown apart.

The Gates traveling party was not affected. In a ceremony earlier at Camp Victory, the secretary presented Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, with a Defense Distinguished Service Medal for his accomplishments in Iraq.

Gates said that Odierno, working under Petraeus, "combined classic counterinsurgency with approaches that broke new ground in the history of warfare." Gates recalled that when Odierno took command in December 2006, conditions in Iraq were described by some as a civil war.

"Those early months were tough times," Gates said. "Casualties were high. There were questions in the United States and around the world whether this new strategy - or any strategy, for that matter - would be able to make a real difference. What a difference you made, and much more - al-Qaida routed, insurgents co-opted, levels of violence of all kinds dramatically reduced."

Still, Gates said, "The situation in Iraq continues to remain fragile."

Odierno is departing after 15 months in charge of the headquarters that carries out Petraeus' strategy on a day-to-day basis. Odierno is returning to Washington and has been nominated by Bush for promotion to four-star rank and assignment as Army vice chief of staff.

On Sunday, Gates said Iraq's political leaders face hard choices on how to stabilize the country despite promising new signs of progress toward reconciliation.

"They seem to have become energized over the last few weeks," Gates said. The Pentagon chief told reporters who traveled with him from a conference in Germany that he wants to "see what the prospects are for further success in the next couple of months."

It was Gates' first visit this year and possibly his last before Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker return to Washington in April to recommend to Bush whether to continue reducing U.S. troop levels after Petraeus' current drawdown plan is completed in July.

The question is whether conditions in Baghdad and elsewhere have improved enough to permit even more troop cuts without risking a deterioration in security. Petraeus' strategy is based on an expectation that improved security over time will give Iraqi political leaders an impetus to make compromises on legislation and other moves toward reconciliation.

In an interview with reporters traveling with Gates, Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, commander of all U.S. forces in Baghdad, declined to say how many troops he would be losing during the drawdown, saying he believed that information was secret. But he said that whatever troop-cut decisions are made, he will make the necessary adjustments to ensure that the security gains achieved over the past several months are not sacrificed.

"We're not going to give back any terrain," Hammond said.

Before Gates' arrival, the U.S. military said a diary and another document seized during raids showed that some al-Qaida in Iraq leaders fear the terrorist group is crumbling and that many fighters are defecting to American-backed neighborhood groups. But violence also raged Sunday. The U.S. military said a car bomb exploded near an Iraqi checkpoint in an open-market area north of Baghdad, killing at least 23 civilians and wounding 25.

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Exorcism undergoes a revival across Europe

Citing modern ills, hundreds of priests have trained to expel the devil

By Craig Whitlock

The Washington Post

updated 11:59 p.m. ET, Sun., Feb. 10, 2008

POCZERNIN, Poland - This wind-swept village is bracing for an invasion of demons, thanks to a priest who believes he can defeat Satan.

The Rev. Andrzej Trojanowski, a soft-spoken Pole, plans to build a "spiritual oasis" that will serve as Europe's only center dedicated to performing exorcisms. With the blessing of the local Catholic archbishop and theological support from the Vatican, the center will aid a growing number of Poles possessed by evil forces or the devil himself, he said.

"This is my task, this is my purpose -- I want to help these people," said Trojanowski, who has worked as an exorcist for four years. "There is a group of people who cannot get relief through any other practices and who need peace."

Exorcism -- the church rite of expelling evil spirits from tortured souls -- is making a comeback in Catholic regions of Europe. Last July, more than 300 practitioners gathered in the Polish city of Czestochowa for the fourth International Congress of Exorcists.

About 70 priests serve as trained exorcists in Poland, about double the number of five years ago. An estimated 300 exorcists are active in Italy. Foremost among them: the Rev. Gabriele Amorth, 82, who performs exorcisms daily in Rome and is dean of Europe's corps of demon-battling priests.

"People don't pray anymore, they don't go to church, they don't go to confession. The devil has an easy time of it," Amorth said in an interview. "There's a lot more devil worship, people interested in satanic things and seances, and less in Jesus."

‘A service which is sorely needed’
Amorth and other priests said the resurgence in exorcisms has been encouraged by the Vatican, which in 1999 formally revised and upheld the rite for the first time in almost 400 years.

Although a Vatican official denied reports in December of a campaign to train more exorcists, supporters said informal efforts began under Pope John Paul II -- himself an occasional demon chaser -- and have accelerated under Pope Benedict XVI. A Catholic university in Rome began offering courses in exorcism in 2005 and has drawn students from around the globe.

One of the recruits is the Rev. Wieslaw Jankowski, a priest with the Institute for Studies on the Family, a counseling center outside Warsaw. He said priests at the institute realized they needed an exorcist on staff after encountering an increase in people plagued by evil.

Typical cases, he said, include people who turn away from the church and embrace New Age therapies, alternative religions or the occult. Internet addicts and yoga devotees are also at risk, he said.

"This is a service which is sorely needed," said Jankowski, who holds a doctorate in spiritual theology. "The number of people who need help is intensifying right now."

Some tough cases
Jankowski cited the case of a woman who asked for a divorce days after renewing her wedding vows as part of a marriage counseling program. What was suspicious, he said, was how the wife suddenly developed a passionate hatred for her husband.

"According to what I could perceive, the devil was present and acting in an obvious way," he said. "How else can you explain how a wife, in the space of a couple of weeks, could come to hate her own husband, a man who is a good person?"

Jankowski said that an archbishop granted him the authority last October to perform exorcisms and that he's been busy ever since. As for the afflicted wife? "We're still working with her," he said.

Exorcists said the people they help can be in the grip of evil to varying degrees. Only a small fraction, they said, are completely possessed by demons -- which can cause them to display inhuman strength, speak in exotic tongues, recoil in the presence of sacred objects or overpower others with a stench.

In those cases, the exorcists must confront the devil directly, using the power of the church to order it to abandon its host. More often, however, priests perform what some of them refer to as "soft exorcisms," using prayer to rid people of evil influences that control their lives.

Controversial practice
Exorcisms remain a touchy subject even among priests who perform them, aware that the rite is associated with medieval witch-burnings and the 1973 Hollywood horror film, "The Exorcist."

More recent horror stories have also taken their toll. In Germany, memories are still fresh of a 23-year-old Bavarian woman who died of starvation in 1976 after two priests -- thinking she was possessed -- subjected her to more than 60 exorcisms. In 2002, a German bishop resigned after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her during an exorcism.

Exorcists said they are careful not to treat people suffering from mental illness, and that they regularly consult with psychologists and physicians. At the same time, they said, conventional medical therapy often neglects spiritual ailments.

"My remedy is based on spiritual means, which cannot be replaced by any pharmaceutical remedies," said Trojanowski, the priest who is overseeing plans for the new exorcism center. "I do not stop at the level of just treating symptoms. I'm very much interested in the soul of a person. As a priest, I keep asking questions a doctor will never ask."

Trojanowski is a priest in the northwestern Polish port city of Szczecin. He said that he sees as many as 20 people a week who are under the influence of evil spirits, but that he needs more space to treat them properly. At his exorcism center, he said, people could check in for a few days and receive ministrations.

Plans for the center were announced in December after an archbishop gave approval to build it on church land in Poczernin, a village surrounded by cabbage fields about 20 miles outside Szczecin.

The news came as a bit of a shock to the villagers, who said they hadn't been consulted and weren't sure they liked the idea of demons coming home to roost.

"People are worried about the potential for crazy people coming here," said Ksawery Nyks, 50, a longtime resident. He said most people were opposed unless the church could guarantee the exorcism center would have adequate security.

Others were more sympathetic. "I don't think it's going to harm us," said Romnalda Banach, 46, who runs a food shop on the muddy street that runs through the heart of the village. "Every person, if he or she needs help, should be able to get it somehow."

Special correspondent Sarah Delaney in Rome contributed to this report.

© 2008 The Washington Post Company

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23103312/

Many Believe US Already in a Recession

JEANNINE AVERSA | February 10, 2008 05:50 PM EST |

WASHINGTON — Empty homes and for-sale signs clutter neighborhoods. You've lost your job or know someone who has. Your paycheck and nest egg are taking a hit.

Could the country be in recession?

Sixty-one percent of the public believes the economy is now suffering through its first recession since 2001, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll.

The fallout from a depressed housing market and a credit crunch nearly caused the economy to stall in the final three months of last year. Some experts, like the majority of people questioned in the poll, say the economy actually may be shrinking now. The worry is that consumers and businesses will hunker down further and pull back spending, sending the economy into a tailspin.

"Absolutely, we're in a recession," said Hilda Sanchez, 44, of Waterford, Calif.

Squeezed by high energy and food bills, "we can't afford the things that we normally buy," she said. "We are cutting corners in our spending. For our groceries, we are buying a lot of generic and we are eating out less."

For many, the meltdown in the housing and mortgage markets has proved especially disturbing. Record numbers of people were forced from their homes, unable to afford the monthly loan payments. People watched their single biggest asset fall in value, a reason to tighten the belt.

"Obviously the housing market is creating deep concern. And one of the real problems could be that if people, as a result of their value of their homes going down, kind of pull in their horns," President Bush said in a television interview aired Sunday.

Credit has become harder to get, thwarting would-be home buyers, adding to the glut of unsold homes and aggravating the housing industry's woes.

"For-sale signs are everywhere. In my area, 35 to 40 homes are standing there and aren't even complete. There aren't any buyers," said Jim Sims, 60, of Greer, S.C.

Nanette Dahlin, 52, of St. Louis Park, Minn., called the situation "very scary." She said friends in Madison, Minn., put their home up for sale recently and reduced the asking price more than $100,000 in just a week. "They are in bad shape," Dahlin said.

For all of 2007, the economy grew by just 2.2 percent. That was the weakest performance since 2002, when the country was struggling to recover from the last recession. The housing collapse was the biggest culprit in 2007. Builders lowered spending on housing projects by 16.9 percent on an annualized basis, the most in 25 years.

The job market is faltering _ a point driven home by a report showing that employers cut jobs in January for the first time in more than four years.

"The way things are, people are afraid of losing their jobs," Sanchez said.

Employment concerns are contributing to darker feelings about the economy and people's own financial well-being. Consumer confidence, as measured by the RBC Cash Index, dropped to a mark of 48.5 in early February. It was the worst reading since the index began in 2002.

A cooling job market along with high energy and food prices are taking a toll on paychecks. Workers' average weekly earnings, adjusted for inflation, fell 0.9 percent last year. In 2006, earnings grew by a solid 2.1 percent.

Wall Street is unsettled and as a result, people's nest eggs are not what they once were.

In fact, that was the top economic worry in the AP-Ipsos poll. Fifty-nine percent said they were worried "a lot" or "some" about seeing the value of stocks and retirement investments drop.

"I really dread opening my (financial) statements," Sims said.

By one rough rule of thumb, a recession occurs when there are two consecutive quarters _ six straight months _ when the economy shrinks. That did not happen in the last recession, though. The economy contracted in the first quarter of 2001, turned positive in the second quarter, shrank in the third quarter and turned up again in the final quarter of that year.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, the recognized arbiters for dating recessions, uses a more complicated formula. It takes into account such things as employment and income growth. By that measure, the last recession was in 2001, starting in March and ending in November.

Bush, citing some experts, said the U.S. was not in a recession, although he acknowledged "that the signs are troubling enough" to justify the $168 billion economic rescue plan that passed Congress this past week. The measure he intends to sign on Wednesday includes tax rebates for people and tax breaks for businesses.

To bolster the economy, the Federal Reserve embarked on a rate-cutting campaign in September, with two big reductions last month. In just eight days in January, the Fed slashed rates by 1.25 percentage points. The hope it that the lower rates will induce people to buy more and revive the economy.

So if the poll figure of 61 percent is right _ that the country is now in recession _ then those relief efforts will help ease the effect of a downturn.

"People are both depressed and anxious about the state of affairs. The anxiety is going to persist because we are in an uncertain season economically and politically," said Terry Connelly, dean of Golden Gate University's Ageno School of Business.

The poll was based on the responses from 1,006 adults surveyed Monday through Wednesday about their attitudes on personal finance and the economy. Results of the survey had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Chavez 'may cut oil supplies to US'

AFP
Monday February 11, 2008

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has warned that Caracas would stop oil supplies to the US if Exxon Mobil seized the country's assets.

"If you freeze us, if you really manage to freeze us, if you damage us, then we will hurt you. Do you know how? We are not going to send oil to the United States. Take notes, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger,'' Chavez said.

Exxon Mobil has launched a bid to freeze the assets of Venezuela's state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, in the US, British and Dutch courts.

The move comes after the nationalization of a multibillion dollar oil project by Chavez's government last year.

A British court has issued an injunction freezing as much as US$12 billion in assets.

"The outlaws of Exxon Mobil will never again rob us," Chavez said, accusing the oil giant of acting in line with the policies of 'the imperialist government of the United States' and of being part of the 'international mafia.'

The Venezuelan leader warned that such a move by the US could push oil prices up to $200 a barrel.

Police launch dawn raid on boy of 12 'over school fight'

By CHRIS BROOKE - More by this author » Last updated at 00:02am on 11th February 2008 daily mail

A father told yesterday how police made a dawn raid on his home - to arrest his 12-year- old son following a "scuffle" with another boy.

Taher Faleh, 31, said he was woken at 6am by two officers hammering at his front door. They insisted on waking his son Dean themselves.

When the worried father objected to them being the first to walk into the bedroom Dean shared with four young siblings, he claimed they threatened to arrest him as well.

By the time Dean was led away, the other youngsters were all "scared and crying", their father said.

The schoolboy was taken to Sheffield's Attercliffe police station where his DNA and fingerprints were taken and he was released on bail at 9.30am pending further inquiries into the alleged assault months earlier.

Recalling the incident at his home in Shiregreen, Sheffield, the father of six said: "I was woken by the knocking. I went downstairs and they said they were the police and they had come for my son.

"I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I thought it was a joke. But they were ready to smash the door down so I let them in.

"I told the two policemen I would wake him up. I didn't want them going upstairs and frightening my children.

"They said they had to arrest him from his bed. I stood in front of them on the stairs because I was knew they would be frightened if strangers burst into their bedroom.

"I was adamant the police officers shouldn't violate my children's space. In my culture it's a sin to violate other people's space, especially children.'

"But they said if I didn't move, they would arrest me for obstruction of justice. They refused to allow me or his mother to wake him up and they insisted on going into my children's bedroom, where there were four children under ten asleep, and waking him up.

"I have six children, they were all scared and crying. There was a big commotion."

Mr Faleh said he phoned the police switchboard when the officers were in his house but could find no one willing to help him or discuss the arrest of his son.

Mr Faleh, originally from Yemen, said Dean was involved in a "scuffle" with a boy on the way home from school.

He added: "I found out about it and I spoke to the other boy's mother and we both agreed we would not take the incident any further.

"They are only children and they have fights, that's what they do. They had a little scuffle and we tried to sort it out.

"Two children had a fight. There were no broken bones, no scars and no lasting damage."

But six weeks later, in September, Mr Faleh received a letter from South Yorkshire Police asking him to contact them about an allegation of assault.

He said he took Dean to the local police station five days after receiving the letter. There, they spoke to two officers.

Mr Faleh made a counter-complaint of racist abuse against the boy's mother, whom he claimed chased Dean home, calling him racist names.

He added: "My son is a good lad. He's got no criminal record, he's doing well at school and he respects his elders.

"I thought England was the cradle of civilisation and then something like this happens, it's unbelievable."

He said he was speaking out about the incident because he was so shocked at the attitude of the police.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: 'A 12 year-old boy was arrested in connection with an alleged assault, following numerous requests for him to present himself at a police station.

"He has been released on police bail pending further investigations into the alleged assault.

"We treat allegations of assault very seriously and are determined to bring offenders to justice using proportionate means."

Op/Ed: At one point, they called it 'water torture'

Raw Story
Monday February 11, 2008

As the Bush Administration quibbles over whether or not the interrogation practice known as waterboarding can be considered torture under the Geneva Convention, one veteran speaks definitively in today's Washington Post.

"As someone who has experienced waterboarding, albeit in a controlled setting, I know that the act is indeed torture," opens Richard E. Mezo.

Stationed in California in 1963, Mezo describes what he went through as part of his Navy training, which included being placed in a simulated POW camp that was modeled on encounters with Korean and Chinese forces.

"As a nation," Mezo appeals, "we must ask our leaders, elected and appointed, to be aware of such horrors; we must ask them to stop the narrow and superficial thinking that hinges upon "legal" definitions and to use common sense."

"Waterboarding is torture," he concludes, "and torture is clearly a crime against humanity."

EXCERPTS:

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We were all interrogated a few times, some of us more than others. During one interrogation, I was led blindfolded into a room. Suddenly one of the "enemy" hit me hard in the stomach -- a sucker punch that left me doubled over, out of breath. I think three other people were present, but I was never sure. Two men grabbed me at my sides. They put a pole of some kind under my knees and bent me over backward. My head went down lower than the rest of my body.

The questions (What is your unit? Where are you from?) were asked by one man. But we were not supposed to talk. I remember that the blindfold was heavy and completely covered my face. As the two men held me down, one on each side, someone began pouring water onto the blindfold, and suddenly I was drowning. The water streamed into my nose and then into my mouth when I gasped for breath. I couldn't stop it. All I could breathe was water, and it was terrifying. I think I began to lose consciousness. I felt my lungs begin to fill with burning liquid.

Even though I knew that I was in a military facility and that my "captors" would not kill me, no matter what they threatened, my body sensed and reacted to the danger it was in. Adrenaline helped me to fight out of the position the men were holding me in. I can't really explain how I managed to stand up, still with one man clinging to each arm. I only know how horrible it was. The experience was probably only a few minutes, but to me it seemed much longer.

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The entire article is available HERE.

'They will kill Obama if he becomes US president': Outcry over Nobel Prize winner's assassination warning

DAVID GARDNER
UK Daily Mail
Monday February 11, 2008

British Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing caused uproar last night by predicting the assassination of Barack Obama if he becomes the first black U.S. president.

The 88-year-old novelist's remarks came as the Democratic candidate toasted the most successful day in his White House campaign.

Mr Obama, the 46-year-old son of a black Kenyan man and a white American, dismissed Mrs Lessing's comments.

Miss Lessing said: "He would probably not last long, a black man in the position of president. They would kill him."

She said it would be better if Mrs Clinton, 60, became America's first woman president with Obama as her running mate

"Hillary is a very sharp lady. It might be calmer if she wins," she told a Swedish newspaper.

But one Democratic analyst said: "Suggesting Obama is in danger if he wins the election in November is not only divisive, it is insulting to the American people."

Princeton University political science professor-Melissa Harris-Lacewell raised assassination fears last month, saying: "For many black supporters, there is a lot of anxiety that he will be killed. It is on people's minds.

"You can't make a prediction like this - like he has a 50 per cent chance of getting shot.

"But the greater his visibility and the greater his access to people, there is a danger."

Full article here.