America's Future: FEMA Permanently Occupies Real Town For Advanced "Terror Training"

Residents of New Mexico town say they are used to the "background noise"

Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is spending $22 million dollars per year on a terror training program within a real town in New Mexico where helicopters buzz overhead in the middle of the night, mock nuclear explosions are drilled and "suicide bombers" are taken down by SWAT teams who pull citizens out of their homes.

The AP reports that what makes Playas, New Mexico an ideal training ground is the fact that it is a real town with real people living there.

There are a number of families in the town that are totally unconnected to the training and go about their daily lives while martial law scenarios are played out around them.

"Just a few years ago it was a ghost town abandoned after a large mining company pulled out," the AP's Rich Matthews reports. "Today, it's a training ground for the unthinkable: Nuclear attacks, invasions and suicide bombings in the United States."

"We have helicopters in the middle of the night flying overhead and explosions that can take place at all hours," resident Kim Kvame says. "It gets to be a part of the background noise that just lets you know you're home after a while."

Watch the video:

So, SWAT teams and troops running around with choppers circling overhead, sounds real homely.

Why does the Federal government believe that terrorists would be residing in sleepy small town America?

Why is it important to train SWAT teams to pull people out of homes in American towns?

The answer is simple, because the Federal government sees the citizens of America as possible insurgents or terrorists.

We have previously reported on the Homeland Security initiative titled ENDGAME, which sets as its goal the removal of "all removable aliens" and "potential terrorists."

Playas is owned by New Mexico Tech, constituting a division of the university's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center. There are plans to expand the center dramatically in the near future.

In 2004 New Mexico Tech bought the town using a $5 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security to begin converting the town into the nation’s primary counter-terrorism training facility. Read all about it and view more pictures here.

So, SWAT teams and troops running around with choppers circling overhead, sounds real homely.

Why does the Federal government believe that terrorists would be residing in sleepy small town America?

Why is it important to train SWAT teams to pull people out of homes in American towns?

The answer is simple, because the Federal government sees the citizens of America as possible insurgents or terrorists.

We have previously reported on the Homeland Security initiative titled ENDGAME, which sets as its goal the removal of "all removable aliens" and "potential terrorists."

Playas is owned by New Mexico Tech, constituting a division of the university's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center. There are plans to expand the center dramatically in the near future.

In 2004 New Mexico Tech bought the town using a $5 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security to begin converting the town into the nation’s primary counter-terrorism training facility. Read all about it and view more pictures here.

We have previously reported on many incidents where purpose built mock American towns and cities have been used for so called terror training, yet in this case the Feds have gone a step further.

This is not the first FEMA terror training program to raise serious questions.

In May 2006, we exposed the existence of a nationwide FEMA program which is training Pastors and other religious representatives to become secret police enforcers who teach their congregations to "obey the government" in preparation for the implementation of martial law, property and firearm seizures, mass vaccination programs and forced relocation.

A whistleblower who was secretly enrolled into the program told us that the feds were clandestinely recruiting religious leaders to help implement Homeland Security directives in anticipation of a potential bio-terrorist attack, any natural disaster or a nationally declared emergency.

The first directive was for Pastors to preach to their congregations Romans 13, the often taken out of context bible passage that was used by Hitler to hoodwink Christians into supporting him, in order to teach them to "obey the government" when martial law is declared.

It was related to the Pastors that quarantines, martial law and forced relocation were a problem for state authorities when enforcing federal mandates due to the "cowboy mentality" of citizens standing up for their property and second amendment rights as well as farmers defending their crops and livestock from seizure.

It was stressed that the Pastors needed to preach subservience to the authorities ahead of time in preparation for the round-ups and to make it clear to the congregation that "this is for their own good."

Pastors were told that they would be backed up by law enforcement in controlling uncooperative individuals and that they would even lead SWAT teams in attempting to quell resistance.

Though some doubted the accuracy of this report at the time due to its fundamentally disturbing implications, the story was later confirmed by a KSLA 12 news report, in which participating clergy and officials admitted to the existence of the program.

Watch the video:

In 2002, FEMA sought bids from major real estate and engineering firms to construct giant internment facilities in the case of a chemical, biological or nuclear attack or a natural disaster.

Okanogan County Commissioner Dave Schulz went public three years ago with his contention that his county was set to be a location for one of the camps.

Read more here.

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New home sales fall to a 13-year low in Feb.

The median price of a dwelling sold last month dropped to $244,100

The Associated Press

updated 10:27 a.m. ET March 26, 2008

WASHINGTON - Sales of new homes fell in February for the fourth straight month, pushing activity down to a 13-year low as the steep slump in housing continued.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new home sales dropped 1.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 units, the slowest sales pace since February 1995. The decline was slightly worse than expected.

The median price of a home sold last month dropped to $244,100, down 2.7 percent from the level of a year ago.

The prolonged slump in housing has dragged down overall economic activity. Many analysts believe the slump could combine with a multitude of other problems including a severe credit crunch, soaring energy prices and plunging consumer confidence, to push the country into a full-blown recession.

The number of unsold homes on the market at the end of the month represented a 9.8 months’ supply at the February sales pace, the same as in January. That was the highest inventory level in more than 26 years and reflects the fact that increased numbers of mortgage foreclosures are dumping even more homes on an already glutted market.

Sales dropped the most in the Northeast, falling by 40.6 percent. Sales were also down in the Midwest, dropping by 6.4 percent, but posted gains in the South of 5.7 percent and 0.7 percent in the West.

Many analysts believe that the slump in housing, which began in 2006, could last into 2009. It was reported on Tuesday that the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of home prices fell nearly 11 percent in January from a year ago, the biggest year-over-year decline in the history of the index.

Analysts said that housing is being hurt currently by tighter lending conditions as banks react to soaring mortgage defaults and the reluctance of prospective buyers to make a decision, fearing that prices have further to fall.

In other economic news, orders to factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell 1.7 percent in February, a second consecutive decline and further evidence of the economic troubles gripping the country.

The declines in orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, showed up in a number of areas. Demand for manufacturing equipment plunged by 13.3 percent, the largest amount on record, while orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, the category that is seen as a good proxy for business investment, fell by 2.6 percent, the biggest decline in four months.

Economic growth slowed to a barely discernible 0.6 percent in the final three months of last year, and many economists believe the gross domestic product will turn negative in the current quarter, signaling the start of a recession.

The 1.7 percent drop in orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, was worse than the 1 percent increase that many economists had expected.

The weakness came even though orders for transportation equipment rebounded with a 0.6 percent rise in February after a big 12.6 percent plunge in January. The swing in both months reflected changes in demand for commercial aircraft, which rose 5.4 percent in February following a 30.2 percent plunge in January. Orders for motor vehicles fell by 2.7 percent in February as U.S. automakers continued to face weak demand, reflecting the weak economy and soaring energy prices.

Excluding transportation, orders fell by 2.6 percent in February, representing the fourth decline in the past five months.

Economists believe that if the country does slip into a recession, the downturn may not be as severe in manufacturing, which is being helped by continued strong growth overseas, which is bolstering U.S. exports.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23809665/

US admits to Suez canal killing

US officials have said an Egyptian was killed when a ship contracted to the US navy fired warning shots at approaching boats in the Suez Canal on Monday.

US officials had previously maintained that there were no casualties.

Mohammed Fouad was buried on Tuesday amid expressions of anger against the Egyptian government and the US.

A US embassy statement issued on Wednesday said: "It appears that an Egyptian in the boat was killed by one of the warning shots."

According to the US account of the incident, the Global Patriot - on short-term charter to the US military - was approached by several boats as it prepared to enter the Suez Canal after dark on Monday.

Warning shots were fired from the ship.

"The boats were hailed and warned by a native Arabic speaker using a bullhorn to warn them to turn away. A warning flare was then fired," the embassy statement said.

"One small boat continued to approach the ship and received two sets of warning shots 20-30 yards in front of the bow."

Egyptian officials and witnesses say that two others were injured in the shooting.

Hawkers

According to the US Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC), the Global Patriot is a US-flagged roll-on, roll-off container ship chartered from Global Container Lines.

In is used by the MSC to transport US military equipment around the world.

The BBC's Heba Saleh in Cairo says fisherman and small boats carrying hawkers ply the waters of the canal trying to sell cigarettes and other local products to ships passing through.

Al-Qaeda militants have in the past used small motorboats to attack US military and other foreign vessels in waters off the coast of Yemen, our correspondent adds.

Some 7.5% of world sea trade passes through the Suez Canal, which is 190km long (118 miles) and 120m wide (395ft) at its narrowest point.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7314225.stm

Published: 2008/03/26 09:47:38 GMT

Report: Warplanes off Alaska

Moscow says long-range patrol was 'escorted' by NATO jets

Reuters

updated 5:54 a.m. ET March 26, 2008

MOSCOW - NATO forces sent jets to escort two Russian long-range air force bombers patrolling neutral skies near Alaska on Wednesday, Russian news agencies quoted the defense ministry as saying.

Russia's military has resumed its Cold War practice of flying regular patrols far beyond its borders, and in the last year has also sent turbo-prop Tu-95s over U.S. naval aircraft carriers and the Pacific island of Guam.

Accompanied by two Il-78 refueling tankers, the two Tu-95 Bear bombers flew for 15 hours over the Arctic and Pacific oceans, Interfax news agency quoted Russian Air Force spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky as saying.

"In the course of the air patrol, long-range aviation aircraft were escorted by NATO jets in the region of Alaska," said Drobyshevsky.

'The Russian B-52'
Originally designed to drop nuclear bombs, the Tu-95, Russia's equivalent of the U.S. air force's B-52, is a Cold War icon refitted for surveillance and maritime patrols.

Russia, in the eighth year of an economic boom driven by high global oil prices, has raised military funding after years of neglect following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Russian navy has finished construction of mothballed submarines and restarted large-scale naval exercises that shortages of fuel and spare parts had made a rarity.

Analysts say the Kremlin is using its reviving military might to support a policy of projecting Russia's power again on the world stage.

But some military observers say the Russian armed forces are still hampered by a shortage of combat-ready assets and that the exercises are primarily a public relations exercise.

Copyright 2008 Reuters. Click for restrictions.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23806107/

US Treasury chief says Social Security 'unsustainable'

AFP
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Tuesday that America's Social Security program for the retired is "financially unsustainable" and needs an urgent overhaul.

Paulson, speaking after a government panel had completed its annual assessment of the Social Security and Medicare benefits programs, said waves of retiring Americans threaten to soon deplete available funds stockpiled in the two programs.

"As the baby boom generation moves into retirement, these programs face progressively larger financial challenges," Paulson said.

The Treasury secretary said a growing number of retirees and the programs' rising costs could harm America's future prosperity if Social Security and Medicare are not overhauled and bolstered.

The needs of the Social Security program, which provides retirement benefits to all Americans as long as they have contributed to the program, are less acute, however, than Medicare.

Paulson said the Social Security program's cash flows are projected to turn negative in under 10 years and that a Social Security trust fund would likely be exhausted in 2041 without urgent reform.

Social Security's unfunded obligation, the difference between the present values of Social Security inflows and outflows less the existing trust funds, equals 4.3 trillion dollars over the next 75 years and 13.6 trillion on a permanent basis, according to the Treasury.

Medicare, which pays medical bills for retired Americans, is facing bigger financial challenges because of soaring health care and drug costs.

Full article here.

Olympic Protester Sentenced to Five Years Imprisonment, Beaten

Fang Xiaocai
Epoch Times
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Olympic human rights activist Yang Chunlin was sentenced to five years imprisonment Tuesday for 'inciting subversion of state power' by championing his cause with the slogan, "We don't want the Olympics, we want human rights."

While being taken from the courtroom, police shocked him with electric batons in front of his family. The 20-minute trial took place in the Jiamusi City Intermediate People's Court in Heilongjiang Province.

Rejecting that the Chinese authorities' judicial system is legitimate, Yang refused to sign the court document and insists he will not appeal his sentence.

Yang, a 53-year-old unemployed factory worker, is also is a freelance writer under the pen-name, "Wei Houren." At the end of 2006, Yang advocated for farmers who lost their farmlands in Fujin City, Heilongjiang. He collected over 10,000 signatures on an open petition letter titled, "We want human rights, not the Olympics." On July 6, Yang was arrested by the National Security Bureau in Jiamusi. On August 13, he was charged with 'inciting subversion of state power.'

Yang's attorney Li Fangping stated that his client received a sentence that was unduly harsh. He said Yang will now have ten days to decide whether to appeal.

Yang's sister, Yang Chunping, explained that the court hearing, beginning at 3pm on the afternoon of March 24, lasted about 20 minutes in total.

"The court sentenced him to five years imprisonment and two years deprivation of political rights, on charges of 'inciting subversion of state power' because he posted articles online attacking the ruling regime," said Chunping.

"When asked for his opinion of the verdict, [my brother] declared that the Chinese judicial system isn't legal at all. So what kind of opinion could he have over the sentence? Because his behavior is in complete compliance with the country's freedom of speech laws, his sentencing was not legal. Therefore, he refused to sign on the written judgment. He also expressed that he would not appeal, a decision he had already determined."

Police Beat Yang with Electric Batons on Site

After the hearing, Chunping said her brother was quickly taken away from court. His family members wished to say a few words to him, urging him to reconsider an appeal. But court police prevented any contact with his family by shocking Yang with electric batons.

"Our family members only wanted to tell my brother to appeal, but the police didn't allow him to speak. They used electric batons to shock him several times," said Chunping. "My brother was hurt so terribly that he covered his abdomen with his hands. Upon witnessing this tragic scene, my family members all cried loudly in protest and officers quickly threw my brother into a police vehicle."

"Although my brother didn't sign the sentence in writing after the hearing, the court forced my sister to sign a copy for relatives. We don't know whether this will have any legal effect."

With no signature Yang's sentence was still valid, said Attorney Li Fangping, as the court had an open hearing.

If Yang did choose to appeal, Li said he would still continue to represent him. But said the case is possibly over, as Yang had openly expressed that he would not appeal.

The court was contacted following the hearing, but no one answered the phone.

US air strike slays 5 Iraqi civilians

Press TV
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

A US air strike has killed five Iraqi civilians including a judge in the northern town of Tikrit, wounding 10 others, Iraqi police say.

Confirming the killings, US forces claimed that civilians had been struck during a battle with suspected al-Qaeda Sunni Arab militants which included strikes from fixed-wing aircraft, Reuters reported.

"After the air strike, coalition forces continued to receive heavy enemy fire as armed terrorists ran from the target and attempted to hide in neighboring homes using the occupants as human shields," they said in a statement.

"Preliminary assessment indicates that despite coalition forces' efforts to protect them, several civilians were injured or killed during the ensuing gun battle," it said.

Iraqi police said five civilians were killed and 10 wounded in the air strike. The dead included Munaf Mehdi, a judge in the town.

Spy-in-the-sky drone sets sights on Miami

Tom Brown
Reuters
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Miami police could soon be the first in the United States to use cutting-edge, spy-in-the-sky technology to beef up their fight against crime.

A small pilotless drone manufactured by Honeywell International, capable of hovering and "staring" using electro-optic or infrared sensors, is expected to make its debut soon in the skies over the Florida Everglades.

If use of the drone wins Federal Aviation Administration approval after tests, the Miami-Dade Police Department will start flying the 14-pound (6.3 kg) drone over urban areas with an eye toward full-fledged employment in crime fighting.

"Our intentions are to use it only in tactical situations as an extra set of eyes," said police department spokesman Juan Villalba.

"We intend to use this to benefit us in carrying out our mission," he added, saying the wingless Honeywell aircraft, which fits into a backpack and is capable of vertical takeoff and landing, seems ideally suited for use by SWAT teams in hostage situations or dealing with "barricaded subjects."

Miami-Dade police are not alone, however.

Taking their lead from the U.S. military, which has used drones in Iraq and Afghanistan for years, law enforcement agencies across the country have voiced a growing interest in using drones for domestic crime-fighting missions.

Known in the aerospace industry as UAVs, for unmanned aerial vehicles, drones have been under development for decades in the United States.

The CIA acknowledges that it developed a dragonfly-sized UAV known as the "Insectohopter" for laser-guided spy operations as long ago as the 1970s.

And other advanced work on robotic flyers has clearly been under way for quite some time.

"The FBI is experimenting with a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles," said Marcus Thomas, an assistant director of the bureau's Operational Technology Division.

"At this point they have been used mainly for search and rescue missions," he added. "It certainly is an up-and-coming technology and the FBI is researching additional uses for UAVs."

Full article here.

‘Miss Bimbo’ Website Horrifies Parents With Plastic Surgery Tips for 9-Year-Olds

MSNBC
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

"It's a good symbol of the end of western civilization."