** Australian newspaper reports "US Finger in Unrest Pie" on March 24, 2008, with subtitle: "WHICH country's interests are best served by an uprising in Tibet on the eve of the Beijing Olympics?" The last sentence of the article: "China is not perfect, but nor are the Dalai Lama and the Free Tibet crowd, who are being used as pawns by the US." http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,23423457-5006550,00.html (Cut-and-paste the above URL or Google "US Finger in Unrest Pie")
David Edwards and Nick Juliano Raw Story Thursday, March 27, 2008
Forty years after Democratic rising star Robert F. Kennedy was killed at a Los Angeles hotel during his presidential run, new evidence suggests the man serving a life sentence for his murder did not fire the shots that killed the charismatic senator.
Forensic scientists met at a conference in Connecticut this week to discuss their independent findings that cast serious doubt on the Kennedy assassination. Sirhan Sirhan is serving a life sentence in Kennedy's death, but the conference presenters argue he could not have fired the fatal shot that killed Kennedy.
One investigator, Dr. Robert Joling, has studied the Kennedy assassination for nearly four decades. He determined the fatal shot came from behind Kennedy, while Sirhan was four to six feet in front of the senator and never got close enough to shoot him from behind, an NBC affiliate reports.
Analysis by another forensics engineer, Philip Van Praag, of a Canadian journalists tape recording, known as the Pruszynski recording, determined that 13 shots were fired while Kennedy was killed, although Sirhan's gun only held eight bullets, according to the NBC reporter. This suggests that a second shooter was involved in the assassination.
Van Praag's analysis led him to conclude that a second gun that was fired matched a type owned by one of the security guards in Kennedy's entourage.
"When that security guard was asked about owning that gun at first he admitted, 'Yes I owned that kind of gun but I got rid of it two months before the assassination.'" correspondent Amy Parmenter said on MSNBC Wednesday. "It turns out upon further investigation, in fact, he did not get rid of that gun until five months after the shooting. Of course, you can see where we're going with this. ... That security guard, was in fact behind Senator Kennedy when the fatal shot was fired."
This video is from MSNBC News Live, broadcast March 26, 2008.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
The odds of Bush bombing Iran have gone up dramatically this week.
There’s just no other way to rationally interpret the resignation of Admiral William Fallon as head of Centcom.
Fallon resigned, and more likely was pushed out, after Esquire published an article on him entitled “The Man Between War and Peace.” It said he was the one standing in the way of Bush bombing Iran.
He’s not standing in the way any longer.
Actually, his rival, General David Petraeus, is now more powerful than ever. And as the Esquire article noted, Petraeus has said: “You cannot win in Iraq solely in Iraq.”
Fallon seemed to understand the risk he was taking when he took the job as head of Centcom. He told Esquire: “Career capping? How about career detonating?”
Fallon’s fate as a weathervane for war with Iran has been clear since the time of his confirmation, when he told a source that an attack on Iran “will not happen on my watch.”
His watch just stopped.
He also said, a the time, “There are several of us trying to put the crazies back in the box.”
But the crazies are still bounding around outside the box, and none crazier than Dick Cheney, who is off on a Mideast trip, ostensibly to deal with Israel and Palestine and also with high oil prices.
But there are other purposes, as well. Cheney is visiting Oman, “a key military ally and logistics hub for military operations in the Persian Gulf,” notes U.S. News & World Report.
What’s more, according to U.S. News, “two U.S. warships took up positions off Lebanon earlier this month.” The Pentagon “would want its warships in the eastern Mediterranean in the event of military action against Iran to keep Iranian ally Syria in check and to help provide air cover to Israel against Iranian missile reprisals,” the story said. “One of the newly deployed ships, the USS Ross, is an Aegis guised missile destroyer, a top system for defense against air attacks.”
U.S. News cited three other signs why war is more likely now: Israel’s airstrike on Syria, Israel’s war with Hezbollah, and Shimon Peres’s disavowal of unilateral action.
Here’s one more: The director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell, testified to the Senate on February 5 that maybe in last fall’s NIE he overstressed the fact that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons work. And maybe he overplayed the fact that Iran doesn’t know how to design a nuclear weapon just yet.
And maybe he should have highlighted the fact that Iran was still enriching uranium.
And maybe he should have emphasized that, therefore, Iran still poses a potential nuclear threat.
“In retrospect,” McConnell said, “I would do some things differently.”
Like give Bush and Cheney exactly what they ask for.
Something Admiral Fallon, to his credit, was not prepared to do.
Researchers find remarkable family connections for the candidates
The Associated Press
updated 3:46 p.m. ET March 25, 2008
BOSTON - This could make for one odd family reunion: Barack Obama is a distant cousin of actor Brad Pitt, and Hillary Rodham Clinton is related to Pitt's girlfriend, Angelina Jolie.
Researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society found some remarkable family connections for the three presidential candidates — Democratic rivals Obama and Clinton, and Republican John McCain.
Clinton, who is of French-Canadian descent on her mother's side, is also a distant cousin of singers Madonna, Celine Dion and Alanis Morissette. Obama, the son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya, can call six U.S. presidents, including George W. Bush, his cousins. McCain is a sixth cousin of first lady Laura Bush.
Genealogist Christopher Child said that while the candidates often focus on pointing out differences between them, their ancestry shows they are more alike than they think.
"It shows that lots of different people can be related, people you wouldn't necessarily expect," Child said.
Obama has a prolific presidential lineage that features Democrats and Republicans. His distant cousins include President George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry S. Truman and James Madison. Other Obama cousins include Vice President Dick Cheney, British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and Civil War General Robert E. Lee.
"His kinships are across the political spectrum," Child said.
Child has spent the last three years tracing the candidates' genealogy, along with senior research scholar Gary Boyd Roberts, author of the 1989 book, "Ancestors of American Presidents."
Clinton's distant cousins include beatnik author Jack Kerouac and Camilla Parker-Bowles, wife of Prince Charles of England.
McCain's ancestry was more difficult to trace because records on his relatives were not as complete as records for the families of Obama and Clinton, Child said.
Obama and President Bush are 10th cousins, once removed, linked by Samuel Hinkley of Cape Cod, who died in 1662.
Pitt and Obama are ninth cousins, linked by Edwin Hickman, who died in Virginia in 1769.
Clinton and Jolie are ninth cousins, twice removed, both related to Jean Cusson who died in St. Sulpice, Quebec, in 1718.
The New England Historic Genealogical Society, founded in 1845, is the oldest and largest nonprofit genealogical organization in the country.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Disgusting video footage of New York cops clubbing and arresting peaceful Tibetan protesters who were merely walking down the street has gone relatively ignored beyond Youtube.
While stories emerge out of China every day of police beating and killing Tibetan protestors in the streets, the same sort of behavior by cops in America tells its own story.
The footage was shot at a free Tibet peaceful assembly in New York on the 14th of March.
It shows the protestors holding flags and signs and peacefully walking down the street towards the UN building in the Turtle Bay neighborhood only to be accosted by police officers with batons.
One officer identified as "Delgado" is seen in the video pushing people as the group crosses the street.
Another officer, identified as "Serano" is caught threatening to kill two protesters as the cameraman passes. He later admits to the threat and apologizes for it.
As the group nears the UN building, cop cars and vans screech onto the sidewalks, cops pour out and begin to beat the protesters with clubs as UN security guards observe without becoming involved.
A non uniformed officer, who seems to be directing the entire operation, then orders the cameraman to step back and move away.
"Look at these cops, clubbing people in front of the UN, unbelievable, protesting to free Tibet, cops clubbing people in their legs on the sidewalk, in front of the UN in America, unbelievable, this is not China." the American cameraman announces in disbelief.
The officer identified as Serano then forces the cameraman away from the melee, telling him to shut the camera off and that he will not talk to him because he may be a reporter.
Several officers then follow the cameraman asking him about his recording of the incident.
This is perhaps one of the most kooky and creepy Security State tactics that I have come across: the EMD safety bracelet, which is being billed as the "last line of defence." A company called Lamperd Firearm Training Systems (scroll down) is trying to commercialize this item as an "airline security product." The company’s video that hawks this device talks about the current facial recognition system called biometrics, where cameras capture photos of people and compare those images to the images of "terrorists" in its "terrorist" database. No matter how sophisticated this technology, it can all too often allow a terrorist on board a plane, and, this technology can also have the effect of creating airport bottlenecks. Ahem. The solution? The "viable, workable answer" is an electronic ID bracelet. This bracelet will replace the need for a ticket and contain all necessary information about the person, and as a bonus, it can allow the passenger to be tracked through the terminal. Crew members would be empowered with radio frequency transmitters to subdue "hijackers." The technology will override a person’s central nervous system and zap them down quicker than you can say "Homeland Security." The company assures us that being dragged through the bracelet process is a "small inconvenience in order to assure your safe arrival." In fact, its studies show that most people would "happily opt" for wearing the bracelet to "insure their own security."
Upon activation of the electric shock device, through receipt of an activating signal from the selectively operable remote control means, the passenger wearing that particular bracelet receives the disabling electrical shock from the electric shock device. Accordingly, the passenger becomes incapacitated for a few seconds or perhaps a few minutes, during which time the passenger can be fully subdued and handcuffed, if necessary. Depending on the type of transmission medium used to send the activating signal, other passengers may also become temporarily incapacitated, which is undesirable and unfortunate, but may be unavoidable.
Lamperd even posts a series of letters on its website showing interest in the product for use "outside of airport security," which, of course, is the real reason for the product. Why it can be used for border control to subdue illegal aliens or by local law enforcement agencies to control the "criminal element!"
No one could have anticipated 9/11, right? While the U.S. knew about Al Qaeda, the 9/11 plotters and hijackers were still somewhat unknown and unpredictable prior to 9/11. Right?
In fact, U.S. and allied intelligence services had penetrated the highest levels of Al Qaeda prior to 9/11. For example:
The National Security Agency and the FBI were both independently listening in on the phone calls between the supposed mastermind of the attacks and the lead hijacker. Indeed, the FBI built its own antenna in Madagascar specifically to listen in on the mastermind's phone calls. The day before 9/11, the mastermind told the lead hijacker "tomorrow is zero hour" and gave final approval for the attacks. The NSA intercepted the message that day and the FBI was likely also monitoring the mastermind's phone calls. (The NSA claims that it did not translate the intercept until September 12th; however, the above-mentioned FBI translator said that she was frequently ordered to falsify dates of translations regarding 9/11)
Whatever you might think about 9/11, it is beyond dispute that U.S. and allied intelligence services had penetrated "the highest levels" of Al Qaeda prior to 9/11. Al Qaeda and the 9/11 plotters and hijackers were thoroughly known, monitored, tracked and infiltrated before 9/11.
If a domestic gang were this highly infiltrated and closely monitored by the FBI, and yet the FBI allowed the gang to commit a major crime, it would be obvious that the FBI allowed the crime to be committed. Right? Why is 9/11 any different? Indeed, Al Qaeda was arguably more higly infiltrated and monitored than any domestic gang.
WASHINGTON -- A crackdown on guns is meeting some resistance in the District.
Police are asking residents to submit to voluntary searches in exchange for amnesty under the District's gun ban. They passed out fliers requesting cooperation on Monday.
The program will begin in a couple of weeks in the Washington Highlands neighborhood of southeast Washington and will later expand to other neighborhoods. Officers will go door to door asking residents for permission to search their homes.
Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the "safe homes initiative" is aimed at residents who want to cooperate with police. She gave the example of parents or grandparents who know or suspect their children have guns in the home.
Community leaders went door to door in Ward 8 Monday to advise residents not to invite police into their homes to search for weapons.
"Bad idea," said D.C. School Board member William Lockridge. "I think the people should not open your doors under any circumstances, don't even crack your door, unless someone has a warrant for your arrest."
Ron Hampton, of the Black Police Officers Association, said he doesn't expect many in the community to comply.
"This is one of those communities where the police even have problems getting information about crimes that are going on in the community, so to suggest, now, that the police have enough community capital in their hand that the community is going to cooperate with them, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Hampton said.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. consumer confidence fell in March, the Conference Board reported Tuesday, and expectations hit a 35-year low as pessimistic views of the business climate, the job market and personal income weighed on sentiment.
The March consumer confidence index fell to 64.5 from a revised reading of 76.4 in February. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a March reading of 73.3. Confidence has taken a hit in recent months from worries about jobs, housing prices and the economy. Consumer confidence is at its lowest since the Iraq War in 2003.
"Looking ahead, consumers' outlook for business conditions, the job market and their income prospects is quite pessimistic and suggests further weakening may be on the horizon," said Lynn Franco, director of consumer research at the private Conference Board.
Elsewhere Tuesday, the Case-Shiller home price index showed U.S. home prices in 20 major cities declined a record 2.4% in January, falling for the 18th month in a row and bringing down prices a record 10.7% in the past year. See full story.
Hitting its second-lowest level ever, the Conference Board's expectations index fell to 47.9 in March from 58.0 in February. In December 1973, expectations were at 45.2. Those expecting business conditions to worsen over the next six months rose to 25.4% in March from 21.6% in February. Those expecting fewer jobs rose to 29.0% from 28.0%.
Expectations for the inflation rate in 12 months rose to 6.1% from 5.4%.
Consumers' views of present-day conditions declined to 89.2 in March from 104.0 in February. Those claiming business conditions are bad rose to 25.4% from 21.3%. Those saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 25.1% from 23.4%, and those saying jobs are "plentiful" fell to 18.8% from 21.5%.
Ruth Mantell is a MarketWatch reporter based in Washington.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Home prices in 20 major U.S. metro areas have plunged a record 10.7% in the past year as prices continued to decelerate, Standard & Poor's said Tuesday.
The 20-city Case-Shiller home price index fell a record 2.4% in January, the 18th consecutive decline in prices. For 10 major cities, prices fell 2.3% in January and 11.4% for the past 12 months.
"No markets seem to be completely immune from the housing crisis,' said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P.
Of the 20 cities, only Charlotte, N.C., has managed any gains in the past year, rising a meager 1.8%. For the fifth straight month, all 20 cities recorded lower prices compared with the previous month.
Home prices in 10 of the 20 cities have fallen at double-digit rates in the past year.
Falling prices have eroded Americans' wealth, cutting into their ability to borrow against their home or to sell for a profit. Millions of Americans now owe more on their home than it is worth.
Falling home values could also trigger higher monthly payments for many homeowners.
But falling prices are likely a necessary ingredient in getting the housing market growing again. Many economists expect prices to ultimately fall 20% to 30% from the peak; they are now down 12.5%.
"With supply overhang enormous and mortgage financing tougher to obtain, home prices are going to decline considerably further in the quarters ahead," wrote Joshua Shapiro, an economist for MFR.
The Case-Shiller index tracks sales of the same homes over time, so it's not influenced by the mix of homes sold in a period. However, it closely tracks only 20 cities, many of which had participated in the housing bubble earlier in the decade.
A similar index published by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight will be released later Tuesday. The OFHEO index covers more geographic areas, but does not include nonconforming mortgages such as jumbo loans or subprime loans. The OFHEO index has fallen 1% in the 12 months ending in December.
In the Case-Shiller index in January, prices fell 5.1% in Las Vegas, Nev., and 4.1% in Phoenix, Ariz. The smallest decline was the 0.2% in Charlotte.
For the past year, the biggest price declines have been in Miami and Las Vegas, both down 19.3%. Two cities that had continued to see price increases last year -- Seattle and Portland, Ore. -- turned negative in January.
The most senior US general in Iraq has said he has evidence that Iran was behind Sunday's bombardment of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.
Gen David Petraeus told the BBC he thought Tehran had trained, equipped and funded insurgents who fired the barrage of mortars and rockets.
He said Iran was adding what he described as "lethal accelerants" to a very combustible mix.
There has as yet been no response from Iran to the accusations.
In response to the news that 4,000 US military personnel have now been killed in Iraq, he said it showed how much the mission had cost but added that Americans were realistic about it.
He also said a great deal of progress had been made because of the "flipping" of communities - the decision by Sunni tribes to turn against al-Qaeda militants.
The extent of this had surprised even the US military, he said.
'Promises violated'
In an interview with BBC world affairs editor John Simpson, Gen Petraeus said violence in Iraq was being perpetuated by Iran's Quds Force, a branch of the Revolutionary Guards.
"The rockets that were launched at the Green Zone yesterday, for example... were Iranian-provided, Iranian-made rockets," he said, adding that the groups that fired them were funded and trained by the Quds Force.
"All of this in complete violation of promises made by President Ahmadinejad and the other most senior Iranian leaders to their Iraqi counterparts."
The barrage hit the Green Zone on Sunday morning. Some rockets missed their targets killing 15 Iraqi civilians.
Later in the day four US soldiers died when their patrol vehicle was blown up by a bomb in southern Baghdad, putting the total number of US fatalities above 4,000.
This and other bloodshed on Sunday came despite an overall reduction in violence since last June, when the US deployed an extra 30,000 troops for the surge.
Days earlier, Mr Bush marked the fifth anniversary of the invasion, saying that it had made the world a better place.
