Winston Churchill: Needed More Than Ever Today

On this day in 1874, a child was born in England who would ultimately change the course of world history: Winston Churchill.

Part of my childhood was spent as a resident of the neighbourhood for which Churchill was a Member of Parliament. As I grew up, Churchill was always a fixture, an integral part. Many books have been written about him. He was an officer in the British Army, an artist, a Nobel Prize winning writer (1953). Even though Churchill was part of my history lessons at school, I had no idea what a prolific writer he was:...

Go read the rest at NewsBlaze here.

*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita*

Mumbai, India Attack- The Goal Was To Kill 5,000

(The Taj Mahal engulfed in smoke during a gun battle between Indian commandos and the militants)
The Daily Mail has a chilling account of how the attack in Mumbai, India was planned and executed as well as what the goal was. He was told to "kill until the last breath."

His name is Azam Amir Kasab, he is 21 and from Pakistan and he describes the planning and the attack like it was of no consequence.

According to one police source "He [Kasab] was telling our people this in a most dispassionate way and responded to the horror their faces betrayed by shrugging his shoulders, as if it was all of no real consequence."

The targets were "whites, preferably Americans and British."

According to the account of Kasab’s interrogation, given by police sources, the terrorists were trained over five months in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, then had a month off before the attacks. At some stage, they also received intensive instruction in ‘marine assault’ operations.

Kasab and the nine other terrorists, who communicated using BlackBerry mobiles, began their journey to Mumbai on November 21.

Initially unarmed, they left an isolated beach near Karachi in a small boat, before being picked up the following day by a larger vessel.

At this point they were each given eight hand grenades, an AK-47 rifle, an automatic pistol and ammunition. And in anticipation of a lengthy siege, they also carried dried fruit.

Kasab told police that the group then hijacked a fishing trawler bearing the name Kuber near the maritime boundary between Pakistan and India.

Four of its crew are missing while the fifth has been found dead, apparently beheaded. Its owner and his brother are being questioned by police.

On November 23, after reaching Porbandar in the Indian state of Gujarat, 310 nautical miles from Mumbai, the insurgents were intercepted by two coastguard officers. The group hoisted a white flag and allowed the two men to board their boat.

According to Kasab, one of the militants then attacked one of the officers, slitting his throat and throwing him overboard. The other man was forced to help the group reach their destination before being executed as the vessel drew near to Mumbai.

For most of the journey, Kasab’s friend, 25-year-old Abu Ismail, a trained sailor, steered the vessel using GPS equipment. Three speedboats met the Kuber a mile and a half from the Mumbai seafront on Wednesday. After waiting for the light to fade, they moved off, later transferring to two inflatable dinghies to go ashore.

The two groups then split up. Four men went to to the Taj hotel, two to the Jewish centre of Nariman House, Kasab and another man set off by taxi towards the railway station, and two headed for the Leopold restaurant.

While his colleagues were executing hostages at the Taj, Kasab and Ismail first opened fire with their assault rifles at around 10.20pm, killing dozens of people standing at Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station.

Then they hijacked a police 4x4, killing the two officers inside. Kasab told investigators they continued their killing spree by attacking a petrol station and blowing up a taxi before being stopped.

‘I have done right,’ he told investigators. ‘I have no regrets.’

Read the rest.

They planned this for months in advance and while they did not accomplish their goal of killing 5,000, they did slaughter hundreds and injured hundreds more.

The report also claims that many of the "hostages" were already dead while the terrorists were claiming they were alive being held as hostages.

Evidence was emerging last night that the the gunmen killed their victims early in the siege and fooled Indian security forces into thinking that they were holding hostages.

At the Sir J.J. Hospital morgue, an official said that of the 87 bodies he had examined, all but a handful had been killed during Wednesday night.

Kender, from Stop the ACLU, has found his snark:

FAIL FAIL FAIL!!!

This terrorist scumbag piece of (CENSORED****CENSORED***CENSORED***) scum plays dead and once at the hospital says “I don’t wanna die?” Some Warrior of Allah he turned out to be? Why would he not want to die and go get his virgins? Maybe because he has some inkling that his masters (the cowards who trained him) are full of (CENSORED) and he is simply tossing himself on the Altar of Stupidity? I know one thing. I’d wager the authorities in India don’t really hold much care for the Geneva conventions or any other protections normally afforded “enemy combatants” captured by our guys. What is, I wonder, the phrase in India for “Gimme those jumper cables?”

Along with whatever the authorities in India do the authorities in Jolly Old England *motto; The Home of the New Kinder Sharia Law* will probably have their hands full ignoring the fact of early intel showing much of the financing for this attack came from (wait fooor it) BRITISH MOSQUES! (I know, I am just as surprised as you. I would NEVER have thought those peaceful British Muslims would FINANCE a terror attack, surely this must be some plot of the EVIL JOOOOOOS)

A nice little rundown of Day 5 from Barcepundit, English Edition and Jules Crittenden has some good linkage to all the recent information coming out.

YID With LID ha s a piece showing that India had the intelligence about this attack a week in advance and failed to stop it.

More from Telegraph, Arutz Sheva, Fox News and Washington Post.

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The Obama AWOL Birth Certificate Update

~Snooper~

OK. For the recent uninformed visitor that goes by "Barbara", due to "her" inability to do "her" own homework and due to "her" obvious lack of the ability to think for "herself" (could be attributed to "her" self-proclaimed age of 62), the following are the posts, articles and items I have collected since last July. I have them classified as COLB and COLB Forgery. My personal posts are located here and here.

At one point in time, I was under the understanding that the issue of Barack's citizenship was a non-issue and the ensuing witch hunt that was prevalent from last January was an embarrassment. It wasn't until the weekend of the Move America Forward major and huge on-line Troopathon that my original opinion of this issue began to fade. During the time that I thought the issue was an atrocity perpetrated from the nuts on the right, I did not write on the subject but visited other sites and left comments trying to persuade others to drop it and fight on issues that mattered. I never brought up the issue on my Blog Talk Radio shows either.

That all changed on 04 JUL 08 thanks to my friend Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs whom I disagreed with on this issue of the COLB v Birth Certificate. Since that time, using my investigative skills and my Spook training and verbiage analysis training and applications learned, developed and expounded upon for decades, I began to see an underlying current in this issue as it began to unfold. Most missed it. Some still miss it. I bring up that which most have missed or perhaps disregarded was the fact that Barack Hussein Obama can place this whole issue to bed very easily and quickly yet has not done so. The question is why he hasn't to this point.

It could be because of the audacity of people to dare question him. We have all seen the way he reacted (never responded - there is a difference) to anyone questioning him on any issue. It could be his narcissistic and arrogance that has caused him to not place this issue to bed and that has resulted in his inability to appear weak and cornered. He, being the typical American liberal democrat, cannot ever be seen as weak or vulnerable or to take personal responsibility for a bad decision and that bad decision was to drop this issue back in April of 2008.

He could have very well ended all discussions of his natural-born status when John McCain's was ended but he did not. Perhaps because he could not and cannot still.

In April of 2008, Senator McCain's "natural born" citizen status was settled by Senate Resolution 511. I thought it peculiar that Patrick Leahy would make the comment that the term "natural born citizen" was not defined in the Constitution when it clearly is defined. One doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to detect the Constitutional definition when the definition is clearly stated in the Constitution. There is other verbiage in the Resolution that is equally suspect.

[...] Whereas previous presidential candidates were born outside of the United States of America and were understood to be eligible to be President; [...]

This statement was added to the Resolution by none other than Barack Hussein Obama. Why?

In the process of my self-admonitions of following for a well crafted scam, I ran across this post recently after Pamela Geller rocked my world back in July.

[...] From Obama own website:

Since Sen. Obama has neither renounced his U.S. citizenship nor
sworn an oath of allegiance to Kenya, his Kenyan citizenship
automatically expired on Aug. 4,1982.”

Question?

How could it expire, if he never had it? [END]

Indeed. My learning and my cravings for knowledge will never end on this subject. In the linked post, I learned several other items of interest and I do believe that honest people will also see the light, as it were. Naturally, the apologists that can never admit to being in error will claim high and mighty blissful ignorance.

That segment linked above has since been scrubbed from Obama's web site and by his own admissions, he is of Kenyan birth. Perhaps that is why the Kenyan Ambassador to the United States has stated in a recent interview that Obama's birthplace in Kenya is well known and why Kenya has proclaimed a National Holiday in honor of one of their own ascending to the Presidency of the United States. I did a special show on the Kenyan connection last week where we aired the interview with the Ambassador. If Obama was not born in Kenya, why then did his Kenyan citizenship expire in 1982 and how did he come to have dual citizenship when Kenya does not recognize or allow dual citizenship other than British?


A shortened portion of that interview can be heard here and the entire interview can be heard here, complete with mundane chit-chat. The first 10 minutes is fairly boring actually.

By the way, the photo to the left is not a viable birth certificate but it is just as valid as the COLB posted around the internet. I find it comical in a sad sense that the COLB that was proven to be a forgery is still being presented as authentic when the original postings as MoveOn, KOS and Obama's web sites have all been removed. There is a pathology to that I am sure.

Barack Obama and his campaign have spent nearly $800K to NOT reveal the authentic vault birth certificate that every American is issued upon birth. The average cost of obtaining a certified copy of the obtainable birth certificate is $10. Why not spend the $10 and put this issue to rest. If he is in fact a natural born citizen, so be it and we can get along fighting his Marxist nonsense and his pathetically vague policies.


The forged COLB being passed off as a birth certificate (a COLB is not a BC) process is detailed here. Thank God for document forensic science.

It is said that there is a vault copy in Hawaii dated 1961 which is type writer written and sealed from public view and is said to have been released on November 15th. That never happened.

The lad to the right is the forgery dude and he has been cornered and caught. This happened on 06 JUL 08 and the Obama Media is oddly silent. He is or was the Obama Spokesman that stated that the forgery was real and was the official birth certificate. Oddly enough, or not, Labolt didn't know that a COLB wasn't a birth certificate as most of the libtards don't know as well. Curious, ain't it? This is merely one more example in a very long and historical list of examples of how the Leftinistra repeat a lie for long periods of time hoping and knowing that the easily led and easily duped with believe a lie when it is heard over and over, over a long period of time.

Always remember this: "If the facts do not support the theory, Destroy the facts!"

Further studies and searching revealed this paper written in 2006: in part, pdf located here:

AMENDING THE NATURAL BORN CITIZEN REQUIREMENT: GLOBALIZATION AS THE IMPETUS AND THE OBSTACLE
SARAH P. HERLIHY

INTRODUCTION

The natural born citizen requirement in Article II of the United States Constitution has been called the “stupidest provision” in the Constitution,1 “undecidedly un-American,”2 “blatantly discriminatory,”3 and the “Constitution’s worst provision.”4 Since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s victory in the California gubernatorial recall election of 2003, commentators and policy-makers have once again started to discuss whether Article II of the United States Constitution should be amended to render naturalized citizens eligible for the presidency.5 Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution defines the eligibility requirements for an individual to become president. Article II provides:

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.6

Although these sixty-two words are far from extraordinary, the natural born citizen provision is controversial because it prevents over 12.8 million Americans from being eligible for the presidency.7 In addition to Governor Schwarzenegger, the natural born citizen clause prohibits many other prominent Americans from becoming president, including Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm,8 former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao,9 and over 700 Medal of Honor Winners.10 Even though many of these individuals have served in high political positions or fought in a war on behalf of America, they are not able to become president simply because they were not born in the United States.11

The natural born citizen clause of the United States Constitution should be repealed for numerous reasons. Limiting presidential eligibility to natural born citizens discriminates against naturalized citizens, is outdated and undemocratic, and incorrectly assumes that birthplace is a proxy for loyalty. The increased globalization of the world continues to make each of these reasons more persuasive. As the world becomes smaller and cultures become more similar through globalization, the natural born citizen clause has increasingly become out of place in the American legal system. However, even though globalization strengthens the case for a Constitutional amendment, many Americans argue against abolishing the requirement. In a recent USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll taken November 19–21, 2004, only 31% of the respondents favored a constitutional amendment to abolish the natural born citizen requirement while 67% opposed such an amendment.12 Although some of the reasons for maintaining the natural born citizen requirement are rational, many of the reasons are based primarily on emotion. Therefore, although globalization is one impetus that should drive Americans to rely on reason and amend the Constitution, this paper argues that common perceptions about globalization ironically will convince Amendment. [...]

Why would the natural born clause be an obstacle?

And, in whose path is the obstacle in the way of? Interesting this is indeed. The answer is in further study and discovery, using the legalese of the Friends of Barack, mainly the law firm of whose employ the author of this piece is beholden to. When did Barack decide to run as President? Wasn't it in 2006, officially? What are the odds that Leftinistra law firms and Leftinistra Chicago lawyers of that law firm, which had/have long historical relationships with Czarbie, suddenly be wanting to "deal with" that damned pesky "natural-born clause"? Hmm?

Be prepared, ladies and gentlemen. A fully socialized and "communal" (globalized) America is on the horizon if we do not rise up to the salvation od our Freedoms so richly threatened by the globalization socialists that dwell among us. And morons say that the List of 45 is crazy. HA!

I find all of this ironic because GWB's critics criticized him for his "Globalization" outreach yet these same critics are themselves Globalists. I guess once more that Globalization is only good when the socialists do it.

Go ahead Barack. Make my day. Show your VAULT birth certificate and stop being a coward, cowering behind your Goon Squads and that forged Certificate of Live Birth fraud and scam. If you have an honest bone in your body, you would end this once and for all. Oh. Wait.

Mumbai: "Unless we stop it..."

Yuva Hindusta

The shooting in Mumbai (Bombay) is apparently over, and even as the blood still runs in the streets, political pundits and talking heads rush to declare the "who, what, why, and how".

One local paper says:

"Who's the brain behind the Mumbai attacks?

The prime suspect ...is Abdul Subhan Qureshi a 36 year old computer engineer who is also believed to have masterminded multiple bombings throughout India earlier this year." [here: ]

The article and graphics go on to suggest that the group claiming responsibility for the latest attacks is an "offshoot of SIMI - linked to Pakistani Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Tolba. The group calls itself Deccan Mujahideen."

Britain's Daily Mail loudly trumpets:

Massacre in Mumbai: Up to SEVEN gunmen were British and 'came from same area as 7/7 bombers'

. British-born Pakistanis among arrested militants

And you KNOW I have more to say! Go to NewsBlaze here for the rest....

*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita*

Valour-IT: It Isn't Over

From Laughing Wolf at Blackfive comes this:

In the immortal words of our founder:

What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!

Er, sorry, wrong founder.

The fact is, the fundraiser is now over. Well, no, only a part of it is. The friendly competition between the services is indeed over, with more than $78,000.00 showing right now. That total is not final, however, as I believe a few more checks have come in/are coming in and the final total is still some days away.

No, we didn't make our goal, but we knew we wouldn't from the start. There were a number of factors in play that meant we would not make the $250,000.00 goal. While I wish we could have raised more, I am glad we raised what we did, and I point out cheerfully that Team Army is -- so far -- leading the way. While it would have been nice to make the goal, I think we are all glad for what we did raise and I want to thank each of you that contributed.

Go read the rest, here. And THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

One Dies In Black Friday Stampede

Black Friday, the day stores hope will put them in the black, making a profit, is the Friday after Thanksgiving Day and stores provide sales to draw the masses.

In Long Island, at a Wal-Mart, the masses were waiting outside the door for the store to open and when it did, they stampeded in, like no more than cattle and in their desire to be first, to get to "sales" to beat everyone else to the merchandise, hundreds of supposedly civilized human beings trampled a man to death.

A stock clerk for the store, 34 years old, was knocked down, stepped on and killed.

"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," said Jimmy Overby, 43, a co-worker. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too...I literally had to fight people off my back."

The unidentified victim was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:03 a.m., police said.

The cause of death was pending.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was knocked to the floor during the mad rush. She was hospitalized for observation, police said.

Three other shoppers suffered minor injuries, cops said.

Even as emergency crews were around the man, before the store was closed down, people continued to walk right on by him to shop with few stopping to even acknowledge the man was dead.

Some reports say the pregnant woman mentioned above, miscarried.

Make that two deaths.

The authorities should be looking over the video and identifying each person that knocked the man and woman over, that stepped on him/her and they should prosecute them for the deaths.

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Update On Terror Attack In Mumbai, India

Just linking you up to a few updates about the massive attack perpetrated on Mumbai, India, in which over a hundred have been murdered and hundreds more injured.

CNN with details about five more hostages found dead in the Jewish center which was one of what is believed to be 10 separate targets attacked.

The bodies of five hostages have been found at a Jewish center in Mumbai, according to reports, and fighting still rages at a hotel in the city two days after terrorists launched a series of deadly attacks.

Fox with an update showing nine militants are in custody and although no one is sure who is ultimately responsible for this terror attack, it is suspected that there is a Pakistan connection.

The New York Times provides more details about Indian forces fighting the terrorists.

The Washington Post suggests "Characteristics of Plot Suggest Attackers Were Trained Outside India, Analysts Say."

The Telegraph reports that British men were among the attackers.

Two British-born Pakistanis were among eight gunmen seized by Indian commandos who stormed buildings to free hostages, Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Mumbai, reportedly said.

More linkage will be added here as reports come out.


Previously:

Massive Terror Attacks In Mumbai, India

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Cyber Attack Against Combat Zone/Military Computers

The LA Times reports that top military leaders briefed President Bush this week regarding a cyber attack against military computers, affecting a highly classified network, a U.S. Central Command which oversees our military in combat zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan as well as affecting computers in those combat zones.

Although details about the extent of the damage have not been released, one defense official has stated "This one was significant; this one got our attention."

Although officials are withholding many details, the attack underscores the increasing danger and potential significance of computer warfare, which defense experts say could one day be used by combatants to undermine even a militarily superior adversary.

Bush was briefed on the threat by Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mullen also briefed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

Military electronics experts have not pinpointed the source or motive of the attack and could not say whether the destructive program was created by an individual hacker or whether the Russian government may have had some involvement. Defense experts may never be able to answer such questions, officials said.

The defense official said the military also had not learned whether the software's designers may have been specifically targeting computers used by troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It is suspected the origin of the malware affecting the computers was Russia but that is just a suspicion at this point and even then, they have no clue as to whether it was a private hacker or group or whether the government was involved.

The malware is known as "agent.btz" and last week Pentagon officials placed a worldwide ban on the use of external computer flash drives. Evidently agent.btz has the ability to "spread to any flash drive plugged into an infected computer."

Defense officials acknowledged that the worldwide ban on external drives was a drastic move. Flash drives are used constantly in Iraq and Afghanistan, and many officers keep them loaded with crucial information on lanyards around their necks.

Banning their use made sharing information in the war theaters more difficult and reflected the severity of the intrusion and the threat from agent.btz, a second official said.

Officials would not describe the exact threat from agent.btz, or say whether it could shut down computers or steal information. Some computer experts have reported that agent.btz can allow an attacker to take control of a computer remotely and to take files and other information from it.

In response to the attack, the U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the military's cyberspace defenses, has raised the security level for its so-called information operations condition, or "INFOCON," initiating enhanced security measures on military networks.

Cyber attacks of this nature has worried our government for years and while much has been done to protect our computer networking systems, a good hacker or a government that utilizes them can do a massive amount of damage to a country or countries.



Previous news about cyber terrorism:

Cyber Attacks Black Out Cities Outside The U.S.--Cyber Terrorism

Will an Internet "Jihad" Be More Than A Hiccup For The U.S.

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Dumb American Voters?

Washington Post has a piece out, which explains so much.

So much for the wisdom of The People.

A new report from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) on the nation's civic literacy finds that most Americans are too ignorant to vote.

Out of 2,500 American quiz-takers, including college students, elected officials and other randomly selected citizens, nearly 1,800 flunked a 33-question test on basic civics. In fact, elected officials scored slightly lower than the general public with an average score of 44 percent compared to 49 percent.

Only 0.8 percent of all test-takers scored an "A."

America's report card may come as little surprise to fans of Jay Leno's man-on-the-street interviews, which reveal that most people don't know diddly about doohickey. Still, it's disheartening in the wake of a populist-driven election celebrating joes-of-all-trades to be reminded that the voting public is dumber than ever.

Read the whole thing... commentary not even needed.

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Massive Terror Attacks In Mumbai, India

It appears to have been ten separate attacks in Mumbai, India, explosions rocking the city with CNN reporting 125 dead and hundreds injured.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggested the group behind the terrorist attacks, which killed 125 people, was based outside the country.

CNN reporters said regular gun fire and blasts could be heard at the Oberoi and Taj Mahal hotels and a Jewish center in the city.

According to the same report, witnesses heard gunfire as well, hostages were taken.

A fire from earlier billowed smoke through one of the hotel's windows, as firefighters poured water over the plumes.

A few blocks away, at the Hotel Oberoi, a major fire raged Thursday night through one floor there, CNN's sister network in India, CNN-IBN, said.

The network reported 30 people were trapped, and said gunshots could be heard. Later, an explosion was heard from the hotel's rear side.

At least three or four terrorists are still holding hostages in both the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, British officials told CNN on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Singh suggested the group behind the attacks probably had "external linkages."

"It is evident that the group which carried out these attacks, based outside the country, had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the financial capital of the country," he said.

The Foreign Ministry opened up a situation room, news via YNet:

The Foreign Ministry has open it's situation room following Wednesday's terror attack in Mumbai, India.

Sixteen people were killed in an apparent series of firing incidents and blasts in Mumbai. No Israelis were reported among the casualties. The situation room can be reached at 972-2-5303155.

The Times of India gives more details:

In one of the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city's most high-profile targets -- the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard -- killing at least 101 and sending hundreds of injured to hospital, according to latest reports. ( Watch )

The attacks have taken a tragic toll on the city's top police brass: The high-profile chief of the anti-terror squad Hemant Karkare was killed; Mumbai's additional commissioner of police (east) Ashok Kamte was gunned down outside the Metro; and celebrated encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar was also killed. ( Watch )

The attacks appeared to be aimed at getting international attention as the terrorists took upto 40 British nationals and other foreigners hostage. The chairman of Hindustan Unilever Harish Manwani and CEO of the company Nitin Paranjpe were among the guests trapped at the Oberoi. All the internal board members of the multinational giant were reported to be holed up in the Oberoi hotel.

Times of India say the number opf injured could be as high as 900.

It also appears that British and American citizens were heavily targeted and one of the reasons the attackers had the ability to do so much damage could be the fact that the witnesses are saying they were "very young, like boys really, wearing jeans and T-shirts."

“They said they wanted anyone with British and American passports and then they took us up the stairs. I think they wanted to take us to the roof,” he said. He and another hostage managed to escape when they reached the 18th floor, he said.

Hot Air points to a Google map page, via Danger Room, showing how spread out the attacks were and a Flickr page with photos.

The Deccan Mujahideen is claiming credit for this organized unprecedented attack an d Weekly Standard has more on that group.

There are still a lot of questions about how any group could organize an attack of this magnitude with ten separate sites and as more information comes out, I will update.

[Update] Haaretz reports that although it is unlcear what the hostage takers want, they are continuing with hostage negotiations, moving slowly to try to save as many as possible.

One man, a who identified himself as a Pole but did not give his name, told reporters he had seen many bodies inside, but refused to give more details, saying he had promised the police not to discuss details of the rescue operation.

The Maharashtra state home ministry said 84 people had been freed from the Oberoi - 60 of them hostages - and dozens more were still trapped inside.

Police said they were going slowly to protect the captives.

Among the dead were at least one Australian, a Japanese and a British national, said Pradeep Indulkar, a senior government official of Maharashtra state. An Italian and a German were also killed, according to their foreign ministries.

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Giving thanks

On this American Thanksgiving Day 2008, I have much to be thankful for. For ALL my American coalition partners, both at home and in the sandbox, no fancy words. I am the richer for having each of you in my life. To "my" soldiers deployed far from home (and their families here), "my" veterans, to "my" Gold and Silver Star families, to all my American Soldiers' Angel buddies, to all "my" military mums who grace me with their friendship, and for my American blogging partners, and readers. You each know who you are, and the place you have in my heart. You all teach me so much every single day, and I really AM thankful for the lessons.;) I will always be grateful to every single one of you.

THANK YOU.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!

Dealing With Grief Over the Holidays

As the holiday season swings into high gear, there are many of our military families who are now facing new realities. Days that once held joyous celebration with family, now approach with different dynamics. TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) has put together what they are calling "Practical Tips To Help."

Dealing With Grief Over the Holidays: Practical Tips to Help
National Organization Comforting Families of the Fallen Offers Advice to Help All Who Are Grieving

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 24, 2008

WASHINGTON – Holiday cheer and merrymaking may be everywhere this time of year, but for thousands of Americans grieving the loss of a loved one, the holiday season can be an emotional minefield. And there’s no roadmap for easy navigation.

“The holiday season can be particularly challenging for families who are grieving the recent loss of a loved one,” said Bonnie Carroll, the founder and chairman of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, TAPS. “We offer tips to help surviving military families, and they are applicable to anyone who is grieving.”

For more than a decade, TAPS has helped surviving families of those who have died in military service. Carroll and TAPS offer the following tips to help anyone who is grieving during the holiday season.

Take charge of your holiday season. Anticipating the holiday, especially if it’s the first one without a cherished family member, can be worse than the actual holiday. Taking charge of your holiday plans, and mapping out how you will spend that time, can help relieve anxiety.

Make plans. Plan to spend the holidays where you feel nurtured, emotionally safe, and comfortable. An escape plan may be difficult to carry out, because American holidays are celebrated in many places world-wide, and there often is no way to escape all of the reminders of the holidays.

Find sustenance for the soul. Your church, synagogue, mosque, or other faith community may offer services, resources, and support networks to help. You may want to look for a support group for people who are grieving and have suffered a similar loss. Families who have lost a loved one serving in the military may find comfort by connecting with other survivors through our online community, online peer support groups, or care groups.

Don’t be afraid to change your holiday traditions. Some traditions may be a comfort, while others might cause pain. Consider which traditions to keep, and which ones to forego this year. Do not feel like you have to do something because you have always done it that way.

Include your lost loved one in gift-giving. Consider making a donation to a charity in memory of your loved one. Give a gift on behalf of your loved one to someone else.

Create a tribute. Light a candle, display a favorite photograph, or set a place at the dinner table to represent the missing loved one. Consider writing a letter to your loved one about the holidays and your special memories with that person.

Be gentle with yourself. Realize that familiar traditions, sights, smells, and even tastes, may be comforting, or may jolt your emotions. This is the time of year when you need to be careful with your emotions and listen to yourself.

Attend holiday functions if you can. Consider attending holiday parties and events, especially if you’ll be able to spend time with supportive family members and friends. Make an escape plan in case the event is more than you can handle, and trust your hosts to understand if you need to slip out. If you think a holiday gathering might be more than you can handle, it is ok to stay home.

Don’t pretend you haven’t experienced a loss. Imagining that nothing has happened does not make the pain of losing a loved one go away, nor does it make the holidays easier to endure. Even though holiday memories may be painful, they can also be comforting. It is ok to talk with others about what you have lost, and what the holidays mean to you.

Pay attention to your health. It’s often difficult for people who have experienced a recent loss to sleep. Make sure you get regular rest and drink lots of water. Do not over-indulge in sweets or alcohol. If you feel overwhelmed, talk with your medical care provider.

Take stock of both joy and sadness. Give yourself permission to feel joy as well as sadness. Don’t feel like you have to “be a certain way” because of your loss. Just be yourself.

Express your feelings. Bottling up your feelings may add to distress, not lessen it. To express your feelings, use your creativity to write a poem, talk with a supportive friend, create a painting, or pen a journal entry.

Share your holiday season with someone else. There are many lonely people who might like to experience the holiday season with someone else. Consider volunteering with a local charity or soup kitchen, inviting a neighbor for a special holiday meal, or including others in your holiday activities.

For more tips on dealing with grief during the holidays, go to the TAPS website at www.taps.org.

TAPS is the national organization providing compassionate care for the families of America’s fallen military heroes. TAPS provides peer-based emotional support, grief and trauma resources, seminars for adults, Good Grief Camps for children, case work assistance, and 24/7 crisis intervention care for all who have been affected by the death of a loved one serving in the Armed Forces. Services are provided free of charge. For more information go to www.taps.org or call the toll-free crisis line at 800.959.TAPS.

Go to TAPS here to find out more of the many programs they offer.

*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita and also on NewsBlaze here*

Valour-IT: Good News, and A Challenge or Three

From BlackFive comes this:

Well, as you can see, there have been some changes, some very nice changes. If you go here to see the Team standings you can get the whole picture (Navy, we do have smelling salts standing by).

There are some people that have come through for both Team Army and -- most of all -- Project Valour-IT. They have a challenge for you, and it is best expressed by malclave:

Just sent another hundred bucks for Team Army... I'd been holding it, figuring I could help out the Coast Guard team if we met our goal soon enough.

Anyway, I was just lower enlisted stationed at a hospital in the late 80s... surely there are plenty of folks who can outdo an REMF like me, right?

Malclave and others have issued challenges. My question to you is, will you rise to the challenge, or slink away and not even give a dollar? Folks, if everyone who comes to this site in a day pitches in a dollar, it puts us roughly ten percent (okay, closer to five) towards the goal. We are only at 27 percent for the year....

Go read the rest of what Laughing Wolf has to say, here.

Is Clinton Barred By Constitution From Secretary of State Job?

Crossposted from Stop the ACLU

From Marc Ambinder:

Pete Williams of NBC raised the question on MSNBC this afternoon: Is Hillary Clinton barred by the Constitution from accepting the post of secretary of state?

Article One, Section Six of the U.S. Constitution says:

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

I have no idea if this means she can't take the office because salary for cabinet positions was increased last year while Clinton was a Senator. I doubt anyone will seriously challenge this position on these grounds, but it may make Obama and Clinton think twice. Any constitutional scholars or lawyers out there want to weigh in on this one?

One commenter at Say Anything says this has happened before:

This is not the first time this Article has stood in the way of a cabinet appointment. In 1973, at the height of Watergate, President Richard Nixon nominated William Saxbe (R) to be Attorney General and the issue was raised because Saxbe was in the Senate in 1969 when the Attorney General’s pay was raised.

In that instance, Congress lowered the pay for the AG, allowing the appointment to proceed. Democratic Senators complained, however, and 10 senators actually voted against the transparent scheme on constitutional grounds. At the time, Sen. Robert C. Byrd deemed it was clearly unconstitutional saying we should not delude the American people into thinking a way can be found around the constitutional obstacle.

I'm sure this precedent will proceed, however it doesn't satisfy all constitutional scholars:

The usual workaround is for Congress to lower the salary of the job back to what it was so that the nominee can take it without receiving the benefit of the pay increase that was approved while the nominee was in Congress. This maneuver, which has come to be known as "the Saxbe fix," addresses the clear intent of the Constitution, to prevent self-dealing.

But many legal scholars believe it does not cure the Constitutional problem, because the language of Article I is so clearly an absolute prohibition: No senator or representative, period.

"The content of the rule here is broader than its purpose,” said Professor Michael Stokes Paulsen, a Constitutional law expert at St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. “And the rule is the rule; the purpose is not the rule.”

"A 'fix' can rescind the salary,” he added, “but it cannot repeal historical events. The emoluments of the office had been increased. The rule specified in the text still controls.”

Quite an interesting puzzle.

Others: Ed Morrissey
Robert Stacey McCain
John Brodigan

Increased Security For NY Subways During Holidays

Each Holiday season we hear reports of increased security due to intelligence gathered which hints at an attack of some kind or other.

While this latest intelligence is unsubstantiated, there is no choice but to remain vigilant and for our government to make sure they increase security, which is what is being done during the holiday season on New York subways, according to an Associated Press report:

Federal authorities are warning law enforcement personnel of a possible terror plot against the New York City subway and train systems during the holiday season, and police are beefing up security in preparation.

An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press says the FBI has received a "plausible but unsubstantiated" report that al-Qaida terrorists in late September may have discussed attacking the subway system.

A person briefed on the matter, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the intelligence-gathering work, said the threat may also be directed at the passenger rail lines running through New York, such as Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road, which are particularly busy with Thanksgiving holiday travelers.

A U.S. counterterror official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to do so publicly, said senior government officials have been briefed because the FBI very recently received credible information about possible attacks over the holiday season, and authorities are particularly concerned about this long holiday weekend.

Better safe than sorry. It is when this type of activity and threats, substantiated or not, is ignored, that we are in the most danger.

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Two Weeks From Hell

Today was not a good day.

In the past two weeks, four people--four very dear people--have become seriously ill. Two are family members, one is a former family member and the fourth is a blogging family member.

The youngest is my grandson. He just turned 3 months old. He was losing weight and there was no explanation why. So he was hospitalized for testing. After much prodding and poking, reviewing feeding procedures with my daughter, seeing how well this child ate, they finally came to a preliminary diagnosis. Cerebral Palsy. A very mild form, will not affect him in his mental development, is not expected to become worse over time and will only mildly hamper his motor development.

Next is my nephew. He just turned 15. A Texas boy. A star athlete and always in trouble with his mischief. Last Tuesday, he was playing basketball and hurt his leg in the game. It was still hurting so my sister took him to the doctor. I found out today he has osteosarcoma-bone cancer. My sister is in extreme denial, thinking the surgery next week will be simple and non-invasive. After doing some research tonight, I know it's probably going to be exploratory to determine the size and features of the tumor (calcium malignant, attached at the site) and treatment options. There is a very good chance he will lose part of his leg--if not his life. The exploratory is prior to chemo starting as well.

Then my ex father-in-law. Frankly, I would dance on the graves of my ex and his family. But not him. Out of the entire clan, he was the only one who was ever decent to me. He is in his late 70's and is suffering from heart failure. He's been very ill for quite some time, but he has given up. He has been brought home from the hospital to die, and makes no bones to the grandkids he will be spending Christmas with Santa Clause. He isn't expected to live past Thursday. This once robust, hearty man is a mere shell of himself and it's heartwrenching to see. He's worked his whole life for a family full of ingrates, who always put him down because he wasn't a "book learned" man--although he found a way to put four children through private schools, supported a wife from hell who expected him to cater to her (she refused to even drive a car) while all she could do was denigrate him. He did it quietly, with dignity. When he was out of work from the mines, he worked side jobs and always paid the bills--in cash. He loved his grandchildren, each as they came along. He was the only one in the family to welcome me when I married into it and for that I will always be grateful. While the hellspawn of his family can take a long walk off a high cliff, I do not wish a holiday death on anyone. Having lost both of my parents, it's hard and it will only hit them just how special this man is after he is gone. And it will be too late for them to say a simple "thank you".

Last, but by no means least, is our friend Roger Gardner from Radarsite. He is also fighting for his life, but better bloggers than I have addressed Roger and his trials. However, we have good news on Roger--his prognosis is getting better and better each time we hear from him, and we thank God for that.

Two weeks from hell. Four very dear people, ranging in age from 3 months to early 80's. Obama wants to talk Main Street. I got your Main Street right here. And mine is real--it's not a fantasyland concocted in the wild dreams of a meglomaniac.

Sorry, Stinky--my priorities are far and away more important than your fantasies.

You will just have to wait until you royally screw up--and then you will most definitely hear from me on your so-called change which is nothing more than recycled Clinton. Yeah--you're "green"--green from the stench of decay.

I have my family and friends to worry about. Maybe you should get in touch with real Main Street Americans and what is on our minds--not your ice cream dreams and lollipop sundaes.

Two weeks from hell.

Gates To Stay On As Defense Secretary- As The Stomach Churns #2

The rumor mill has been working over time lately and one rumor that has had the far left "progressives" howling at the moon was the news that Barack Obama was going to ask Robert Gates to retain his position as Defense Secretary.

Today we see news reports claiming it is a done deal and Gates has accepted the position and the far left base of the Democratic party were not happy at all when it was rumor and that is an understatement from some of the reactions previously seen.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to stay on under President-elect Barack Obama, according to officials in both parties. Obama plans to announce a national-security team early next week that includes Gates at the Pentagon and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as secretary of state, officials said.

Reactions:

Open Left:

The most important appointment decision Obama will make during the transition, bar none, is who becomes, or remains, Secretary of Defense. As I have noted in the past, the Department of Defense oversees the expenditure of 52% of all discretionary spending, rendering it literally impossible for any other cabinet Secretary to oversee as much federal money. Further, keeping Gates on would only worsen Democratic image problems on national security, as he would be the second consecutive non-Democratic Secretary of Defense nominated by a Democratic President. The message would be clear: even Democrats agree that Democrats can't run the military.

TPM agrees with Open Left:

For instance, as Chris Bowers argues persuasively, keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates is inherently a bad idea, because it keeps the same leadership in charge of half the Federal budget and, worse, sends the message that Republicans are needed to manage national security.

That mode of critique doesn't involve making any speculative extrapolations about Obama's future policy directions, and seems like a far more sensible way to look at his choices.

Daily Kos previously made the case against keeping Gates on (like Obama bothers listening to them?)

The Public Record:

The retention of Bob Gates at the Department of Defense for any length of time would signal Obama’s support for policies he has publically questioned in the past and indicate that he lacks confidence in his own ultimate choice to be Secretary of Defense. Gates has been an enthusiastic supporter of such Bush Administration policies as the deployment of a ballistic missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic; the rush to bring Ukraine and Georgia into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; continued spending on a National Missile Defense (currently the most expensive weapons system in the Pentagon’s inflated budget); and the abrogation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. These policies have weakened the international regime for non-proliferation and the arms control process with Russia and should be reversed by the new Obama Administration.

Furthermore, Gates has failed to tackle the huge budgetary, personnel, and organizational problems that exist at the Department of Defense. A recent study by the Government Accountability Office revealed nearly $300 billion in cost overruns on the largest defense acquisition programs, a problem that Gates has not addressed. Gates also favors an expanded role for the Pentagon in nation-building, which will lead to huge increases in the already-inflated defense budget as soldiers on the ground become both cops and social workers.

Others upset:

Some may think Gates is acceptable but I don't. First. Gates supports increasing U.S. forces in Afghanistan. As I written here on several occasions, Afghanistan is the black hole for foreign forces. Not since Alexander the Great has a foreign army successfully invaded and occupied and conquered the Afghan people. Since then Afghanistan has chewed up and spit out foreign invaders. The same thing lies ahead for the Americans.

Second. Gates as DefSec believes military power is effective in pursuing U.S. interests. I disagree totally with the premise. Shooting and killing foreigners does nothing to advance U.S. interests anywhere in the world.

That one is also annoyed about Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State:

As for Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, Obama seems to have forgotten what Clinton said about the Iranians, how she would "obliterate" them in the event of a war with Israel. If you were Iranian, I am sure you would judge Clinton to be another crazed militaristic American intent on conquering the world through bombs and missiles and tanks. Someone who even considers obliterating another people or another nation is not suited to be the chief diplomat of the United States.

That is representative of what is being seen already as reaction from the far left to the news about Gates staying on for at least one year as Defense Secretary.

The stomach continues to churn as the "progressives" howl, piss and moan and basically continue to whine about everything Obama is already doing before he even takes office.

Those people are incapable of being happy for more than a day or two before finding something to stay angry about huh?

Previously written under the "As The Stomach Churns" Label:

"Obama's White House- As The Stomach Churns"

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Fairness Doctrine: Not Your Daddy's Doctrine

Cross-posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Photo Credit: Reuters

The Liberal think tank, Center for American Progress, has issued a 36-page report explaining why and how talk radio must be, and easily can be, regulated by a Fairness Doctrine - but not regulated in the way we conventionally think of a Fairness Doctrine.

This is a simple and doable plan for Democrats. The Fairness Doctrine will happen this way: All stations will be required to issue many new licenses to minorities - ethnic and women, which is known as "localism." Licenses will be up for review, and reissue, every three years rather than the current eight years. Programming will be basically local.

Moreover, the original Communications Act of 1934 still authorizes the FCC to require "reasonable access to or to permit purchase of reasonable amounts of time" by a legally qualified candidate for federal elective office, and equal opportunities must be afforded all their candidates for that office....

These obligations come from the same set of concerns from which the Fairness Doctrine arose. And Section 315 of the Communications Act still requires commercial broadcasters "to operate in the public interest and to afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of issues of public importance."...

Thus, the public obligations inherent in the Fairness Doctrine are still in existence and operative, at least on paper.

The Center for American Progress says that the original Fairness Doctrine's real value was not in the "fair discussion of important issues," but in the way licenses could be issued:

...limited license terms to three years [from eight, I think], subjected broadcasters to license challenges through comparative hearings, required notice to the local community that licenses were going to expire, and empowered the local community through a process of interviewing a variety of local leaders.

Perhaps the plan is to scrap the Telecommunications Act of 1996, mandated by Congress, which increased the number of radio stations that "one entity could own in the same market." However, doing so may not be necessary to bring achieve a plethora of Liberal programming and deny Conservative content.

The death of syndicated programming (nation shows like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity) is imminent if Democrats have their way, to be replaced with local programming. In public, Democrats will say this has little to do with providing opposing viewpoints, but as this study finds, the new licensees will be decidedly Liberal.

...of all 10,506 licensed commercial radio stations in the country suggests that stations owned by racial or ethnic minorities are statistically less likely to air conservative hosts or shows and more likely to air progressive hosts or shows....

This is an issue Barack Obama and Congress need not direct. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can accomplish all of the above without a word from Congress or the President.

A question for readers: Any opinions about advertisers and the enormous income to stations from successful programming, supported by advertising dollars? How will the money be replaced? Does it matter if stations are smaller, local and not in need of big money?

Related:

To Fairness Doctrine Naysayers: Support from RINO's

The Fairness Doctrine: What You May Not Know

Minnesota Coleman Franken Recount And 'Frivolous' Challenges

Weeks after the election we are still waiting for the final outcome of the Minnesota Senate race between Al Franken (D) and Norm Coleman (R), in which Coleman came out ahead by 215 votes before the recount, the number being so low that Franken was entitled to a recount.

They have gone up and down as the recount has been ongoing and the latest news is 78 percent of the precincts are finished (81 as of now) and Coleman still holds a 210 vote lead, according to the Star Tribune, with other tabulations putting the lead as low as 170+.

More than 78 percent of the votes had been recounted as of Monday night, and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's advantage over DFLer Al Franken stood at 210, according to a Star Tribune compilation of results reported to the secretary of state and gathered by the newspaper. Before the recount, Coleman led Franken by 215 votes out of about 2.9 million cast, a margin that has fluctuated over the past week.

There also seems to be an equal number of challenges from both campaigns, 3,000 of them according to that same article.

Andrew Malcolm from LA Times' Top of the Ticket shows us some examples of the type of "challenges" that are being seen.

A couple examples of a ballots for Coleman that are being challenged by Franken:





Then one for Franken that is being challenged by Coleman:



Talk about a huge waste of time and tax payers money!

According to SC Times .com, Stearns County Auditor-Treasurer Randy Schreifels is calling some of these challenges “frivolous”.

But as of 10 a.m., there already had been seven ballots challenged where voter intent was very clear, he said in a news release.

Schreifels called the challenges “frivolous” in the news release and said most of them came from one challenger affiliated with Democrat Al Franken’s campaign.


One ballot was challenged because the oval wasn’t completely blackened, and another because there was a small mark elsewhere on the ballot that was not near the U.S. Senate race, Schreifels said.

On Friday, there were 15 challenges, most of which were also frivolous, he said.

Officials have until December 5, 2008 to complete their recount and deal with all challenges.

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