Update from the Heartland
No.406
21.9.09 – 27.9.09
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
No.406
21.9.09 – 27.9.09
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- In the wake of last week’s exchange on the Battle of Afghanistan [405], I reviewed the latest official appraisal. General Stanley A. McChrystal, USA [USMA 76] [387] – Commander, International Security Assistance Force (COMISAF) Afghanistan – submitted his requested assessment to Secretary of Defense Gates – subject: COMISAF’s Initial Assessment, dated: 30.August.2009. The redacted, unclassified document was made available to the public [and, we must assume, to our enemies]. The sobering evaluation offers up a direct, blunt, commander’s view of the situation in Afghanistan. For obvious reasons, the “goodies” were redacted. From the public document, the conspicuous paucity of any actions dealing with Pakistani complicity and acquiescence regarding the use of the mountainous, tribal, border region of their country struck me like a déjà vu revelation – borders that offer safe haven . . . where have we seen that before? We can only trust the Pakistani question was addressed in the redacted portions of the COMISAF assessment. While Stan did not discuss the contemporary issue of intelligence interrogations [405], he gave us a rather stark view of the detainee situation in Afghanistan. The Afghan Correction System (ACS) [I love that term, as if there is actually any prayer of rehabilitation] holds 14,500 prisoners/detainees; of those, 2,500 (17%) are committed Taliban & al-Qaeda combatants. Worse, Stan acknowledges that the ACS is a fertile environment for insurgent recruitment. He also recognized the additional adverse public attention being focused on the U.S. Bagram Theater Internment Facility (BTIF) and the resultant distraction. Before McChrystal could submit his formal request for more troops, the administration reportedly asked him to withhold his request until they can complete a strategic review. I appreciate and laud General McChrystal’s candor and frankness. My broad, prevailing opinion remains the same; if we (here, I mean POTUS on our behalf) are not prepared to deploy the necessary resources to win the battle, then I recommend we withdraw and establish a more acceptable, defensive position, like downtown Dallas, New York City, or Springfield, Illinois (see below). Hey, I’m cool . . . it’s not Wichita, Kansas . . . yet!
-- As a consequence of R (Purdy) v. Director of Public Prosecutions [(2009) UKHL 45] . . . [399], the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), delivered the guidelines for citizens regarding Death with Dignity cases, as requested by the Law Lords. To my knowledge, this is the first such list defined by the equivalent of a national attorney general as an attempt to establish prosecution thresholds for citizens seeking Death with Dignity. The guidelines are rational, reasonable and humane. Ms. Debbie Purdy [364-6, 375, 399] – British citizen – finally has the piece of mind she needs to control her end of days as she chooses. Congratulations, Debbie; your determination and perseverance have advanced humanity, freedom, privacy, and personal autonomy for all freedom-loving people.
[FYI: for those so inclined, the link to the CPS guidelines is:
http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/press_releases/144_09/]
-- As y’all will recall, Attorney General Holder appointed a special prosecutor to investigate criminal wrong-doing in the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program (DIP) and its agents [402]. Seven (7) prior Directors of Central Intelligence (DCI) – Michael Hayden, Porter Goss, George Tenet, John Deutch, R. James Woolsey. William Webster, and James R. Schlesinger – appealed to the President to abandon the Holder investigation. Their letter stated, “Those men and women who undertake difficult intelligence assignments in the aftermath of an attack such as September 11 must believe there is permanence in the legal rules that govern their actions.” This is precisely why national intelligence operatives must never become a political football to be kicked around the arena at the pleasure of the prevailing political party.
[FYI, the link to the letter:
http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/Letter%20to%20President%20Obama%20from%20Former%20DCIs%20and%20DCIAs.pdf]
As we debate the validity of continuing the Battle of Afghanistan, we learn of at least three (3), homeland, terror operations foiled by national security agencies.
-- A federal grand jury in New York City indicted Najibullah Zazi, 24 – an airport-shuttle driver in Aurora, Colorado – on charges that he conspired to use weapons of mass destruction, “to wit: explosive bombs and other similar explosive devices, against persons and property within the United States.” Also arrested and charged in the same FBI operation were: Zazi's father, Mohammed Zazi, 53, and Ahmad Wais Afzali, 37, of Flushing, New York. Zazi bought a large amount of hydrogen peroxide, which was a clue. Where have we seen that chemical before? [352, 404]
-- The FBI arrested and charged Michael C. Finton, AKA Talib Islam, 29, with attempted murder, after he tried to detonate what he believed was a massive truck bomb outside the federal courthouse in Springfield, Illinois.
-- In an apparently similar but unrelated operation, the FBI arrested and charged Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, 19 – an illegal alien, Jordanian citizen – with attempting to detonate a weapon of mass destruction in the garage of the 60-story, Fountain Place office tower in Dallas, Texas. None of the Press reports or the FBI’s website have indicated how or when Smadi entered the United States; perhaps those details will be forthcoming.
All three episodes were unrelated, other than their Islamo-fascist jihadistani ideology. All three are facing life-time confinement in Federal prison. As a side note, these cases represent another reason why we should have open, unfettered, Internet access . . . better to get these creeps to the attention of the FBI.
Well, surprise, surprise! As the leaders of France, Great Britain and the United States were poised to expose Iranian duplicity, the Islamic Republic of Iran ‘fessed up to building and operating a secret, underground facility as part of their uranium enrichment program. I am shocked, simply shocked, I tell you.
I have supported Israel’s inherent right to defend itself. Nations must judge words and actions to assess threat / risk. The conduct of the Islamic Republic of Iran crossed the threshold of threat to the State of Israel a long time ago. The restraint shown by the leaders of Israel is laudable only to the point where the threat becomes realized – actual; then, they will be condemn for not acting sooner. They are facing a threat to the entire state, not just a few citizens. A mistake in judgment can and would be extraordinarily costly. Perhaps the United States can absorb such destruction. Israel cannot. The NATO Allies who have urged restraint by Israel had better get this one right, or history will judge them in the same harsh light as Neville Chamberlain . . . or worse.
“Banish the Cyber-Bigots”
by Michael Gerson
Washington Post
Published: Friday, September 25, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/24/AR2009092403932.html?wpisrc=newsletter
This is why I fear the USG taking up regulation of the Internet under the innocuous guise of “network neutrality.” I want the bigots and all other malcontents out in the open. I do not them hiding in the shadows. Rather than banish the bigots, I want to encourage them to speak out and share their vitriol . . . so we can see who the real bigots are.
As the banking crisis unfolded last Fall, I argued for tighter Federal regulation to avoid the devastating consequence of rampant, unchecked greed, and the foolish, house-of-cards schemes that bankers and insurers used to bring down the financial system. The difficulty represented by two sides of the same continuum can be seen in the balance between proper regulation and abuse. We gave the USG extraordinary (virtually unchecked) warrantless surveillance authority under the PATRIOT Act {USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 [PL 107-56]}. I am sure considerable good for national security was done; however, it takes only one abuse of that delicate authority to despoil all the potential good that can be done with such power. I would rather take my chances with the Islamo-fascist jihadistanis than suffer one more abuse like Eliot Spitzer. So it is with banking regulations and now net neutrality. I am losing what trust I may have desperately held onto as I watch the highly corrosive and toxic political partisanship taint all the good that could be done for We, the People.
News from the economic front:
-- The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee voted 10-0 to maintain the target federal-funds rate for inter-bank lending at a record-low range of zero to 0.25%. They highlighted signs of economic recovery and unveiled a strategy for reining in one of the central bank's extraordinary measures to prop up the mortgage market. The Fed also extended its US$1.25T purchases of mortgage-backed securities into next year in order to help financial markets adjust.
-- The National Association of Realtors reported August existing-home sales declined by 2.7% from July, to a 5.10M annual rate and breaking a string of four monthly increases. Distressed property sales pushed the median price for an existing home down last month to $177,700, a 12.5% decrease from August 2008. The year-over-year existing-home sales were up 3.4% from the rate in August 2008. Hey, we did our part.
-- The G-20 leaders completed their summit meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and agreed to phase out government subsidies for the production and consumption of fossil fuels as well as directed their finance ministers to present a “range of possible options” to fund climate change mitigation in developing countries prior to the December Copenhagen meeting.
There were no comments and contributions from Update no.405.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
The follow-up news items:
-- In the wake of last week’s exchange on the Battle of Afghanistan [405], I reviewed the latest official appraisal. General Stanley A. McChrystal, USA [USMA 76] [387] – Commander, International Security Assistance Force (COMISAF) Afghanistan – submitted his requested assessment to Secretary of Defense Gates – subject: COMISAF’s Initial Assessment, dated: 30.August.2009. The redacted, unclassified document was made available to the public [and, we must assume, to our enemies]. The sobering evaluation offers up a direct, blunt, commander’s view of the situation in Afghanistan. For obvious reasons, the “goodies” were redacted. From the public document, the conspicuous paucity of any actions dealing with Pakistani complicity and acquiescence regarding the use of the mountainous, tribal, border region of their country struck me like a déjà vu revelation – borders that offer safe haven . . . where have we seen that before? We can only trust the Pakistani question was addressed in the redacted portions of the COMISAF assessment. While Stan did not discuss the contemporary issue of intelligence interrogations [405], he gave us a rather stark view of the detainee situation in Afghanistan. The Afghan Correction System (ACS) [I love that term, as if there is actually any prayer of rehabilitation] holds 14,500 prisoners/detainees; of those, 2,500 (17%) are committed Taliban & al-Qaeda combatants. Worse, Stan acknowledges that the ACS is a fertile environment for insurgent recruitment. He also recognized the additional adverse public attention being focused on the U.S. Bagram Theater Internment Facility (BTIF) and the resultant distraction. Before McChrystal could submit his formal request for more troops, the administration reportedly asked him to withhold his request until they can complete a strategic review. I appreciate and laud General McChrystal’s candor and frankness. My broad, prevailing opinion remains the same; if we (here, I mean POTUS on our behalf) are not prepared to deploy the necessary resources to win the battle, then I recommend we withdraw and establish a more acceptable, defensive position, like downtown Dallas, New York City, or Springfield, Illinois (see below). Hey, I’m cool . . . it’s not Wichita, Kansas . . . yet!
-- As a consequence of R (Purdy) v. Director of Public Prosecutions [(2009) UKHL 45] . . . [399], the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), delivered the guidelines for citizens regarding Death with Dignity cases, as requested by the Law Lords. To my knowledge, this is the first such list defined by the equivalent of a national attorney general as an attempt to establish prosecution thresholds for citizens seeking Death with Dignity. The guidelines are rational, reasonable and humane. Ms. Debbie Purdy [364-6, 375, 399] – British citizen – finally has the piece of mind she needs to control her end of days as she chooses. Congratulations, Debbie; your determination and perseverance have advanced humanity, freedom, privacy, and personal autonomy for all freedom-loving people.
[FYI: for those so inclined, the link to the CPS guidelines is:
http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/press_releases/144_09/]
-- As y’all will recall, Attorney General Holder appointed a special prosecutor to investigate criminal wrong-doing in the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program (DIP) and its agents [402]. Seven (7) prior Directors of Central Intelligence (DCI) – Michael Hayden, Porter Goss, George Tenet, John Deutch, R. James Woolsey. William Webster, and James R. Schlesinger – appealed to the President to abandon the Holder investigation. Their letter stated, “Those men and women who undertake difficult intelligence assignments in the aftermath of an attack such as September 11 must believe there is permanence in the legal rules that govern their actions.” This is precisely why national intelligence operatives must never become a political football to be kicked around the arena at the pleasure of the prevailing political party.
[FYI, the link to the letter:
http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/Letter%20to%20President%20Obama%20from%20Former%20DCIs%20and%20DCIAs.pdf]
As we debate the validity of continuing the Battle of Afghanistan, we learn of at least three (3), homeland, terror operations foiled by national security agencies.
-- A federal grand jury in New York City indicted Najibullah Zazi, 24 – an airport-shuttle driver in Aurora, Colorado – on charges that he conspired to use weapons of mass destruction, “to wit: explosive bombs and other similar explosive devices, against persons and property within the United States.” Also arrested and charged in the same FBI operation were: Zazi's father, Mohammed Zazi, 53, and Ahmad Wais Afzali, 37, of Flushing, New York. Zazi bought a large amount of hydrogen peroxide, which was a clue. Where have we seen that chemical before? [352, 404]
-- The FBI arrested and charged Michael C. Finton, AKA Talib Islam, 29, with attempted murder, after he tried to detonate what he believed was a massive truck bomb outside the federal courthouse in Springfield, Illinois.
-- In an apparently similar but unrelated operation, the FBI arrested and charged Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, 19 – an illegal alien, Jordanian citizen – with attempting to detonate a weapon of mass destruction in the garage of the 60-story, Fountain Place office tower in Dallas, Texas. None of the Press reports or the FBI’s website have indicated how or when Smadi entered the United States; perhaps those details will be forthcoming.
All three episodes were unrelated, other than their Islamo-fascist jihadistani ideology. All three are facing life-time confinement in Federal prison. As a side note, these cases represent another reason why we should have open, unfettered, Internet access . . . better to get these creeps to the attention of the FBI.
Well, surprise, surprise! As the leaders of France, Great Britain and the United States were poised to expose Iranian duplicity, the Islamic Republic of Iran ‘fessed up to building and operating a secret, underground facility as part of their uranium enrichment program. I am shocked, simply shocked, I tell you.
I have supported Israel’s inherent right to defend itself. Nations must judge words and actions to assess threat / risk. The conduct of the Islamic Republic of Iran crossed the threshold of threat to the State of Israel a long time ago. The restraint shown by the leaders of Israel is laudable only to the point where the threat becomes realized – actual; then, they will be condemn for not acting sooner. They are facing a threat to the entire state, not just a few citizens. A mistake in judgment can and would be extraordinarily costly. Perhaps the United States can absorb such destruction. Israel cannot. The NATO Allies who have urged restraint by Israel had better get this one right, or history will judge them in the same harsh light as Neville Chamberlain . . . or worse.
“Banish the Cyber-Bigots”
by Michael Gerson
Washington Post
Published: Friday, September 25, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/24/AR2009092403932.html?wpisrc=newsletter
This is why I fear the USG taking up regulation of the Internet under the innocuous guise of “network neutrality.” I want the bigots and all other malcontents out in the open. I do not them hiding in the shadows. Rather than banish the bigots, I want to encourage them to speak out and share their vitriol . . . so we can see who the real bigots are.
As the banking crisis unfolded last Fall, I argued for tighter Federal regulation to avoid the devastating consequence of rampant, unchecked greed, and the foolish, house-of-cards schemes that bankers and insurers used to bring down the financial system. The difficulty represented by two sides of the same continuum can be seen in the balance between proper regulation and abuse. We gave the USG extraordinary (virtually unchecked) warrantless surveillance authority under the PATRIOT Act {USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 [PL 107-56]}. I am sure considerable good for national security was done; however, it takes only one abuse of that delicate authority to despoil all the potential good that can be done with such power. I would rather take my chances with the Islamo-fascist jihadistanis than suffer one more abuse like Eliot Spitzer. So it is with banking regulations and now net neutrality. I am losing what trust I may have desperately held onto as I watch the highly corrosive and toxic political partisanship taint all the good that could be done for We, the People.
News from the economic front:
-- The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee voted 10-0 to maintain the target federal-funds rate for inter-bank lending at a record-low range of zero to 0.25%. They highlighted signs of economic recovery and unveiled a strategy for reining in one of the central bank's extraordinary measures to prop up the mortgage market. The Fed also extended its US$1.25T purchases of mortgage-backed securities into next year in order to help financial markets adjust.
-- The National Association of Realtors reported August existing-home sales declined by 2.7% from July, to a 5.10M annual rate and breaking a string of four monthly increases. Distressed property sales pushed the median price for an existing home down last month to $177,700, a 12.5% decrease from August 2008. The year-over-year existing-home sales were up 3.4% from the rate in August 2008. Hey, we did our part.
-- The G-20 leaders completed their summit meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and agreed to phase out government subsidies for the production and consumption of fossil fuels as well as directed their finance ministers to present a “range of possible options” to fund climate change mitigation in developing countries prior to the December Copenhagen meeting.
There were no comments and contributions from Update no.405.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
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