Update no.479

Update from the Heartland

No.479

14.2.11 – 20.2.11

Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- The National Academy of Sciences questioned the link between a flask of anthrax bacteria, marked RMR-1029, found in Bruce E. Ivins’s [346] laboratory at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (MRMC), Fort Detrick, Maryland, and the 18.September.2001, anthrax attack [064] that killed five people and sickened 17 others. The NAS panel of scientists claim the DNA-linkage between the spores used in the attack and those in the RMR-1029 flask are not as conclusive and irrefutably identical as the FBI portrayed in closing the case last year. Ivins committed suicide in 2008, as the FBI moved to arrest and charge him with carrying out the terrorist attack.
-- On 26.September.2010, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that a virus known as the Stuxnet worm had infected computers at the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Public professional speculation narrowed to a handful of nation-states with the capability to produce and inject a virus as sophisticated as the Stuxnet worm. The supposition regarding the infection’s source, operation and consequences continue to garner considerable contemplation and speculation. Then, this week, an anonymous group known as the “hacktivists” claimed credit for Stuxnet and released a decrypted version of Stuxnet into the public domain. This is the same group that carried out a denial of service attack in December [469], on numerous banks & websites seen as turning their backs on WikiLeaks after Julian Assange was arrested.

For the last month, we have been bombarded by Press reports via virtually every medium available regarding the general discontent and mobilization of the population in North Africa and the Middle East. The populist complaints being no jobs, rampant governmental corruption, scarcity of good food and water, rising prices, and general resentment over their near-poverty existence. Those of us observing events in the region from afar quietly cheer for the common folk of Tunisia and Egypt who were peacefully protesting with defiance against the autocracy and rampant corruption of their governments, and for their freedom to choose their government. We want them to be successful, to find the freedom they deserve and we enjoy. Concomitantly, our memory of 1979 remains extraordinarily fresh, with a commensurate fear the religious fanatics might commandeer their newly one and hard-fought freedom. On the dark side of these historic convulsions, I cannot fail observing and noting that unbounded procreation, largely spurred by those same clerics seeking power, surely appears to be the root cause – a burgeoning population that has outstripped the capacity of the land to support so many people. Yemen – a very poor country situated in a nearly barren region on this planet – cannot sustain its population. Is it the fault of the United States for not supporting their unchecked procreation? Mother Nature employs a very rigorous and positive mechanism to ensure that any given population remains sustainable. If the locally available food supply fails, the population dies off until the land can support it. We have altered Mother Nature’s processes in the name of compassion, humanity and generosity. When will they embrace reality? When will Yemenis and Somalis and all the others in barren lands look to themselves for the cause and solution to their economic woes?

A long-time friend, colleague and brother-in-arms sent the following link and wrote, “Some interesting concepts. I am interested in your thoughts on this article.” To wit:
“Congress and the Power of the Purse: Paying for the Ear, Eye, Hand and the Fist”
by James Callard
The American Chronicle
Posted: February 14, 2011
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/217498
. . . to which I answered:
Interesting, indeed! I read a lot of essays like Callard’s from both ends of the spectrum and a good smattering between the poles.
In short, he makes some very good and valid points. However, the impression of a pronounced bias against the naval services diminishes his argument. The focus on the Navy’s aircraft carriers and the Marine’s EFV begs the question: does he understand potential and alternative purposes? A debate for another day, nonetheless.
The underlying point, however, is appropriate and spot on, it seems to me, which is also the point Rumsfeld was trying to make before 9/11 and Gates has been making recently – future wars are not going to be massed armies on the European plain. Yes, we need to cut back the Defense Department, which remains organized and configured for the Cold War, while we seriously expand the unconventional forces to include cyber-warfare.
One of my concerns and in fact a counter-argument to my opinion remains technological advancement. Would we have been as motivated to develop advance control technology without FX / LHX placed in the environment of the Soviet Fulda threat? I strongly suspect not. [As a side note, I find it quite refreshing as a counter-counter-argument to see even little snippets of Sikorsky’s X2 technology demonstrator program.]
From my perspective (which I truly hope is totally wrong), We, the People, have failed to address a far greater vulnerability than our improperly configured Defense establishment – reform and reconfiguration of the Intelligence Community (IC). Our dark-side guys appear to have struggled mightily to overcome the shackles and constraints of the Church Committee, but I respectfully submit, based on the wide variety of court cases and legislation, that we have missed the boat dreadfully. The few publicly acknowledged successes of the CIA’s drone program portends better coordination with ground operatives, so perhaps the Operations Branch has made progress by leaps & bounds; but, those successes do not justify the bludgeon approach to domestic civil rights, inherent freedoms, and pervasive enemy. I have been and remain disappointed in the National Intelligence Directorate, which from my perspective, was created as more bureaucracy on top of bad bureaucracy, hardly a reasoned solution.
Collaterally, keeping our warfare technology current remains an essential requirement. When we look back on history to the aftermath of the War to End All Wars, the drive toward disarmament embodied in the handful of treaties, like the Washington Naval Arms Treaty that were well-intentioned but ill-advised, left us weak and vulnerable. In the 1920’s, few people believed a global war was looming in either Europe or Asia. As a result, we were woefully ill-prepared for what came a decade later. Today, trajectories are flatter and much faster than a century ago. We need technology like the F-22 and F-35; and, without those programs, how do we keep the technology base alive?
Regardless of any service bias, I think Bob Gates is doing what has to be done, and I think Jim Callard has the right idea. I would simply urge a more balanced presentation – neither the Department of Defense nor the Department of Homeland Security is the sole culprit here.
. . . with this follow-up:
“I am not sure that the requirement for new weapons has to be the only way technology advances or even the best way for research to get funded. It would seem much more focused to spend the limited dollars solving more general needs than spinning the technology pursued for weapons out to the rest of humanity. In aviation, I have become more and more convinced that the true leadership in avionics advancements have come from the lowly general aviation end of the spectrum.”
. . . to which I replied:
My point with technology development / advancement was focus, i.e., a clearly identified purpose . . . in our case Soviet aggression through the Fulda Gap. Yes, certainly, there are points of focus like “landing a man on the Moon in this decade.” I would love to see that level of focus on non-fossil fuel powerplants from lawnmowers to gigawatt power generation. Unfortunately, we have not had a leader yet who could focus We, the People, like Franklin Roosevelt did in 1940.
I would also agree on the source of avionics advancements like we used to say with ADFCS development – anyone can fly this. However, let us not forget the discussions we had about flat panel displays and situational awareness depiction.
A good example of the obscenity of the military-industrial complex is this damnable F-35 2nd engine fiasco.
Anyway, I think we are all in agreement. The next bunch of months will be quite entertaining as Congress jumps into the appropriations process.

An update from Aslan Soobzokov [474/6] on his efforts to vindicate his father’s assassination:
“With respect to the suspects, please be advised as follows:
“1- The attachment to the petition I filed is a FOIA request that I received from FBI which lists three suspects but their identifiers were redacted.
“2- The FBI report also lists the name of Craig Leitner who they were seeking his cooperation with the investigation. Nothing further was added. They also redacted the name of another individual who they sought cooperation from.
“3- The report shows that our former neighbour identified an individual involved from a photograph, that individual was apparently casing our home a day before the bombing.
“4- According to the report, the suspects were in the company of the terrorist Maier Kahane both before and after the bombing. Again, other names in the report were redacted.
“5- Robert Steven Manning was identified in a Los Angeles Times article dated June 25, 1988.
“6- Mordechai Levy was identified in a New York Times article dated March 2, 1992.
“7- Bart Silverman, Andrew Barnet Green, and Keith Israel Fuchs were identified in an article published by the Dallas Morning News on July 3, 1988.
“8- Irv Rubin and Robert Kugler were also identified in prior publications, I will read further to provide the source of this information.
“9- I will conduct additional research to provide you with further information.
“Some of these individuals are believed to be residing in the occupied territories in Israel/Palestine at the Kiryat Arba settlements. As you are aware Kahane was shot in New York City in 1992. Irv Rubin and Robert Kugler were killed in Prison within the last two or three years. Robert Steven Manning is serving a 30 year prison sentence for sending a mail bomb that took the life of Patricia Wilkerson in California. He was the only terrorist extradited from Israel to face murder charges for which he was convicted. I suspect that they made a deal with him in some manner so that he would not be implicated in my father’s assassination.
“Manning and the other suspects took up residence in Israel, served in the army reserves there to protect themselves from extradition. Israel has a policy whereby they do not extradite Jews that served in their military. As I recall, Kahane while head of the Kach party who spear headed the legislation while he had influence in Israel.
“By way of update to the petition I filed, I received a motion to dismiss my petition by Department of Justice with a return date of only three weeks. I will seek an extension to reply. In theory they contend that the executive branch has the exclusive authority to determine which cases they prosecute. Their brief contains over 100 sources of authority to support their position. I am outgunned right now and could use the help of an attorney with courage and integrity. Not an easy task my friend.
“Thanks for your support and I will keep you posted.”
My reply:
Thank you for the update.
I am not an attorney, so I am hardly the help you need. It is so typical; the USG uses its mass & hordes of lawyers to overwhelm any challenger. I will post your message in this week’s Update. Let’s see what turns up. Maybe someone of the list would be willing to provide professional assistance.
Is the government’s brief available on-line? If not, could I ask you to scan the document. I would like to read / study their submittal.
Were all the men you identified involved in your father’s assassination? My lay understanding of the law, the Executive does hold that authority to prosecute or not. If your original petition is dismissed, what about a wrongful death civil suit against the individuals, especially Manning, since he is apparently incarcerated in the U.S. and thus accessible. I don’t know the law for international civil cases, but it might be a path to reach those suspects in Israel. Just a thought.
“The only way to get it online is via pacer. I don't know if you will be given access to it through this medium. You did receive it via PDF correct?
“The men that I identified to you were via articles that I read. I provided you with the sources of most of the information. I have copy of the articles if you want to see them.
“Your suggestions are sincerely appreciated.
“Be assured that I will do my best to oppose the government’s motion. There is no doubt in my soul that I will need the help of almighty God. I have faith and am not afraid.”
I read the government’s Brief in Support of their Motion to Dismiss in the case of Soobzokov v. Holder [USDC NJ civ act no.: 06260-DRD-MAS (2010)]. I appreciate the legal argument; however, I am left with one pervasive, dominant, unavoidable impression. So much of proper governance, the stability of society, and the passivity of the citizenry depend upon trust – trust that the government will follow the rules, obey the law, and enforce the law. When the government decides not to prosecute a crime, it steps out onto very thin ice. A crime has been committed. On 14.August.1985, hours after reporting an attempt to run him down, Tscherim Soobzokov was murdered by an assassin’s bomb; his wife, daughter and four-year old grandchild also suffered injuries in the blast. Tscherim was accused of war crimes, but had not been tried before a jury of his peers nor convicted of any crime. He was an innocent man unless convicted by due process of law. His killers deserve to be tried and punished for their crimes. Justice has not been served. Aslan Soobzokov needs our support.

As an important reminder of the world in which we live . . . On Sunday, 30.January.2011, 14-year-old Hena Begum of Bangladesh was raped by a 40-year-old married cousin. As a consequence, a Muslim cleric issued a fatwa punishment of 100-lashes for Hena; her crime . . . having sex out of wedlock. The next day, Monday, 31.January.2011, as Hena struggled to endure her “punishment,” she died as strike number 80 was applied. This is barbarism in the name of religion of the worst possible kind, far worse than any savagery on the battlefield, or the indiscriminate brutality of the Inquisition. This is today. This is the insanity defined by more than a few clerics – the same men who seek to govern us all. This is sharia law that al-Qaeda seeks to impose upon every human being on the planet. This is why we cannot fail to achieve victory in the War on Islamic Fascism.

Last December, U.S. District Judge John Deacon Bates of the District of Columbia dismissed the civil action filed by Nasser al-Awlaqi [a legal resident alien] on behalf of his son, Anwar al-Awlaqi – a U.S. citizen by birth and self-anointed Muslim cleric hiding out in Yemen and closely affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Al-Aulaqi v. Obama [USDC DC case 1:10-cv-01469-JDB (2010)] [FYI: I use the more common and popular phonetic spelling al-Awlaqi vice the judge’s preference for Al-Aulaqi.] The father accused the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of the CIA of unlawfully authorizing the targeted killing of his son. Judge Bates wrote, “To be sure, this Court recognizes the somewhat unsettling nature of its conclusion – that there are circumstances in which the Executive’s unilateral decision to kill a U.S. citizen overseas is ‘constitutionally committed to the political branches’ and judicially unreviewable.” Unsettling indeed! Yet, I must confess and confirm my agreement with the judge’s observation and his reasoning regarding “extrajudicial killing” of a U.S. citizen. While the case is unique, it is not likely to remain so, given the circumstances of the present War on Islamic Fascism. As Judge Bates noted, “[al-Awlaqi] has made clear his belief that ‘international treaties’ do not govern Muslims, and that Muslims are not bound by any law – U.S., international, or otherwise – that conflicts with the ‘law of Allah.’” The lack of any overt effort by Anwar to submit to U.S. law became the cornerstone of the judge’s legal rationale. I must add that clerics like Anwar al-Awlaqi are precisely why the separation of church and state is so bloody important. He places Muslims above the law by “his” interpretation of God’s law; thus, he has placed himself above the law as the anointed conveyor of God’s law. This sectarian ideology and credo is the very essence of religious conflict, strife and war; believers believe as he believes, all others are infidels and untermenschen – the epitome of intolerance. It is also precisely this philosophy that demands the defeat or suppression of Islamic fundamentalists bent upon imposition of “their” interpretation of God’s law on everyone. This is also why Islamic fundamentalists hate and despise freedom so much – freedom demands tolerance of others not like them.

News from the economic front:
-- President Obama submitted the administration’s FY2012 budget to Congress, totaling US$3.7T, trims or terminates more than 200 federal programs next year, and makes key investments in education, transportation and research in a bid to boost the nation's economy and reduce record budget deficits. The budget also includes a projected FY2011 deficit of US$1.65T – the largest dollar amount ever.
-- The Federal Reserve upgraded its forecasts for how much the U.S. economy will grow this year, despite persistently high unemployment. The Fed raised its core growth projections from 3.0 - 3.6% to 3.4 - 3.9%, with unemployment rate expected to be 8.8 – 9.0% by the end of this year.
-- The People's Bank of China (PBOC) – the PRC’s central bank – announced an increase in the reserve-requirement ratio by half a percentage point to 19.5%, the second such increase this year, in the bank’s effort to control inflation. The PRC’s Consumer-Price Index (CPI) rose 4.9% in January, up from 4.6% in December.

L’Affaire Madoff [365]:
-- “From Prison, Madoff Says Banks ‘Had to Know’ of Fraud”
by Diana B. Henriques
New York Times
Published: February 15, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/business/madoff-prison-interview.html?_r=1&emc=na
In his first interview for publication since his arrest in December 2008, incarcerated felon, dear ol’ Bernie said he was shocked by the destruction his crimes wrought upon his family, as he continued to maintain that family members knew nothing about his crimes. He also pointed a crooked finger at unidentified banks and hedge funds that he claims were somehow “complicit” in his elaborate fraud, as he inched away from his earlier position of being the only person who knew. I suspect Bernie’s musing may go into the history books as the understatement of the millennia. More than a few banks and financial institutions must have suspected and chose to ignore their suspicions because they were making big money on Bernie’s transactions. Greed at its worst, but Bernie’s felonious scheme pales in inconsequence compared to the crimes of all those Wall Street bankers who bundled and poured perfume on those disastrous mortgages and their credit default swaps; and, they are back at it already . . . derivatives upon derivatives. Progress by jerks!

There were no comments and contributions from Update no.478.

My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)