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As US Debt To GDP Passes 101%, The Global Debt Ponzi Enters Its Final Stages

Analyst's note: Absolutely must read. One must eventually pay .... once again we are about to learn that there are NO FREE rides. What is being protrayed here in this article will significantly impact our national security.

Today, without much fanfare, US debt to GDP hit 101% with the latest issuance of $32 billion in 2 Year Bonds. If the moment when this ratio went from double to triple digits is still fresh in readers minds, is because it is: total debt hit and surpassed the most recently revised Q4 GDP on January 30, or just three weeks ago. Said otherwise, it has taken the US 21 days to add a full percentage point to this most critical of debt sustainability ratios: but fear not, with just under $1 trillion in new debt issuance on deck in the next 9 months, we will be at 110% in no time. Still, this trend made us curious to see who has been buying (and selling) US debt over the past year. The results are somewhat surprising. As the chart below, which highlights some of the biggest and most notable holders of US paper, shows, in the period December 31, 2010 to December 31, 2011, there have been two very distinct shifts: those who are going all in on the ponzi, and those who are gradually shifting away from the greenback, and just as quietly, and without much fanfare of their own, reinvesting their trade surplus in something distinctly other than US paper. The latter two: China and Russia, as we have noted in the past. Yet these are more than offset by... well, we'll let the readers look at the chart below based on TIC data and figure out it.

That the Fed is now actively monetizing US debt is beyond dispute (although some semantic holdouts remain - we are quite happy for them). Alas, with China, which has traditionally been the biggest buyer of US paper, no longer buying Treasurys, we are confident that the Fed will have no choice but to be dragged kicking and screaming once again into the fray, especially since traditional buyers of paper, even when allowing for exponential repo market leveraging (and someone please look at what is going on in the BoNY, State Street sponsored $15 trillion quicksand of repo'ed securities, which is the biggest black hole in the shadow banking system and will be the next pillar of the ponzi system to collapse) will be unable to keep up with US issuance. Especially since Primary Dealers already saw their Treasury holding rise to an all time high in the past week, and are loaded to the gills with US paper. So who is buying? Why Japan and the UK.

Japan and the UK? Hmm, if these two names sound oddly familiar, allow us to refresh one's memory. Behold the pristine leverage condition of both these two countries, in all its glory.

Hint: look at the far left.

So somehow the world's two most indebted countries (recall that Japan is about to in total pass 1 quadrillion debt) are out there and buying up the biggest amount of US debt (after the Fed of course)? Sorry, but while we are amusing by this attempt by the global ponzi regime to keep itself alive (even as Russia and China prudently step aside from the mauling that is sure to follow), whereby the most indebted nations keep buying each other's debt in the most transparent and potentially deadly shell game in history, we are also confident this is unsustainable. Which means the Fed will have no choice but to step in. And since when it comes to the capital markets, the ride up is over since we have now crossed the point where incremental profits are drowned by incremental input costs (thank you $106 WTI), the Fed now has just one mandate: to keep the US fiscal machine well-greased by buying up US debt at zero (and beginning in May negative) rates, through wanton monetization. 2012 may prove to be quite eventful after all.

Using the Quran to Control Afghan Anger

Analyst's note: This would be useful ... if only we had people in this administration and others who did anything other than destroy what we need to know about this Islamist enemy.

We know that the Islamist jihadist material is being "sanitized in mass" from our federal government ... this includes within our Department of Defense -- by the Obama administration and they are also attempting to do the same thing in the entire popular culture. Over time, we are starting to see that our national security forces are "flying blind" while actually receiving instructions from the Muslim Brotherhood (our sworn enemy) ... a documented Obama favorite from Day-1.

Over the years, there has been a rise in instances of planned Islamic terrorism in the United States. If the administration has been trying not to offend Islam, one must ask what is leading to this situation?

This latest act of prostration was not only unnecessary, it was deceptive because the alleged desecration was preceded by an act of desecration perpetrated by the original owners who just happened to be enemy prisoners of war and Islamic. The military officer who apologized for his countrymen before his Islamic audience is acting as a good dhimmi ... just as he has been trained to do by our own enemy now acting as his political master here on this side of the Atlantic.

Mr. Obama and his administration are not confronting 'radical Islam,' but is rather supporting the ideology and undermining our United States national security as they have banned the truth about Islam and sharia. We must ask ourselves can the United States continue to suffer the willful ignorance of her government and survive with the Muslim Brotherhood infiltrating our government with sharia front groups teaching and formulating strategies within our government for counter terrorism?

This Islamist threat is clearly operating from the inside to destroy America. We need a rigorous investigation of the extent to which the Muslim Brotherhood’s stealthy “civilization jihad” has gained access to and influence over the United States government, with the associated grave implications for our national security and our very survival. Semper Fidelis!

"Troops on the U.S.'s largest base in Afghanistan have unintentionally burned Qurans and other religious materials, triggering angry protests and fears of even larger demonstrations as news of the burning spreads.

The books were mistakenly thrown out with the trash at Bagram Air Field north of Kabul and were on a burn pile Monday night before Afghan laborers intervened around 11:00 p.m., according to NATO and Afghan officials.

By the morning, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside of Bagram Bagram Air Field and on the suburbs of Kabul. Some shot into the air, some threw rocks at the Bagram gate, and many others yelled, "Die, die foreigners."

Gen. John Allen, the commander of all foreign forces in Afghanistan, released a statement, then a video statement, then gave an interview to NATO television. In his and in all NATO officials' communication today, each emphasized that the burning was unintentional.

"Those materials were inadvertently given to troops for disposition and that disposition was to burn the materials. It was not a decision that was made because they were religious materials," Allen told NATO TV. "It was not a decision that was made with respect to the faith of Islam. It was a mistake, it was an error. The moment we found out about it we immediately stopped and we intervened."

Gen. John Allen launched an investigation and promised to take steps to make sure that the same incident would not be repeated.

The Quranic text can actually be used in such situations to control the Afghan anger and prevent its spread. In fact, the religiosity of people in these parts of the world makes the use of religious text more effective in controlling people's anger than using formal apologetic approaches.

For example the Quran stated clearly that the Lord forgive unintentional mistakes and only consider an action as a sin if it was intentional- Quran Al-Ahzab 33:5 But there is no blame on you if ye make a mistake therein: (what counts is) the intention of your hearts: and Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.

The point to be used with Afghans in this situation is that how could they know that the intensions of those who burnt the Quran was to insult it. They must bring evidence that the intention of the NATO personnel was to insult the Quran-as the Quran itself describes those who accuse others without having evidence as "dishonest" people {Quran Al-Naml 27:64 Or, Say, "Bring forth your evidence (proof), if ye are telling the truth!"}. The third Islamic Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan (who is considered to be one of the greatest Is disciples of prophet Mohamed) burnt the Quran and his actions were not considered as a sin -by either him or by the disciples of the prophet -since the act of burning was not associated with intention to insult it. Similarly, the Afghans must not react with anger against the burning of the Quran as they do not have a proof that it was associated with an intention to insult it.

In addition, even if the action of the two personnel who burnt the Quran was intentional, it is forbidden in the Quran to react against others. For example the Quran forbids any angry reaction against the NATO soldiers who actually did not commit the burning and are likely to be against it. The Quran stated clearly in four different positions that not one should be punished for the mistake of another person {Quran: Al-Isra 17:15; Al-An'am 6:164; Fatir 35:18; Az-Zumar 39:7 Nor can a bearer of burdens bear another's burdens.

Finally, there is no single verse in the Quran that considers its burning as 'Haram' or forbidden (Afghan Muslim need to be challenged to bring this verse from the Quran!). On the contrary there is a clear verse that asks Muslims to control and restrain their anger {Quran: Al-Imran 3:134 Those (the true believers) who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon (all) humans;- for the Lord loves those who do good;-}

To conclude, because of the nature of the Afghan culture and the importance of religion in their life, the use of Islamic jargon and Quran text can aid in controlling the anger of the population in response to the burning of the Quran.

Note: some reports mentioned that these books (Quran, plus others) were being used to convey violent messages and communicate between Taliban prisoners."

The 17th Amendment Saving Our Constitutional Republic

Analyst's note: Absolutely must read .... for your sincere consideration. I agree with our friend and associate, William J. Dell, when he says, " Consider well whom you vote for this November 2012 for the preservation of our Constitutional Republic is being weighed in the balance. ..."

This article, though lengthy, is very important and needs to be understood by every citizen. It is only by repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment that We the People can restore the vertical separation of powers our Founding Fathers placed in our Constitution to prevent the federal government from being too strong and tyrannical.

Our Founding Fathers envisioned our nation as a Union of united States with a limited grant of power by We the People to the federal government. Their vision was that the several States governments would always remain stronger than the federal government. A vision they expressed and granted in Article I of the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment of our Bill of Rights. It was their vision that the federal government would only have power to deal with external issues of the several States. Issues requiring representation of the United States, as a whole, to other nations and issues between the several States, such as, interstate commerce.

The most hotly contested issue of the Constitutional Convention was James Madison’s inclusion in the Virginia Plan that the bicameral Congress be “proportional” based on population rather than each State having only one vote as set forth under the Articles of Confederation. It was so contentious, in fact, that the matter was tabled while all other proposals of the Virginia Plan were debated and decided. The issue for the small States was that they would have no effective voice against the large States who could push through any proposal by reason of their larger representation. The issue for the large States was that they felt that they were entitle to a greater voice because they represented a larger number of citizens.

To deal with this contentious issue, the Connecticut Compromise was crafted by Roger Sherman, Oliver Ellsworth and William Samuel Johnson. They proposed that the bicameral Congress be proportional in the lower chamber, satisfying the large States, and have equal representation with one vote per State in the upper chamber, satisfying the smaller States. This compromise was adopted with a slight variation in the final draft, where the upper chamber had each State represented by two Senators, each with one vote.

The end result of the Connecticut Compromise was a bicameral Congress where both We the People and the States had voice. We the People had voice in the House of Representatives, the Peoples House, individually through apportionment. While the several States had voice in the Senate, the States House, through the equal representation by two Senators with one vote each. The Senate thereby gave voice to We the People collectively, ensuring that the large States did not overpower the small States, and protected the vertical separation of powers granted by the Tenth Amendment between the Federal and State Governments.

Article I. Section 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Article I. Section 2. Clause 1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, . . .

Article I. Section 3. Para 1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six Years and each Senator shall have one Vote. [As written in 1787, prior to the 17th Amendment]

Tenth Amendment. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people

As the nineteenth century drew to a close, our Constitutional Republic had been in existence for 112 years and the United States of America for 124 years. The Constitution with its “checks and balances” and horizontal and vertical separation of powers was still pretty much intact. We had been able to keep our republican form of government given us by the Founding Fathers and the Union had been preserved. We had grown from 13 to 45 States reaching “from sea to shining sea.” The executive branch of the government, from the administration of George Washington and the First Congress until the administration of Theodore Roosevelt and the 57th Congress, had only increased by two cabinet departments. During this 112 years both the spirit and the letter of our Constitution were followed. True the Civil War Amendments, thirteen through fifteen, had restricted some States “rights” because of the Emancipation Proclamation, but this was done to ensure equality of ALL citizens of our Constitutional Republic.

At the dawn of the Twentieth Century, a new political thought began to emerge in the world. A philosophy destined to destroy freedom and that would taint the world by genocide and enslavement. A philosophy of Totalitarianism built upon the Utopian thoughts of Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820 – 1895). In 1848 these two men combined their efforts in writing the Manifesto of the Communist Party.

If one were to choose three documents from history to illustrate the Founding Fathers understanding of the political spectrum, they might well choose: The Manifesto of the Communist Party, The Constitution of the United States, and the Articles of Confederation. The Manifesto representing tyranny with 100% government would be at the Left of the continuum. The Articles representing near anarchy with little more than 0% government would be at the Right end of the continuum. And in the middle, Our Constitution, apply described as just “Right of Center,” with around 50% government, a government of the people, by the people, for the people. A government of written law, a government where We the People are “the Rulers” and our elected Representatives are “our Servants.” A government known as Our Constitutional Republic!

Governments, by nature, tend to always drift toward tyranny. This is because it is the nature of man that when he gets a little power, as he may suppose, he wants more. We will now begin to investigate the effects of this peril, and its tendency, as it has affected our Constitution and the Constitutional Republic bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers. We will then understand why Benjamin Franklin said, “A Republic if you can keep it!”

Direct Election of Senators

Amendment XVII. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature . . .

Popular election of Senators has destroyed the vertical separation of powers [national, state, local, We the People] the Founders placed in the Constitution granting to the several States their equal voice in the Federal Government. Since the Senators are no longer elected [hired] by the States Legislatures to represent the States, they, the Senators, are not beholden to Legislatures and the Governor. They, like the Members of the House, are now beholden to We the People, who elected them.

“Thus the two Houses of Congress became alike, whereas the Constitutional Convention designed a House of the People and a House of the States. The House elected by the States to represent them in the Congress of their Union was destroyed. Two Houses now represent the people and none stands for the States.” [Norton, Thomas James. Undermining the Constitution: A History of Lawless Government. New York:The Devin-Adair Company, 1950]

The results of this amendment have been threefold. First, the States lost their right to be represented in the federal government. The States House became a second Peoples House. This principle of equal representation of the States, regardless of size or population, as stated above, was the most contentiously fought and debated issue at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Second, it has inflicted upon the several States a myriad of “unfunded federal mandates” coincident to the plethora of “social-justice” programs instituted by the federal government in violation of the Tenth Amendment. Third, it removed the ”check” on the federal government against redistribution of wealth between the several States. A “check” which had traditionally said that each State was responsible only for its own citizens and not for ALL of We the People.

Twice before 1913 the notion of the Senators being popularly elected was suggested. The first was in 1828 as a Constitutional Amendment. This attempt was defeated. During the Civil War and afterwards Reconstruction, the sovereignty of the several States began to be eroded in the minds of We the People. There was also a series of scandals where a number Senators were appointed by corrupt State Legislatures. As an example, Senator Joseph B. Foraker [R-Ohio] and Henry B. Payne [D-Ohio] were found to be in the pocket of Standard Oil. It should be remembered however that most Senators were honorable men trying to do their duty in representing the States. The second was during the administration of President Andrew Johnson who recommended it. This effort also failed because We the People were still to close to the thinking of the Founding Fathers. By the close of the Nineteenth Century and the 53rd Congress, the House of Representatives tried twice to have the Senators elected by popular vote. They tried again in the 55th, 56th and 57th Congresses but all these efforts died in the Senate. It was after this that the States began to conduct “straw polls” so that the voters could tell the Legislature whom to send to the Senate. “The final blow came in 1911 when the Chicago Tribune revealed that Senator William Lorimer [R-Ill] had literally purchased his appointment by wholesale bribery of the state assembly.” [Skousen, W. Cleon. The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, Third Edition. USA: National Center for Constitutional Studies, 2007]

By 1912 as many as 29 States had some form of election to let the Legislatures know their preferences for United States Senators. This along with the Lorimer Scandal brought about the capitulation of the Senate and Amendment XVII was passed and sent to the States for ratification. The Seventeenth Amendment was ratified on 8 April 1913.

The adoption of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments in 1913 opened the door that has allowed our nation to move inexorably from a Constitutional Republic created by God through the Founding Fathers to a Democracy with all of its excesses leading toward Socialism. The effect of this federalism was to break two strong links in the “chains of the Constitution” which had bound the Federal Government and preserved the independence of We the People and the power of the States as guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment.

If We the People are to restore our Constitutional Republic to its former glory, we must repeal the 17th Amendment and give the States their voice back in the Congress. We must return to the practice of Senators being elected by the State Legislatures so they are beholden to the State Governors and Legislatures and not the special interests that currently get them elected.

Once again the wisdom of the Founding Fathers shines forth. There certainly were fewer Senators in the pockets of “special interests” before the Seventeenth Amendment than there are today. With the repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment, the Senate would again have a vested interest in protecting the Tenth Amendment of our Constitution, and this would restore the vertical separation of powers given We the People by the Founding Fathers. Perhaps this could be done in a two-step process where We the People vote for two or three individuals as our choice for our Senator. The actual Senator would then be elected by the Legislature from these nominees, with the legislature having the power of “recall,” over the actual Senator sent to Washington. Such a move would surely seriously limit “unfunded mandates” upon the several States and restore to the States the authority of the Tenth Amendment:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Such an Amendment to replace the Seventeenth Amendment might take the following form:

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, nominated by the vote of the people thereof and subsequently chosen by the Legislature thereof and subject to recall by that Legislature, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies, by recall or any other reason, happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments, with the advice and consent of the legislature, until the people fill the vacancies by nominating Senators for subsequent election by the legislature.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

Or, we could just repeal the Seventeenth Amendment and go back to what the Founding Fathers gave us in Article I. Section 3. Para. 1. of our Constitution.

For 100 years, since 1913, our “enemies from within,” the Socialist-DINOs [Democrats In Name Only] and the progressives of both parties, have been patiently tending their socialistic Seeds of Destruction. They knew that if they openly declared their intent that they would fail because We the People would have risen up in righteous indignation over the destruction of our freedoms. So for 100 years they have been subtly leading us along down the primrose path of social-justice to the Welfare Socialist State and the destruction of our Constitutional Republic.

They have used every crisis to “water” their socialistic Seeds of Destruction. Under FDR’s New Deal, the seeds became seedlings. Under LBJ’s Great Society, the seedlings became saplings. Quietly, they have continued their evil intent inch by inch. Quietly, they have subverted the spirit and intent of our Constitution, bequeathed by our Founding Fathers, under the guise of taking care of the people. Until now, if We the People, as individuals and as a nation, are not careful under Obama the saplings will become trees, not trees of Liberty, but trees of Tyranny! The same kind of tyranny that caused our Founding Fathers to write the Declaration of Independence in 1776, not a tyranny of King George III and the English Parliament, but a tyranny of POTUS and the Congress.

Consider well whom you vote for this November 2012 for the preservation of our Constitutional Republic is being weighed in the balance. We the People need to elect Statesmen who will reverse our slide toward the Welfare Socialist State and restore our Constitutional Republic. Failing this, I fear that the “Blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our Posterity” may be found wanting — “And that government of the people, by the people, for the people” shall perish from the earth!

May God Bless and Save the United States of America
Our Constitutional Republic !

Another American Prostrates himself and his Country Before the Intolerant and Unforgiving!

Analyst's note: Absolutely must read and carefully consider. At first read, one could say this story is unbelievable, but then again it is the Obama administration. From the beginning, I have been watching and reporting what they do ... this report falls right in with the patterns that I observe. If we want to retain this nation, we must "[....] demand that our government cut off all ties with Hamas-linked Muslim Brotherhood groups," [....] and we need to demand of our elected officials that this foolish and destructive collaboration cease.

"In a world where every aberrant act, every self-inflicted malady and every vice is considered an epidemic, we most certainly need to add to the list the act of prostrating oneself and by extension, his country for every single assumed infraction of societal and ideological moray in every minor culture in the world!

As an American, watching senior Officers and Elected Officials continually apologizing for one piece of inanity or another has passed from bothersome to an active insult to the American people! And even if an unhealthy percentage of this population is not insulted by this most despicable of trends; many of us are! These Officers and our elected officials fail to understand they do not represent the many foreign cultures of the world and they certainly are not properly representing us by continuing to prostrate themselves and by extension, us for every little suggestion of insensitivity toward the delicate mental state of the ideologically unhinged.

This latest example was provoked by a gaggle of angry Afghan protestors who were reacting to a story that the Koran or even several copies of the Koran had been disposed of – unceremoniously. If anyone had read the actual account, they would have learned that the copies that were discarded and burned belonged to EPW’s (Enemy Prisoners of War) being held on Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. They were confiscated when it was determined that the EPW’s were using the Koran as an illicit messaging system to communicate with one another.

For those of you who do not understand the implications of that little piece of information, allowing EPW’s access to one another overtly or covertly, increases the chances of everything from an escape attempt to violent acts against their guards. Removing the Koranic message pads, was not only good judgment, it was necessary and may have saved lives – American lives.

Varying versions of the story have indicated as few as 100 and as many as 2000 “noble” Afghan’s had “assembled” for a protest of the alleged desecration of the Koran. These “peaceful” and “noble” protestors threw rocks and firebombs at security forces in anger over the insensitive handling of their “holy” book.

Just an aside; why is it that protestors, whether on this side of the big pond, or the other, are considered sincere, peaceful and righteous when they employ actions that endanger the very lives of those around them but when someone lodges a peaceful, verbal or written complaint they are being unreasonable, hate-filled and even racist? And why is it that if someone were to burn the Bible – unceremoniously or otherwise that the same kind of reaction to that act would not also be seen as reasonable? Why is it we tolerate these acts of intolerance only from the “noble” Islamic adherent?

A video shows the American Officer in charge of ISAF expounding on the horrors of the handling of the Islamic text as he tries to assure his Afghan audience and the Muslim world in general that this whole episode was just an unfortunate accident and under investigation. His public Nostrum Mendum would have been at least a little balanced if he had also mentioned that the Korans in question had already been desecrated by the Islamic EPW’s who were the original owners and who were using them as, essentially, a combat notebook. Do you suppose the “noble” protestors would have been as incensed by that knowledge? Do you think they would have demanded those Islamic prisoners be handed over for a “proper chastisement”? Or is this episode just another indication of the intolerance of a people ensconced in a religious ideology that preaches and demands intolerance of others?

Where were those “noble” Afghan protestors when eleven (yes, 11) Afghan policemen opened fire on NATO troops two days ago? And for that matter, did this Officer or his US political “handlers” care enough about that attack and the countless other attacks that have occurred in the past three years, to denounce them publically, to the “noble” Afghan?

I can’t seem to find that video anywhere…

I was also wondering why it is so imperative that we, as a nation be “sensitive” to the intolerance of a people who would just as soon have our heads on several pikes while admonishing our very same population for not being tolerant enough of others?

This goes far beyond the discussion of double standards. We are now firmly engaged in the psychologically sick act of self-destruction. We are no longer satisfied to consider ourselves or the actions of our predecessors loathsome, we are now obsessed with ensuring our own destruction as a nation, a culture and a people. Our leadership is no longer interested in right or wrong, truth or lie, acts of desecration or accidental disposal, the survival of our nation or the perception of our strength. All that really counts is ensuring the most despicable people and cultures of this world truly believe our heartfelt apology – for existing and that we will continue to strive for the total annihilation of our culture, our society, our population.

The country I heard about, read about and was taught about as a child seems to have vaporized. The dream that was the vision of our founding fathers and that was kept alive even through the generation of my parents and a sizeable portion of my generation, has been circumvented by a sub-culture of prostrating, anti-American self-mutilators who seem to think they represent all of us.

I have sad news for you; you don’t!"

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard

National school curriculum being imposed by Obama

Analyst's note: Thought you like to know what is being done with your tax money and against the U.S. Constitution as we are marched head-long into socialism by this current administration.

A new report compiled by several former Education Department insiders for the Pioneer Institute warns that the Obama administration is imposing a national school curriculum, even though the law doesn’t allow it, by making trades with districts seeking waivers from other program requirements.

“In three short years, the present administration has placed the nation on the road to a national curriculum,” said the authors of the reported called “The Road to a National Curriculum: The Legal Aspects of the Common Core Standards, Race to the Top, and Conditional Waivers.”

“By leveraging funds through its Race to the Top fund and the Race to the Top Assessment Programs, the [Education] Department has accelerated the implementation of common standards in English language arts and mathematics and the development of common assessments based on those standards,” the authors said. “These standards and assessments will create content for state K-12 curriculum and instructional materials.

“The department has simply paid others to do that which it is forbidden to do,” the report continued. “This tactic should not inoculate the department against the curriculum prohibitions imposed by Congress.”

[....] “As already evidenced by the eleven states that have already applied for waivers, most states will accept the Common Core standards and the PARCC-SBAC assessment consortia conditions. Once this consummation occurs, the department will not permit a state to walk away from that commitment without the state losing its coveted waivers.

[....] The report said through its administrative authority, “The department has created a system of discretionary grants and waivers that herds state education authorities into accepting elementary and secondary school standards and assessments favored by the department … these standards and assessments will ultimately direct the course of elementary and secondary study … running the risk that states will become little more than administrative agents for a nationalized K-12 program.”

Obama’s administrators are moving that direction even though the law bans federal instrusion into any “direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institute, school, or school system, or over the selection of library resources, textbooks, or other printed or published instructional materials…”

[....] “Any state effort to untether from the conditions imposed by the department in exchange for having received an ESEA waiver will certainly result in the department revoking the waiver. Like the dazed traveler in the popular Eagles’ song ‘Hotel California,’ states can check out any time they, but then can never leave,” the report said.

23 Democrat Attorneys General snag $1.1 billion slush fund to buy Obama votes

Analyst's note: Thought you'd like to know. Talk about buying your way into office ....

Five big banks have agreed to give twenty-three Democratic attorneys general more than a billion dollars that can be distributed to housing groups and community organizers in the months prior to the 2012 election.

The money is part a deal valued at $25 billion that the five banks announced Feb. 9 with President Barack Obama’s deputies and with a coalition of 50 attorneys general. Ninety percent of the value consists of mortgage write-offs, accounting changes and cash transfers that are to be delivered to homeowners over the next three years. [....]

Adding insult to injury to Ft. Hood victims

Analyst's note: Absolutley must read. It’s time for a purple heart for the victims at Ft. Hood and Little Rock! Show your support for our troops by joining us in correcting this outrageous injustice!!

Did you know that the military victims of Islamic jihad terrorism at Ft. Hood and the Little Rock Recruitment Center are not eligible for the Purple Heart?

The reason is that our Defense Department is defining these acts as “criminal” acts rather than as acts of “war.” In fact, the Ft. Hood massacre was classified as “workplace violence!”

This is in keeping with the Obama administration position that terrorists like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11, are not “enemy combatants” but “alleged criminals.”

Not only do we strongly disagree with this designation, we find it outrageous and completely unacceptable that those in our armed forces killed by jihadists on our soil are not eligible for the Purple Heart.

Do you agree? Would you like to help us correct this injustice?

Then log on here and add your name to the Open Letter we will be sending to the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

In the letter, we urge them to pass H.R. 1142, introduced by Rep. Allen West. Here’s an excerpt from this letter:

H.R. 1142, the Global Combat Zone Recognition Act, was introduced by Congressman Allen West and would assure that a member of the Armed Forces killed or wounded in a terrorist attack is afforded the same protections and treatments as one killed or wounded in a traditional active “combat zone.”

Help us pour tens of thousands of names behind this letter into the Armed Services Committees of both the House and Senate. Let them know the American people are outraged at this injustice and that we expect action!!

This is a chance for us to to work together and do more than “honor and support our troops” with our words. It only takes moments to add your name—and you can even forward this letter to others you know.

Let’s take action to correct this injustice today!!

11 Afghan (Muslim) police kill & wound more NATO soldiers

Analyst's note: What ...they're surprised? I don't think the total annihilation of a facility with all Americans or NATO being killed would cause them to understand this ..... yet. It just doesn't fit the desired narrative! All too many in "leadership" positions are being guided by the principles of "political correctness"-- where our DNI James Clapper: (believes) Muslim Brotherhood 'Largely Secular,' 'Has Eschewed Violence' , Shariah Front Group Now Teaches Govt Counter Terrorism Classes, we find Mohamed Elibiary (Muslim Brotherhood Member) on DHS Staff with Security Clearance Undermines Nat'l Security, the Obama Administration Bans the Truth About Islam and Jihad, the White House Calls Fort Hood Massacre 'Workplace Violence', and our FBI explains that Penetration in White House by radical agents worse than thought. We have the Obama Administration banning the knowledge of Islam and their jihad being waged against us.

As you can see our federal organizations and our law enforcement organizations are being advised by Islamist jihadist enemy operatives from the Muslim Brotherhood and their various supporting organizations. These Islamist jihadist operatives are embedded in key elements of our federal government, our main-stream media, and our universities.

As a nation, we have therefore spent much of our national treasure -- both our gold and the blood of our sovereign American citizens and our allies -- toward "purposeless activity" which comes from the use of counterinsurgency (COIN) operations not originally designed for this situation or this enemy. The results are "Unreasonable Risk and Ill-Conceived Combat Missions!" In short, we have, after all this time (longer than it took to win WWII), NOT yet properly defined our Islamist jihadist enemy nor even understand what is required to win. If our Islamist enemy is allowed to continue to exist, our bleeding has only begun.

Too many politically correct leaders (both military & civilian) won't change their opinion - or get an opinion - until these dirt-bags back up a truck with a nuke or dirty bomb to a sports facility. The use of WMD seems to be the sum total focusing capability of this country at the moment. Anything that requires a little "progressive" thought as to the real reason this continues to happen is too much mental exertion.

I recommend for you the following books:

"Muslim Mafia" by P. David Gaubatz & Paul Sperry

"The Grand Jihad: Islam and the Left Sabotage America" by Andrew G. McCarthy -- http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/authors/id.123/author_detail.asp I know both David Gaubatz & Brigitte Gabriel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1QGyosnwRI & http://www.actforamericaeducation.com/

"The War of Ideas: Jihadism against Democracy" by Walid Phares

I also recommend a search within this site. I currently have 9834 news items posted from which you can search. The progressives & radical Islamist are in fact working together to take down America.

For additional insight and perspective, please do an internal site search on the following terms: "Soros", "Progressive", "Czar", "Socialist" and "Responsibility to Protect". I also strongly recommend an internal site search on the terms of "Team B II" "sharia", "information warfare", "jihad", "Islamist", "Salafists", "Dhimmi", "Achilles Heel", "Tawfik", "Phares", "Muslim Brotherhood", "Caliphate", "Iran", "Hawala", "Cordoba", "Moderate Muslim", and "CAIR" for yet additional needed insight gathered over time.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen in Afghan police uniforms opened fire on NATO troops Monday in southern Afghanistan, killing an Albanian soldier, officials said.

A second Albanian and another international soldier were wounded, they said. Eleven suspected policemen were arrested.

The shooting appears to be the latest in a growing number of turncoat attacks that have raised questions about the vetting of Afghan recruits and threatened the international military commitment to Afghanistan.

[....] The attackers opened fire with five assault rifles and one light machine gun, the Albanian Defense Ministry said. One Albanian, a captain, died later in a hospital in the provincial capital of Kandahar city. Albanian officials initially said a corporal also was killed, but later clarified that the soldier was in a coma, adding “there is still hope of improvement.”

[....] There have been more than 45 of these insider attacks in Afghanistan since 2007, more than 75 percent of those in the last two years, according to Pentagon data. [....]"

The Threat of Homegrown Terrorism

Analyst's note: Absolutely must see.

Islamist Lobbies' Direct Washington's War on Arab and Muslim Liberals

Analyst's note: Why have we spent so much time ringing alarm bells about the Muslim Brotherhood? About its rise in the Middle East?

Why share with you a comprehensive resource package entitled “Unmasking the Enemy Among Us: Information Warfare and the Muslim Brotherhood” (available here)?

Because we have seen what's coming, spelled out below in this absolutely must read piece that recently appeared on the Investigative Project on Terrorism website. It begins with a note from Steven Emerson detailing how radical Muslim organizations have, for all practical purposes, successufully co-opted our FBI.

"February 16, 2012
A note from Investigative Project on Terrorism Executive Director Steven Emerson:

Please take the time to read this very important story [below] written by a courageous Egyptian liberal intellectual about the Islamist and Muslim Brotherhood lobbies in Washington and the Obama Administration's secret collaboration with these pro-terrorist, anti-Western, anti-women, anti-American and anti-Semitic organizations. This is one of the most important articles I have read in years.

It was just revealed two days ago that FBI Director Mueller secretly met on February 8 at FBI headquarters with a coalition of groups including various Islamist and militant Arabic groups who in the past have defended Hamas and Hizballah and have also issued blatantly anti-Semitic statements. At this meeting, the FBI revealed that it had removed more than 1000 presentations and curricula on Islam from FBI offices around the country that was deemed "offensive." The FBI did not reveal what criteria was used to determine why material was considered "offensive" but knowledgeable law enforcement sources have told the IPT that it was these radical groups who made that determination. Moreover, numerous FBI agents have confirmed that from now on, FBI headquarters has banned all FBI offices from inviting any counter-terrorist specialists who are considered "anti-Islam" by Muslim Brotherhood front groups.

The February 8 FBI meeting was the culmination of a series of unpublicized directives issued in the last three months by top FBI officials to all its field offices to immediately recall and withdraw any presentation or curricula on Islam throughout the entire FBI. In fact, according to informed sources and undisclosed documents, the FBI directive was instigated by radical Muslim groups in the US who had repeatedly met with top officials of the Obama Administration to complain, among other things, that the mere usage of the term of "radical Islam" in FBI curricula was "offensive" and 'racist." And thus, directives went out by Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Mueller to censor all such material. Included in the material destroyed or removed by the FBI and the DOJ were powerpoints and articles that defined jihad as "holy war" or presentations that portrayed the Muslim Brotherhood as an organization bent on taking over the world—a major tenant that the Muslim Brotherhood has publicly stated for decades.

During the next several months, the IPT will be releasing a series of major investigative reports revealing the secret infiltration by and collaboration with radical Islamic organizations by the Obama administration that has spread to the National Security Council, the Dept of Justice, the FBI, the Dept of Homeland Security, the CIA and the State Department as well as local law enforcement.

"The most dramatic oppression of the region's civil societies and the Arab Spring is not by means of weapons, or in the Middle East. It is not led by Gaddafi, Mubarak, Bin Ali, Saleh, or Assad. It is led by the powerful Islamist lobbies in Washington DC. People may find my words curious if not provocative. But my arguments are sharp and well understood by many Arab and middle eastern liberals and freedom fighters. Indeed, we in the region, who are struggling for real democracy, not for the one time election type of democracy have been asking ourselves since January 2011 as the winds of Arab spring started blowing, why isn't the West in general and the United States Administration in particular clearly and forcefully supporting our civil societies and particularly the secular democrats of the region? Why were the bureaucracies in Washington and in Brussels partnering with Islamists in the region and not with their natural allies the democracy promoting political forces?

Months into the Arab Spring, we realized that the Western powers, and the Obama Administration have put their support behind the new authoritarians, those who are claiming they will be brought to power via the votes of the people. Well, it is not quite so.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Nahda of Tunisia, the Justice Party of Morocco and the Islamist militias in Libya's Transitional National Council have been systematically supported by Washington at the expense of real liberal and secular forces. We saw day by day how the White House guided carefully the statements and the actions of the US and the State Department followed through to give all the chances to the Islamists and almost no chances to the secular and revolutionary youth. We will come back to detail these diplomatic and financial maneuvers which are giving victory to the fundamentalists while the seculars and progressives are going to be smashed by the forthcoming regimes.

In the US, there are interests that determine foreign policy. And there are lobbies that put pressure to get their objectives met in foreign policy. One of the most powerful lobbies in America under the Obama Administration is the Muslim Brotherhood greater lobby, which has been in action for many years. This lobby has secured many operatives inside the Administration and has been successful in directing US policy towards the Arab world. Among leading advisors sympathetic to the Ikhwan is Daliah Mogahed (Mujahid) and her associate, Georgetown Professor John Esposito. Just as shocking, there is also a pro-Iranian lobby that has been influencing US policy towards Iran and Hezbollah in the region.

One of the most important activities of the Islamist lobby in the US is the waging of political and media wars on the liberal Arabs and Middle Eastern figures and groups in America. This battlefield is among the most important in influencing Washington's policies in the Arab world. If you strike at the liberal and democratic Middle Eastern groups in Washington who are trying to gain support for civil societies in the region, you actually win a major battle. You will be able to influence the resources of the US Government to support the Islamists in the Middle East and not the weak democrats. This huge war waged by the Islamist lobbies in America started at the end of the Cold war and continued all the way till the Arab spring. The two main forces of this lobby are the Muslim Brotherhood fronts and the Iranian fronts. According to research available in the US, the Ikhwan fronts such as CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations), led by Hamas supporter Nihad Awad, as well as the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Islamic Society of North America, and others waged their political war to block the representatives of Arab liberals and Muslim moderates from making their case to the American public. The Iranian lobby, exemplified by the National Iranian American Committee (NIAC), led by Trita Parsi, has been hitting at Iranian exiles.

Since the 1990s CAIR and its allies have attacked Copts, Southern Sudanese, Lebanese, Syrian reformers, Assyrians and Chaldeans, and Muslim dissidents in the United States. The Ikhwan of America demonized any publication, book, article, or interview in the national media or local press raising the issue of secular freedoms in the Middle East. The Islamists wanted to eliminate the liberal cause in the Arab world and replace it with the cause of the Islamists. What is also shocking is that CAIR and its allies stood by the oppressive regimes and visited them, claiming they speak on behalf of the peoples. CAIR and the Brotherhood fronts in America destroyed systematically every project that would have defended the seculars and liberals originating from the Middle East. The notorious and well-funded Islamists of the US allowed no book, documentary, or show on the liberals in Arab civil societies to see the light.

Thanks to this powerful lobbying campaign, the American public was not given a chance to learn about the deep feelings on the youth in the region. Americans were led to believe that all Muslims, all Arabs and all Middle Easterners were a strange species of humans who cannot appreciate freedom. Instead, the American Islamists, helped by apologists on the petrodollars payrolls, convinced the mainstream media that the Arab world has authoritarians and Islamists only.

Dr Shawki Karas, president of the American Coptic Association, told me in the late 1990s how he was harassed by Islamist activists for speaking up against the Mubarak regime and the Muslim Brotherhood in America. He was threatened with losing his job at the college where he taught. Reverend Keith Roderick, who has assembled a coalition of more than 50 group rights from the Muslim world, was severely attacked by the Islamists and was threatened to be removed from his church position. Muslim American leaders who are conservative and secular, such as Dr Zuhdi Jasser, were crucified by CAIR and the Brotherhood for daring to challenge the Party line of the Isl.amists in America and claiming that the Jihadists are the problem in the region. Muslim liberal dissidents such as Somali Ayan Hirsi Ali, Saudi Ali al Yammi, Syrian Farid Ghadri, Iranian Manda Ervin, and many others were trashed by the Islamist lobbies to block them from defending the causes of secular liberty in the US. Egyptian liberals as well as seculars and democracy activists from Iraq, Sudan, Syria, and other countries have been attacked by CAIR and allies. The pro-Iranian lobby targeted most Iranian-American groups and tried to discredit them, particularly with the rise of the Green Revolution in Iran. By smearing the Muslim liberal exiles, the Islamists were trying to destroy their causes in the mother countries. In the 1990s and the years that followed 9/11 the region's dictators supported the efforts by Islamist lobbies to crush the liberal exiles. The Mubarak, Bashir, Gaddafi, Assad, and Khomeinist regimes fully supported the so-called Islamophobia campaign waged by CAIR and its Iranian counterpart NIAC against dissidents for calling for secular democracy in the region. The dissidents were accused of being pro-Western by both the Islamists and the dictators.

The Islamist lobbies also severely attacked members of the US Congress such as Democrats Tom Lantos, who has since passed away, Eliot Engel, Howard Berman, Gary Ackerman, and Joe Lieberman as well as Republicans Frank Wolfe, Chris Smith, Trent Franks, John McCain, Rick Santorum, and Sam Brownback for their efforts in passing legislative acts in support for democracy and liberty in the Middle East. CAIR and NIAC heavily savaged President Bush's speeches on Freedom Forward in the Middle East, deploying all the resources they had to block US support to liberal democrats in the region. Islamist lobbies in Washington are directly responsible for killing any initiative in the US Government to support Darfur, southern Sudan, Lebanon, the Kurds, liberal women in the Muslim world, and true democrats in the Arab world and Muslim Africa.

In the think tank world, CAIR and its allies aggressively attacked scholars who raised the issue of persecution against seculars or minorities in the Arab world and Iran. Among those attacked were Nina Shea and Paul Marshal from the Hudson Institute and the founder of an anti-slavery group, Dr Charles Jacobs, who was exposing the Sudan regime for its atrocities. Last but not least is the Islamists' relentless campaign to stirke at top scholars who advise Government and appear in the media to push for democratic liberation in the region. The vast and vicious attacks leveled against Professor Walid Phares—initially by CAIR's Nihad Awad and then widened by pro-Hezbollah and Muslim Brotherhood operatives online—has revealed to Arab and Middle Eastern liberal and seculars how ferocious is the battle for the Middle East in the US. Phares's books, particularly the latest one, The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East (2010), hit the Islamist agenda hard by predicting the civil society revolts in the Middle East and then predicting how the Islamists would try to control them. Phares was attacked by an army of Jihadist militia online like no author since Samuel Huntington in the 1990s. As a freedom activist from the Middle East, Mustafa Geha, wrote, Phares is a hero to Muslim liberals. Along with dissidents, lawmakers, experts, and human rights activists, Phares is a force driving for a strategic change in US foreign policy towards supporting secular democracies in the region. This explains why the Islamists of America are fighting the battle for the forthcoming regimes with all the means they have."

Iran as Victim? University of San Francisco's Stephen Zunes Thinks So

Analyst's note: Here is an interesting article and it explains how the communist thinker "understands" Iran.... starting with the premise that all wars are started by America....yah right...

A crowd of would-be revolutionaries gathered last month at Revolution Books in Berkeley to hear Stephen Zunes—chair of the program in Middle Eastern studies and professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco—speak on a panel with the improbable title, "U.S.-Israeli Assault on Iran Escalates: The Danger of War Grows." The title originated with an article by co-panelist Larry Everest, author and correspondent for Revolution, the newspaper for the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, an organization whose cult of personality revolves around well-known Stalinist Bob Avakian. Fittingly, event posters on the walls sported slogans such as "Re-visioning Socialism" and "Another World is Possible," and the shelves were filled with books by Avakian and other communists.

Revolution Books inhabits a choice retail location just blocks from the University of California, Berkeley campus, and in contrast with other events featuring left-wing academics whose talks are assigned to students, the audience in this instance was largely middle-aged to elderly. Spanish speakers provided simultaneous translations in the rear seats, producing a continuous background hum, while a very casually dressed woman entered, radio to her ear, listening to President Obama's 2012 State of the Union address.

All who entered were handed a copy of Revolution along with a flier for International A.N.S.W.E.R.'s then-forthcoming "national day of action" in San Francisco, which trumpeted the do-nothing rallying cry, "No War on Iran, No Sanctions, No Interventions, No Assassinations!" Like the rally to come, the atmosphere at Revolution Books was fiercely anti-American, anti-Israel, and apologetic towards, even supportive of, the Iranian regime.

In a nod to the setting, Zunes proclaimed at the outset, "I'm not a communist," but his repetitive references to "imperialists" demonstrated his familiarity with leftist jargon. He elaborated: "A lot of what I'm going to say overlaps, but I am coming from a slightly different angle."

Affirming the contention of the preceding speaker, Larry Everest, that the Iranian regime had allegedly given up pursuing nuclear weapons in 2003 according to a 2007—and later discredited—National Intelligence Estimate, Zunes added, "No one who is intellectually honest could disagree with your analysis." Was International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yukiya Amano intellectually dishonest when he stated last month that the IAEA, "has credible information that Iran is engaged in activities relevant to the development of nuclear explosives"?

Zunes reiterated a position he took in a 2009 article—on the heels of Iran's stolen election—titled, "Why U.S. Neocons Want Ahmadinejad to Win":

What's important is that Neocons and the imperialists in this country want the green revolution crushed. They need each other to justify the kinds of policies the U.S. imperialists want.

This logic, such as it is, concludes that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad provides a handy excuse for so-called warmongers in the U.S. to block the Obama administration's diplomatic overtures to Iran. Such a conspiracy theory ignores the fact that Neoconservatives and others on the right were strong critics of the Obama administration's refusal to offer moral support to the green revolution at its outset.

Zunes insisted that U.S. intervention only inspires the Iranian people to side with their government:

Everyone emphasizes the Islamic characteristics of Iran, but what's really kept the regime in power is nationalism. The Iranians are the most nationalistic people in the entire world . . . it's something the regime can capitalize on when it hears these threats [of sanctions]. What we don't hear in the media is that the opposition supports the government in its conflict with the U.S. They oppose U.S. intervention.

Yet dissident voices within Iran continue to express disgust with the regime and a lack of animosity towards the U.S. For instance, a young Iranian woman who corresponds regularly with American journalist Michael Yon recently sent him the following:

To make the long story short, people in Iran, not just youth, hate the government and want to move out of the country as soon as they can. . . . The Iranians do not hate you nor do they hate ur [sic] government. This is all the media. . . . No one is against you here except for those on the government's side.

Iranian exiles who were tortured in Iran's Evin Prison provided letters and live testimony at the UN Watch-organized event, "We Have A Dream: Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution," held in September, 2011 to coincide with the United Nations 66^th Session of the General Assembly. To no avail, the organizers begged the international community to intervene.

Of such voices, Zunes had nothing to say, and he casually discounted Iranian exiles living in the U.S., many of whom fear for their lives:

There have been some U.S.-funded opposition groups. Most of these are tied to exiles who have virtually no support inside the country, no impact on uprisings . . . there have been all sorts of sordid interventions . . . you have a few wannabes in the exile community, particularly in L.A.

As for the Iranian regime's threats to annihilate Israel, Zunes blithely assured the audience that:

Iran is not going to nuke Israel. Get real. It's a repressive regime, but they are not suicidal. Israel has massive deterrents as does the US and other allies.

This would come as news to the Iranian mullahs, who are adherents to Mahdism, the apocalyptic belief in the return of the twelfth Imam who, at the end of times, will wage war against unbelievers and the forces of evil and establish a worldwide Islamic state. Might a nuclear conflict with Israel spark such a fanatical scenario? Zunes never raised the question.

Echoing a well-worn canard originated by University of Michigan history professor Juan Cole, Zunes claimed:

And by the way, Ahmadinijad, he's really hardcore, he's anti-Semitic, but he never said 'Israel should be wiped off the map.' That idiom doesn't even exist in Farsi. What he's doing is quoting Ayatollah Khamenei from twenty years ago. . . . What he said was the regime occupying Jerusalem should 'vanish from the pages of time'. . . . Ahmadinejad clarified that in a later interview. He's talking about a unified Palestine. He's not talking about killing the Jews . . . he's talking about regime change.

Zunes might want to consult Nazila Fathi of the New York Times Tehran bureau, who provided a translation of Ahmadinejad's October 26, 2005 speech at "The World Without Zionism" conference in Tehran—the source of the quote in question. His exact words were: "Our dear Imam said that the occupying regime must be wiped off the map and this was a very wise statement." In addition, and as noted by Iran expert Michael Rubin, "the Islamic Republic provides its own clarification. In its official translations, it headlined Ahmadinejad's call to 'wipe Israel off the map.'" The Iranian regime's genocidal incitement can been seen on propaganda billboards across the country and heard in countless statements from officials, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who recently called Israel a "'cancerous tumor that should be cut and will be cut." It doesn't get much clearer than that.

Zunes claimed that a potential attack on Israel is not up to Ahmadinejad because, as he put it, "He's not the commander-in-chief. It's up to the Guardian Council—a committee—and as a rule committees don't go for crazy provocative acts."

Apparently, a committee would never try to: assassinate a Saudi ambassador in Washington, D.C.; kill its own nuclear scientists for talking to the IAEA; use its proxy, Hezbollah, to blow up U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut; kidnap the entire U.S. embassy staff; bomb a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires; attempt to take over Lebanon; terrorize and assassinate Iranian dissidents in other countries; supply weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah; help train the 9/11 terrorists; nor order all Muslims worldwide to kill a writer for alleged blasphemy. Yet all of this was done in the name of the Khomeinist Islamic revolution.

Zunes referred to the current scenario in which Israel, according to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's recent statement to the media, could attack Iran's nuclear facilities in the spring, by asking if,

Israel [would] do something on its own? Obama has made clear he would not tolerate that. You saw Eisenhower in 1956 . . . when it comes down to real important national security issues, Israel can't change U.S. policies. But even if they don't plan to go to war, we prepare and threaten war . . . it makes it difficult to stop.

In Zunes's mind, the U.S. and Israel are always the instigators of war, rather than the bellicose Iranian regime that has terrorized not only its own population, but much of the civilized world. He would do better to direct his closing call to "prevent another war in the Middle East" to Tehran.

Berkeley resident Rima Greene co-wrote this article with Cinnamon Stillwell, the West Coast Representative for Campus Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum. She can be reached at stillwell@meforum.org.

Related Topics: Academia, Iran, Middle East studies | Cinnamon Stillwell | Rima Greene receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free mef mailing list This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.

The Government Can

When the Power Grid Goes Down, You Better Be Ready!

Analyst's note: An aging infrastructure coupled with a rise in natural and man-made disasters threatens our entire modern day digital infrastructure. How do we prepare for a breakdown? Extreme natural disasters, terrorist acts, or just the failure of an ailing power grid itself represent real problems to this nation -- think return to "horse & buggy" days. If you think this is still just a distant worry, then know that studies indicate that "[....] within a year 9 out of 10 Americans would be dead ^[4] from starvation, disease and violence."

While these very real scenarios continue to threaten our very individual and national survival, those in Washington D.C. continue to "fiddle." I recommend an internal site search on "Electromagnetic Pulse" for additional insight. You will also want to read We are in the Midst of an Iranian Terror Offensive

It is a fact that our country is more reliant on electrical power today than at any time in its history. Our way of life – from everyday conveniences and the security of local emergency services to commerce and communications – is contingent upon an always on, always available flow of electricity. But an aging infrastructure coupled with a rise in natural and man-made disasters threatens our entire modern day digital infrastructure. According to many experts from the private and public sector, we’re just one major catastrophic event away from a complete meltdown of life in America as we know it today.

[....] A wide-spread emergency, such as a massive power surge, solar flare or rogue electromagnetic pulse (EMP) detonation have the capacity to render our entire power infrastructure useless. Transformers and other key elements on which the grid depends could be permanently damaged as a result of massive electric surges.

In an event such as this our immediate problem will be finding a way to order, manufacture and take delivery of the components needed to replace the faulty ones. Most of the parts made for our electrical grid are made in China – and many are decades old. According to Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, who recently warned people to get their families out of major cities ^[3] because of concerns about the stability of the grid, it would take months to get the parts shipped to this country and replaced.

During the outage, millions would be adversely affected, with some like Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, suggesting that within a year 9 out of 10 Americans would be dead ^[4] from starvation, disease and violence.

Ladies and gentleman, if there’s one thing that can cause the veritable “S” to hit the fan, this is it.

So how do we remedy and/or prepare for a grid down scenario? Think retro – like pioneer retro- and by that we have to go way back to when we were not so dependent on the luxury of on-demand energy in its various forms. When preparing for a grid-down scenario, we must comprise different contingency plans for short-term and longer-term issues. That being the case, we have to admit to ourselves that it could last longer than we expect and much more than just a minor inconvenience. Therefore, the best way to prepare is to start with your basic needs. That is the need for light, heat, water, and food. Some preparedness items to stock up on are:

Alternative fuel sources ^[5] such as solar and diesel, wood for burning.

Food preservation supplies – dehydrators, canners, smokers, fermenting/pickling supplies. To learn more, click here ^[6].

Bulk food – Canned, freeze-dried, dehydrated or dry goods.

Water filtration supplies ^[7], rain harvesting supplies ^[8] and large quantities of stored water.

Light sources: Lanterns, flashlights, candles and matches and alternative light sources ^[9]

Batteries and chargers

Emergency stove – solar oven, rocket stove, camping stoves, etc.

Wood burning fire place – Central air heating systems, even if they use natural gas or propane, depend on electricity for the blower that will circulate the heated air. When the grid is down, this system will not work. Having a wood burning fire place is an alternative to central heating systems.

Cash money and/or silver or gold currency.

The vulnerability of our grid is nothing new to preppers. Some have seen this problem coming for a long time and changed their entire ways of life by going off-grid. They have found alternative sources such as solar, wind and diesel to power their homes and machinery. A majority of us, who have not gone off-grid, are making a concerted effort to avoid dependence on this ailing infrastructure and preparing for life without it. That being said, all we can do is stay the course, prepare accordingly and continue on.

Just Weeks after 17-day Hawaii vacation Michelle hits slopes with daughters on Aspen ski trip

Analyst's note: This is a public service announcement. Since this is again at taxpayer expense, I thought you'd like to know. Michelle's ski trip marks 16 Obama vacations in three years of office.

[....] "With the economy on its knees, many American families have had to forgo their annual holiday just to make ends meet.

But barely a month after returning from a luxury Christmas break in Hawaii Michelle Obama is on holiday again - this time at the exclusive Colorado ski resort of Aspen. It's her 16th holiday since her husband took office. [....]"

Harvard's role in miseducating Americans about the Mideast

Analyst's note: Absolutely thought you'd like know about this one. I recommend for you the following books:

"Muslim Mafia" by P. David Gaubatz & Paul Sperry

"The Grand Jihad: Islam and the Left Sabotage America" by Andrew G. McCarthy -- http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/authors/id.123/author_detail.asp I know both David Gaubatz & Brigitte Gabriel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1QGyosnwRI & http://www.actforamericaeducation.com/

"The War of Ideas: Jihadism against Democracy" by Walid Phares

I also recommend you search within this site. I currently have 9834 news items posted from which you can search. The progressives & radical Islamist are in fact working together to take down America.

For additional insight and perspective, please do an internal site search on the following terms: "Soros", "Progressive", "Czar", "Socialist" and "Responsibility to Protect". I also strongly recommend an internal site search on the terms of "Team B II" "sharia", "information warfare", "jihad", "Islamist", "Salafists", "Dhimmi", "Achilles Heel", "Tawfik", "Phares", "Muslim Brotherhood", "Caliphate", "Iran", "Hawala", "Cordoba", "Moderate Muslim", and "CAIR" for yet additional needed insight gathered over time.

Here is just a sample of the items you will find:

Shariah, the Threat to America: An exercise in competitive analysis, Report of Team 'B' II http://www.altadenagroup.com/CSIA/post_details.asp?p_ID=8523

Team B II Wants Islamist Penetration of U.S. Government Investigated http://www.altadenagroup.com/CSIA/post_details.asp?p_ID=8766

Mohamed Elibiary (Muslim Brotherhood Member) on DHS Staff with Security Clearance Undermines Nat'l Security http://www.altadenagroup.com/CSIA/post_details.asp?p_ID=9558

FBI busy purging its training materials of all traces of truth about Islam and jihad http://www.altadenagroup.com/CSIA/post_details.asp?p_ID=9932

Documents show feds servile relationship with Muslim radicals http://www.altadenagroup.com/CSIA/post_details.asp?p_ID=9817

Muslim Children in America are Being Taught to Hate http://www.altadenagroup.com/CSIA/post_details.asp?p_ID=9813

ABSOLUTELY MUST WATCH VIDEO: Daniel Hannan at CPAC 2012 - U.S. 'screeching toward cliff' of socialism http://www.altadenagroup.com/CSIA/post_details.asp?p_ID=9919

On March 3, 2012, Harvard University will host a two-day conference on the “One State Solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Featured guests include academics who seek to delegitimize the Jewish state, the founder of Electronic Intifada and an ex- Palestinian official. No one remotely sympathetic to Israel is identifiable.

Tragically, this is the sort of anti-Israel activity thinly disguised by a veneer of academic posing that one has come to expect from this venerable Ivy League institution.

[....] The transformation of Harvard’s Middle Eastern studies from sober scholarship to anti-Israel advocacy has coincided with a rise in financial gifts from wealthy Arab donors, including a reported $20 million gift by Saudi businessman and international investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud in 2005. However, the most insidious component of this shift is the position the school’s Center for Middle East Studies occupies as a beneficiary of both Gulf Arab largesse and taxpayer funding through federal Title VI grants.

Harvard is one of 17 universities that receives Title VI funding for the purpose of increasing public knowledge about the Middle East and Islam. By targeting their donations to schools involved in the federally supported outreach effort, the Gulf Arab donors influence not only instructors at the university level but also, through them, those who will teach about the Middle East in primary and secondary schools.

Saudi Arabia and the Global Islamic Terrorist Network, edited by Sarah N. Stern and published in November 2011 by Palgrave Macmillan, details the extent of the Saudi infiltration of American education.

The book’s Web site includes data from the US Department of Education indicating that from 1995 to February of 2008, Gulf and other Arab states provided $329 million to American schools. The figure has undoubtedly grown since 2008.

[....] The Outreach Center’s director, Paul Beran, is an activist in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. The center’s recommended readings heavily favor anti-Zionist writings, including works by the late Edward Said, a Palestinian polemicist, and former Israeli professor Ilan Pappé, the driving force behind academic boycotts of Israel.

The center also recommends the propaganda film Occupation 101, which features notorious defamers of Israel like Noam Chomsky and Richard Falk, whose “despicable” anti-Israel animus led Susan Rice, US ambassador to the United Nations, to call for his removal as UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian Arabs in 2011. The center’s Web site steers teachers to writings by anti-Zionist Jews.

[....] Distortion and misinformation are only part of the problem.

Of equal concern is the intellectual dumbing-down that inevitably follows the abandonment of serious scholarship. This is apparent in the banal selection of reading materials recommended by the Outreach Center. A bevy of fictional stories recycle the theme of alleged Palestinian victimization by Israel.

[....] The people who should be the most concerned with the degradation of Middle Eastern scholarship are parents, taxpayers and those associated with universities that tolerate and abet such propaganda.

[....] Parents and taxpayers must be vigilant and urge school officials to carefully scrutinize educational material provided from universities like Harvard that have compromised their standards of scholarship.

The writer is a senior researcher for the Boston-based Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA). Any opinions expressed above are solely his own"

Ex-CIA chief warns: Get ready for terrorists who make al-Qaida 'look like amateurs'

Analyst's note: Hezbollah, supported by Iran, is an extremely capable world-wide professional group of terrorist. They can be expected to do all within their power to terrorise any who try to stop Iran develop "the bomb."

"Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency R. James Woolsey told a radio host today that Americans “have to get ready” for Iran to retaliate against international pressure over its nuclear program with terrorist attacks, including, possibly, a strike on the Statue of Liberty.

Woolsey, who currently serves as chairman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, was speaking on Aaron Klein Investigative Radio on New York’s WABC Radio.

[....] “Yes,” Woolsey responded. “They [Iran] have Hezbollah, and it is the most professional terrorist organization in the world. It makes al-Qaida look like a real group of amateurs. And they have expanded around the world.”

[....] Woolsey also said that while it may take longer for Iran to develop the technology to deliver nuclear warheads by missile, “a simple weapon of highly enriched uranium, such as we dropped on Hiroshima, that they might well be able to do relatively quickly.”

Obamas New Illegal Alien Czar

Analyst's note: Illegals now have a publicly funded lobbyist within the agency that's charged with bringing them to justice. ...

Immigration law enforcement suffered another blow when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced the appointment of Andrew Lorenz-Strait as the nation’s first “public advocate” for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).

According to ICE Director John Morton, the public advocate position was created by the Obama administration to handle questions and complaints by illegal aliens over the various changes the DHS has made in the past year concerning the way immigration authorities determine which undocumented immigrants are deported.

As such, Morton said Lorenz-Strait “will work to expand and enhance our dialogue with the stakeholder community. We want the public to know that they have a representative at this agency whose sole duty is to ensure their voice is heard and their interests are recognized.”

Despite the fact that this “stakeholder community” willingly failed to obey US immigration laws in order to enter the country, the federal agency charged with enforcing immigration laws has now seen fit to give them their own taxpayer-funded lobbyist.

This irony wasn’t lost on Shawn Moran, Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), when he asked, “What is next? Will drug dealers band together decrying their prosecutions in one voice?”

[....] In the President’s State of the Union address, Obama made veiled references to resuscitating the DREAM Act, when he said, “Hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge: the fact that they aren’t yet American citizens… Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. I will sign it right away.”

The President’s 2013 budget proposal includes a $170 million cut to the budget of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), a program that helps states cover jail costs for illegal immigrants.

Finally, a recent Inspector General report found that Obama administration officials at USCIS have pressured staff to speed up and approve immigrant visa applications, even when fraud is suspected. Moreover, the report found more than fifty percent of the USCIS’s 254 immigration service officers to believe that USCIS policy is “too heavily weighted toward promotion of immigration rather than national security.”

Unfortunately, that belief is more than shared by state lawmakers who have been dealing with an administration that refuses to enforce immigration laws but rather sues states that do. In fact, it has gotten so bad in Arizona — which has faced multiple armed incursions by paramilitary drug cartels — that Arizona lawmakers are considering funding a volunteer armed state guard to help with border enforcement.

Of course, they may first want to check with ICE’s illegal alien public advocate to see how his “stakeholder community” feels about such a move.

Feds arrest Muslim reported heading to U.S. Capitol for suicide mission

Analyst's note: We apparently have here yet another Muslim who misunderstood Islam. This time an illegal alien who has been here in the U.S. for approximately 13 years. As pointed out by The Heritage Foundation, "Today, it's likely the 45th terror plot on the U.S. was foiled. There is an enemy out there trying to kill us & we need to be working 24/7/365 to stop them! SHARE this message. Our lives depend on it."

Authorities arrested and charged Friday a Virginia man allegedly on his way to the U.S. Capitol for what he thought would be a suicide attack on one of the nation's most symbolic landmarks.

The man, a Moroccan citizen who has lived in the United States for more than a dozen years, was identified as Amine El Khalifi, 29. He was nabbed following a lengthy investigation by the FBI, initiated after he expressed interest in conducting an attack. He came onto the radar screen in early December after he told an undercover agent about an earlier plan to bomb a northern Virginia building.

According to charging documents, the suspect has been in the United States illegally since 1999. He first entered the country that year on a tourist visa, which expired and was never renewed. Khalifi was charged Friday in U.S. District Court in northern Virginia with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

The suspect allegedly weighed hitting various targets ranging from a military installation to synagogues to a Washington restaurant before settling on the Capitol.

The man thought undercover FBI agents assisting him in his plot were associates of Al Qaeda. He purchased bomb materials including jackets, nails and glue in preparation for an attack. He even conducted a test explosives demonstration in a quarry.

When he was arrested Friday in Washington, he was carrying with him a vest that he had been led to believe was packed with explosives, but the material inside was not actually dangerous, Fox News was told.

A short time earlier, Khalifi had been praying at a mosque in the Washington area. His destination was Capitol Hill. [....]"

Saudis aid Al Qaeda-Iraq move to Syria: Assads ouster top priority

Analyst's note: The Arab mind is a wonderous thing to behold with two featured flavors of "Sunnis" & "Shites". Religion of peace? .... Those who follow Islam to the letter are NOT a just bunch of Unitarians that are having a bad day. Our friend and associate John Bernard has pointed out that this and other events in the Middle East are all occurring, "In a land where acts of treachery are commonplace and even seen as signs of reverence for your deity [....]"

I also strongly recommend an internal site search on the terms of "sharia", "information warfare", "jihad", "Islamist", "Salafists", "Dhimmi", "Achilles Heel", "Tawfik", "Phares", "Muslim Brotherhood", "Caliphate", "Iran", "Hawala", "Cordoba", "Moderate Muslim", and "CAIR" for yet additional needed insight gathered over time.

Saudi rulers, seeing Bashar Assad on the verge of defeating the opposition to his rule, are reported by debkafile’s intelligence sources as taking a hand in turning al Qaeda Iraqi cells loose against him. Saudi agents used their pull with Iraqi Sunnis to persuade al Qaeda leaders that Assad and his Alawite regime were their most dangerous foe.

The same message was also broadcast by their Pakistan-based leader Ayman al Zuweiri. Al Qaeda strength was fast building up in Syria, say US intelligence agencies tracking the jihadists’ Middle East movements – ten days before Zawahri Sunday, Feb. 11 issued his videotaped instruction to all combat strength in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to converge on the Syrian battlefield.

Monday, Iraq’s acting interior minister Adnan al-Assadi confirmed that “a number of jihadists had gone to Syria,” reporting also that the price of weapons in Mosul had risen because they were being sent to the opposition in Syria “from Baghdad to Nineveh [province].” debkafile’s counter-terror sources estimate that the bulk of the 1,500-strong Iraq-based al Qaeda network– Syrians, Egyptians, Libyans, Mauritanians, Pakistanis, Lebanese and Palestinians – have headed to Syria. This accounts for the sharp drop in terrorist attacks inside Iraq

The jihadists are making it across, despite nightly battles with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malik forces, whom Tehran has ordered block their passage, and with Syrian border guards on the other side. The newly-arrived al Qaeda cells were almost certainly behind the Aleppo car bombings Friday, Feb. 10, which claimed the lies of 28 people, most security officials, and injured more than 200.

After virtually crushing most of the pockets of resistance to his rule, the Syrian ruler may well find himself up against the new threat of jihadist terror. After battling American troops for nine year, Al Qaeda in Iraq will not be easy to vanquish.

Ironically, they infiltrated Iraq from Syria across same border they are now breaching in the opposite direction. After the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Assad regime gave al Qaeda forward bases and charged a fee of $10,000 or more for each individual crossing into Iraq with Syrian security cover.

Al Qaeda terrorists are therefore familiar with Assad’s security forces’ methods of operation and terrain and know how to elude them. Even when the Assad regime and al Qaeda were in close cahoots against the US war effort in Iraq, the Islamists kept the secrets of their hideouts and training centers from the knowledge of Syrian security and military intelligence. They can now make a beeline for their old clandestine haunts, our counter-terror sources report, for surprise assaults on their former allies.

In this regard, Assad and his intelligence advisers blundered badly when they decided to release the noted al Qaeda theoretician and strategist Abu Mus’ab al-Suri (real name Mustafa Abdul-Qadir). Born in Aleppo, he fought the Assads for more than three decades. Yet he was freed for two reasons:

1. Abu Mus’ab is Al-Zawahri ideological and tactical opponent and rival. The Syrians counted on him heading for Iraq and countermanding his antagonist’s directives to move jihadist strength into Syria. But now they have lost him. His whereabouts are unknown.

2. Assad had a score to settle with Britain for backing the opposition to his rule. Abu Mus’ab was the mastermind of the July 7, 2005 terrorist attacks on London’s transport system and 52 deaths, as well as the Madrid train bombings of March 11, 2004 which left 191 dead. The Syrian ruler had hoped that on the loose, Abu Mus’ab would start a fresh wave of bombing attacks in the UK. There is a $5 million US bounty on his head. His encyclopedia “Call for Global Islamic Resistance has been a template for jihadists.

Neither of Assad’s calculations was borne out. He now fears that one his most dedicated foes will now be gunning for him. In his videotape statement, Al Zawahri ordered the mobilization of al Qaeda strength across the Middle East: “Wounded Syria is still bleeding day after day and the butcher isn’t deterred and doesn’t stop,” he said Sunday. “However, the resistance of our people in Syria is escalating and growing…”

Riyadh, even after giving Syria’s Sunni-led opposition arms and funding to stiffen their resistance to the regime, sees them falling back in the face of brutal military massacres. Turning to their Sunni friends in Iraq, Saudi agents asked them to convince al Qaeda leaders to make Syria their primary warfront and Alawite Bashar Assad’s overthrow their first priority - before even the ouster of Shiite Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad.

They argued that Assad’s survival would strengthen Iran’s and the Shiites’ grip on Baghdad, whereas his removal would weaken both their enemies.

Riyadh therefore laid on the money, logistics and arms for al Qaeda’s transfer from Iraq to Syria in the hope of energizing the flagging anti-Assad opposition’s struggle. Finally, after eleven months, Syrian dissidents find themselves sharing a broad base of operations with Muslim (Turkish), Arab, al Qaeda and Western allies. Earlier fears in Washington that Iran would mobilize al Qaeda against American targets have been turned aside by Saudi Arabia getting in first to enlist the Islamist jihads against the pro-Iranian Syrian regime."

Prepper Declared Defective and Put on FBI Watchlist

Analyst notes:

I actually watched the last two episodes of “Doomsday Preppers” and found that while they sensationalize the subject in commercials, the people involved are only a little eccentric and not “insane” they have very different lifestyles even between themselves (like the family who’s home consists of converted Conex Shipping containers) but that they come across as people who have thought about, and decided to prepare for the unknown…

This ties in with all of the other material we have seen where it appears that our administration are moving their attention to those whom even Nat Geo calls “Outliers”. (You know, just short of “Number One Undesirables”). When the program first started to profile Mr. Sarti, I remembered that I had seen one or two of his Youtube videos a couple of years ago and just rolled my eyes at that time. In watching more of him in the NatGeo program I found him to be very level headed and pragmatic, even in his self-assessment on his health problems and the practicality of his lifestyle.

I find it interesting that someone focused on “Survival” who is seeking medical help for his heart and how he is feeling can be deemed “Suicidal” and then have his property taken away as if he were a hardened criminal…. This is the slippery slope, the “soft tyranny” and it is the way it will devour the law-abiding… incrementally where it can still be painted as “Reasonable” unless someone takes a stand: