Friday 09-30-11

EXCLUSIVE: REVOLUTIONARY WAR RE-ENACTOR SAYS U.S. CAPITOL POLICE TREAD ON ME

By FOX News Radio White House Correspondent Mike Majchrowitz.


Washington, D.C.: As a Revolutionary War re-enactor, Jon Andrews helps recreate the struggle against government repression from which the United States of America was born. But when he recently came to Washington D.C. to practice his art, he lost his own freedom. His attempt to help celebrate the birth of liberty with his antique flintlock muskets landed him a berth in a D.C. Jail.

The 53-year-old Vincennes, Indiana resident brought his wife and son to take part in a weekend re-enactment at Mount Vernon’s “Washington and Rochambeau Commemoration.” On the afternoon of Thursday September 8th Andrews and his family decided to see the U.S. Capitol. The timing couldn’t have been worse, not just because of rain but because in a few hours the President was due to give an address to Congress. Security that is normally heightened was now hyper-tight.

It started with a traffic stop. Andrews says he was pulled over by a Capitol Police officer and told he made an illegal lane change. He says he was later told that was a pre-text for stopping him. “They informed me later on that I had been profiled, or my car had been profiled as a potential threat because of the way my (Chevy) Blazer sat low to the ground in the back and because of the big black cargo box I had on top of my car.” A statement from the Capitol Police denies profiling was involved. “The United States Capitol Police has specific policies and practices that forbid any type of discriminatory profiling and none was practiced here.”
http://radio.foxnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/9-26-Andrews-Weapons-300x225.jpg
He says from that point his D.C. family getaway became a nightmare. Although it was unlikely he would try to assassinate the President with an 18th century muzzleloader, the Capitol Police seemed unable to decide what to do with him. “Something that could have been sorted out really quickly, it just seemed like that nobody would sign off on it or everything that I was hearing was that nobody would stick their necks out.”

Eventually he was transferred into the custody of the District’s Metropolitan Police to be held overnight – a facility he describes as filthy and horrendous. “No water, no food, no anything all night long. In fact the whole time I was in there I had no food or water and was handcuffed and shackled.” Meanwhile his wife and 12-year-old son were left alone in a strange city to fend for themselves.

Friday afternoon, after more than 24-hours incarcerated, Andrews was set free. No charges were filed. His weapons and SUV had already been returned to his wife. He sees the return of his weapons as an admission that he had never really been a threat at all. He’s not bitter but he is shaken. “I am really happy that our government is watching but there seems to be a lack of common sense or lack of logic involved.”

U.S. Capitol Police say they stand by the Andrews detention. “Mr. Andrews was handled according to USCP standard policies and practices. He was not shackled at any time by the USCP.” And as for the lack of any charges, the Capitol Police say Andrews, “violated several laws that prohibit possessing or carrying dangerous weapons and explosives. The decision not to move forward with charges was made by the United States Attorney’s Office and does not reflect a judgment upon the validity of Mr. Andrew’s arrest.” Meanwhile D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department denies leaving Andrews without food and water saying “We fed ALL of our prisoners twice, that evening and during the overnight hours.”

Despite his ordeal, Andrews and his family joined with his unit of re-enactors and others at Mount Vernon’s re-enactment that weekend. He knows his story is unique but he fears what happened to him could happen to others. Andrews still loves his country but asked if he still feels the same about his government, “Not near like I used to. It has taken away a part of me. “

Jon Andrews (front row center) at Mount Vernon along with fellow re-enactors of the “Illinois Regiment ~ Virginia State Line.” This photo taken the weekend after Andrews’ arrest at the U.S. Capitol.
http://radio.foxnews.com/2011/09/27/exclusive-revolutionary-war-re-enactor-says-u-s-capitol-police-tread-on-me/?test=faces

'Firefly' and Anti-Fascism Posters Get Professor Threatened with Criminal Charges on University of Wisconsin Campus

A professor has been censored twice, reported to the "threat assessment team," and threatened with criminal charges because of satirical postings on his office door. Campus police at the University of Wisconsin–Stout (UWS) censored theater professor James Miller's poster depicting a quotation from actor Nathan Fillion's character in the television series Firefly, and the police chief threatened Miller with criminal charges for disorderly conduct. After UWS censored his second poster, which stated, "Warning: Fascism," Miller came to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help.

"Colleges and universities are supposed to foster brave and bold environments of freewheeling intellectual inquiry and expression. If a quote from a network science fiction show is a bridge too far, something has gone seriously wrong," FIRE President Greg Lukianoff said. "As both president of FIRE and a huge Firefly fan, I call on the chancellor of UW–Stout to rein in his overreaching administration and to restore both free speech and basic common sense."

On September 12, 2011, Professor Miller posted on his office door an image of Nathan Fillion in Firefly and a line from an episode: "You don't know me, son, so let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you'll be awake. You'll be facing me. And you'll be armed." On September 16, UWS Chief of Police Lisa A. Walter emailed Miller, notifying him that she had removed the poster and that "it is unacceptable to have postings such as this that refer to killing."

Amazed that UWS could be so shockingly heavy-handed, Miller replied by email, "Respect liberty and respect my first amendment rights." Walter responded that "the poster can be interpreted as a threat by others and/or could cause those that view it to believe that you are willing/able to carry out actions similar to what is listed." Walter also threatened Miller with criminal charges: "If you choose to repost the article or something similar to it, it will be removed and you could face charges of disorderly conduct."

Later on September 16, Miller placed a new poster on his office door in response to Walter's censorship. The poster read "Warning: Fascism" and included a cartoon image of a silhouetted police officer striking a civilian. The poster mocked, "Fascism can cause blunt head trauma and/or violent death. Keep fascism away from children and pets."

Astoundingly, Walter escalated the absurdity. On September 20, Walter emailed Miller again, stating that her office had removed the poster because it "depicts violence and mentions violence and death." She added that UWS's "threat assessment team," in consultation with the university general counsel's office, had decided to have the poster removed, and that this poster was reasonably expected to "cause a material and/or substantial disruption of school activities and/or be constituted as a threat." College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Interim Dean Raymond Hayes has scheduled a meeting with Miller about "the concerns raised by the campus threat assessment team" for this Friday.

Miller came to FIRE for help. On September 21, FIRE wrote UWS Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen, explaining that the posters are not a threat, nor would any reasonable person expect them to cause a substantial disruption. In Virginia v. Black in 2003, the Supreme Court defined true threats as only "those statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals."

FIRE asked that Sorensen immediately end the university's censorship of Miller's peaceful speech, apologize to Miller for threatening criminal charges against him, and rescind its request for a meeting about the threat assessment team's inexplicable concerns. Sorensen has not responded.

"It is both shameful and absurd for UWS to suggest that campus community members are so impressionable and unreasonable that merely seeing a reference to violence on a poster will lead them to commit either actual violence or a substantial disruption of the campus," FIRE Vice President of Programs Adam Kissel said. "The police and the threat assessment team are the true threats to freedom at UW–Stout."

FIRE is a nonprofit educational foundation that unites civil rights and civil liberties leaders, scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals from across the political and ideological spectrum on behalf of individual rights, freedom of expression, academic freedom, due process, and rights of conscience at our nation's colleges and universities. FIRE's efforts to preserve liberty on campuses across America are described at thefire.org.

http://thefire.org/article/13595.html

Thursday 09-29-11

Feds: Mass. man planned to blow up Pentagon

BOSTON (AP) - A Massachusetts man was arrested Wednesday and accused of plotting an assault on the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol using remote-controlled aircraft armed with explosives _ the latest of several terrorism cases to spring from federal sting operations.

Rezwan Ferdaus was arrested in Framingham after undercover federal agents delivered materials he had allegedly requested, including grenades, six machine guns and what he believed was 24 pounds of C-4 explosive. Federal officials said the public was never in danger from the explosives, which it said were always under control and closely monitored.

Wednesday's arrest was similar to other cases in which reputed would-be terrorists were caught in sting operations that revolved around fictional plots against various targets, such as Dallas skyscapers or a Chicago nightclub. In this case, though, authorities say Ferdaus planned the scheme.

According to a federal affidavit, Ferdaus, 26, of Ashland, became convinced America was evil through jihadi websites and videos, and began planning "jihad" against the U.S. in early 2010. He contacted a federal informant that December and months later, allegedly began meeting to discuss the plot with undercover federal agents he believed were members of al-Qaida.

Ferdaus said he wanted to deal a psychological blow to the "enemies of Allah" by hitting the Pentagon, which he called "head and heart of the snake," according to the affidavit.

"Allah has given us the privilege," he allegedly told the informant. "... He punishes them by our hand. We're the ones."

Ferdaus, a U.S. citizen who graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor's degree in physics, made a brief initial appearance Wednesday in federal court on charges of attempting to destroy federal buildings and providing support to a foreign terrorist organization, in this case al-Qaida. A detention hearing was scheduled for Monday.

Telephone messages were left at the office of his attorney, Catherine Byrne, and at the address listed for Ferdaus in the affidavit.

Several alleged domestic plots have been thwarted since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, including in Lackawanna, N.Y.; Portland, Ore.; and Virginia.

Terrorism arrests involving federal stings have often been followed by claims of entrapment, but none of the cases brought since Sept. 11 has been thrown out by a court on such grounds.

U.S. Rep. William Keating of Massachusetts, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, said lawmakers have been warned for months of an emerging threat from homegrown extremists. He said al- Qaida is casting a wide net to radicalize individuals or small groups already in the country because of the significant advantages.

"They're already here, so they don't have the hurdles of getting into the country, they know the country better. ... They know how to move around," Keating said. "The testimony we heard, things like this (the Ferdaus arrest) were inevitable."

Ferdaus is accused of planning to use three remote control airplanes measuring about from 60 to 80 inches in length. Ferdaus allegedly planned to pack five pounds of explosives in each plane, while saving some of it to blow up bridges near the Pentagon.

The planes, guided by GPS and capable of speeds greater than 100 mph, would hit the Pentagon and blow the Capitol dome to "smithereens," according to Ferdaus' plan, detailed in the affidavit. Ferdaus then planned a follow-up automatic weapons attack with six people divided into two teams, according to the affidavit.

At one point, according to recorded conversation detailed in the affidavit, Ferdaus told undercover agents that his desire to attack the United States was so strong, "I just can't stop. There is no other choice for me."

According to the affidavit, Ferdaus traveled to Washington in June to do surveillance, and drew up a 15-phase attack plan. He also allegedly rented storage space to work on the planes in Framingham, telling the manager he planned to use the space for music.

Asked at one point about possibly killing women and children, Ferdaus allegedly said all unbelievers of Islam were his enemies.

Prosecutors also accuse Ferdaus of supplying the undercover agents with cellphone devices he said could be used to remotely detonate explosives. When the undercover agents falsely told him the devices had been used to kill three U.S. soldiers in Iraq, he allegedly became visibly excited and said he felt "incredible. ... We're changing the world."

Rezwan is unmarried and has no children, the affidavit said.

He had at least one previous brush with the law. In 2003, The Boston Globe reported that he and two other Ashland High School seniors were accused in a vandalism spree at the school.

http://wtop.com/?nid=209&sid=2567698

TRENDING: Cain: Black community 'brainwashed' into voting for Dems

Washington (CNN) - The one African-American running for the GOP presidential nomination said Wednesday the black community was 'brainwashed' for traditionally siding with liberal politicians.

"African-Americans have been brainwashed into not being open minded, not even considering a conservative point of view," Godfather's Pizza executive Herman Cain said on CNN's "The Situation Room" in an interview airing Wednesday between 5-7 p.m. ET. "I have received some of that same vitriol simply because I am running for the Republican nomination as a conservative. So it's just brainwashing and people not being open minded, pure and simple."

Cain went on to explain that his interactions with African Americans led him to be optimistic about his own chances with the demographic.

"This whole notion that all African-Americans are not going to vote for Obama is not necessarily true," Cain said.

He continued, "I believe a third [of African-Americans] would vote for me, based on my own anecdotal feedback. Not vote for me because I'm black but because of my policies."

Cain also weighed in on the recent chatter surrounding Chris Christie, saying the recent reports the New Jersey governor is reconsidering a run for president were hurting the electorate.

"It's not insulting as much as it is a disservice to the American people," Cain said. "Chris Christie has been saying for a long time he's not interested in running. The media is trying to create a story by sucking Chris Christie into race, just like they made a story by sucking Rick Perry into the race."

Cain said the media should focus on the candidates who have already declared their candidacy to give voters a better idea of the field.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/28/cain-black-community-brainwashed-into-voting-for-dems/

Wednesday 09-28-11

This is one of the reasons for "Cash for Clunkers" and the drive for emissions controls it is help control you, to keep an eye on you for your own good, of course.

Is your car recording your speed all the time?

CHANTILLY, Va. - You may speed around town from time to time and think nothing of it - but not so fast - your car is probably constantly recording your speed.

"Almost every car built since 2004 has some level of this technology," Rusty Haight with the Collision Safety Institute tells WTOP. "We can access currently: GM vehicles going back to the mid-90's, Ford's going back to 2001, Chrysler's going back to 2005 and, at the moment, Toyota's going back to 2006."

This is not a case of "Big Brother" according to Haight. He says the information being recorded in a black-box-type device is for your own safety. The recording device loops information, and its data can only be pulled after a crash.

"Think of the video at the corner (store) -- that video camera is running for eight hours, and then after eight hours it loops through," Haight says.

"This is doing it for (about every) five seconds in your car. Now we have an objective tool to better understand not only how fast you were going, but really in minute detail how severe the crash was. And if we know that, we can make those cars safer."

Still, he admits -- this device could get more drivers to play by the rules.

"If people know this is in their car, there are studies that suggest they actually drive more responsibly," says Haight.

Fairfax County Police officers, along with other transportation leaders, are taking a week long class -- learning how to access this specific crash information while on crash scenes. It's a tool that not only could help clear the scene of an accident faster (because the information could be pulled at a location away from the crash scene) -- but also help provide all the facts.

"You want to know the truth, is what it comes down to," says Fairfax County Police Detective J.J. Banachoski, who is with the department's accident reconstruction division. "This helps you paint a picture of what happened."

The Fairfax County Police Department has been using the technology to its advantage for a number of years, and continues to give its members training on the issue.

Haight says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is working on a regulation that would standardize some basic data recording elements in all cars.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=2565582

i doubt it was a joke, just floating an idea to see if it gets traction and see who is paying attention.

Perdue jokes about suspending Congressional elections for two years


File this in the random-things-politicians-say file. Speaking to a Cary Rotary Club today, N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue suggested suspending Congressional elections for two years so that Congress can focus on economic recovery and not the next election.

"I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that," Perdue said. "You want people who don't worry about the next election."

The comment -- which came during a discussion of the economy -- perked more than a few ears. It's unclear whether Perdue, a Democrat, is serious -- but her tone was level and she asked others to support her on the idea. (Read her full remarks below.)

Later Tuesday afternoon, Perdue's office clarified the remarks: "Come on," said spokeswoman Chris Mackey in a statement. "Gov. Perdue was obviously using hyperbole to highlight what we can all agree is a serious problem: Washington politicians who focus on their own election instead of what’s best for the people they serve."

The Republicans sure are taking it seriously as they look to score political points. Here's a statement from GOP spokesman Rob Lockwood:

“Now is a time when politicians need to be held accountable more than ever. To suspend an election would be removing the surest mechanism that people have to hold politicians accountable: the right to vote. Does the Governor not believe that people of North Carolina have the ability to think for themselves about whether or not the actions of elected officials are working?"

UPDATED: GOP House candidate Paul Coble didn't think much of Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue's idea that congressional elections be suspended for two years so Congress can concentrate on the economy.

“That’s a proposal that only the politicians that have worsened our economic mess could appreciate,” said Coble, who is chairman of the Wake County commissioners. “Governor Perdue and the politicians in Washington may fear the message voters send next November.”

Perdue's full statement:

"You have to have more ability from Congress, I think, to work together and to get over the partisan bickering and focus on fixing things. I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that. The one good thing about Raleigh is that for so many years we worked across party lines. It's a little bit more contentious now but it's not impossible to try to do what's right in this state. You want people who don't worry about the next election."

http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/perdue_suggests_suspending_congressional_elections_for_two_years_was_she_serious#ixzz1ZDOlvAJL

Too Much of a Good ThingWhy we need less democracy.

In an 1814 letter to John Taylor, John Adams wrote that “there never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” That may read today like an overstatement, but it is certainly true that our democracy finds itself facing a deep challenge: During my recent stint in the Obama administration as director of the Office of Management and Budget, it was clear to me that the country’s political polarization was growing worse—harming Washington’s ability to do the basic, necessary work of governing. If you need confirmation of this, look no further than the recent debt-limit debacle, which clearly showed that we are becoming two nations governed by a single Congress—and that paralyzing gridlock is the result.

So what to do? To solve the serious problems facing our country, we need to minimize the harm from legislative inertia by relying more on automatic policies and depoliticized commissions for certain policy decisions. In other words, radical as it sounds, we need to counter the gridlock of our political institutions by making them a bit less democratic.

http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/magazine/94940/peter-orszag-democracy?page=0,0&passthru=MGU3YjMxNDdlN2UyMjM2MTNhZGZjNDE2MjE2NjE2Nj

Tuesday 09-27-11

Here is a way to try and take back some States Rights, if they have the backbone to enforce it. I just read this in a prophetic fictional story called "Second Chance" you can read it at http://www.survivalandpreparednessforum.com/forum.php

Constitutional Sheriff Bill Introduced in Tenn.

A new bill making its way through the Tennessee General Assembly states that a federal employee who is not designated as a Tennessee peace officer may not make an arrest or conduct a search and seizure in the Volunteer State without the express consent of the sheriff of the county in which the arrest, search, and seizure is to occur except under certain enumerated circumstances.

The measure, SB 1108, is currently under consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee (a companion measure offered on the House side has been referred to the House General Subcommittee on the Judiciary).

The primary author of the legislation is a lawmaker familiar with controversy — Senator Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville, pictured). Campfield received vitriolic criticism by many for another bill he sponsored derisively (and incorrectly) nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay Bill.”

That bill, as reported by The New American, seeks to forbid public school elementary and middle school teachers from “furnishing any materials on human sexuality other than heterosexuality.” As of today, the amended version of that bill has been passed by the state Senate and is awaiting transmission to the state House of Representatives.

Campfield’s latest offering takes aim at the encroachment by federal officers into what should be the exclusive jurisdiction of state law enforcement officials. This bill and similar measures offered in other states is known as a “Constitutional Sheriff Bill.”

The goal of both Senator Campfield’s measure and the others offered nationwide was described in an article published last year in The New American:

The borders around Montana are being blurred by an overreaching federal government bent on obliterating state sovereignty and assuming all governmental power unto itself. That's the opinion of Rex Nichols, a candidate for sheriff of a rural county in Montana. Nichols is a retired police officer and he's on a mission — to stop the freight train of federal absolutism in its tracks and restore power to the state and local governments.

Nichols isn't alone on his quest. There are dozens of candidates for sheriff nationwide who share his view on the supremacy of state government and the constitutional locus of police power. These lawmen read the Constitution and nowhere in it do they find authorization for the federalization of law enforcement. In fact, they argue, the Constitution's federal system endows local police with greater authority than any federal agent when it comes to enforcing the laws in their counties.

The specific measure offered by Senator Campfield is written boldly and clearly delineates the constitutional boundary between rightful state police authority and the unlawful exercise of that power by agents of the federal government.

So plain and powerful is the bill that it empowers the county sheriff (or his agent) to refuse permission to the federal officer to “make an arrest or conduct a search or seizure for any reason that the sheriff or designee considers sufficient.” The final arbiter of sufficient cause is the sheriff himself. This is a commendable expression of the sovereignty of the states as intended and protected by our Constitution and the men who framed it.

According to the provisions set forth in Section 1, Paragraph 5 (c) of the bill:

A federal employee who desires to make an arrest or conduct a search or seizure under subdivision (a)(4) shall obtain the written permission of the attorney general and reporter for the arrest, search, or seizure unless the resulting delay in obtaining permission would probably cause serious harm to one or more individuals or to a community or would probably allow time for flight of the subject of the arrest, search, or seizure in order to avoid prosecution. The attorney general and reporter may refuse the permission for any reason that the attorney general considers sufficient.

No vague request will satisfy the mandates of the measure were it to be enacted by the General Assembly of the Tennessee and signed into law by the governor. In fact, the bill explicitly requires that the permission request contain the following information:

(A) The name of the subject of the arrest, search, or seizure;
(B) A clear statement of probable cause for the arrest, search, or seizure or a federal arrest, search, or seizure warrant that contains a clear statement of probable cause;
seized;
(C) A description of the specific things to be searched for or
(D) A statement of the date and time that the arrest, search, or seizure is to occur; and
(E) The address or location where the intended arrest, search, or seizure will be attempted.

Once submitted, the local law enforcement agency to whom the written request was submitted has 48 hours to decide whether to extend to the federal agent permission to make the arrest, search, or seizure for which the petition was made.

The serious and very powerful posture struck by the measure is undeniable. In Section 1, Paragraph (f), the proposed law sets forth the punishments to be imposed upon a federal officer failing to conform to the dictates thereof:

An arrest, search, or seizure or attempted arrest, search, or seizure in violation of subsection (a) is unlawful, and the persons involved shall be prosecuted by the county attorney for kidnapping if an arrest or attempted arrest occurred, for trespass if a search or attempted search occurred, for theft if a seizure or attempted seizure occurred, and for any applicable homicide offense if loss of life occurred. The persons involved shall also be charged with any other applicable criminal offense.

Furthermore, if any county attorney fails to timely and properly prosecute the federal agent accused of violating the law’s mandates regarding arrest, search, and seizure, that attorney is subject to recall by the voters and “to prosecution by the attorney general for official misconduct.”

Gratefully, the state of Tennessee is not shrinking from its sovereign position. Strict constitutionalists will praise Senator Campfield and his co-sponsors for their rigid adherence to the principles of federalism and states’ rights that undergird our federal charter.

To their credit, these state lawmakers specifically cite the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in its concluding paragraph wherein is declared:

Pursuant to the tenth amendment to the United States constitution and this state’s compacts with other states, the general assembly declares that any federal law purporting to give federal employees the authority of a county sheriff in this state is not recognized by and is specifically rejected by this state and is declared to be invalid in this state.

Also, as is so unashamedly stated on a website devoted to furthering the cause of the Constitutional sheriffs and peace officers throughout the Republic:

‘Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.’ The [Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association] will unite the sheriffs, police, and local officials who are willing and courageous enough to join us in the ‘tempestuous sea of liberty.’ I am asking you to join with us.

‘If we fail, we fail while daring greatly, so that our posterity will never place us among those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.’

Thankfully, there seem to be a growing number of citizens willing and ready to set sail on the “tempestuous sea of liberty” and repair the formerly impregnable walls of sovereignty once erected around all the states in the union.

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/9012-constitutional-sheriff-bill-introduced-in-tenn

More abuse and control

Ag. Sec. Jumps on ‘Healthy Food’ Bandwagon: It Will ‘Take Time for People’s Taste to Adjust’

The Obama administration’s focus on what Americans eat includes Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who said on Monday that Americans will “adjust” their tastes to the food the government says is best for people to eat.

http://cnsnews.com/video/national/ag-sec-jumps-healthy-food-bandwagon-it-will-take-time-people-s-taste-adjust

Monday 09-26-11

Father upset over homework promoting polygamy, Islam

COBB COUNTY, Ga. -- A father's complaint that his daughter's homework promotes the Muslim faith could lead to a lesson change in Cobb County.

Channel 2's Tom Regan talked to the father who showed him where his daughter’s homework which said there's nothing wrong with having multiple wives.

The assignment went home with seventh-graders at Campbell Middle School.

The school told Regan the assignment was used to compare the pros and cons of the school's dress policy.

But one parent said he thinks the material shows bias toward Islam and is completely inappropriate for the kids.

"Trying to relate this to school uniforms, the context they put it into, doesn't make much sense to me," parent Hal Medlin said.

Medlin showed Regan the assignment brought home by his 13-year-old daughter. The assignment consisted of a letter from Ahlima, a 20-year-old Muslim woman, and touts the advantage of a wearing a Burqa and finds the way western women dress to be "horribly immodest," according to the assignment.

The assignment shows Ahlima saying she doesn't mind if her future husband takes more wives. "I understand that some Westerners condemn our practice of polygamy, but I also know they are wrong," the assignment said.

"It's promoting or positively depicting their belief that polygamy is fine, if that’s what they believe. But I don't know how you could possibly state that and not have any kind of disclaimer that this is what these people think, but not necessarily what all of us believe," Medlin said.

Another page of the assignment lists the seven conditions for women's dress in Islam, including:

-It cannot resemble the clothing of nonbelieving women -It must protect women from the lustful gaze of men

It also states, "Islam liberated woman over 1,400 years ago. Is it better to dress according to man or God?”

"It represents Islam in a positive manner. That doesn't offend me as much as the fact that it represents no other religions," Medlin said. "To me, this material is being used the way it's used is like tearing a page out of text book and saying here's the whole story."

On Friday afternoon, Regan got an email statement from a Cobb Schools saying the school district didn't create the materials, they were provided by the state. The representative went on to say, “The district will review the material in question and determine if it can be taught in a more balance way or if it should no longer be used."

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/29284189/detail.html

China 'launches gold vending machine'

China, already the world's second largest bullion consumer, has installed the country's first gold vending machine in a busy shopping district in Beijing, state media said on Sunday.
Shoppers in the popular Wangfujing Street can insert cash or use a bank card to withdraw gold bars or coins of various weights based on market prices, the People's Daily said on its website.

Each withdrawal is capped at 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) or one million yuan (about $156,500) worth of gold, the report said.

Gold vending machines already exist in Britain, the United States, the Middle East and Europe.

The machine was launched Saturday by the Beijing Agricultural Commercial Bank and a gold trading company, the report said.

They plan to install an unspecified number of machines in secure locations such as gold shops and upmarket private clubs.

Gold is often used as a hedge against inflation and the machines could prove popular among Chinese consumers looking for a convenient way to safeguard their cash amid rising prices.

Chinese consumer demand for gold soared 27 percent year-on-year to 579.5 tonnes in 2010, according to the World Gold Council.

India, the world's top consumer, saw a 66 percent increase to 963.1 tonnes.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.f4c0cf19383379475a875952cf853bc5.3b1&show_article=1

Would be nice if this caught on, but there would be alot of heart attacks by church treasurers

NJ Church Gives Away $30,000 in "Reverse Collection" Baskets

This was one collection basket parishioners couldn't pass up.

Liquid Church of New Jersey allowed parishioners at its Sunday services to forgo donating and instead take money out of the collection basket.

Church leaders gave away $30,000 cash in unmarked envelopes containing either a $10, $20 or $50 bill.

Lead pastor Tim Lucas says the "reverse offering" is meant to teach churchgoers that faith in God — not government — is the only route to recovery in the current financial crisis.

The Christian-based church has about 2,000 members and branches in Morristown, Nutley, and New Brunswick.

Church officials plan to donate an additional $60,000 to various projects, including helping communities with flood recovery, in each of the three northern Jersey counties they serve

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NJ-Church-Offers-Reverse-Collection-Baskets-130529858.html

Sunday 09-25-11

Couple Threatened With $500-Per-Meeting Fines For Home Bible Study

MISSION VIEJO (CBS) — An Orange County couple has been ordered to stop holding a Bible study in their home on the grounds that the meeting violates a city ordinance as a “church” and not as a private gathering.

Homeowners Chuck and Stephanie Fromm, of San Juan Capistrano, were fined $300 earlier this month for holding what city officials called “a regular gathering of more than three people”.

That type of meeting would require a conditional use permit as defined by the city, according to Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), the couple’s legal representation.

The Fromms also reportedly face subsequent fines of $500 per meeting for any further “religious gatherings” in their home, according to PJI.

“We’re just gathering and enjoying each other’s company and fellowship. And we enjoy studying God’s word.” Stephanie Fromm told CBS2.

After city officials rejected the Fromms’ appeal, PJI, which represents other Bible study participants, will appeal the decision to the California Superior Court in Orange County.

“This is also about a city trying to get a family to pay fees – to pay fees and pay money to them – just to be able to have friends over to read the Bible,” attorney Brad Dacus of PJI told CBS2.

Neighbors have written letters to the city in support of the Fromms, whom they said have not caused any disturbances with the meetings, according to PJI.

“The Fromm case further involves regular meetings on Sunday mornings and Thursday afternoons with up to 50 people, with impacts on the residential neighborhood on street access and parking,” City Attorney Omar Sandoval said.

The city of San Juan Capistrano was founded as a mission in the late 1700s by Catholic priest Junipero Serra, who established a local chapel that remains the oldest standing building in California.

Officials with San Juan Capistrano did not respond to requests for comment.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/09/20/oc-couple-threatened-with-500-per-meeting-fines-for-home-bible-study/


OTC inhalers to be phased out to protect ozone layer

Asthma patients who rely on over-the-counter inhalers will need to switch to prescription-only alternatives as part of the federal government's latest attempt to protect the Earth's atmosphere.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday patients who use the epinephrine inhalers to treat mild asthma will need to switch by Dec. 31 to other types that do not contain chlorofluorocarbons, an aerosol substance once found in a variety of spray products.

The action is part of an agreement signed by the U.S. and other nations to stop using substances that deplete the ozone layer, a region in the atmosphere that helps block harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun.

But the switch to a greener inhaler will cost consumers more. Epinephrine inhalers are available via online retailers for around $20, whereas the alternatives, which contain the drug albuterol, range from $30 to $60.

The FDA finalized plans to phase out the products in 2008 and currently only Armstrong Pharmaceutical's Primatene mist is available in the U.S. Other manufacturers have switched to an environmentally-friendly propellant called hydrofluoroalkane. Both types of inhalers offer quick-relief to symptoms like shortness of breath and chest tightness, but the environmentally-friendly inhalers are only available via prescription.

"If you rely on an over-the-counter inhaler to relieve your asthma symptoms, it is important that you contact a health care professional to talk about switching to a different medicine to treat your asthma," said Badrul Chowdhury, FDA's director of pulmonary drug division.

Chowdhury told reporters and doctors via teleconference that "in the worst case scenario we are looking at 1 to 2 million people using" Primatene, adding that most of those patients likely use multiple medications to treat their asthma.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44627081/ns/health-allergies_and_asthma/#.TnuO4XNhLsU

Saturday 09-24-11

Beck’s OnStar Concerns Were Right — Tracking Continues Even After Cancellation
Two years ago, Media Matters mocked Glenn Beck for his “conspiracy theory” that OnStar had too much power with its ability to track cars, listen to conversations and ultimately turn the car off. Well, it looks like his concerns were accurate, as GM has just made a major announcement about the GPS system.

Wired now reports that even if you cancel your OnStar service, you are still being tracked:

OnStar began e-mailing customers Monday about its update to the privacy policy, which grants OnStar the right to sell that GPS-derived data in an anonymized format.

Adam Denison, a spokesman for the General Motors subsidiary, said OnStar does not currently sell customer data, but it reserves that right. He said both the new and old privacy policies allow OnStar to chronicle a vehicle’s every movement and its speed, though it’s not clear where that’s stated in the old policy.

“What’s changed [is that if] you want to cancel your OnStar service, we are going to maintain a two-way connection to your vehicle unless the customer says otherwise,” Denison said in a telephone interview.

The connection will continue, he said, to make it “easier to re-enroll” in the program, which charges plans from $19 to $29 monthly for help with navigation and emergencies.

Continuing to collect information, Denison said, makes it easier OnStar to provide information for organizations that request it:

“We hear from organizations periodically requesting our information,” he said.

He said an example of how the data might be used would be for the Michigan Department of Transportation “to get a feel for traffic usage on a specific section of freeway.” The policy also allows the data to be used for marketing purposes by OnStar and vehicle manufacturers.

Collecting location and speed data via GPS might also create a treasure trove of data that could be used in criminal and civil cases. One could also imagine an eager police chief acquiring the data to issue speeding tickets en masse.

Wired notes that blogger and forensic scientist Jonathan Zdziarski, who wrote about OnStar “spying on customers” GPS location for profit” said he was canceling his service and making sure he was fully disconnected. He wrote, “When will our congress pass legislation that stops the American people’s privacy from being raped by large data warehousing interests? Companies like OnStar, Google, Apple, and the other large abusive data warehousing companies desperately need to be investigated.”

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/onstar-announces-tracking-continues-even-after-cancellation/


At What Point Are You Being Paranoid?

If you have a late model GM vehicle with OnStar, they are capable of tracking you, and have modified the contract terms to allow them to sell the information they collect at will. Speed, location, seat belt latch, and so on.

I would not own a GM vehicle under any circumstances. If you gave me one I would sell it. But even so, if there are good reasons that you have for driving one, you should Google up how to completely disable OnStar on your vehicle unless you trust GM and the government to always do what's best for you.

http://randomactsofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2011/09/at-what-point-are-you-being-paranoid.html

Obamacare HHS rule would give government everybody’s health records

It’s been said a thousand times: Congress had to pass President Obama’s health care law in order to find out what’s in it. But, despite the repetitiveness, the level of shock from each new discovery never seems to recede.

This time, America is learning about the federal government’s plan to collect and aggregate confidential patient records for every one of us.

In a proposed rule from Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the federal government is demanding insurance companies submit detailed health care information about their patients.

(See Proposed Rule: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Standards Related to Reinsurance, Risk Corridors and Risk Adjustment, Volume 76, page 41930. Proposed rule docket ID is HHS-OS-2011-0022 http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-07-15/pdf/2011-17609.pdf)

The HHS has proposed the federal government pursue one of three paths to obtain this sensitive information: A “centralized approach” wherein insurers’ data go directly to Washington; an “intermediate state-level approach” in which insurers give the information to the 50 states; or a “distributed approach” in which health insurance companies crunch the numbers according to federal bureaucrat edict.

It’s par for the course with the federal government, but abstract terms are used to distract from the real objectives of this idea: no matter which “option” is chosen, government bureaucrats would have access to the health records of every American - including you.

There are major problems with any one of these three “options.” First is the obvious breach of patient confidentiality. The federal government does not exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to managing private information about its citizens.

Why should we trust that the federal government would somehow keep all patient records confidential? In one case, a government employee’s laptop containing information about 26.5 million veterans and their spouses was stolen from the employee’s home.

There's also the HHS contractor who lost a laptop containing medical information about nearly 50,000 Medicare beneficiaries. And, we cannot forget when the USDA's computer system was compromised and information and photos of 26,000 employees, contractors, and retirees potentially accessed.

The second concern is the government compulsion to seize details about private business practices. Certainly many health insurance companies defended and advocated for the president’s health care law, but they likely did not know this was part of the bargain.

They are being asked to provide proprietary information to governments for purposes that will undermine their competitiveness. Obama and Sebelius made such a big deal about Americans being able to keep the coverage they have under ObamaCare; with these provisions, such private insurance may cease to exist if insurers are required to divulge their business models.

Certainly businesses have lost confidential data like the federal government has, but the power of the market can punish the private sector. A victim can fire a health insurance company; he cannot fire a bureaucrat.

What happens to the federal government if it loses a laptop full of patient data or business information? What recourse do individual citizens have against an inept bureaucrat who leaves the computer unlocked? Imagine a Wikileaks-sized disclosure of every Americans’ health histories. The results could be devastating - embarrassing - even Orwellian.

With its extensive rule-making decrees, ObamaCare has been an exercise in creating authority out of thin air at the expense of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and liberties.

The ability of the federal government to spy on, review, and approve individuals’ private patient-doctor interactions is an excessive power-grab.

Like other discoveries that have occurred since the law’s passage, this one leaves us scratching our heads as to the necessity not just of this provision, but the entire law.

The HHS attempts to justify its proposal on the grounds that it has to be able to compare performance. No matter what the explanation is, however, this type of data collection is an egregious violation of patient-doctor confidentiality and business privacy. It is like J. Edgar Hoover in a lab coat.

And, no matter what assurances Obama, Sebelius and their unelected and unaccountable HHS bureaucrats make about protections and safeguards of data, too many people already know what can result when their confidential information gets into the wrong hands, either intentionally or unintentionally.

Republican Tim Huelskamp represents the first congressional district of Kansas.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2011/09/obamare-hhs-rule-would-give-government-everybody-s-health-records

Friday 09-23-11

Sorry for the absence, but work has been a bear, i could not pass up these two.

'Stingray' Phone Tracker Fuels Constitutional Clash

For more than a year, federal authorities pursued a man they called simply "the Hacker." Only after using a little known cellphone-tracking device—a stingray—were they able to zero in on a California home and make the arrest.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

A Harris StingRay II, one of several devices dubbed 'stingrays.'
.Stingrays are designed to locate a mobile phone even when it's not being used to make a call. The Federal Bureau of Investigation considers the devices to be so critical that it has a policy of deleting the data gathered in their use, mainly to keep suspects in the dark about their capabilities, an FBI official told The Wall Street Journal in response to inquiries.

A stingray's role in nabbing the alleged "Hacker"—Daniel David Rigmaiden—is shaping up as a possible test of the legal standards for using these devices in investigations. The FBI says it obtains appropriate court approval to use the device.

Stingrays are one of several new technologies used by law enforcement to track people's locations, often without a search warrant. These techniques are driving a constitutional debate about whether the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, but which was written before the digital age, is keeping pace with the times.

On Nov. 8, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether or not police need a warrant before secretly installing a GPS device on a suspect's car and tracking him for an extended period. In both the Senate and House, new bills would require a warrant before tracking a cellphone's location.

And on Thursday in U.S. District Court of Arizona, Judge David G. Campbell is set to hear a request by Mr. Rigmaiden, who is facing fraud charges, to have information about the government's secret techniques disclosed to him so he can use it in his defense. Mr. Rigmaiden maintains his innocence and says that using stingrays to locate devices in homes without a valid warrant "disregards the United States Constitution" and is illegal.

His argument has caught the judge's attention. In a February hearing, according to a transcript, Judge Campbell asked the prosecutor, "Were there warrants obtained in connection with the use of this device?"

Tech Giants Seek to Clamp Down on Multi-Tentacled Patent Suits Access thousands of business sources not available on the free web. Learn More The prosecutor, Frederick A. Battista, said the government obtained a "court order that satisfied [the] language" in the federal law on warrants. The judge then asked how an order or warrant could have been obtained without telling the judge what technology was being used. Mr. Battista said: "It was a standard practice, your honor."

Judge Campbell responded that it "can be litigated whether those orders were appropriate."

On Thursday the government will argue it should be able to withhold details about the tool used to locate Mr. Rigmaiden, according to documents filed by the prosecution. In a statement to the Journal, Sherry Sabol, Chief of the Science & Technology Office for the FBI's Office of General Counsel, says that information about stingrays and related technology is "considered Law Enforcement Sensitive, since its public release could harm law enforcement efforts by compromising future use of the equipment."


The prosecutor, Mr. Battista, told the judge that the government worries that disclosure would make the gear "subject to being defeated or avoided or detected."

A stingray works by mimicking a cellphone tower, getting a phone to connect to it and measuring signals from the phone. It lets the stingray operator "ping," or send a signal to, a phone and locate it as long as it is powered on, according to documents reviewed by the Journal. The device has various uses, including helping police locate suspects and aiding search-and-rescue teams in finding people lost in remote areas or buried in rubble after an accident.

The government says "stingray" is a generic term. In Mr. Rigmaiden's case it remains unclear which device or devices were actually used.

The best known stingray maker is Florida-based defense contractor Harris Corp. A spokesman for Harris declined to comment.

Harris holds trademarks registered between 2002 and 2008 on several devices, including the StingRay, StingRay II, AmberJack, KingFish, TriggerFish and LoggerHead. Similar devices are available from other manufacturers. According to a Harris document, its devices are sold only to law-enforcement and government agencies.

Some of the gadgets look surprisingly old-fashioned, with a smattering of switches and lights scattered across a panel roughly the size of a shoebox, according to photos of a Harris-made StingRay reviewed by the Journal. The devices can be carried by hand or mounted in cars, allowing investigators to move around quickly.

A rare public reference to this type of technology appeared this summer in the television crime drama "The Closer." In the episode, law-enforcement officers use a gadget they called a "catfish" to track cellphones without a court order.

The U.S. armed forces also use stingrays or similar devices, according to public contract notices. Local law enforcement in Minnesota, Arizona, Miami and Durham, N.C., also either possess the devices or have considered buying them, according to interviews and published requests for funding.

The sheriff's department in Maricopa County, Ariz., uses the equipment "about on a monthly basis," says Sgt. Jesse Spurgin. "This is for location only. We can't listen in on conversations," he says.

Sgt. Spurgin says officers often obtain court orders, but not necessarily search warrants, when using the device. To obtain a search warrant from a court, officers as a rule need to show "probable cause," which is generally defined as a reasonable belief, based on factual evidence, that a crime was committed. Lesser standards apply to other court orders.

A spokeswoman with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in Minnesota says officers don't need to seek search warrants in that state to use a mobile tracking device because it "does not intercept communication, so no wiretap laws would apply."

FBI and Department of Justice officials have also said that investigators don't need search warrants. Associate Deputy Attorney General James A. Baker and FBI General Counsel Valerie E. Caproni both said at a panel at the Brookings Institution in May that devices like these fall into a category of tools called "pen registers," which require a lesser order than a warrant. Pen registers gather signals from phones, such as phone numbers dialed, but don't receive the content of the communications.

To get a pen-register order, investigators don't have to show probable cause. The Supreme Court has ruled that use of a pen register doesn't require a search warrant because it doesn't involve interception of conversations.

But with cellphones, data sent includes location information, making the situation more complicated because some judges have found that location information is more intrusive than details about phone numbers dialed. Some courts have required a slightly higher standard for location information, but not a warrant, while others have held that a search warrant is necessary.

The prosecution in the Rigmaiden case says in court documents that the "decisions are made on a case-by-case basis" by magistrate and district judges. Court records in other cases indicate that decisions are mixed, and cases are only now moving through appellate courts.

The FBI advises agents to work with federal prosecutors locally to meet the requirements of their particular district or judge, the FBI's Ms. Sabol says. She also says it is FBI policy to obtain a search warrant if the FBI believes the technology "may provide information on an individual while that person is in a location where he or she would have a reasonable expectation of privacy."

Experts say lawmakers and the courts haven't yet settled under what circumstances locating a person or device constitutes a search requiring a warrant. Tracking people when they are home is particularly sensitive because the Fourth Amendment specifies that people have a right to be secure against unreasonable searches in their "houses."

"The law is uncertain," says Orin Kerr, a professor at George Washington University Law School and former computer-crime attorney at the Department of Justice. Mr. Kerr, who has argued that warrants should be required for some, but not all, types of location data, says that the legality "should depend on the technology."

In the case of Mr. Rigmaiden, the government alleges that as early as 2005, he began filing fraudulent tax returns online. Overall, investigators say, Mr. Rigmaiden electronically filed more than 1,900 fraudulent tax returns as part of a $4 million plot.

Federal investigators say they pursued Mr. Rigmaiden "through a virtual labyrinth of twists and turns." Eventually, they say they linked Mr. Rigmaiden to use of a mobile-broadband card, a device that lets a computer connect to the Internet through a cellphone network.

Investigators obtained court orders to track the broadband card. Both orders remain sealed, but portions of them have been quoted by the defense and the prosecution.

These two documents are central to the clash in the Arizona courtroom. One authorizes a "pen register" and clearly isn't a search warrant. The other document is more complex. The prosecution says it is a type of search warrant and that a finding of probable cause was made.

But the defense argues that it can't be a proper search warrant, because among other things it allowed investigators to delete all the tracking data collected, rather than reporting back to the judge.

Legal experts who spoke with the Journal say it is difficult to evaluate the order, since it remains sealed. In general, for purposes of the Fourth Amendment, the finding of probable cause is most important in determining whether a search is reasonable because that requirement is specified in the Constitution itself, rather than in legal statutes, says Mr. Kerr.

But it is "odd" for a search warrant to allow deletion of evidence before a case goes to trial, says Paul Ohm, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School and a former computer-crime attorney at the Department of Justice. The law governing search warrants specifies how the warrants are to be executed and generally requires information to be returned to the judge.

Even if the court finds the government's actions acceptable under the Fourth Amendment, deleting the data is "still something we might not want the FBI doing," Mr. Ohm says.

The government says the data from the use of the stingray has been deleted and isn't available to the defendant. In a statement, the FBI told the Journal that "our policy since the 1990s has been to purge or 'expunge' all information obtained during a location operation" when using stingray-type gear.

As a general matter, Ms. Sabol says, court orders related to stingray technology "will include a directive to expunge information at the end of the location operation."

Ms. Sabol says the FBI follows this policy because its intent isn't to use the data as evidence in court, but rather to simply find the "general location of their subject" in order to start collecting other information that can be used to justify a physical search of the premises.

In the Rigmaiden example, investigators used the stingray to narrow down the location of the broadband card. Then they went to the apartment complex's office and learned that one resident had used a false ID and a fake tax return on the renter's application, according to court documents.

Based on that evidence, they obtained a search warrant for the apartment. They found the broadband card connected to a computer.

Mr. Rigmaiden, who doesn't confirm or deny ownership of the broadband card, is arguing he should be given information about the device and about other aspects of the mission that located him.

In the February hearing, Judge Campbell said he might need to weigh the government's claim of privilege against the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights, and asked the prosecution, "How can we litigate in this case whether this technology that was used in this case violates the Fourth Amendment without knowing precisely what it can do?"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904194604576583112723197574.html#ixzz1YjyW8gII

A future for drones: Automated killing

One afternoon last fall at Fort Benning, Ga., two model-size planes took off, climbed to 800 and 1,000 feet, and began criss-crossing the military base in search of an orange, green and blue tarp.

The automated, unpiloted planes worked on their own, with no human guidance, no hand on any control.

After 20 minutes, one of the aircraft, carrying a computer that processed images from an onboard camera, zeroed in on the tarp and contacted the second plane, which flew nearby and used its own sensors to examine the colorful object. Then one of the aircraft signaled to an unmanned car on the ground so it could take a final, close-up look.

Target confirmed.

This successful exercise in autonomous robotics could presage the future of the American way of war: a day when drones hunt, identify and kill the enemy based on calculations made by software, not decisions made by humans. Imagine aerial “Terminators,” minus beefcake and time travel.

The Fort Benning tarp “is a rather simple target, but think of it as a surrogate,” said Charles E. Pippin, a scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, which developed the software to run the demonstration. “You can imagine real-time scenarios where you have 10 of these things up in the air and something is happening on the ground and you don’t have time for a human to say, ‘I need you to do these tasks.’ It needs to happen faster than that.”

The demonstration laid the groundwork for scientific advances that would allow drones to search for a human target and then make an identification based on facial-recognition or other software. Once a match was made, a drone could launch a missile to kill the target.

Military systems with some degree of autonomy — such as robotic, weaponized sentries — have been deployed in the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea and other potential battle areas. Researchers are uncertain how soon machines capable of collaborating and adapting intelligently in battlefield conditions will come online. It could take one or two decades, or longer. The U.S. military is funding numerous research projects on autonomy to develop machines that will perform some dull or dangerous tasks and to maintain its advantage over potential adversaries who are also working on such systems.

The killing of terrorism suspects and insurgents by armed drones, controlled by pilots sitting in bases thousands of miles away in the western United States, has prompted criticism that the technology makes war too antiseptic. Questions also have been raised about the legality of drone strikes when employed in places such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, which are not at war with the United States. This debate will only intensify as technological advances enable what experts call lethal autonomy.

The prospect of machines able to perceive, reason and act in unscripted environments presents a challenge to the current understanding of international humanitarian law. The Geneva Conventions require belligerents to use discrimination and proportionality, standards that would demand that machines distinguish among enemy combatants, surrendering troops and civilians.

“The deployment of such systems would reflect a paradigm shift and a major qualitative change in the conduct of hostilities,” Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said at a conference in Italy this month. “It would also raise a range of fundamental legal, ethical and societal issues, which need to be considered before such systems are developed or deployed.”

Drones flying over Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen can already move automatically from point to point, and it is unclear what surveillance or other tasks, if any, they perform while in autonomous mode. Even when directly linked to human operators, these machines are producing so much data that processors are sifting the material to suggest targets, or at least objects of interest. That trend toward greater autonomy will only increase as the U.S. military shifts from one pilot remotely flying a drone to one pilot remotely managing several drones at once.

But humans still make the decision to fire, and in the case of CIA strikes in Pakistan, that call rests with the director of the agency. In future operations, if drones are deployed against a sophisticated enemy, there may be much less time for deliberation and a greater need for machines that can function on their own.

The U.S. military has begun to grapple with the implications of emerging technologies.

“Authorizing a machine to make lethal combat decisions is contingent upon political and military leaders resolving legal and ethical questions,” according to an Air Force treatise called Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047. “These include the appropriateness of machines having this ability, under what circumstances it should be employed, where responsibility for mistakes lies and what limitations should be placed upon the autonomy of such systems.”

In the future, micro-drones will reconnoiter tunnels and buildings, robotic mules will haul equipment and mobile systems will retrieve the wounded while under fire. Technology will save lives. But the trajectory of military research has led to calls for an arms-control regime to forestall any possibility that autonomous systems could target humans.

In Berlin last year, a group of robotic engineers, philosophers and human rights activists formed the International Committee for Robot Arms Control (ICRAC) and said such technologies might tempt policymakers to think war can be less bloody.

Some experts also worry that hostile states or terrorist organizations could hack robotic systems and redirect them. Malfunctions also are a problem: In South Africa in 2007, a semiautonomous cannon fatally shot nine friendly soldiers.

The ICRAC would like to see an international treaty, such as the one banning antipersonnel mines, that would outlaw some autonomous lethal machines. Such an agreement could still allow automated antimissile systems.

“The question is whether systems are capable of discrimination,” said Peter Asaro, a founder of the ICRAC and a professor at the New School in New York who teaches a course on digital war. “The good technology is far off, but technology that doesn’t work well is already out there. The worry is that these systems are going to be pushed out too soon, and they make a lot of mistakes, and those mistakes are going to be atrocities.”

Research into autonomy, some of it classified, is racing ahead at universities and research centers in the United States, and that effort is beginning to be replicated in other countries, particularly China.

“Lethal autonomy is inevitable,” said Ronald C. Arkin, the author of “Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots,” a study that was funded by the Army Research Office.

Arkin believes it is possible to build ethical military drones and robots, capable of using deadly force while programmed to adhere to international humanitarian law and the rules of engagement. He said software can be created that would lead machines to return fire with proportionality, minimize collateral damage, recognize surrender, and, in the case of uncertainty, maneuver to reassess or wait for a human assessment.

In other words, rules as understood by humans can be converted into algorithms followed by machines for all kinds of actions on the battlefield.

“How a war-fighting unit may think — we are trying to make our systems behave like that,” said Lora G. Weiss, chief scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute.

Others, however, remain skeptical that humans can be taken out of the loop.

“Autonomy is really the Achilles’ heel of robotics,” said Johann Borenstein, head of the Mobile Robotics Lab at the University of Michigan. “There is a lot of work being done, and still we haven’t gotten to a point where the smallest amount of autonomy is being used in the military field. All robots in the military are remote-controlled. How does that sit with the fact that autonomy has been worked on at universities and companies for well over 20 years?”

Borenstein said human skills will remain critical in battle far into the future.

“The foremost of all skills is common sense,” he said. “Robots don’t have common sense and won’t have common sense in the next 50 years, or however long one might want to guess.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/a-future-for-drones-automated-killing/2011/09/15/gIQAVy9mgK_print.html

Monday 09-19-11

I+see+this+on+last+two+our+of+three+sites+i+have+worked+on%2C+people+living+in+the+woods.+Trying+to+hold+jobs+but+can+not+afford+the+rent+or+housing+cost.+So+they+live+in+the+woods+in+shacks+they+build.+We+usually+have+to+have+the+sheriff+evict+them+so+we+can+continue+the+project.+Reminds+me+of+Charlie+in+Jerry+D.+Youngs+story+called+%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FPercys-Mission-ebook%2Fdp%2FB004TGTL5G%2Fref%3Dsr_1_2%3Fs%3Ddigital-text%26amp%3Bie%3DUTF8%26amp%3Bqid%3D1316440472%26amp%3Bsr%3D1-2%22%3EPercy%27s+Mission%0D%0A%3C%2Fa%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Cem%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%23006600%3B%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EAlmost+1+in+6+Americans+living+below+poverty+line%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%0A%0D%0ANew+figures+on+income+levels+released+this+week+confirm+what+many+in+the+United+States+struggling+to+make+ends+meet+already+knew%3A+it+is+a+country+in+the+midst+of+a+poverty+crisis+that+will+define+a+generation.%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0ASoaring+poverty+rates+and+a+decade+of+stagnation+in+prosperity+levels+even+for+wealthier+Americans+emerge+as+the+gloomy+headlines+from+a+new+Census+Bureau+survey+showing+that+46.2+million+people+in+the+country+were+subsisting+below+the+poverty+level+last+year%2C+more+than+has+been+seen+in+any+year+since+the+surveys+began+52+years+ago.%0D%0A%0D%0ALast+year+an+additional+2.6+million+Americans+fell+below+the+poverty+threshold%2C+set+at+%2422%2C113+for+a+family+of+four.+Moreover%2C+median+household+incomes+dipped+to+a+level+not+seen+since+1997.+The+US+has+not+seen+such+an+extended+period+without+growth+in+household+income+since+the+Great+Depression.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe+Census+Bureau+statistics+amount+to+a+study+in+gloom+and+lost+optimism.+The+percentage+of+Americans+living+below+the+poverty+threshold+was+the+highest+it+has+been+since+1993+%E2%80%93+15.1+per%2C+up+from+14.3+per+cent+the+previous+year+and+11.7+per+cent+in+2001.%0D%0A%0D%0AThey+are+also+a+study+in+disparity.+While+Americans+in+the+top+10+per+cent+of+earners+saw+median+household+income+drop+by+only+1.5+per+cent+since+1999%2C+for+those+in+the+bottom+tenth+of+the+income+spectrum+it+plummeted+by+12+per+cent.+And+while+22+per+cent+of+all+American+children+were+living+in+poverty+last+year%2C+it+was+true+for+nearly+four+in+10+African-American+children%2C+and+barely+better+in+Hispanic+households.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe+picture+was+worse+than+most+analysts+had+been+expecting+and+is+likely+to+reinforce+the+growing+sense+that+the+country+is+on+a+historic+losing+streak%2C+that+any+recovery+since+the+2008+crash+has+done+little+or+nothing+to+improve+the+lot+of+the+majority.+It+may+thus+also+darken+the+gloom+already+enveloping+President+Barack+Obama+as+he+travels+the+US+trying+to+pitch+the+American+Jobs+Act+he+unveiled+last+week.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22This+is+one+more+piece+of+bad+news+on+the+economy%2C%22+said+Ron+Haskins%2C+co-director+of+the+Centre+on+Children+and+Families+at+the+Brookings+Institution.+%22This+will+be+another+cross+to+bear+by+the+administration.%22%0D%0A%0D%0ALawrence+Katz%2C+an+economics+professor+at+Harvard%2C+said%3A+%22A+full+year+into+recovery%2C+there+were+no+signs+of+it+affecting+the+well-being+of+a+typical+American+family.+By+late+2010%2C+the+economy+was+sort+of+dead+in+the+water%2C+and+that%27s+where+it%27s+remained.%22%0D%0A%0D%0AHe+told+the+New+York+Times%3A+%22This+is+truly+a+lost+decade.+We+think+of+America+as+a+place+where+every+generation+is+doing+better%2C+but+we%27re+looking+at+a+period+when+the+median+family+is+in+worse+shape+than+it+was+in+the+late+1990s.%22%0D%0A%0D%0ALast+year%2C+6.7+per+cent+of+Americans+had+fallen+into+deep+poverty%2C+living+somewhere+below+half+the+poverty+line.+The+figures+could+give+Mr+Obama+and+the+Democrats+in+Washington+ammunition+against+Republicans+who+continue+to+resist+any+changes+in+tax+rates+that+might+force+the+richest+Americans+to+pay+a+higher+share+and+who+support+to+only+parts+of+the+Obama+jobs+plan.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt+is+joblessness+that+lies+behind+the+poverty+rates.+About+48+million+Americans+aged+18+to+64+did+not+work+at+all+last+year%2C+the+Bureau+said.+Some+may+have+foregone+work+by+choice%2C+but+among+those+who+tried+and+especially+those+now+among+the+growing+ranks+of+the+long-term+unemployed%2C+the+difficulties+only+multiply+as+their+homes+are+foreclosed+on+and+health+insurance+premiums+are+beyond+their+reach.%0D%0A%0D%0AUS+poverty+in+numbers%0D%0A%0D%0A48%2C000%2C000+Americans+aged+18+to+64+did+not+work+at+all+last+year.%0D%0A%0D%0A40+per+cent+of+African-American+children+living+in+poverty.%0D%0A%0D%0A46%2C200%2C000+people+in+the+US+in+poverty+this+year%2C+up+by+2%2C600%2C000+on+2010.%0D%0A%0D%0A%2422%2C113+Official+poverty+line+for+a+family+of+four+in+the+US.%0D%0A%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fem%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%23000099%3B%22%3E%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Famericas%2Falmost-1-in-6-americans-living-below-poverty-line-2354789.html%22%3Ehttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Famericas%2Falmost-1-in-6-americans-living-below-poverty-line-2354789.html%3C%2Fa%3E+%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%23000099%3B%22%3E%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%23000000%3B%22%3EThis+is+not+very+surprising+when+the+unemployment+rate+is+really+over+20+percent.%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Cem%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%+helped+the+state+keep+the+lowest+unemployment+rate+since+November+2008.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt+was+followed+by+Nebraska+%284.2+percent%29+and+South+Dakota+%284.7+percent%29.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn+August%2C+30+states+and+the+District+of+Columbia+reported+job+losses.%0D%0A%0D%0ANew+York+lost+22%2C700+net+jobs+to+lead+the+nation.+It+was+followed+by+Georgia%2C+with+18%2C200+lost+jobs%2C+and+the+District+of+Columbia%2C+with+12%2C500+fewer+jobs.+Both+Georgia+and+D.C.+saw+big+declines+in+government+jobs.%0D%0A%0D%0AMinnesota+posted+the+biggest+job+gain+in+August%3A+28%2C400.+But+that+was+mainly+because+the+state+rehired+workers+who+were+temporarily+laid+off+during+the+government%27s+July+shutdown.%0D%0A%0D%0ANorth+Carolina+added+16%2C500+net+jobs%2C+the+second+highest.+Arizona+had+15%2C400+more+jobs.+Both+states+added+public+workers+after+governments+shed+thousands+of+employees.%0D%0A%0D%0ABut+North+Carolina%27s+unemployment+rate+rose+despite+the+gain+in+jobs.+The+unemployment+rate+can+increase+even+if+jobs+are+added+because+people+are+counted+as+unemployed+only+if+they+are+actively+looking+for%0D%0A%0D%0A%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fem%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%23000066%3B%22%3Ehttp%3A%2F%2Ffinance.yahoo.com%2Fnews%2FUnemployment-rates-rose-in-apf-2316469496.html%3Fx%3D0%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A

Saturday 09-17-11

Even a blind squirrel doing something for a purely political reason could find an acorn occasionally.

Mayor Bloomberg predicts riots in the streets if economy doesn't create more jobs

Mayor Bloomberg warned Friday there would be riots in the streets if Washington doesn't get serious about generating jobs.

"We have a lot of kids graduating college, can't find jobs," Bloomberg said on his weekly WOR radio show.

"That's what happened in Cairo. That's what happened in Madrid. You don't want those kinds of riots here."

In Cairo, angry Egyptians took out their frustrations by toppling presidential strongman Hosni Mubarak - and more recently attacking the Israeli embassy.

As for Madrid, the most recent street protests were sparked by widespread unhappiness that the Spanish government was spending millions on the visit of Pope Benedict instead of dealing with widespread unemployment.

Bloomberg's unusually alarmist pronouncement came as President Obama has been pressuring reluctant Republicans to pass his proposed job creation plan.

"The damage to a generation that can't find jobs will go on for many, many years," the normally-measured mayor said.

Bloomberg gave Obama kudos for coming up with a jobs plan.

"At least he's got some ideas on the table, whether you like those or not," he said. "Now everybody's got to sit down and say we're actually gonna do something and you have to do something on both the revenue and the expense side."

And everybody's got to share in the pain.


"When you start picking and choosing which groups do and do not, that's when it becomes unfair in a lot of people's minds," the mayor said. "But we're all in this together."

Obama didn't create this economic mess, it developed "over long periods of time," Bloomberg said.

Obama's approval rating has sunk along with the economy, but the ratings of the Republicans who have stymied his attempts repair the damage are even worse, most polls show.

Already, House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, has drawn a line on raising taxes on the rich to pay for Obama's proposed $447 billion jobs plan, which aims to help the middle class.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/09/16/2011-09-16_mayor_bloomberg_predicts_riots_in_the_streets_if_economy_doesnt_create_more_jobs.html

Friday 09-16-11

More on class warfare, received this email from a friend says it pretty well. imo

*Class war at its best. *

*The folks who are getting the free stuff, don't like the folks who are
paying for the free stuff, Because the folks who are paying for the free
stuff, Can no longer afford to pay for both the free stuff and their own
stuff, And, The folks who are paying for the free stuff, Want the free stuff
to stop and the the folks who are getting the free stuff, Want even more
free stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!*

**

*Now...The people who are forcing the people who Pay for the free stuff,** *
*have told the people who are RECEIVING the free stuff, That the people who
are PAYING for the free stuff, are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.*

**

*So... the people who are GETTING the free stuff, have been convinced they
need to hate the people who are paying for the free stuff, by the people who
are forcing some people to pay for their free stuff, and giving them the
free stuff in the first place.*

*We have let the free stuff giving go on for so long that there are now more
people getting free stuff than paying for the free stuff. *

**

*Now... understand this. All great democracies have committed financial
suicide*

*somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason, the
voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by
electing*

*people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange for
electing them.*

**

*The United States officially became a Republic in 1776, 231 years ago. The
number of people now getting free stuff outnumbers the people paying for the
free stuff. We have one chance to change that in 2012. Failure to change
that spells the end of the United States as we know it.*

White House Pressure for a Donor?

The four-star Air Force general who oversees Air Force Space Command walked into a highly secured room on Capitol Hill a week ago to give a classified briefing to lawmakers and staff, and dropped a surprise. Pressed by members, Gen. William Shelton said the White House tried to pressure him to change his testimony to make it more favorable to a company tied to a large Democratic donor.

The episode —confirmed by The Daily Beast in interviews with administration officials and the chairman of a congressional oversight committee —is the latest in a string of incidents that have given Republicans sudden fodder for questions about whether the Obama administration is politically interfering in routine government matters that affect donors or fundraisers. Already, the FBI and a House committee are investigating a federal loan guarantee to a now failed solar firm called Solyndra that is tied to a large Obama fundraiser.

Now the Pentagon has been raising concerns about a new wireless project by a satellite broadband company in Virginia called LightSquared, whose majority owner is an investment fund run by Democratic donor Philip Falcone.

According to officials familiar with the situation, Shelton’s prepared testimony was leaked in advance to the company. And the White House asked the general to alter the testimony to add two points: that the general supported the White House policy to add more broadband for commercial use; and that the Pentagon would try to resolve the questions around LightSquared with testing in just 90 days. Shelton chafed at the intervention, which seemed to soften the Pentagon’s position and might be viewed as helping the company as it tries to get the project launched, officials said.

“There was an attempt to influence the text of the testimony and to engage LightSquared in the process in order to bias his testimony,” Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) said in an interview. “The only people who were involved in the process in preparation for the hearing included the Department of Defense, the White House, and the Office Management and Budget.”

Turner is chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee that oversees Shelton’s space command and GPS issues; the panel explored the issues between LightSquared and the Pentagon at a hearing Thursday.

On Thursday, LightSquared CEO,Sanjiv Ahuja told The Daily Beast that his company was not trying to use politics to affect the regulatory process and the firm's goal was to expand broadband access across America.

"Any suggestion that we have run roughshod over the regulatory process is contradicted by reality: Our plans to begin implementing America's first privately funded, wholesale, affordable, coast-to-coast wireless broadband service have been delayed for a year and we have been forced to commit more than $100 million to find a solution that will allow consumers to benefit from both our service and GPS,” Ahuja said.

"For a company that allegedly is ‘wired’ inside the Beltway, we've been unable to even get the House Armed Services Committee to allow us to have one representative today’s hearing — a hearing in which we are the subject,” he said.

Shelton finally gave his testimony Thursday, and made clear the Pentagon's concern about LightSquared's project.

The general told Turner's committee that preliminary tests of a new LightSquared proposal to use only a portion of the band that it was licensed originally in 2004 would cause significant disruptions to GPS.

He said the GPS spectrum was supposed to originally be a “quiet neighborhood,” meaning that lower strength signals could exist near the GPS spectrum. Speaking of the LightSquared plan, he said, “If you put a rock band in the middle of that quiet neighborhood, that’s a different circumstance.”

The White House confirmed Wednesday that its Office of Management and Budget suggested changes to the general’s testimony but insisted such reviews are routine and not influenced by politics. And it said Shelton was permitted to give the testimony he wants, without any pressure.

OMB “reviews and clears all agency communications with Congress, including testimony, to ensure consistency in the administration’s policy positions,” said White House spokesman Eric Schultz. “When an agency is asked by a congressional committee to testify, OMB circulates the agency’s proposed [draft] testimony to other affected agencies and appropriate [executive office of the president] staff. If a reviewer has a comment to the proposed testimony, that suggestion is typically conveyed to the agency for their consideration. When divergent views emerge, they are often reconciled through discussions at the appropriate policy levels of OMB and the agencies.” The general’s office declined to comment.

LightSquared has previously acknowledged it met with officials from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as it tried to shepherd the project, which is consistent with President Obama’s goal of trying to expand broadband wireless access nationwide. That office has a mandate to meet with members of private industry.

Melanie Sloan, who runs the nonpartisan ethics groups Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the emerging allegations about possible White House involvement in LightSquared’s matter seemed to mirror earlier allegations in the Solyndra case.

“With this new set of facts, it starts to sound like a pattern of the White House improperly pressuring people at agencies involving decisions that affect companies tied to donors and fundraisers,” Sloan said. “It’s always a problem when the White House is pressuring anyone’s testimony. I don’t care if you are a four-star [general] or a GS-15 [career employee], you should be giving your true opinion and not an opinion the White House is seeking for political expediency."

Sloan recalled similar instances during the Bush administration, when officials were accused of trying to meddle with climate scientists’ testimony. “It doesn’t matter what party is in charge, money frequently trumps good policy in Washington,” she said.

Mr. Ahuja gave a little more than $30,000 to both the Democratic and Republican parties in the last two years. Mr. Falcone and his wife have gave more than $60,000 in 2009 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Mr. Falcone has also given a smattering of money to Republicans.

At issue is a conditional Federal Communications Commission waiver granted in January to LightSquared to build cheap terrestrial wireless capacity in a section of the wireless spectrum close to the GPS bandwidth. Harbinger Capital, the hedge fund belonging to Falcone, owns a majority stake in LightSquared.

"There was an attempt to influence the text of the testimony and to engage LightSquared in the process in order to bias his testimony,” said Rep. Mike Turner.
The FCC license has come under scrutiny because technical experts have warned that LightSquared’s proposal to build tens of thousands of ground stations for a wireless network could drown out the GPS signal. On Tuesday, the FCC issued a public notice stating that LightSquared may not move forward on establishing its wireless service until further testing proves the GPS would not be harmed.

Falcone says the FCC waiver was spurred by the demands of the wireless industry. “LightSquared wanted the waiver because some of its wholesale partners wanted the choice of being able to sell devices with either satellite only, terrestrial-only or combined satellite-terrestrial service,” he told The Daily Beast. “The waiver allows us to meet the specific needs of our customers — but it in no way affected the spectrum issue.”

Falcone added, “The GPS industry decided not to oppose us in the early 2000's because they thought we'd never be successful. It was only after they realized we were not just a concept, but a viable technology with a viable business model, that they decided to oppose us. Meanwhile, LightSquared invested billions of dollars — that is money that comes from private individuals all over the country — based on the promise the FCC gave us under a Republican administration six years ago. The point is that any suggestion that the waiver created LightSquared out of thin air is both specious and absurd.”

Turner said Shelton told his committee that LightSquared had obtained his earlier prepared testimony. But Jeffrey J. Carlisle, Executive Vice President for Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy for LightSquared said Thursday that the company never received Shelton’s testimony scheduled for August 3.

A U.S. government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the White House specifically asked Shelton to include a paragraph in his testimony that stated the military would continue to test the proposed bandwidth for ways LightSquared could still use the spectrum space without interfering with GPS. The proposed language for Shelton’s testimony also stated that he hoped the necessary testing for LightSquared would be completed within 90 days.

The White House has said it did not try to influence the licensing process for LightSquared at the FCC. Chairman Julius Genachowski also has said the White House never lobbied him about LightSquared. Republicans are now questioning whether the administration has been rushing approval of the project over the objections of experts ranging from GPS companies like Garmin to the military’s own advisory committee on satellites.

“The FCC’s fast-tracking of LightSquared raises questions about whether the government is rushing this project at the expense of all kinds of other things, including national security and everyone who uses GPS, from agriculture to emergency medical technicians,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). “Without transparency, and with media coverage of political connections in this case, there’s no way to know whether the agency is trying to help friends in need or really looking out for the public’s interest.”

In April, Grassley asked Genachowski to hand over all records of communications, including emails between Falcone and the FCC, and LightSquared and the FCC. Genachowski declined to turn over those records.

The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization, published emails this week it had obtained showing meetings between White House technology advisers and LightSquared officials.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/15/lightsquared-did-white-house-pressure-general-shelton-to-help-donor.html

Defying orders, hero Marine saved other troops



WASHINGTON (AP) - Defying orders and tempting fate, Marine corporal Dakota Meyer charged five times in a Humvee into heavy gunfire in the darkness of an Afghanistan valley to rescue comrades under attack from Taliban insurgents.

On Thursday, Meyer was presented with the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award, by President Barack Obama.

Meyer's courage during the six-hour ambush and firefight saved the lives of 36 people, both Americans and Afghans. He killed at least eight Taliban insurgents. Firing from a gun turret on top of the Humvee driven by a fellow Marine, he provided cover for his team, allowing many to escape likely death.

He was defying orders from his commanders, who told him to stay back. The kill zone, they said, was too dangerous. But the young corporal, just 21 years old at the time, knew his friends were trapped that early morning in September 2009.

"In Sgt. Dakota Meyer, we see the best of a generation that has served with distinction through a decade of war," Obama said during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

Meyer, later promoted to sergeant and now out of the Marines, is the third living recipient and the first Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The modest, soft-spoken 23-year-old now lives in his home state of Kentucky, working construction in the tiny town of Greensburg.

Obama praised Meyer for his humility and work ethic. When the White House tried to reach him in the middle of a workday to tell him his medal had been approved, he worried about whether he could take a call while on the job. So the White House arranged for the president to call during Meyer's lunch break. With a smile, Obama thanked him for taking the call.

On the eve of the Medal of Honor ceremony, Obama and Meyer met in person, chatting on a patio near the White House Rose Garden, over a beer.

Despite Meyer's heroism, four Americans died in the ambush: 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, a 25-year-old from Virginia Beach; Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, 30, of Roswell, Ga.; Corpsman James Layton, 22, of Riverbank, Calif.; and Edwin Wayne Johnson Jr., a 31-year-old gunnery sergeant from Columbus, Ga. A fifth man, Army Sgt. Kenneth W. Westbrook, 41, of Shiprock, N.M., later died from his wounds.

Meyer says he has struggled with the national attention, with being recognized for the worst day of his life. He requested that memorial services for those who died that day be held in their hometowns at the same time he received the Medal of Honor.

The president assured Meyer that he had let no one down.

"Dakota, I know you've grappled with the grief of that day, that you said your efforts were somehow a failure because your teammates didn't come home," the president said. "But as your commander in chief and on behalf of everyone here today and all Americans, I want you to know it's quite the opposite."

For all the praise heaped upon Meyer, questions have also been raised about whether the military could have prevented the deaths of the five Americans. Two Army officers were reprimanded for being "inadequate and ineffective" and for "contributing directly to the loss of life" following an investigation into the day's events.

"You can't say this with any certainty, but the chances are, in my opinion, that yes they would have been" still alive, said retired Col. Richard Hooker, who led the investigation. Hooker spoke during an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes."

Meyer was part of a security team supporting a patrol moving into a village in the Ganjgal Valley on Sept. 8, 2009. Suddenly, the lights in a nearby village went out and gunfire erupted. About 50 Taliban insurgents on mountainsides and in the village had ambushed the patrol.

As the forward team took fire and called for air support that wasn't coming, Meyer begged his command to let him head into the incoming fire to help.

Four times he was denied before he and another Marine, Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez, jumped into the Humvee and headed into the fray. For his valor, Rodriguez-Chavez, a 34-year-old who hailed originally from Acuna, Mexico, would be awarded the Navy Cross.

With Meyer manning the Humvee's gun turret, the two drew heavy fire. But they began evacuating wounded Marines and American and Afghan soldiers to a safe point. Meyer made five trips into the kill zone.

During that fifth trip into the kill zone, a helicopter arrived at last to provide overhead support. Troops aboard the chopper told Meyer they had spotted what appeared to be four bodies. Meyer knew those were his friends.

"It might sound crazy, but it was just, you don't really think about it, you don't comprehend it, you don't really comprehend what you did until looking back on it," Meyer said.

Wounded and tired, Meyer left the relative safety of the Humvee and ran out on foot.

Ducking around buildings to avoid gunfire, he reached the bodies of his fallen comrades.

Meyer and two other troops dodged bullets and rocket-propelled grenades to pull the bodies out of a ditch where the men had died while trying to take cover

http://wtop.com/?nid=209&sid=2544681