StormWarning’s Counterterrorism

I need to make something crystal clear to anyone who reads this and suddenly comes to a mistaken conclusion that I am biased.  Frankly, there in nothing further from from the truth.  I do, however, draw a very bold line of distinction between Mexican-American or Hispanic American citizens, and anyone who is in this country illegally.  And by the way, good day to you from Hayward California - 64.157.224.# (AvantGo)…what are you gaining by looking at this page so often?  It isn’t going to go away.

An opinion piece in the LA Times compares the exaggerated fantasy of the 2004 satire, "A Day without a Mexican" with the reality that a new Social Security requirement to match names and SS#s to the database could cripple the Ca. economy.  But essentially, the article poses that "workplace enforcement without immigration reform will cripple the economy."  Well, most people would start with enforcing the existing laws…and that means making it illegal to knowingly hire illegal aliens.

How so?  Past letters from the Social Security Administration simply required employers to ensure that a worker’s employment papers had been properly filled out.

Now the government is demanding that unauthorized employees be fired and threatening legal action if they aren’t. This is expected to trigger widespread layoffs — self-policing by millions of small and medium-sized businesses in California and other states.

Frankly, the rest of the article tries to justify illegal immigration and speaks to "more realistic" immigration policies.  What we need is simple.  Enforce, enforce, enforce.  Illegal is still illegal…although once you allow amnesty, illegal suddenly becomes…oops!  Part of the justification is the consistent, Americans don’t want to do these jobs:

Not even the least skilled, least educated Americans want to work in agriculture these days. More than 70% of U.S. farmworkers are estimated to be illegal immigrants. And if the SSA’s no-match letters work — if employers act on them as expected — that could drive fruit and vegetable farming out of the United States, putting California’s $30-billion-a-year industry at risk.

Agriculture would be just the beginning. According to economists, every farm job sustains three or four others — at food processing plants, agricultural supply firms, companies that build trucks and other farm machinery — many of them jobs held by native-born workers. And no-match letters won’t go just to farmers. Hotels, restaurants, construction firms, landscaping contractors and healthcare services will get them too.

So the argument remains…illegal immigration is OK because no one else will do the jobs that the illegals do.  Well to start with, the company that does my landscaping doesn’t employ illegals…they’re local young men, some of them college age, who do it all.  And not only that, they’re less expensive and better than the legal Mexican who did my lawn last year.

A comment and a published quote by Robert Gaffney, Attorney and County Executive of Suffolk County, LI, NY:

The statutory foundation of United States immigration law has always
been the jurisdiction of the federal government, Congress and the
federal courts. The preeminent laws concerning the employment of
illegal aliens are found in the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. §~ 1101-1503), as amended by the Immigration Reform and Control
Act of 1986 CIRCA).

The law states it is a crime to assist
an illegal alien who lacks employment authorization by referring him to
an employer, or by acting as his or her employer, or as an agent for an
employer. 8 U.S.C.S. § 1324a(a)(1)(A) (Lexis 1997). Furthermore, it is
unlawful to hire an individual for employment without complying with
the employment eligibility requirements for every person hired. 8
U.S.C.S. § 1324a(a)(l)(B) (Lexis 1997). Moreover, conduct tending
substantially to facilitate illegal aliens remaining in the United
States illegally, where there is knowledge or a reckless disregard of
an illegal alien s unlawful status, is a crime, with escalating
penalties, encompassed within the provisions of 1324. 8 U.S.C.S. §
1324(a)(l)(A)(iii) (Lexis 1997); United States v. Kim. 193 F-3d 567 (2d
Cir. 1999), are considered employees for purposes of immigration law.

Lastly, in 2004 there was a movie, A Day Without a Mexican that created an uproar…Wikipedia…another article, Dónde están the hired hands? ‘A Day Without a Mexican’ portrays California lacking a third of its people…By imagining a California without
the 11 million Latinos who make up a third of the population, the satirical
"mockumentary" aims to point out how much the state depends on this often-
maligned segment of the community…EXCEPT there is a big difference between people who are citizens and people who are not.

Here is a link to an article, A Day Without a Mexican that discusses the movie.

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, International Issues, National Security, Opinions

3 Comments »

Interesting how a short time makes you appreciate the "values" of being a Texan.  Even though I am not yet "armed" (not many things more dangerous than a Yankee with a "nug"), thanks to Texas Senate Bill 378, people no longer have to try to retreat before
using deadly force to defend themselves at home, and that defense is
expanded to their vehicles and workplaces.

PHOTOS.COM

Reviewing the law:
Senate Bill 378 Signed by Governor Perry
An Act relating to the use of force or deadly force in defense of a person.

Previously on Storm blog:
Texas Passes "Castle Doctrine"
The "Castle Doctrine": Putting the "Home" Back Into Homeland Security

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, Opinions

No Comments »

The proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) is a "plum" worth billions of dollars to the selected site.  Five locations were recently selected as finalists.  There are two interesting stories; the tiny town in Mississippi that made the final five and the question of hearings on LI about Plum Island (and whether there might still be a chance of DHS deciding to upgrade Plum Island rather than re-locate the NBAF to one of the five finalist locations.  Also please see previous Storm posts on the NBAF shown below.  Additional discussion about Mississippi’s efforts shown below.

The following sites have been chosen to advance to the next phase in
the competitive process to select the location for the proposed
National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF).

• Flora Industrial Park, Madison County, Miss.
• Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan.
• Texas Research Park, San Antonio, Texas
• Umstead Research Farm, Granville County, N.C.
• University of Georgia/South Milledge Ave., Athens, Ga.

The next step in the selection process is to conduct an
environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of the National
Environmental Policy Act process. Plum Island, as a government-owned site will be considered as one of the alternatives that are evaluated in the EIS.

Flora Mississippi, a town of 1546 people is by far the smallest of the final locations.  There was a public meeting in Flora today to discuss the impact the NBAF would have on that tiny community (don’t know the actual results of that meeting yet).  In an understatement, the Mayor said (prior to the meeting):

"There’s no doubt in my mind. This could be bigger than the car plants," he said, referring to the Nissan plant located in nearby Canton and Toyota in north Mississippi.

About 200 of the nation’s top scientists would move to central Mississippi to work at the lab, which would test and evaluate combating bio and agro terrorism threats.

Another 150 support workers would converge in the Flora Industrial Park on U.S. 49 daily. Pharmaceutical companies likely would locate nearby, hoping to sell the results of the medical research.

The average salary of the 400 jobs it will provide is $75,000 - with a total payroll of about $30.5 million annually.

Considering that other locations were dropped at the last cut because they "lacked the infrastructure to support the lab" (one particular site comes to mind immediately), it is pretty surprising that Flora made the cut.  But it seems that Bennie Thompson (D) represents that District and also Chairs the House Homeland Security Committee (considering one of the other disappointed locations was in the CD of the former Chairman of the House Appropriations sub-committee for Homeland Security, I find it hard to believe that there could be a connection, but stranger things have happened in partisan politics and "bringing home the bacon")…

Partners collaborating on developing the facility include University of Mississippi Medical Center, the Ole Miss School of Pharmacy, Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and Jackson State University. This facility should provide a multiplier effect of more research, more grants, more jobs — all high-tech, high-paying — making the competition to land it intense. Greaves said that the metro area offers the quality-of-life features along with the technical support to land this project, but public support is critical to landing it. The hearing in Flora is open to all interested and should answer any questions the public may have about the proposed facility.

Here’s some additional insight about the Mississippi proposal from the Sunshine Project on the NBAF.

Unqualified Connections: Battelle, based in Ohio, conducts classified research at its West Jefferson (OH) lab. Battelle also operates national labs, including Oak Ridge (TN), and Pacific Northwest (WA). Mississippi has little to offer in the way of expertise. Battelle has an insatiable appetite for federal dollars and may appreciate weak partners in Mississippi’s educational institutions. This proposal features the crack political team of Gov. Haley Barbour (Chair of George Bush’s 2000 Presidential Campaign Advisory Committee) and Penrose "Parney" Albright, until recently a top DHS official. Between them, just about any relevant ear can be bent.

URL: http://www.governorbarbour.com/NABF.html

But why are they holding town hall meetings and hearings about the possibility of Plum Island (the existing BSL3 facility) getting the "nod?"

Enhanced Defense Facility Proposed For Plum Island
Plum Island, which houses the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, is a
prospective site for a new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility,
which would handle pathogens threatening to humans. Though Plum Island
is not one of the leading prospective locations, representatives from
the US Department of Homeland Security hosted a public scoping meeting
to provide information to and solicit comments from the Southold Town
community on August 23. The two main concerns voiced by residents were
how the government planned to secure the island and protect residents
on the East End…

Homeland Security seeks input on Plum Island disease lab

Even though Plum Island is not on the list of five sites being considered for a new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, the Department of Homeland Security
is holding a public meeting Thursday night in Southold to solicit
comments on whether the island would be a good site for the lab…

Plum Island, located off Orient Point and home of the Plum Island
Animal Disease Center scheduled to be superceded by the new facility
after 2013, hasn’t been considered for the new lab that will study more
dangerous pathogens in part because the state’s two Democratic
senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer, and Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) oppose the idea as being too dangerous.

But the Long Islanders want the lab to remain at Level 3.  They could build a new facility at the current site, or if, as expected, the NBAF goes to one of the five finalists, Plum Island would, as currently planned, be decommissioned.  Strange doin’s though.  In my opinion of course.

Previous Storm posts on the NBAF:
Biodefense Labs - Power Outage Shows Flaws in CDC Lab
NBAF Finalists Announced - San Antonio Makes the Cut!
National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) News
Texas, A Terrorist Target Because…
BioHazard Level 4 - Target for Terrorism?
NBAF Update
UPDATED: Plum Island and NBAF - Conspiracy Theories and the Spreading of Fiction
San Antonio Stays in the Running for the National Bio-Defense Lab
Biolab Level Four - Update
Safety of Bio-Defense Labs Questioned

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, Federal Policy, National Security, Opinions, Technology, US Federal Policy

4 Comments »

Its easy to blame Nagin & Blanco.  Two years after Katrina, today New Orleans dedicated a memorial and buried 100 unclaimed bodies of those who simply were forgotten.  Buildings and lives washed away…and yet hope along with uncertainty for the future exists, especially in the children.

A group of fifth grade students from the Langston Hughes Academy Charter School were asked to write about their visions of the future, ten years out, as to what New Orleans would be like.  I select a few…

"In 2015 New Orleans will look new. All of the flooded buildings will be rebuild. New Orleans will be bigger. They will have new schools and new parks. … Many of the houses will be raised so the won’t flood again."
–Jozeff Lee, 10, who is still waiting to return to his New Orleans East home

"Everything is going to be up agin. No shooting and no Fighting. We are going to respect all people Ideas. … I’ am going to be a star And play for Saitis (the Saints)."
–Gregory Austin Jr., 10, Treme

"I believe in 2015 New Orleans would be better than what it is today. Lots of schools will be open, businesses would be open and homes would be rebuild. Peoples lives will continue…. Lots of people think we can’t be joyful or rebuild. We can do what helps this city. This city alway’s be here. Terrorist and Hurricanes they can’t steal our joy and our pride."
–Desmond Barthelemy, 10, New Orleans East

New Orleans dedicated its Memorial to the Katrina victims.  Bells pealed amid prayers, song and tears at the groundbreaking for a planned Katrina memorial at a New Orleans cemetery.

"We
ring the bells for a city that is in recovery, that is struggling, that
is performing miracles on a daily basis," said Mayor Ray Nagin, who
famously cursed the federal response in a radio interview days after
the storm.

Katrina Anniversary Marked With Tears, Broken Promises, And Burial For 100 Unclaimed Dead

The memorial will be the final resting place for more than two dozen unclaimed bodies.

"The saddest thing I’ve seen here is that there are 30 human beings who will be buried here one day that nobody ever called about," David Kopra, a volunteer from Olympia, Wash., said, holding back tears. "It says something to my heart. This city needs so much care, and that’s why I’m here."…

…Later on Wednesday, the city was to unveil the Katrina Memorial in a nearby park.

About 100 of the storm’s unidentified and unclaimed victims will be laid to rest on Wednesday at the new memorial among hurricane-shaped walkways.

"This will be the one memorial where victims of the storm will be actually buried," said Gerard Schoen, a funeral director at Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery, one of the city’s oldest burial grounds who helped organise the event…

Its not a new story, because in February 2006, the Washington Post ran a story about New Orleans’ unclaimed dead. 

City to Take Custody of Unclaimed Storm Victims
Inside a fleet of refrigerated trucks parked an hour west of here
lie the bodies of more than 200 unidentified or unclaimed victims of
Hurricane Katrina.

"Some, we don’t know who they are," said Chuck
Smith, leader of the federal mortuary effort in Carville, La. "And with
some, we can’t locate the families, or the families are unable to make
provisions."

The question now, five months after the storm, is what to do with the dead.

Katrina Remembrances
By Kate Phillips

President
Bush and Laura Bush today at a charter school in New Orleans, where
they led a moment of silence. (Photo: Jim Young/Reuters)

I have no question that Nagin and Blanco dropped their part of the ball.  There is also no question that New Orleans is plagued by crime (especially murder) at previously unseen levels.  But I am also convinced that FEMA, under the direction of Mike Brown (and supervised by Mike Chertoff) screwed the pooch (Former FEMA Dir. Brown Proves Afterlife (and the Peter Principle).  All other arguments aside, its not about the politics.  In the end, placing the blame is a whole lot less important than
remembering the dead, and realizing that the children, as always, are
the future.

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, National Security, Opinions

No Comments »

I often marvel at the utter stupidity exhibited by some people.  On the one hand is Senator Craig, denying his homosexuality for 25 years.  On the otherhand, is my blog visitor who posted threats and keeps coming back to read the same article (its obvious from the IP address).

Three comments to yesterday’s Larry Craig post from yesterday, Keep it in your pants dammit! (seemingly, the conservative blogsphere as represented by Real Clear Politics, in general, isn’t too interested in this matter of ethics as shown by the reactions.  RCP which remains an odd gauge of topical relevance.).

From Debbie at Right Truth: Pitiful isn’t it.  I don’t care what they do in private either.  But this guy obviously has been doing this since his college days, and probably before.  Be a man and admit who you are for Pete’s sake.

From American Phoenix: This is worse than pathetic.  This guy is having sex with complete strangers and bringing home God only knows what STDs to his wife.  And then he thinks that getting caught only happens to other people?  This guy is too stupid to be a Senator.

From Storm: What I fail to understand is the vehement denial on television that only makes this personal situation more public.  It should be made to go away as fast as possible, and yet, the Senate ethics committee is now going to investigate, and it will thus remain public media fodder for sometime to come.  Personal choices are one thing…bad choices simply then make them worse.

For Senator Larry Craig, one can simply wonder as the articles on this subject mount.  A quiet exit stage right might have been the better of the choices, sir.

As for the Cyber-threatener, what can you say?  In the two weeks since the first occurence, Cyber-Threats, Blogging and Your Actions, this guy has been reported to his college, and to the local F.B.I., who referred the lead to the Joint Regional Intelligence Center (I have no idea what if any actions were taken in either case).  The odd thing is that this individual keeps coming back to read the same damn post (At least 4 times since, the last one being last night), and I can only assume, the same comments that remain for all of the world to see, Murder in Monterrey (Mexico)…he may have also read the more recent, More Monterrey Murders in Drug War - Border & National Security  Regrets?  Perhaps in hindsight, this individual has "seen the light."  Perhaps not.  Some people feel that my responses were an overreaction, I do not agree.

Personal choices, often made worse by subsequent actions.

Again, other commentary on Senator Craig at Right Truth, One Sentence Post.  But also note that CONSERVATIVE BLOGS NOT DEFENDING CRAIG from MSNBC.

And you’ve got to read Dirty Love at the Right Truth for a "history" of public sex.

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, Opinions

3 Comments »

Comment:  Despite the rantings of today’s Rush Limbaugh stand-in that Craig is being railroaded, PLEASE!  Does anyone really believe his plea for us all to  believe that he is not gay (or at least a “little bit closet happy?”).  If there is something faulty with the conclusion that Senator Larry tapped his foot in the wrong place to the wrong tune, then why are Republican Senators throwing him under the truck?

UPDATED: Craig Says He Did Nothing Wrong in Restroom Incident
Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig said he was wrong to plead guilty in connection with an incident in an airport restroom and denied that he is gay.

“Let me be clear, I am not gay, I have never been gay,” Craig, 62, said at a press conference in Boise. He said that he has retained counsel and is asking his attorney to “review this matter and to advise me on how to proceed.”         

He plans to announce next month whether to seek re-election, and said that he believes he can continue to be an “effective
leader.” In Washington, Senate Republican leaders called for an ethics committee review of the case…

What it is about politicians, especially in the post-”Mr. Bill” environment?  I know…we all like our “Mr. Winky” (or whatever your wife’s pet name is for your penis).  I don’t care if you’re straight or gay, Republican or Democrat, Black or White…your business is your business.  But keep it in your pants when you’re in public, dammit!

Apparently, Senator Larry Craig of Idaho got “disorderly” in a public restroom at the Minneapolis Airport back in June and, while pleading guilty, tried to keep it quiet, or hoped that everyone would miss it.  Well WRONG Senator Craig!

Well thanks to KPVI-Channel 6 in Pocatello Idaho, we have this:

Quite a nice “mug shot” Senator Craig!

GOP Senator Pleaded Guilty After Restroom Arrest
Idaho’s Craig Denies ‘Inappropriate Conduct,’ Says He Regrets Entering Plea
Senator Larry E. Craig pleaded guilty earlier this month to misdemeanor disorderly-conduct
charges stemming from his June arrest by an undercover police officer
in a men’s restroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, a
court spokeswoman and the senator’s office said yesterday.

Craig issued a statement confirming his arrest and guilty plea, which were reported in the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. But the Idaho
Republican maintained that he had not engaged in any “inappropriate
conduct” and that the airport police misunderstood his behavior…

What is with these people?

Florida State Rep. and Idiot of the Year nominee Bob Allen, who blamed his alleged bathroom solicitation of an undercover male cop on a fear of black people. Craig, 62, was merely accused of playing footsie under the stall door and “brush[ing] his hand beneath the partition between them.” Craig contends that it’s all a big misunderstanding, explaining to police that “he has a wide stance when going to the bathroom.”Much like Allen, though, it appears like he may have attempted to use his political position to avoid arrest. According to a police report obtained by Roll Call, Craig showed officers his Senate business card and asked them: “What do you think about that?” Apparently, not too much, as he was arrested, fined $500 and “placed on one year’s probation, beginning Aug. 8, the date he pleaded guilty. He could face an additional $500 in fines and a 10-day jail sentence if he violates probation.”

Despite claiming he only pleaded guilty to expedite the process and that the facts were misconstrued, Craig, who unsuccessfully ran for GOP whip in 2003, yesterday resigned as chairman of the presidential campaign in Idaho for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Idaho Paper Reveals Its Probe of Senator Craig
Rumors about the hidden life of Sen. Larry Craig had
spread on the Web for months — including hints that a reporter for the
Idaho Statesman was asking the same questions and was about to produce
a shocking story at any moment. Today, after news emerged elsewhere of
Craig’s June arrest in a men’s room in Minneapolis, the Statesman
revealed its findings.


The story by Dan Popkey opens: “Sen. Larry Craig, who
in May told the Idaho Statesman he had never engaged in homosexual
acts, was arrested less than a month later by an undercover police
officer who said Craig made a sexual advance toward him in an airport
men’s room…

“In an interview on May 14, Craig told the Idaho Statesman he’d never engaged in sex with a man or solicited sex with a man……”The most serious finding by the Statesman was the report by a professional man with close ties to Republican officials. The 40-year-old man reported having oral sex with Craig at Washington’s Union Station, probably in 2004…

…His record includes a series of votes against gay rights and his support of a 2006 amendment to the Idaho Constitution that bars gay marriage and civil unions.”

Hugh Hewitt: Senator Craig Should Resign

 1982 Larry Craig Denial of Sex With Male Pages (here is the You Tube Video of the Congressman Craig denial)…rumors of Craig’s homosexuality didn’t just pop up last year. Then-Rep.
Larry Craig went on network news in 1982 to deny rumors involving
cocaine and sex with male pages. (See the final 30 seconds.)

More on Senator Craig here.

Check out Right Truth’s one sentence post on this matter.  Read another post at Right Truth titled Dirty Love.

Current Affairs, Humor, National Security, Opinions, Social Issues

5 Comments »

Ironically, two years after blame gaming the Katrina disaster from one lackey to another, Mike "Brownie You’re Doing a Heck of a Job" Brown, former FEMA Director, re-emerged, consulting on disaster relief for gov’t agencies.

Now, I’m not blaming Brownie for all of the tragedy of New Orleans, I’m not, really!  But, if this doesn’t prove the existence of life after death, nothing will.  "Meo-myo" Brownie!  "There is life after government," Brown says, with a caustic assessment
of how the administration treated him — "even after you have been run
through the wringer, even after you have been thrown under the bus by
the leader of the free world."  Whoa!  One of the buses that stayed in the flooded parking lot?

But here is the best part.  Now Brown is representing companies involved in disaster response!

But while Brown may be gone from government, some of the private companies he now represents say they stand ready to help the government cope with new storms barreling into the Gulf of Mexico, as well as other potential disasters.

Companies.???  Brown has become a traveling salesman for private firms selling
computer software, high-tech machinery and communications technology.
One of the companies focuses on anti-terrorism, helping airlines detect
potential patterns in the flying public.

"I probably, at any one time, have a half-dozen clients involved in different things having to do with homeland security or government in general," Brown said in an interview. "I am called corporate advisor. Some places, I am called vice president for corporate relations. I am called all kinds of names."

• InferX, has found work with the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency,
  Brown says, and is attempting to sell its services to airlines and
  agencies that monitor passengers for potential terrorist threats.

• Noninvasive Medical Technologies, which makes health-care monitors and
  has a contract with the Air Force for combat-casualty care. Its
  wireless equipment allows medics to set up triage in the field. "I
  could have used this in Katrina, in a heartbeat," Brown says.

• Atlanta-based Charys Holding Co., whose subsidiaries Cotton Companies
  and Viasys Services build and restore wireless communications — cell
  phone towers, fiber-optic networks and the like.

I’ll end this little missive by relating the story told in the student newspaper at the University of Kansas Robert J. Dole Insitute of Politics.

Michael Brown, former director of FEMA, led a study group last year…one student asked Brown how he slept at night knowing he was
responsible for the large death toll in New Orleans after Hurricane
Katrina.

“He was very open…He said, ‘You do the best you can with every situation.’ ”

Yes, and now Mike is consulting is his chosen area of expertise, disaster response.

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, Humor, National Security, Opinions, Technology

2 Comments »

World events, when taken separately, are disturbing enough.  From India to the Mediterranean, viewing the  puzzle as a whole, could lead to troubling conclusions.  The question is if the constructed picture will upset the sensibilities of many more than those who agree.

India (with thanks to Counterterrorism Blog):

In two near-simultaneous terror attacks, at least 32 people were killed and 35 injured in two explosions at a crowded park and a popular eating joint here on Sunday evening, three months after the Mecca Masjid blasts.Twenty six people died and 22 wounded when an explosion ripped through Gokul Chat Shop at Kothi locality at around 7.30 pm, Andhra Pradesh Home Minister K Jana Reddy told reporters here.

Six people, most of them from outside the state, were killed and 13 injured in another blast five minutes earlier in an open air auditorium in Lumbini Park near the state secretariat in the heart of the city when a laser show was on, he said.

The condition of ten to 15 people in different hospitals of the city was stated to be serious.

A timeline of Indian terrorism:

August 2007: Bombs rip through crowded publicareas in the southern city of Hyderabad; police fear at least 20 killed.

May 2007: A bomb at a historic Hyderabad mosque kills 11 people.September 2006: At least 30 people are killed and 100 injured in twin blasts at a mosque in Malegaon in western India.

July 2006: Seven bombs on Mumbai’s commuter trains kill more than 200 and injure more than 700 others.

March 2006: Twin bombings at a train station and a temple in the holy city of Varanasi kill 20 people.October 2005: Three bombs placed in busy New Delhi markets one day before Diwali kill 62 people and wound hundreds.

August 2003: Two taxis packed with explosives blow up outside a Mumbai tourist attraction and a busy market, killing 52 and wounding more than 100.

More on the Islamic connection to Indian terrorist violence - Another Black Friday: A Post Mortem of the Mecca Mosque Blast in Hyderabad, India

Pakistan (Saving Pervez Musharraf - The American Dilemma from July 2007):  Anyone who has read this blog knows how “uncertain” I’ve been about Musharraf’s future.  So the question is what does our government plan to do?  Clearly Musharraf sold out to the Taliban…at least in my opinion.  So now we watch as former Pakistani Prime Minister Bhutto discusses her return and the on again, off again “deal” with Musharraf.  And while the former Premier Sharif (exiled after Musharraf took over) is also planning a return to Pakistan, the country’s Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said that it can’t afford to antagonize the United States.  I must have said this dozens of times since I started writing this blog, but I don’t trust Pakistan.

Also see Pakistan’s New Odd Couple? 

…they hate each other with an undisguised passion. She has a phobia about military dictators–her politician father was executed by one–and has described General Musharraf as an incompetent ruler who indulges in “puerile brinkmanship.” In his view, she and Nawaz Sharif, another former Prime Minister, epitomize the weak, deeply corrupt democracy he overthrew in a bloodless 1999 coup. Just the mention of their names can spoil his mood; Musharraf once told a television interviewer that he would like to “kick them.”

Iraq: How many defenses or attacks have we read regarding Maliki’s abilities or inabilities to effectively govern Iraq?  The question remains whether there is an alternative to him as leader.  In Few Choices for U.S. Beyond Iraqi in the Washington Post, “the sobering reality facing the Bush administration…is that there are no ready alternatives to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and his opponents lack the votes to replace him.

What’s more, the country remains so fractured along sectarian and ethnic lines that it’s doubtful whether any other politician could do a better job under Iraq’s current system.”

Yet today, after lashing out at U.S. politicians for what he characterized as meddling, Maliki held a meeting called “successful” between Iraq’s five key leaders.

Iraq’s top five political leaders announced an agreement Sunday night to release thousands of prisoners being held without charge and to reform the law that has kept thousands of members of Saddam Hussein’s political party out of government jobs.

The agreement was publicized after several days of meetings between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite; President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd; Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni; Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shiite; and Massoud Barzani, president of the semiautonomous Kurdish region.

Still, I question if Maliki can somehow join the many disparate pieces of Iraqi society, or if, as I suspect, there will eventually be a partitioning.  Of course, Maliki’s playing “kissy-face” with Syria’s Assad doesn’t make for too good a future picture either.

Afghanistan:  Do I still believe that Karzai isn’t long for this world?  Yup!  Is it a matter of time?  I think so. An Inside Look at Hamid Karzai’s Rising Woes discusses that in Afghanistan, peace is still an illusion.

Squabbles between Western military commanders and the Karzai government over antidrug policies have allowed poppy growth to reach an all-time peak. It’s a sign of how much security has deteriorated in Kabul that Karzai’s movements are as restricted as ever.

Beyond that, once again, as written about in the Washington Post, it was written that Record-breaking opium crop destabilizes Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s poppy harvest is expected to top all records this year as the country spirals deeper into a vicious circle of drugs, corruption and insecurity.A United Nations report due on Monday will announce that Afghanistan is now producing nearly 95 percent of the world’s opium, up from 92 percent in 2006, officials and diplomats say.

This marks the sixth straight year of rises since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in 2001 — despite hundreds of millions of dollars pumped into programs to halt cultivation, processing and trafficking of the drug.

There is alot going on in the region, but it doesn’t seem like much of it is stable.  If you then extend the discussion to Iran with Ahmadinejad’s nuclear sabrer rattling and state sponsored terrorism in the region, or Maliki playing footsy with Syria’s President Assad, we could have a region-wide breakdown coming.

Go to the Mediterranean with Israel and its problems with Gaza and the Golan Heights, it only adds to an unstable region in which radical fundamentalist Islamic influences are ripe for outbreak.  BTW, watch Israel’s policies and responses to terrorism ramp up fast when Netanyahu becomes the next Premier, after winning the leadership of the Likud Party.

Whether by chance or by miscalculation, the Middle East is moving closer and closer to an region-wide flare, and the possibility of Islamic influences bridging from India to the Mediterranean Sea is not out of the question.

Check out Snooper’s point of view, Maliki Tells US Politicains To Kiss His…Well…You Decide

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, International Issues, National Security, Opinions

3 Comments »

Except for certain objections, it is clear that the drug wars on the southern side of our border with Mexico are creating serious concerns, so much so that the U.S. is allocating money to help Calderon’s cartel battles.  Now the justified question is raised whether Mexico is the next Columbia.

Drug gangs are terrorizing Mexican cities. Severed heads show up on the doorstep of police stations and newspapers—often with warnings from drug gangs targeting officials by name. Over 370 young women have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez. Eleven journalists have been murdered in the last year making Mexico the second most dangerous country for journalists—after Iraq.

In spite of Calderon’s stated objectives and efforts to rid the country of the cartels, and his efforts to federalize the police departments in a number of Mexican states, the violence continues.  Some of the U.S.-Mexico efforts were recently covered in National Security, Border Security and the Mexican Drug War.

But last week, after two Mexican agents were found murdered in Santa Catarina (Nuevo Laredo) four suspects (deperados) were arrested.

The agents were naked, their limbs and heads bound with what appeared to be duct tape, state and federal police said…

…In all, about 90 people have died in organized crime-related violence since January in or near this industrial city 140 miles south of Laredo.

Of course, this is further substantiated by the Stratfor Mexico Security Memo of August 20, 2007:

Violence returned to Nuevo Leon state this week with the Aug. 17 discovery near Monterrey of the bodies of two federal law enforcement agents who had been kidnapped the night before. Far to the west, Baja California state also stood out this week as an area to monitor as the commanders of joint local, state and federal security forces confirmed they would continue security operations in the state. Their announcement came in response to claims by a business group that organized crime in the state was reaching record levels, especially kidnapping. It is likely that additional federal resources will be sent to the state as security operations are expanded. As an indication of the level of violence throughout the country, 677 known cartel-related killings took place in Mexico in the first quarter of 2007, according to U.S. counterterrorism sources.

The question is not whether the Mexican drug violence is crossing the U.S. border and directly affecting U.S. security, but whether the combination of Calderon’s intent along with U.S. aid to Mexico (sponsored by Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-Texas) can stop the cross border assault.

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, International Issues, National Security, Opinions, US Federal Policy

4 Comments »

The total FY’08 federal budget request for nanotechnology was $1.44 billion (across all agencies).  By their nature, nano items will stick together.  However, physicists at  the University of St. Andrews (Scotland) have discovered a way to to turn that effect against itself, producing completely frictionless nanomachines.  By reversing the Casimir effect with a "perfect lens" they’ve been able to make nano parts push away from each other, causing a levitating effect.

Sandwiching such a lens between NEMS parts would eliminate friction by making the parts repel each other instead of sticking together. Leonhardt and Philbin’s calculations–which will appear in the New Journal of Physics–suggest that the repulsive force could even be made strong enough to make the parts levitate. Such manipulations of the Casimir effect could lead to frictionless NEMS devices with tiny mirrors and metal plates that pivot easily on their anchors or that are suspended in air.

These so-called "perfect" lenses are not simple to fabricate, but can convert the Casimir attraction between objects into repulsion.  Thus as the lens technology evolves, it might be possible to make nano-machines capable of lifting heavier objects.

To reverse the Casimir force in a NEMS device, a perfect lens will have to work at even shorter wavelengths–that is, those corresponding to the nanometer distances between parts. Designing and manufacturing such a lens is not a trivial task, says Jordan Maclay, chief scientist at Quantum Fields, based in Richland Center, WI. Controlling the spacing between the lens and the parts of a NEMS device will also be a challenge, Maclay says.

This is important because all things "nano" are clearly the future.

New Way To Levitate Objects Discovered
Theoretical physicists at the University of St. Andrews have created
‘incredible levitation effects’ by engineering the force of nature
which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force.  By
reversing this phenomenon, known as ‘Casimir force’, the scientists
hope to solve the problem of tiny objects sticking together in existing
novel nanomachines.

Artist’s
impression of a mirror levitating using a repulsive version of the
Casimir effect. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of St Andrews)

Professor Ulf Leonhardt and Dr Thomas Philbin
of the University’s School of Physics & Astronomy believe that they
can engineer the Casimir force of quantum physics to cause an object to
repel rather than attract another in a vacuum. 

Casimir force
(discovered in 1948 and first measured in 1997) can be demonstrated in
a gecko’s ability to stick to a surface with just one toe. However, it
can cause practical problems in nanotechnology, and ways of preventing
tiny objects from sticking to each other is the source of much
interest.

See Nanotechnology Initiative and from the American Institute of Physics, Senate Appropriators Recommend 10.8 Percent Increase for NSF in FY 2008 (a portion of the total federal effort)

However, as with all things new and exciting, come down side risks.  The environmental effects of nano-manufacturing was discussed in an article from Stratfor this past week, Nanotechnology and the Regulation of New Technologies (also here).  The issue relates to the fact that the production of carbon nanotubes gives rise to the creation of a slew of dangerous
chemicals known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, including some
that are toxic.  There are essentially two issues that arise:

• the public health risks nanotechnology poses and ways
  to determine and measure those risks (what happens when a technology that acts slightly differently than previous technologies do is developed);

• the politicization
  of science and technology (should government be permitted to insert itself into the scientific process to stop or slow
  scientific research, regardless of whether harm has been done).

Definition of Nanotechnology (from Stratfor):

• Nanotechnology was defined by one of its founders, Nobel Prize winner
  Rick Smalley, as "the art and the science of building stuff that does
  stuff on a nanometer scale." Essentially, nanotechnology is the
  manipulation of atoms and small molecules at a level that is slightly
  different from chemistry.

• Nanotechnology is currently used in commercial applications, most
  famously sunscreens and stain-resistant pants. The next five years will
  see a boom in the use of nanotechnology in applications ranging from
  greatly improved batteries to stronger, lighter materials to improved
  military weapons.

There are a number of articles and URLs devoted to regulation of nanotechnology.  As it relates to nano and humans, see FDA Regulation of Nanotechnology Products.

FDA expects many nanotechnology products that we regulate to span the regulatory boundaries between pharmaceuticals, medical devices and biologicals. These will be regulated as "Combination Products" for which the regulatory pathway has been established by statute. In such cases, FDA will determine the "primary" mode of action of the product. This decision will determine the regulatory framework for the product, i.e. a drug, medical device or biological product. The product application will be managed by the appropriate FDA Center with consultations from the other Centers. It is valuable to repeat here that FDA has traditionally regulated many products with particulate materials in this size range. FDA believes that the existing battery of pharmacotoxicity tests is probably adequate for most nanotechnology products that we will regulate. Particle size is not the issue. As new toxicological risks that derive from the new materials and/or new conformations of existing materials are identified, new tests will be required.

FDA regulates products, not technology. FDA, for example, regulates very few materials but many types of products. This will affect the stage at which the FDA becomes engaged in the regulation of nanotechnology and when, in the process, regulation takes effect. In addition, FDA regulates only to the "claims" made by the product sponsor. If the manufacturer makes no nanotechnology claims regarding the manufacture or performance of the product, FDA may be unaware at the time that the product is in the review and approval process that nanotechnology is being employed. Within this issue is embedded the definition of nanotechnology. It is quite likely that new therapeutic benefits are being derived from products that are smaller than their traditional form but fall above the 100 nm size-range limit of nanotechnology.

Finally, FDA has only limited authority over some potentially high-risk products, e.g. cosmetics. As we noted earlier in this discussion, many products are regulated only if they cause adverse health-related events in use. To date there have been comparatively few resources available to assess the risks of these products. Other government agencies have different missions with regards to nanotechnology, e.g. to solve environmental problems, improve technology to address disease, etc. Few resources currently exist to assess the risks that would derive to the general population from the wide-scale deployment of nanotechnology products.

Previous "nano" article:Cooling Nano-chips Could Improve Computer Fans

Other Related articles:

Nano Lube Could Make Possible Ultra-Dense Memory
MEMS Blow past Air Bags
NEMS: Machines Get Tiny
Nanoglue for Electronics

Student Artists Capture Nano Future

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, National Security, Opinions, Science, Technology

2 Comments »

This is about Michael Vick (see below).  There are so many more important issues to cover, and yet my anger over this seethes.  Not politically correct!  Opinions from the NFL to the CFL to the NAACP to PETA to ESPN and Fox Sports abound.  So, Vick’s fascination with animals started when he was a child when he and friends released a dog every so often to watch it chase a cat around a nearby lumberyard.  I wonder if he attached firecrackers to the cat’s tail or burned ants with a magnifying glass (*).

UPDATE: Vick Suspended Indefinitely - Goodell tells Vick his conduct was ‘cruel and reprehensible’

Text of excerpts of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s letter to Michael Vick. Vick was suspended indefinitely without pay from the NFL on Friday:

—

Your admitted conduct was not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible. Your team, the NFL, and NFL fans have all been hurt by your actions.

—

Your plea agreement and the plea agreements of your co-defendants also demonstrate your significant involvement in illegal gambling. Even if you personally did not place bets, as you contend, your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL Player Contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player.

—

You have engaged in conduct detrimental to the welfare of the NFL and have violated the league’s Personal Conduct Policy.

UPDATE: NIKE terminates Vick Contract

Among others, the Washington Post has an article, Vick’s Dad Traces Dogs To Son’s Childhood.  Sounds to me that his Dad is about to turn "state evidence" against #7.

Vick’s "fascination with animals" eventually would lead him to be an active participant in a dogfighting operation, Michael Boddie said in an interview yesterday in which he traced his son’s involvement in the illegal activity to Vick’s college days at Virginia Tech. Boddie said he was dismissed by his son when he tried to convince Vick that being involved in dogfighting was potentially harmful to his career.

Gee, thanks Dad!  But "Dad" also says that Mike couldn’t abandon some of his old friends (admirable?).  Mr. Boddie apparently also said:

"Nobody dragged him. My son has a fascination with animals anyway. He’s a natural dog lover. In our neighborhood in the projects, little boys would get dogs to chase cats in the lumberyard. The big thing with little boys, [they'd] get a dog and sic ‘em on the cats. That’s what they’d do for fun . . . Yeah, [Vick] did that as a kid. Every little boy in the projects did that. It’s a fascination thing. That’s just part of his culture growing up.

Culture of growing up?  Dad should shut up before Mike gets the electric chair for this, instead of what I think he should get.  So here are some alternatives:

 Vick cards chewed by dogs are on eBay…Nice doggie!

In this undated photo provided by Rochelle Steffen, a 6-year-old
Weimaraner, named Monte, poses for a photo with a football card of
Michael Vick in its mouth in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The remains are being
auctioned on eBay. Steffen of Cape Girardeau, gave every Vick card she
owned to her dogs and let them go to town on the images of the Atlanta
Falcons quarterback who is scheduled to plead guilty to a federal
dogfighting charge Monday.
(AP Photo/Rochelle Steffen)

Once Monte, her 6-year-old Weimaraner, and Roxie, her Great Dane puppy, were done worrying them, nearly two dozen $1-$10 cards were crumpled, crimped, chewed, torn and generally in a sorry state. Some even had corners missing.

As of Thursday evening, the highest bid on the lot of 22 cards had risen to $455 and more than 2,000 people had viewed the posting. Seventy-seven people already have bid on the auction, which ends Sunday.

The next-most expensive Vick cards — well-preserved specimens from his rookie year — were going for less than half the price of the gnawed ones.

I like this one:  Vick memorabilia  to aid hurt pit bulls - Humane Society drive  to sell items tied to  beleaguered NFL star

The Arizona Humane Society will gladly take the beleaguered NFL star’s memorabilia off your hands.

Friday through Aug. 31, the organization is collecting new and gently used Vick items - including T-shirts, dolls and football jerseys - to benefit abused and injured pit-bull terriers.

Officials plan to sell the items on eBay with proceeds to aid the pit-bull terriers that arrive almost daily at the shelter and Second Chance Animal Hospital. Vick-themed clothing that cannot be sold will be used as bedding for animals in the medical clinic.

Some opinions of others:
Jason Whitlock at Fox Sports:
Vick deserves shot at redemption

• The NFL should welcome Michael Vick back to its league once he has
  finished serving jail time for his involvement in dog fighting.

• "People need to understand the backdrop as some in the
  African-American community make their expressions of support," Dennis Hayes (NAACP)
  said. "That backdrop includes anger and distrust with the criminal
  justice system that disproportionately pays attention to
  African-Americans and Hispanics.

"While no dog deserves to be
mistreated, the backdrop includes the perception among some
African-Americans that the criminal justice system treats them like
animals and that nobody seems willing to do anything about the
disparity."

NAACP: Vick must be held responsible

Marbury and NAACP: Did we really say what we said about Vick? (Um, yes)

The NAACP really got off a little bit easy yesterday, because most
of the headlines and Internet chatter focused on this statement by
Stephon Marbury …

“We don’t say anything about people who shoot deer or
shoot other animals. You know, from what I understand, dogfighting is a
sport. It’s just behind closed doors.”

… rather than on the far more asinine and objectionable statement of R.L. White, president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP …

“As a society, we should aid in his
rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community
without a permanent loss of his career in football. We further ask the
NFL, Falcons, and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his
ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country.”

But after Marbury saw his sneaker sales drop off, be did a Michael (Jackson) Moonwalk.

So, here is my suggestion for what to do with Michael Vick.

Drop him in the middle of the Roman Coliseum, and instead of the lions, let a pack of fighting pit bulls loose.  Lets see "ole Mike" scramble then.  Let’s see Mike scamper around being chased by the dog(s) like he did to the cat back when he was growing up.

As for all of those people who want to apologize for him…he’s admitted to being involved in dog fighting.  He’s admitted to bankrolling to operaiton, even though he says he didn’t bet on them (this after denying that he even knew that it was happening on his property).  Why are we being so damn politically correct here?  If this was someone like, say…Pete Rose, what would baseball do to him?

(*) I deny any allegation that my friends and I growing up ever used a magnifying glass to burn ants, and absolutely never ever launched an experimental rocket with a gerbil/hampster (which one is smaller?) in the nose cone when the parachute didn’t deploy.

Check out Cheat Seeking Missiles, Another Black Victim Of Dog Prejudice for another take.

I haven’t really had too much time to do a more serious article than rooting for the dogs against Mike Vick, so for a look at some of the more serious news of the day, go see What interests me today at Right Truth…

More Live blogging of Mike Vick at Right Truth.

I was going to spend some time actually reading and analyzing the
new NIE, but then, most of the conservative blog world has already
rejected it on its face, choosing to believe instead that a unified
Iraq is just around the next corner…continuing to ignore the many
obvious political, religious, ethnic and cultural differences that,
IMO, simply cannot lead to that vision of "unification."

Current Affairs, Domestic Terrorism, Opinions

4 Comments »

Like riding a bicycle, speculation has been that using a laptop on your lap can cause male impotence.  Speculation aside, my laptop gets pretty hot.  More chips = more heat.  But a new nanotechnology has created a cooling chip that generates an ionic breeze that keeps computer chips 25 ºC cooler than fans alone.

By using an electric charge to put molecules in motion, a new device can make a computer’s fans more efficient.

Currently, heat is drawn away from chips by metal heat sinks–panels attached to arrays of fins or prongs that maximize heat-dissipating surface area. The fans in a computer cool the heat sinks and blow out the hot air. But air cooling "has been stretched to the limit in its capacity for heat removal…"

…The new device is small and can be integrated directly into a computer chip. By placing it at specific "hot spots" on a chip, engineers could enhance the cooling fan’s effectiveness in those areas…[possibly leading] to smaller fans that work just as well as current fans…and thus to thinner, smaller laptops.

But this approach faces competition from computer makers who are already experimenting with "liquid cooling, in which a pump pushes water or another liquid through pipes" and another approach in which an "on-chip version of the
pump-and-pipe method of circulating liquids…cooling liquid c