Saturday, December 23, 2006
... and time marches on ... and on ... and on ... and on...
... and Bush continues to reinvent his purpose in Iraq over ... and over ... and over ... while innocent people are killed and the mission is completely absent.
U.S. loses 5 more in Iraq
By Christopher Torchia
The Associated Press
Published: Saturday, December 23, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgent attacks killed five more U.S. troops west of the Iraqi capital, the military said Friday, making December the second deadliest month for U.S. service members in 2006.
So far this month, 76 U.S. troops have died in Iraq, the same number that were killed in all of April. With nine days remaining in December, the monthly total of U.S. deaths could meet or exceed the death toll of 105 in October.
As U.S. deaths in the war pushed closer to 3,000, Iraqis continued to fall victim to sectarian violence between Shiites and Sunnis. Police recovered 21 more bodies in the cities of Baghdad, Baqouba and Kut. With 140,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq, President Bush is considering whether to send thousands more to control the bloodshed....
...Britain's Defense Secretary Des Browne acknowledged Friday he may have to increase the size of Britain's armed forces as a result of commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan - echoing military expansion plans being considered in Washington.
Browne told the Times of London he may consider increasing the size of the armed forces from 95,560 because current deployments had left too little time for training exercises.
''People imagine that the best form of training is to be in Iraq or Afghanistan, but it's not true,'' Browne was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
''While we are deploying troops in their thousands, we lose the chance to build up their basic skills.''
Poland, which has 900 soldiers in Iraq, agreed Friday to extend its mission in Iraq until the end of 2007. The Poles focus mainly on training Iraqi security forces and are based in an area south of Baghdad that is calmer than the capital.
Also Friday, South Korean lawmakers endorsed a motion to extend the country's deployment in Iraq for another year, but cut the number of troops in half. The motion calls on the South Korean government to withdraw 1,100 troops of its 2,300-strong contingent in the relatively peaceful, northern city of Irbil by April....
...The authenticity of the audiotape could not be verified. The ''Islamic State of Iraq'' is believed to be an umbrella group for militants, including al-Qaeda in Iraq.
U.S. loses 5 more in Iraq
By Christopher Torchia
The Associated Press
Published: Saturday, December 23, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgent attacks killed five more U.S. troops west of the Iraqi capital, the military said Friday, making December the second deadliest month for U.S. service members in 2006.
So far this month, 76 U.S. troops have died in Iraq, the same number that were killed in all of April. With nine days remaining in December, the monthly total of U.S. deaths could meet or exceed the death toll of 105 in October.
As U.S. deaths in the war pushed closer to 3,000, Iraqis continued to fall victim to sectarian violence between Shiites and Sunnis. Police recovered 21 more bodies in the cities of Baghdad, Baqouba and Kut. With 140,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq, President Bush is considering whether to send thousands more to control the bloodshed....
...Britain's Defense Secretary Des Browne acknowledged Friday he may have to increase the size of Britain's armed forces as a result of commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan - echoing military expansion plans being considered in Washington.
Browne told the Times of London he may consider increasing the size of the armed forces from 95,560 because current deployments had left too little time for training exercises.
''People imagine that the best form of training is to be in Iraq or Afghanistan, but it's not true,'' Browne was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
''While we are deploying troops in their thousands, we lose the chance to build up their basic skills.''
Poland, which has 900 soldiers in Iraq, agreed Friday to extend its mission in Iraq until the end of 2007. The Poles focus mainly on training Iraqi security forces and are based in an area south of Baghdad that is calmer than the capital.
Also Friday, South Korean lawmakers endorsed a motion to extend the country's deployment in Iraq for another year, but cut the number of troops in half. The motion calls on the South Korean government to withdraw 1,100 troops of its 2,300-strong contingent in the relatively peaceful, northern city of Irbil by April....
...The authenticity of the audiotape could not be verified. The ''Islamic State of Iraq'' is believed to be an umbrella group for militants, including al-Qaeda in Iraq.
This is not a new map to this blog and it is not a new concept.
BUT THIS MIGHT BE !!!!
CONTRACTS
ARMY
The Boeing Co., Ridley Park, Pa., was awarded on Dec. 19, 2006, a delivery order amount of $650,289,000 as part of a $650,289,000 firm-fixed-price contract for CH-47F remanufacture. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pa., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on July 28, 2005. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the reporting contract office (W58RGZ-04-G-0023).
The Boeing Co., Ridley Park, Pa., was awarded on Dec. 19, 2006, a $406,400,000 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for the CH-47F new build helicopters. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pa., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on July 28, 2005. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the reporting contract office (W58RGZ-04-C-0012).
General Electric Aircraft Engine, Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded on Dec. 18, 2006, a $189,177,859 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for overhaul and repair effort for the entire T700 family of engines. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 30, 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Aug. 25, 2005. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the reporting contact office (W58RGZ-06-C-0038).
General Atomics Aeronautical System, San Diego, Calif., was awarded on Dec. 18, 2006, a $63,168,556 increment as part of a $215,373,106 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for system development and demonstration for the Extended Range / Multi-Purpose Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (43 percent), Adelanto, Calif. (14 percent), Palmdale, Calif. (8 percent), Salt Lake City, Utah (18 percent), Hunt Valley, Md. (14 percent), and Huntsville, Ala. (3 percent), and is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. There were 120 bids solicited on Sept. 1, 2004, and three bids were received. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the reporting contract office (W58RGZ-05-C-0069).
The daily death toll in Baghdad is fairly obvious. I don't have to remind anyone about the Mosque explosions and killings.
There are a lot of upset CITIZENS of Baghdad and Iraq. They have the right to be. Their country was invaded, no control was rendered to protect them, they were left on their own to find order with the guidance of their holy men. Their faith has not abandoned them and they live according to that understanding.
Don't expect the people of Iraq to abandon their god for a new understanding of reality. Their losses over the past three years have been significant and extremely traumatic. They will stand on their faith and seek solice with their spiritual leaders. As far as they are concerned their worries are not over. Iraq is still occupied and Mr. Bush is still ranting about extremists that these people see as their saviors. They aren't going to change. The legend of The Imam Ali Mosque and the defeat of the USA military will live on for generations with those that died as heroes to their burgeoning nation. Do you realize the people involved in that march that stopped tanks already in the streets of Najaf? Those people are their own heroes. They are powerful. George Bush didn't do that for them. He was defeated and in that defeat lay their truth and their promise.
The USA is nothing to them. They were handed nothing by this country and they want to be free of all encumbrances that comes along with being grateful. They don't have to be grateful they died for their cause. They are the rebels to The Revolutionay War of Iraq.
District by District, Shiites Make Baghdad Their Own
December 23, 2006
District by District, Shiites Make Baghdad Their Own
By SABRINA TAVERNISE
BAGHDAD, Dec. 22 — As the United States debates what to do in Iraq, this country’s Shiite majority has been moving toward its own solution: making the capital its own.
Large portions of Baghdad have become Shiite in recent months, as militias press their fight against Sunni militants deeper into the heart of the capital, displacing thousands of Sunni residents. At least 10 neighborhoods that a year ago were mixed Sunni and Shiite are now almost entirely Shiite, according to residents, American and Iraqi military commanders and local officials.
For the first years of the war, Sunni militants were dominant, forcing Shiites out of neighborhoods and systematically killing bakers, barbers and trash collectors, who were often Shiites. But starting in February, after the bombing of a shrine in the city of Samarra, Shiite militias began to strike back, pushing west from their strongholds and redrawing the sectarian map of the capital, home to a quarter of Iraq’s population.
The Shiite-dominated government publicly condemns violence against Sunnis and says it is trying to stop the militias that carry it out. But the attacks have continued unabated, and Sunnis have grown suspicious.
Plans for a new bridge that would bypass a violent Sunni area in the east, and a proposal for land handouts in towns around Baghdad that would bring Shiites into what are now Sunni strongholds underscored these concerns.
Sunni political control in Baghdad is all but nonexistent: Of the 51 members of the Baghdad Provincial Council, which runs the city’s services, just one is Sunni....
Don't expect the people of Iraq to abandon their god for a new understanding of reality. Their losses over the past three years have been significant and extremely traumatic. They will stand on their faith and seek solice with their spiritual leaders. As far as they are concerned their worries are not over. Iraq is still occupied and Mr. Bush is still ranting about extremists that these people see as their saviors. They aren't going to change. The legend of The Imam Ali Mosque and the defeat of the USA military will live on for generations with those that died as heroes to their burgeoning nation. Do you realize the people involved in that march that stopped tanks already in the streets of Najaf? Those people are their own heroes. They are powerful. George Bush didn't do that for them. He was defeated and in that defeat lay their truth and their promise.
The USA is nothing to them. They were handed nothing by this country and they want to be free of all encumbrances that comes along with being grateful. They don't have to be grateful they died for their cause. They are the rebels to The Revolutionay War of Iraq.
District by District, Shiites Make Baghdad Their Own
December 23, 2006
District by District, Shiites Make Baghdad Their Own
By SABRINA TAVERNISE
BAGHDAD, Dec. 22 — As the United States debates what to do in Iraq, this country’s Shiite majority has been moving toward its own solution: making the capital its own.
Large portions of Baghdad have become Shiite in recent months, as militias press their fight against Sunni militants deeper into the heart of the capital, displacing thousands of Sunni residents. At least 10 neighborhoods that a year ago were mixed Sunni and Shiite are now almost entirely Shiite, according to residents, American and Iraqi military commanders and local officials.
For the first years of the war, Sunni militants were dominant, forcing Shiites out of neighborhoods and systematically killing bakers, barbers and trash collectors, who were often Shiites. But starting in February, after the bombing of a shrine in the city of Samarra, Shiite militias began to strike back, pushing west from their strongholds and redrawing the sectarian map of the capital, home to a quarter of Iraq’s population.
The Shiite-dominated government publicly condemns violence against Sunnis and says it is trying to stop the militias that carry it out. But the attacks have continued unabated, and Sunnis have grown suspicious.
Plans for a new bridge that would bypass a violent Sunni area in the east, and a proposal for land handouts in towns around Baghdad that would bring Shiites into what are now Sunni strongholds underscored these concerns.
Sunni political control in Baghdad is all but nonexistent: Of the 51 members of the Baghdad Provincial Council, which runs the city’s services, just one is Sunni....
So, what are we doing there?
What extremists are saying according to U.S. Central Command (click on). Do they know who the extremists are? I don't think they do. The Shi'ites aren't extremists. They are people seeking strength for survival. They aren't the enemy to anyone. EXCEPT. Bush. His 'political' goals for Iraq have an enemy. Absolutely and that includes most of the Iraqis.
We are in Iraq for the "W"rong reasons. The USA military found Saddam and sent him to prison. But, to make an enemy of people once victimized by Saddam is wrong. It serves no one. These people have no capacity to be a threat to the USA, yet, repeatedly they are exposed to military wrath that levels cities and kills 100,000 people. They haven't done anything to us to provoke that kind of attack on them. All they wanted was their own way of life.
This is insane dictated by a man that is the worst president the USA has ever experienced.
December 24, 2006
Iraqi Government Officials Reach Out to Shiite Leaders
By MARC SANTORA
BAGHDAD, Dec. 23 — Iraq’s governing Shiite coalition, seeking to avoid possible disintegration, sent a delegation on Saturday to Najaf to visit two of Iraq’s most important unelected figures: the venerated religious leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and the radical cleric Moktada al-Sadr, who draws his support, in part, from the strength of his militia.
The delegation hoped to shore up support by bringing Mr. Sadr back into the government and getting reassurances from Ayatollah Sistani that he would reject recent calls, largely from the United States, for the formation of a new governing coalition, according to one official who was present at the meetings and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The current coalition is made of many Shiite groups, including Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s Dawa Party. The proposed new coalition would include Sunni Arabs and Kurds and is viewed as a potential threat to the Maliki government.
Ayatollah Sistani almost never states his views publicly, and did not on Saturday. As is often the case, it was left to those who met with him to characterize his views. Leaders who met with him on Saturday said he rejected the calls for a new coalition.
Earlier in the week, Western officials and Iraqi leaders who support a multisectarian bloc said Ayatollah Sistani had tentatively lent his support to that concept.
The official who attended the Saturday meeting said Ayatollah Sistani has been open to the idea of an expanded coalition, but not at the expense of Shiite unity. Ayatollah Sistani, the official said, seemed more convinced Saturday that the expansion would shatter the current Shiite coalition, called the United Iraqi Alliance.
“He does not approve any alliance that would break the United Iraqi Alliance up,” said the official.
The delegation to Najaf was made up almost entirely of representatives of the Dawa Party, many of whose senior members oppose a multisectarian bloc because they believe it is an attempt to unseat the prime minister. Mr. Maliki himself has not said publicly if he supports the proposed new coalition. Later, when members of the delegation met with Mr. Sadr, they asked him to allow his followers to return to the government.
Mr. Sadr had pulled his 30 lawmakers and six cabinet ministers out of the government last month to protest Mr. Maliki’s decision to meet President Bush in Jordan. The United States has been seeking to sideline Mr. Sadr, who helped bring Mr. Maliki to power.
Most troubling for the Americans, and some Iraqi leaders, is the power of the militia controlled by Mr. Sadr, the Mahdi Army. The militia fighters continue to be the source of much of the violence in this country.
But members of the government delegation said they did not raise the subject when they met with Mr. Sadr for more than two hours.
Ali al-Adeeb, a prominent Dawa Party leader who attended the meeting, said the group did not discuss dissolving the militia because their goal was to bring Mr. Sadr into the political process. After the meeting with Mr. Sadr, delegation members said no decision had been made, but that talks would continue.
Even as the delegation avoided addressing the issue of militias, their destructive impact was being felt across the country. In southern cities, Iraqi security forces engaged in running clashes with members of the Mahdi Army.
On Friday, checkpoints were set up outside mosques in Samawa as the police and other security forces tried to find militiamen. The effort caused tensions that soon escalated from fistfights to brawls and finally exchanges of gunfire, according to the authorities and witnesses.
When a leading supporter of Mr. Sadr, Sayed Muhammad Khaqani, was wounded, the situation deteriorated further. At least 13 supporters of Mr. Sadr were killed, the head of the Sadr organization in Samawa said. At least five policemen were killed and three others wounded, an Iraqi official said.
On Friday night, a curfew was imposed in Samawa but was widely ignored. On Saturday, the Mahdi Army appeared to be in control of the northern half of the city, with Iraqi security forces maintaining control of the southern half, according to a police official in the city who insisted on anonymity. On Saturday night, local residents said the main roads in and out of the city, both to Baghdad to the North and Basra to the South, were closed. Residents seeking to get out were forced to endure another night of clashes.
Elsewhere, in Hayaniya, British tanks came under attack by men with rocket-propelled grenades, said Capt. Tane Dunlop, a spokesman for the British Army. He reported no British casualties and said three gunmen had been killed. In Basra, gunmen and security forces skirmished through the night and early morning on Saturday, clashes likely linked to a British effort to eliminate weapons from the city.
Iraqi security forces suffered another blow in Baghdad, where an Iraqi military intelligence officer, Lt. Hussein Jabir, was gunned down early on Saturday morning. There was also an attack on the Iraqi Army in the center of Baghdad on Saturday night and an improvised explosive device destroyed an army vehicle, killing two soldiers. The sectarian killing continued, as 47 bodies bearing signs of torture were found in the city, a government official said.
Abdul Razzaq al-Saiedi contributed reporting from Baghdad, and an Iraqi employee of The New York Times from Najaf.
We are in Iraq for the "W"rong reasons. The USA military found Saddam and sent him to prison. But, to make an enemy of people once victimized by Saddam is wrong. It serves no one. These people have no capacity to be a threat to the USA, yet, repeatedly they are exposed to military wrath that levels cities and kills 100,000 people. They haven't done anything to us to provoke that kind of attack on them. All they wanted was their own way of life.
This is insane dictated by a man that is the worst president the USA has ever experienced.
December 24, 2006
Iraqi Government Officials Reach Out to Shiite Leaders
By MARC SANTORA
BAGHDAD, Dec. 23 — Iraq’s governing Shiite coalition, seeking to avoid possible disintegration, sent a delegation on Saturday to Najaf to visit two of Iraq’s most important unelected figures: the venerated religious leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and the radical cleric Moktada al-Sadr, who draws his support, in part, from the strength of his militia.
The delegation hoped to shore up support by bringing Mr. Sadr back into the government and getting reassurances from Ayatollah Sistani that he would reject recent calls, largely from the United States, for the formation of a new governing coalition, according to one official who was present at the meetings and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The current coalition is made of many Shiite groups, including Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s Dawa Party. The proposed new coalition would include Sunni Arabs and Kurds and is viewed as a potential threat to the Maliki government.
Ayatollah Sistani almost never states his views publicly, and did not on Saturday. As is often the case, it was left to those who met with him to characterize his views. Leaders who met with him on Saturday said he rejected the calls for a new coalition.
Earlier in the week, Western officials and Iraqi leaders who support a multisectarian bloc said Ayatollah Sistani had tentatively lent his support to that concept.
The official who attended the Saturday meeting said Ayatollah Sistani has been open to the idea of an expanded coalition, but not at the expense of Shiite unity. Ayatollah Sistani, the official said, seemed more convinced Saturday that the expansion would shatter the current Shiite coalition, called the United Iraqi Alliance.
“He does not approve any alliance that would break the United Iraqi Alliance up,” said the official.
The delegation to Najaf was made up almost entirely of representatives of the Dawa Party, many of whose senior members oppose a multisectarian bloc because they believe it is an attempt to unseat the prime minister. Mr. Maliki himself has not said publicly if he supports the proposed new coalition. Later, when members of the delegation met with Mr. Sadr, they asked him to allow his followers to return to the government.
Mr. Sadr had pulled his 30 lawmakers and six cabinet ministers out of the government last month to protest Mr. Maliki’s decision to meet President Bush in Jordan. The United States has been seeking to sideline Mr. Sadr, who helped bring Mr. Maliki to power.
Most troubling for the Americans, and some Iraqi leaders, is the power of the militia controlled by Mr. Sadr, the Mahdi Army. The militia fighters continue to be the source of much of the violence in this country.
But members of the government delegation said they did not raise the subject when they met with Mr. Sadr for more than two hours.
Ali al-Adeeb, a prominent Dawa Party leader who attended the meeting, said the group did not discuss dissolving the militia because their goal was to bring Mr. Sadr into the political process. After the meeting with Mr. Sadr, delegation members said no decision had been made, but that talks would continue.
Even as the delegation avoided addressing the issue of militias, their destructive impact was being felt across the country. In southern cities, Iraqi security forces engaged in running clashes with members of the Mahdi Army.
On Friday, checkpoints were set up outside mosques in Samawa as the police and other security forces tried to find militiamen. The effort caused tensions that soon escalated from fistfights to brawls and finally exchanges of gunfire, according to the authorities and witnesses.
When a leading supporter of Mr. Sadr, Sayed Muhammad Khaqani, was wounded, the situation deteriorated further. At least 13 supporters of Mr. Sadr were killed, the head of the Sadr organization in Samawa said. At least five policemen were killed and three others wounded, an Iraqi official said.
On Friday night, a curfew was imposed in Samawa but was widely ignored. On Saturday, the Mahdi Army appeared to be in control of the northern half of the city, with Iraqi security forces maintaining control of the southern half, according to a police official in the city who insisted on anonymity. On Saturday night, local residents said the main roads in and out of the city, both to Baghdad to the North and Basra to the South, were closed. Residents seeking to get out were forced to endure another night of clashes.
Elsewhere, in Hayaniya, British tanks came under attack by men with rocket-propelled grenades, said Capt. Tane Dunlop, a spokesman for the British Army. He reported no British casualties and said three gunmen had been killed. In Basra, gunmen and security forces skirmished through the night and early morning on Saturday, clashes likely linked to a British effort to eliminate weapons from the city.
Iraqi security forces suffered another blow in Baghdad, where an Iraqi military intelligence officer, Lt. Hussein Jabir, was gunned down early on Saturday morning. There was also an attack on the Iraqi Army in the center of Baghdad on Saturday night and an improvised explosive device destroyed an army vehicle, killing two soldiers. The sectarian killing continued, as 47 bodies bearing signs of torture were found in the city, a government official said.
Abdul Razzaq al-Saiedi contributed reporting from Baghdad, and an Iraqi employee of The New York Times from Najaf.
Nero fiddled while Rome burned
These people are impeachable. As evidence builds and the nation's opinion turns sour, there won't be a choice but for Congress to impeach all those in violation of the Consitution. It is politically distasteful at this point, but, it won't be for long as the Committee Chairpersons find information as they seek to legislate. I think we will be more surprised about the Bush Coup than any of us expect.
Rice calls Iraq 'worth the investment' and U.S. ready to elect black president
WASHINGTON (AP) — America is ready to elect a black president, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The nation's highest-ranking black government official, Rice has said repeatedly she will not run for president despite high popularity ratings and measurable support in opinion polls.
"Yes, I think a black person can be elected president," Rice said in an Associated Press interview Thursday.
The top U.S. diplomat also said Iraq is "worth the investment" in American lives and dollars. She said the United States can win in Iraq, although the war so far has been longer and more difficult than she had expected.
She made the remarks at a time when President Bush is under pressure from the public and members of Congress to find a fresh course in the long-running and costly war, which has shown no signs of nearing an end and cost the lives of more than 2,950 American troops.
"I know from the point of view of not just the monetary cost but the sacrifice of American lives a lot has been sacrificed for Iraq, a lot has been invested in Iraq," Rice said.
Bush would not ask for continued sacrifice and spending "if he didn't believe, and in fact I believe as well, that we can in fact succeed," Rice said.
Rice was asked whether an additional $100 billion the Pentagon wants for the Iraq and Afghan wars might amount to throwing good money after bad in Iraq. Bush and Congress have already provided more than $500 billion for the two conflicts and worldwide efforts against terrorism, including more than $350 billion for Iraq.
"I don't think it's a matter of money," Rice said. "Along the way there have been plenty of markers that show that this is a country that is worth the investment, because once it emerges as a country that is a stabilizing factor you will have a very different kind of Middle East."
Vietnam was different AFTER we left, not before.
Rice calls Iraq 'worth the investment' and U.S. ready to elect black president
WASHINGTON (AP) — America is ready to elect a black president, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The nation's highest-ranking black government official, Rice has said repeatedly she will not run for president despite high popularity ratings and measurable support in opinion polls.
"Yes, I think a black person can be elected president," Rice said in an Associated Press interview Thursday.
The top U.S. diplomat also said Iraq is "worth the investment" in American lives and dollars. She said the United States can win in Iraq, although the war so far has been longer and more difficult than she had expected.
She made the remarks at a time when President Bush is under pressure from the public and members of Congress to find a fresh course in the long-running and costly war, which has shown no signs of nearing an end and cost the lives of more than 2,950 American troops.
"I know from the point of view of not just the monetary cost but the sacrifice of American lives a lot has been sacrificed for Iraq, a lot has been invested in Iraq," Rice said.
Bush would not ask for continued sacrifice and spending "if he didn't believe, and in fact I believe as well, that we can in fact succeed," Rice said.
Rice was asked whether an additional $100 billion the Pentagon wants for the Iraq and Afghan wars might amount to throwing good money after bad in Iraq. Bush and Congress have already provided more than $500 billion for the two conflicts and worldwide efforts against terrorism, including more than $350 billion for Iraq.
"I don't think it's a matter of money," Rice said. "Along the way there have been plenty of markers that show that this is a country that is worth the investment, because once it emerges as a country that is a stabilizing factor you will have a very different kind of Middle East."
Vietnam was different AFTER we left, not before.
No more student demonstration when they instill the draft !
This is not American. This is Bush's Domaine of Control over above the basic rights of Civil Rights. This is outrageous to consider a government so in need of control that it would turn on it's own people to ENFORCE WAR !
The Democrats have a lot of work to do.
Bush Moves Toward Martial Law
by repost Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006 at 2:39 AM
In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which, according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law (1). It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331 -335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo those prohibitions.
Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122) (2), which was signed by the commander in chief on October 17th, 2006, in a private Oval Office ceremony, allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."
President Bush seized this unprecedented power on the very same day that he signed the equally odious Military Commissions Act of 2006. In a sense, the two laws complement one another. One allows for torture and detention abroad, while the other seeks to enforce acquiescence at home, preparing to order the military onto the streets of America. Remember, the term for putting an area under military law enforcement control is precise; the term is "martial law."
Section 1076 of the massive Authorization Act, which grants the Pentagon another $500-plus-billion for its ill-advised adventures, is entitled, "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies." Section 333, "Major public emergencies; interference with State and Federal law" states that "the President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of ("refuse" or "fail" in) maintaining public order, "in order to suppress, in any State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy."
The Democrats have a lot of work to do.
Bush Moves Toward Martial Law
by repost Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006 at 2:39 AM
In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which, according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law (1). It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331 -335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo those prohibitions.
Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122) (2), which was signed by the commander in chief on October 17th, 2006, in a private Oval Office ceremony, allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."
President Bush seized this unprecedented power on the very same day that he signed the equally odious Military Commissions Act of 2006. In a sense, the two laws complement one another. One allows for torture and detention abroad, while the other seeks to enforce acquiescence at home, preparing to order the military onto the streets of America. Remember, the term for putting an area under military law enforcement control is precise; the term is "martial law."
Section 1076 of the massive Authorization Act, which grants the Pentagon another $500-plus-billion for its ill-advised adventures, is entitled, "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies." Section 333, "Major public emergencies; interference with State and Federal law" states that "the President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of ("refuse" or "fail" in) maintaining public order, "in order to suppress, in any State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy."
Sorry, but, Commanders don't 'cut it' with me. If the Joint Chiefs are divided and in pause over this 'Surge' then it's just "W"rong
Battlefield dress includes the guts to die for a cause. The cause would be to bring hometown America to Baghdad. That is not realistic. The heroes we have in Iraq are damnable Americans willing to 'get the job done.' They have been the entire time. It is their purpose in life in many ways as a volunteer force. But, it is not up to them to determine the battlefield or the enemy. it is not the soldiers that have to die to prove their worth. They wear the uniform. That's all they need to know. There is no failing in Iraq. They have accomplished their goals. We need to back them up with reason for our actions to bring them out of danger and home to where they sincerely are needed.
Generals: More troops needed in Iraq
Commanders made their decision before meeting with Defense Secretary Gates.
By Julian E. Barnes, Times Staff Writer
December 23, 2006
WASHINGTON — Top U.S. military commanders in Iraq have decided to recommend a "surge" of fresh American combat forces, eliminating one of the last remaining hurdles to proposals being considered by President Bush for a troop increase, a defense official familiar with the plan said Friday.
The approval of a troop increase plan by top Iraq commanders, including Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, comes days before Bush unveils a new course for the troubled U.S. involvement in Iraq. Bush still must address concerns among some Pentagon officials and overcome opposition from Congress, where many Democrats favor a blue-ribbon commission's recommendation for the gradual withdrawal of combat troops....
...Some members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff remain skeptical of a surge, unconvinced that it will yield more positive results than other recent military operations to secure Baghdad or Iraq....
Generals: More troops needed in Iraq
Commanders made their decision before meeting with Defense Secretary Gates.
By Julian E. Barnes, Times Staff Writer
December 23, 2006
WASHINGTON — Top U.S. military commanders in Iraq have decided to recommend a "surge" of fresh American combat forces, eliminating one of the last remaining hurdles to proposals being considered by President Bush for a troop increase, a defense official familiar with the plan said Friday.
The approval of a troop increase plan by top Iraq commanders, including Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, comes days before Bush unveils a new course for the troubled U.S. involvement in Iraq. Bush still must address concerns among some Pentagon officials and overcome opposition from Congress, where many Democrats favor a blue-ribbon commission's recommendation for the gradual withdrawal of combat troops....
...Some members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff remain skeptical of a surge, unconvinced that it will yield more positive results than other recent military operations to secure Baghdad or Iraq....
The elements that want a ceasefire are in control. No doubt in my mind they operate covertly after hours from being legitimate police officers.
It's all there. If they can put forward a ceasefire and then assassinate an Iraqi intelligence officer as a show of strength, then what we are seeing in Baghdad is a movement that cannot be controlled or eliminated. It can't be identified. The name of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi is a AS KNOWN AS. That is a name that indicates he is a leader of the Baghdad resistance/rebellion. It is a character designation. I doubt seriously any of the men he is affiliated with in his resistance movement even know him by this name. If you asked them if they knew of anyone by that name, I sincerely doubt they'd know who you were speaking of and mean it. They would not know him as his PR name. That is my estimation.
Gunmen slay Iraqi intelligence officer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi military intelligence officer was slain in a drive-by shooting on Saturday south of Baghdad, police said.
Gunmen attacked 1st Lt. Hussein Jabir at 7:30 a.m. as he was leaving his home in downtown Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad, police said.
Also Saturday, U.S.-led forces killed one person and detained nine other suspects in a raid on a militant hideout in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
"Intelligence reports indicated terrorists with ties to the al-Qaida in Iraq network were operating in the targeted building," the military said in a statement.
Gunmen slay Iraqi intelligence officer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi military intelligence officer was slain in a drive-by shooting on Saturday south of Baghdad, police said.
Gunmen attacked 1st Lt. Hussein Jabir at 7:30 a.m. as he was leaving his home in downtown Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad, police said.
Also Saturday, U.S.-led forces killed one person and detained nine other suspects in a raid on a militant hideout in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
"Intelligence reports indicated terrorists with ties to the al-Qaida in Iraq network were operating in the targeted building," the military said in a statement.
If a cease fire can be purported. Then a continual peace in Baghdad is possible.
Who has control? The USA military? No. Not at all. They are in no way in control of Baghdad. As a matter of fact to preceive this 'suggestion' of a ceasefire without realizing how generous this is considering the elements are in control here is to realize exactly more questions about whom exactly these men are is in order.
These folks are serious. They intend every word they say. They aren't 'in it' for the jazz. This is their home, their faith and in some ways, their right.
Insurgents offer U.S. 30-day truce to get out of Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The leader of an umbrella organization for Iraqi insurgent groups is offering the United States a one-month truce to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq and turn over its military bases "to the mujahedeen of the Islamic state."
In an audiotape posted on Islamic Web sites Friday, a speaker identified as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Mujahideen Shura Council, said that if U.S. forces begin withdrawing from Iraq immediately and leave their heavy weaponry behind, "we will allow your withdrawal to complete without anyone targeting you with any explosive or anything else."
"We say to Bush not to waste this historic opportunity that will guarantee you a safe withdrawal," al-Baghdadi said on the audiotape.
The United States was given two weeks to respond to the offer.
The Mujahideen Shura Council is an umbrella group formed in late 2005 that includes several terrorist and insurgent groups, including al Qaeda in Iraq.
On the audiotape, al-Baghdadi also called on officers from the former Iraqi army to join an "army of the Islamic state," promising them a house and a salary as long as they pass a "test of faith" intended to demonstrate the extent of their "hatred" for Saddam Hussein and his regime.
The U.S. military Friday reported five U.S. troop deaths, while Iraqi authorities reported the discovery of a dozen bodies and the kidnapping of a Sunni imam in Baghdad.
One soldier was killed and another wounded when attackers targeted a coalition patrol west of the capital, the U.S. military said. Three Marines and a sailor assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 died Thursday from wounds suffered during combat in Anbar province, the military also said.
The deaths bring the December U.S. military death toll to 73 and the overall total during the war to 2,955; seven U.S. contractors also have been killed.
Other developments
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates concluded his three-day tour of Iraq to assess U.S. troop levels and Iraq's security situation. He was headed for Washington on Friday and was expected to issue a report of his consultations with U.S. troops, commanders and Iraqi officials to President Bush during the weekend. (Watch what insights Gates is getting from U.S. troops in Iraq )
Coalition forces in Baghdad killed an insurgent and detained 35 others Friday morning during raids aimed at al Qaeda in Iraq members, the U.S. military said. In Basra, about 1,000 British troops arrested four and seized weapons in a sweep to arrest police suspected of death squad activities. Iraqi troops in Diyala province also launched raids, detaining 13 people in a sweep that targeted "an illegal armed group cell."
The Shiite leadership says it will not exclude radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a statement that appeared to douse hopes for the emergence of a moderate political alliance that would include Sunni and Kurdish parties. (Full story)
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush made bedside visits to 38 American service members at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Friday, The Associated Press reported. They joined Girl Scouts and children of hospital staff to wrap presents for families and children of wounded military personnel and were to head for Camp David later Friday for the Christmas holiday, AP reported. (Full story)
Polish President Lech Kaczynski has approved a one-year extension through 2007 for his country's 900 troops to serve in Iraq, the AP cited his foreign policy adviser as saying Friday. They are mainly involved in training Iraqi security forces, AP reported.
Eight Marines have been charged in the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha last year, the Marine Corps announced Thursday. (Full story)
We have nearly 3000 dead military from Iraq alone. Something over 22,000 severely maimed and disabled. An additional 20 or more thousand non-lethal or non-disabling injuries. This war is more hideous in it's hazards than Vietnam. In Vietnam they were facing guerrilla warfare in jungles so thick that deadly defoliants were used to remove the canopy for the military to ATTEMPT to achieve victories.
I don't consider murder charges lightly in the case of the military. It is very difficult to crucify any soldier when they are there in circumstances as heinous as these. Explosives everywhere. Ambushes. Unable to identify the ? enemy ?. Warfare in urban areas. Civilians live there, or at least they used to. There can't be gunfire in urban areas without innocent casualties. That leads to more hostilities and more incidences where our soldiers feel desperate enough to conduct searches, seizures and even killings in what they might consider 'preventive' measures to their own deaths. If you talk to these eight Marine, whom might be very sorry for their actions now, they will probably admit to putting priorities of their own safety ahead of good judgement.
And, basically, no clear mission. Iraq has absolutely nothing to do with the attack on the USA on September 11, 2001. It was all a fabrication and there still is no clear understanding to a mission that primarily sees a central authority in control while the actual civilians see their religious leaders as their primary benefactors.
These folks are serious. They intend every word they say. They aren't 'in it' for the jazz. This is their home, their faith and in some ways, their right.
Insurgents offer U.S. 30-day truce to get out of Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The leader of an umbrella organization for Iraqi insurgent groups is offering the United States a one-month truce to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq and turn over its military bases "to the mujahedeen of the Islamic state."
In an audiotape posted on Islamic Web sites Friday, a speaker identified as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Mujahideen Shura Council, said that if U.S. forces begin withdrawing from Iraq immediately and leave their heavy weaponry behind, "we will allow your withdrawal to complete without anyone targeting you with any explosive or anything else."
"We say to Bush not to waste this historic opportunity that will guarantee you a safe withdrawal," al-Baghdadi said on the audiotape.
The United States was given two weeks to respond to the offer.
The Mujahideen Shura Council is an umbrella group formed in late 2005 that includes several terrorist and insurgent groups, including al Qaeda in Iraq.
On the audiotape, al-Baghdadi also called on officers from the former Iraqi army to join an "army of the Islamic state," promising them a house and a salary as long as they pass a "test of faith" intended to demonstrate the extent of their "hatred" for Saddam Hussein and his regime.
The U.S. military Friday reported five U.S. troop deaths, while Iraqi authorities reported the discovery of a dozen bodies and the kidnapping of a Sunni imam in Baghdad.
One soldier was killed and another wounded when attackers targeted a coalition patrol west of the capital, the U.S. military said. Three Marines and a sailor assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 died Thursday from wounds suffered during combat in Anbar province, the military also said.
The deaths bring the December U.S. military death toll to 73 and the overall total during the war to 2,955; seven U.S. contractors also have been killed.
Other developments
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates concluded his three-day tour of Iraq to assess U.S. troop levels and Iraq's security situation. He was headed for Washington on Friday and was expected to issue a report of his consultations with U.S. troops, commanders and Iraqi officials to President Bush during the weekend. (Watch what insights Gates is getting from U.S. troops in Iraq )
Coalition forces in Baghdad killed an insurgent and detained 35 others Friday morning during raids aimed at al Qaeda in Iraq members, the U.S. military said. In Basra, about 1,000 British troops arrested four and seized weapons in a sweep to arrest police suspected of death squad activities. Iraqi troops in Diyala province also launched raids, detaining 13 people in a sweep that targeted "an illegal armed group cell."
The Shiite leadership says it will not exclude radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a statement that appeared to douse hopes for the emergence of a moderate political alliance that would include Sunni and Kurdish parties. (Full story)
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush made bedside visits to 38 American service members at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Friday, The Associated Press reported. They joined Girl Scouts and children of hospital staff to wrap presents for families and children of wounded military personnel and were to head for Camp David later Friday for the Christmas holiday, AP reported. (Full story)
Polish President Lech Kaczynski has approved a one-year extension through 2007 for his country's 900 troops to serve in Iraq, the AP cited his foreign policy adviser as saying Friday. They are mainly involved in training Iraqi security forces, AP reported.
Eight Marines have been charged in the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha last year, the Marine Corps announced Thursday. (Full story)
We have nearly 3000 dead military from Iraq alone. Something over 22,000 severely maimed and disabled. An additional 20 or more thousand non-lethal or non-disabling injuries. This war is more hideous in it's hazards than Vietnam. In Vietnam they were facing guerrilla warfare in jungles so thick that deadly defoliants were used to remove the canopy for the military to ATTEMPT to achieve victories.
I don't consider murder charges lightly in the case of the military. It is very difficult to crucify any soldier when they are there in circumstances as heinous as these. Explosives everywhere. Ambushes. Unable to identify the ? enemy ?. Warfare in urban areas. Civilians live there, or at least they used to. There can't be gunfire in urban areas without innocent casualties. That leads to more hostilities and more incidences where our soldiers feel desperate enough to conduct searches, seizures and even killings in what they might consider 'preventive' measures to their own deaths. If you talk to these eight Marine, whom might be very sorry for their actions now, they will probably admit to putting priorities of their own safety ahead of good judgement.
And, basically, no clear mission. Iraq has absolutely nothing to do with the attack on the USA on September 11, 2001. It was all a fabrication and there still is no clear understanding to a mission that primarily sees a central authority in control while the actual civilians see their religious leaders as their primary benefactors.
What has naming Spring and Fall Break with Christian names have to do with our National Security?
Not a darn thing. Has everyone gone mad? This is unconstitutional for a public school system to take sides on religion.
This is called Spiritual Distress. It has been witnessed widely by the world before in Vietnam at the beginning of the war when Kennedy sent 5000 advisors. It gave the Late President Kennedy pause when it came to dedicating more troops to SEATO.
This is one case. Luckily. The actions by this school board are indeed grave and a prelude to "Intelligent Design."
Man Sets Self Aflame in Calif. Protest
return encodeURIComponent('BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) -- A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.');
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 23, 2006
Filed at 10:48 a.m. ET
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) -- A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.
The man, who was not immediately identified, on Friday also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica, said Fire Captain Garth Milam.
Seeing the flames, Sheriff's Deputy Lance Ferguson grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to the man.
Flames were devouring a Christmas tree next to the Liberty Bell, where public events and demonstrations are common.
Beside the tree the man stood with an American flag draped around his shoulders and a red gas can over his head.
Seeing the deputy, the man poured the liquid over his head. He quickly burst into flames when the fumes from the gas met the flames from the tree.
The deputy ordered the man to drop to the ground as he and a parole agent sprayed him with fire extinguishers.
''The man stood there like this,'' the deputy said with his arms across his chest and his head bent down, ''Saying no, no, no.''
The man suffered first degree burns on his shoulders and arms, Milam said.
Kern County Sheriff's Deputy John Leyendecker said the man had a sign that read: ''(expletive) the religious establishment and KHSD.''
On Thursday, the Kern High School Board of Trustees voted to use the names Christmas and Easter instead of winter and spring breaks.
This is called Spiritual Distress. It has been witnessed widely by the world before in Vietnam at the beginning of the war when Kennedy sent 5000 advisors. It gave the Late President Kennedy pause when it came to dedicating more troops to SEATO.
This is one case. Luckily. The actions by this school board are indeed grave and a prelude to "Intelligent Design."
Man Sets Self Aflame in Calif. Protest
return encodeURIComponent('BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) -- A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.');
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 23, 2006
Filed at 10:48 a.m. ET
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) -- A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.
The man, who was not immediately identified, on Friday also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica, said Fire Captain Garth Milam.
Seeing the flames, Sheriff's Deputy Lance Ferguson grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to the man.
Flames were devouring a Christmas tree next to the Liberty Bell, where public events and demonstrations are common.
Beside the tree the man stood with an American flag draped around his shoulders and a red gas can over his head.
Seeing the deputy, the man poured the liquid over his head. He quickly burst into flames when the fumes from the gas met the flames from the tree.
The deputy ordered the man to drop to the ground as he and a parole agent sprayed him with fire extinguishers.
''The man stood there like this,'' the deputy said with his arms across his chest and his head bent down, ''Saying no, no, no.''
The man suffered first degree burns on his shoulders and arms, Milam said.
Kern County Sheriff's Deputy John Leyendecker said the man had a sign that read: ''(expletive) the religious establishment and KHSD.''
On Thursday, the Kern High School Board of Trustees voted to use the names Christmas and Easter instead of winter and spring breaks.
We aren't needed in Iraq and it's time we all came to terms with it. Let's finish this. But, first...
... a message from mind control !
DOES
ANYONE
DOUBT
THE
USA
INFRASTRUCTURE
IS
VULNERABLE
TO
VIOLENCE ?????
Path train tunnels vulnerable to sabotage? (click on title above for full impact video)
By Toni Yates
(New York - WABC, Dec. 22, 2006) - Engineers say the PATH train tunnels under the Hudson River are vulnerable to serious damage from even a small bomb.
The New York Times says a revised engineering study shows the four tunnels are more fragile than first thought.
The study says it could take only six minutes for a tube to flood after a small bombing. It then goes on to say that the entire system would flood with hours.
The Port Authority responded in saying that the system would shutdown if passengers were in any danger.
Eyewitness News' Toni Yates is in Hoboken with a full report.
About 230,000 people use the PATH system each weekday. The study which was characterized as preliminary and continuing, was based on word done by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.
Port Authority police recently increased patrols and bad searches in the Path system and a $180 million bill was passed to boost security on the rail line.
Senator Hillary Clinton: "Today's reports about known vulnerabilities within the PATH tunnel system echoes what many of us have been warning about for years: more security is needed to protect our critical transportation infrastructure. It is my hope that Congress will pass significant transportation security legislation next year. I have supported a significant investment in the six Amtrak tunnels as well as other tunnels and infrastructure that are not yet fully secure. I intend to continue that fight into next year by pushing for the enactment of the Transportation Security Improvement Act, a bill that I co-sponsored to authorize several hundred million dollars for necessary security upgrades. We must make smart investments in our transit systems where we know terrorists intend to do us harm."
Commuters riding the PATH trains Friday morning admitted the threat of a terrorist attack is unsettling, but they would continue to ride the train.
I thought Homeland Security would have it's act together after five years of holding our breath !
DOES
ANYONE
DOUBT
THE
USA
INFRASTRUCTURE
IS
VULNERABLE
TO
VIOLENCE ?????
Path train tunnels vulnerable to sabotage? (click on title above for full impact video)
By Toni Yates
(New York - WABC, Dec. 22, 2006) - Engineers say the PATH train tunnels under the Hudson River are vulnerable to serious damage from even a small bomb.
The New York Times says a revised engineering study shows the four tunnels are more fragile than first thought.
The study says it could take only six minutes for a tube to flood after a small bombing. It then goes on to say that the entire system would flood with hours.
The Port Authority responded in saying that the system would shutdown if passengers were in any danger.
Eyewitness News' Toni Yates is in Hoboken with a full report.
About 230,000 people use the PATH system each weekday. The study which was characterized as preliminary and continuing, was based on word done by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.
Port Authority police recently increased patrols and bad searches in the Path system and a $180 million bill was passed to boost security on the rail line.
Senator Hillary Clinton: "Today's reports about known vulnerabilities within the PATH tunnel system echoes what many of us have been warning about for years: more security is needed to protect our critical transportation infrastructure. It is my hope that Congress will pass significant transportation security legislation next year. I have supported a significant investment in the six Amtrak tunnels as well as other tunnels and infrastructure that are not yet fully secure. I intend to continue that fight into next year by pushing for the enactment of the Transportation Security Improvement Act, a bill that I co-sponsored to authorize several hundred million dollars for necessary security upgrades. We must make smart investments in our transit systems where we know terrorists intend to do us harm."
Commuters riding the PATH trains Friday morning admitted the threat of a terrorist attack is unsettling, but they would continue to ride the train.
I thought Homeland Security would have it's act together after five years of holding our breath !
"Control" by Janet Jackson from the album Control
This is a story about control, my control
Control of what I say, control of what I do
And this time I'm gonna do it my way
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do
Are we ready? I am?
Cause it's all about control
And I've got lots of it
When I was 17, I did what people told me
Did what my father said, and let my mother mold me
But that was long ago
I'm in control, never gonna stop
Control, to get what I want
Control, I got to have a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
First time I fell in love
I didn't know what hit me
So young and so naive
I thought it would be easy
But now I know I've got to take...
I'm in control, never gonna stop
Control, to get what I want
Control, I got to have a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
That's right, I'm on my own,
I'll call my own shots, thank you
Got my own mind
I wanna make my own decisions
When it has to do with my life, my life
I wanna be the one in control
So let me take you by the hand
And lead you on this dance
Cause what I've got is because I took a chance
I don't wanna rule the world
Just wanna run my life
So make your life a little easier
When you get the chance just take...
I'm in control, never gonna stop
Control, to get what I want
Control, I got to have a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
Free at last, out here on my own
Now control this
That's right, career moves
I do what's right for me
And me wants to grooveIs that ok?
Got my own mind
I wanna make my own decisions
When it has to do with my life, my life
I wanna be the one in control
Hop to it
I'm in control (and I love it, that's right)
Control, now I've got a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
I'm in control, I'm in control
Don't make me lose it
Control of what I say, control of what I do
And this time I'm gonna do it my way
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do
Are we ready? I am?
Cause it's all about control
And I've got lots of it
When I was 17, I did what people told me
Did what my father said, and let my mother mold me
But that was long ago
I'm in control, never gonna stop
Control, to get what I want
Control, I got to have a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
First time I fell in love
I didn't know what hit me
So young and so naive
I thought it would be easy
But now I know I've got to take...
I'm in control, never gonna stop
Control, to get what I want
Control, I got to have a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
That's right, I'm on my own,
I'll call my own shots, thank you
Got my own mind
I wanna make my own decisions
When it has to do with my life, my life
I wanna be the one in control
So let me take you by the hand
And lead you on this dance
Cause what I've got is because I took a chance
I don't wanna rule the world
Just wanna run my life
So make your life a little easier
When you get the chance just take...
I'm in control, never gonna stop
Control, to get what I want
Control, I got to have a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
Free at last, out here on my own
Now control this
That's right, career moves
I do what's right for me
And me wants to grooveIs that ok?
Got my own mind
I wanna make my own decisions
When it has to do with my life, my life
I wanna be the one in control
Hop to it
I'm in control (and I love it, that's right)
Control, now I've got a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
I'm in control, I'm in control
Don't make me lose it
First. A liitle note about Rosie (click on)
If the cable networks want to make 'something' of it, then let's make something of it. I think there is some danger here, in that 'The Don' is so willing to start legal actions about, basically, freedom of speech. I don't go along with that. These are both high profile celebrities with views of the world at opposite ends of the spectrum.
This is going to sound very corny but I think of Rosie in this instance no different than Elizabeth Cady Staton. Ms. Staton had many children with a spouse that was uncaring for the most part. She was a local activisist while her best friend Susan B. Anthony was a bit of a traveler. A single girl, with every pregnancy of Cady's, she felt her friend was being abused by a womaning man who had no restraint or the dignity to leave her for another woman of his choice. Cady was his wholesome front to his 'second' life. Her frequent pregnancies did cause Cady health problems.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton(1815-1902) (click on)
The ability to vote was her dream and she did everything she could to make her hopes a reality. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the earliest suffragettes, campaigning for women’s rights because of her profound conviction that women were equal to men in every respect. Stanton met leading suffragette Susan B. Anthony in 1851 and the two of them formed an indomitable team that would fight for women’s rights throughout their lives. She became President of the National Woman Suffrage Association after the Civil War and continued giving speeches in which she called on the public to protest the injustice of masculine domination. She had a flair for the controversial, often criticizing organized religion for the subordination of women in society. She worked all her life toward the goal of woman suffrage only to die before the 19 th Amendment to the Constitution had been passed in Congress. However, it is obvious today that she played a significant role in the passage of that amendment even though she died before it occurred.
There is nothing more patriarchal and more pandering than a man in defense of a pretty women when she has no grounds of defending her own honor. Donald Trump represents everything patriarchal including money, money, money and power to FIRE anyone he deems insigificant to his goals while elevating, which is his right as ? is it president of the Miss USA Pagent ? a queen fallen from her thrown. I think it was risky to place that much faith in a person in decline for the wholesomeness she is supposed to represent. He might come to regret it.
BUT.
What bothers me most is the fact "The First Runner Up" was not even considered to be significant for her ability to carry out the duties of a queen with character yet compromised.
As for Rosey. She is a very powerful figure who has suffered with her career because of discrimination. She understands what it is to come from behind and be successful. She does it well. I appreciate her standing up for the 'idea' that men are sometimes less virtuous than they appear. I happen to think she is right and this is a man with designs on the presidency of the USA. I guess having to face the fact Mr. Paulson was asked to be a Treasury Secretary before him is too much to bear for Mr. Trump. Second chances are always admirable when mistakes are realized after the fact. I doubt sincerely Tara was naive to her mistake.
http://www.missusa.com/index2.html
I find it unfair to the First Runner Up, Tamiko Nash. (click on)
GO, ROSEY, GO !!!!!!!!! Beauty, Ms. O'Donnell is only skin deep and evidently the only kind Mr. Trump seems to acknowledge. I find Mr. Trump's slurs of demeaning with intention to cause harm to Ms. O'Donnell's career. A man that wealthy and influential could do exactly that. It has taken her long enough to find her footing again and at great cost. Something Donald Trump would not understand. We need women like Rosie to champion all the causes maligning women. I wish her much success against the oppression of the 'liable courts.' Mr. Trump's case is a dangerous one. It could cause retreat of women who might be vulnerable and set standards of women back to pandering to men once again. It could inhibit Freedom of Speech in the media in a way that is oppressive, forcing women to take on 'rolls' again rather than asserting their personal choices. I find Rosie to be brave and daring. Obviously, the patriarchal Trump finds her to be offensive to his idea of a person as well as a woman.
Gee, what a shame. Not all of us are as grateful as Tara.
I have never in my life stepped into a Trump hotel or casino or health spa. There is every indication that will never change.
This is going to sound very corny but I think of Rosie in this instance no different than Elizabeth Cady Staton. Ms. Staton had many children with a spouse that was uncaring for the most part. She was a local activisist while her best friend Susan B. Anthony was a bit of a traveler. A single girl, with every pregnancy of Cady's, she felt her friend was being abused by a womaning man who had no restraint or the dignity to leave her for another woman of his choice. Cady was his wholesome front to his 'second' life. Her frequent pregnancies did cause Cady health problems.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton(1815-1902) (click on)
The ability to vote was her dream and she did everything she could to make her hopes a reality. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the earliest suffragettes, campaigning for women’s rights because of her profound conviction that women were equal to men in every respect. Stanton met leading suffragette Susan B. Anthony in 1851 and the two of them formed an indomitable team that would fight for women’s rights throughout their lives. She became President of the National Woman Suffrage Association after the Civil War and continued giving speeches in which she called on the public to protest the injustice of masculine domination. She had a flair for the controversial, often criticizing organized religion for the subordination of women in society. She worked all her life toward the goal of woman suffrage only to die before the 19 th Amendment to the Constitution had been passed in Congress. However, it is obvious today that she played a significant role in the passage of that amendment even though she died before it occurred.
There is nothing more patriarchal and more pandering than a man in defense of a pretty women when she has no grounds of defending her own honor. Donald Trump represents everything patriarchal including money, money, money and power to FIRE anyone he deems insigificant to his goals while elevating, which is his right as ? is it president of the Miss USA Pagent ? a queen fallen from her thrown. I think it was risky to place that much faith in a person in decline for the wholesomeness she is supposed to represent. He might come to regret it.
BUT.
What bothers me most is the fact "The First Runner Up" was not even considered to be significant for her ability to carry out the duties of a queen with character yet compromised.
As for Rosey. She is a very powerful figure who has suffered with her career because of discrimination. She understands what it is to come from behind and be successful. She does it well. I appreciate her standing up for the 'idea' that men are sometimes less virtuous than they appear. I happen to think she is right and this is a man with designs on the presidency of the USA. I guess having to face the fact Mr. Paulson was asked to be a Treasury Secretary before him is too much to bear for Mr. Trump. Second chances are always admirable when mistakes are realized after the fact. I doubt sincerely Tara was naive to her mistake.
http://www.missusa.com/index2.html
I find it unfair to the First Runner Up, Tamiko Nash. (click on)
GO, ROSEY, GO !!!!!!!!! Beauty, Ms. O'Donnell is only skin deep and evidently the only kind Mr. Trump seems to acknowledge. I find Mr. Trump's slurs of demeaning with intention to cause harm to Ms. O'Donnell's career. A man that wealthy and influential could do exactly that. It has taken her long enough to find her footing again and at great cost. Something Donald Trump would not understand. We need women like Rosie to champion all the causes maligning women. I wish her much success against the oppression of the 'liable courts.' Mr. Trump's case is a dangerous one. It could cause retreat of women who might be vulnerable and set standards of women back to pandering to men once again. It could inhibit Freedom of Speech in the media in a way that is oppressive, forcing women to take on 'rolls' again rather than asserting their personal choices. I find Rosie to be brave and daring. Obviously, the patriarchal Trump finds her to be offensive to his idea of a person as well as a woman.
Gee, what a shame. Not all of us are as grateful as Tara.
I have never in my life stepped into a Trump hotel or casino or health spa. There is every indication that will never change.
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