Was Ronald Reagan president during the fall of the Berlin Wall? Ronald Reagan's actions drove Russia to tear down that wall.
Gosh, it seems that during all the hoopla over the celebrations surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall, the press forgot to mention the driving force that brought down the Berlin Wall. I guess the press just wants to revise history.
Oh well, the press also wants to revise today's news. During the campaign, President Obama was the Messiah. Will the press stand by this story?
That's right. In a four page report from ABC News titled, "Tens of Thousands Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Berlin Wall's Collapse," Ronald Reagan is not even mentioned. Not once.
And from what I have read, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton didn't mention President Reagan, and neither did President Obama in his taped message. I hope I end up being wrong about that, but I kind of doubt that I am.
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11/11/09 Phoenix Theatre* Toronto
Read More
11/12/09 Metro* Chicago, IL 11/13/09 Gargoyle Club* St. Louis, MO 11/14/09 House of Blues* Dallas, TX 11/15/09 La Zona Rosa* Austin, TX 11/17/09 Rialto Theater* Tucson, AZ 11/18/09 House of Blues* San Diego, CA 11/19/09 Great American Music Hall* SF, CA 11/20/09 Great American Music Hall* SF, CA 11/21/09 Club Nokia* LA, CA with El Perro Del Mar |
 PB&J and El Perro del Mar ♥ photograph by Michelle |
But last night the VIP balcony was the place to be simply because it was the location of a historic fist bump between me and Andrew W.K.
I already knew he was set to make a cameo during PB&J’s set, along with a slew of others, but I did not expect our paths to cross. I don’t know what compelled me to lamely offer him my fist the moment I saw him, but all that matters is that he returned it and all was right in the world. Then he left, and I immediately texted my thirteen year-old brother, who soon lapsed into an envy-induced coma.
Swede-fest ’09 continued with PB&J, who announced that this was their 10th anniversary tour. It was easy to distinguish who was who, as Peter was the one in the pink shirt, Bjorn was the one not in the pink shirt, and John was the drummer. It only got slightly confusing during the smorgasbord of cameos that took place throughout their set. Some made perfect sense (El Perro del Mar on “Young Folks,”), some not so much (an L.A. rap duo who remixed an unrecognizable song off of Living Thing). The final cameo was Spank Rock, who seemed like a solid addition to “Nothing to Worry About” but his appearance was much too brief.
Obviously the most dramatic cameo of the night was Andrew W.K.’s “interpretive” dancing during “It Don’t Move Me.” He didn’t utter a single word the whole time, yet he left the audience virtually speechless. It was spastic and random but ultimately the best moment of the night.
As for the band themselves, they were in top form as usual. Since the last time I saw in March, people have warmed up considerably towards their newer material and seemed to enjoy it equally as much as anything off Writer’s Block. The band eschewed slower stand-bys for faster, upbeat songs from their first two albums, and they ended the night with the infectious “Objects of My Affection.” I was kind of hoping they’d play the slow burning track, “Up Against the Wall,” but my friend told me not to be greedy. After all, one paradigm-shifting fist bump was good enough for one night.
PB&J ♥ photograph by Michelle
Peter ♥ photograph by Michelle
Andrew W.K. ♥ photograph by Michelle
PB&J ♥ photograph by Michelle
11/10/2009 02:13:56 ♥ kateg (
)
♥ peterbjornandjohn.com
♥ myspace.com/peterbjornandjohn
One computer in the DHS office at Laredo, #153, performed
54 page loads from 6th November 2009 13:05:01 to
9th November 2009 18:48:00.
besides visiting the article about al-Nafisi, they visited snooper.wordpress.com/2009/11/,
gaining direct access to the following posts:
- Homeland Security or Insecurity?
- Defamation || Negative Stereotyping
- Defamation of Religions Draft 10-29-09
- Defamation of Religions: Background Info.
A second computer in the same office, #152, performed 51 page loads from 6th November 2009 12:48:05 to 9th November 2009 15:55:01. They also viewed snooper.wordpress.com/no-amnesty/.
One computer in the DHS office at La Pryor, # 151, performed 72 page
loads from 6th November 2009 12:37:48 to 9th November
2009 18:36:36.
They also viewed:
- snooper.wordpress.com/ , giving them access to the November'09 archive listed above
- snooper.wordpress.com/about/
- snooper.wordpress.com/2009/11/
- snooper.wordpress.com/no-amnesty/
Another computer in that office, #161, performed one pageload 6th November 2009 14:05:10.
One computer in another DHS office in Washington D.C., #155, performed
34 page loads from 6th November 2009 13:08:53 to 9th November
2009 17:47:12.
They also viewed snooper.wordpress.com/hell-no/.
A second computer in that office, #152, performed 42 page loads from 6th November 2009 12:54:54 to 9th November 2009 20:29:58. There is no indication that their interest extended beyond the post about al-Nafisi.
One computer in the Springfield office of DHS, # 81, performed 1 page load 6th November 2009 18:21:15.
It appears that the DHS shared their curiosity with a few friends. Someone at the office of the City Of Harlingen viewed snooper.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/al-nafisi-incites-terrorism/., joined by someone at the Texas Department Of Information Resources.
The FBI office in Mcallen read snooper.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/al-nafisi-incites-terrorism/, logging in 9th November 200914:46:02.
There may be a connection, however
tenuous, most likely coincident nomenclature. I
found this near the top of a results page for a compound search.
But that was a meeting of UNESCO national councils, the Dr. Hasan was a Syrian bureaucrat and the al-Nafisi from Kuwait had a different first name. In any case, the article they've been viewing is relatively short, requiring much less than eight hours to read.LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
File Format: Microsoft Word - View as HTML
Dr. Abdelrazak Al-Nafisi. Permanent Delegate, Ambassador .... Dr. Abdul Azeez Al Babtain (Saudi Arabia). Dr. Nidal Hassan (Syrian Arab Republic) ...
portal.comnat.free.fr/Repkuwait08.d
For the past week, we’ve been following the disturbing story of the apparent random killing of Seattle city police officer Tim Brenton. Today, the suspect is in custody after being shot by officers investigating the case, and according to at least one report has been labeled a ‘lone domestic terrorist’ by Seattle Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel.
Here’s the update:
On the afternoon of November 6th , 2009, Seattle Police Homicide detectives received a tip about a Datsun 210 matching the description of a possible suspect vehicle used in the slaying of Officer Tim Brenton. Detectives responded to a parking lot in the 13700 block of 56th Avenue South in Tukwila. While detectives were investigating the scene further an adult male suspect emerged and pointed a gun at them. Detectives fired on the suspect in self defense, striking him at least once. The suspect was taken into custody and transported to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. No detectives were injured.
The Tukwila Police Department is handling the crime scene investigation and the King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is conducting the officer-involved shooting investigation.
SPD detectives obtained search warrants to further examine the crime scene. Evidence located inside the suspect’s apartment included improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a rifle, and various other items of evidence. Detectives now believe that this individual is responsible for both the murder of Officer Brenton, the attempted murder of Officer Sweeney, and the arson attack on October 22nd at the Charles Street facility. Detectives are asking the Prosecutor’s Office for formal charges. The Datsun that detectives were looking for is registered to the suspect. Our investigation into the murder of Officer Tim Brenton and attempted murder of Officer Britt Sweeney continues and we are still receiving and following up on tips. We have received numerous tips from the public and we encourage everyone to continue to call us with any information they may have regarding this investigation.
From CNN
A suspect in the shooting of a Seattle, Washington, police officer is also believed to be behind the bombing of four police cars, Seattle Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said at a press conference Saturday.Christopher Monfort, 41, remained hospitalized in serious condition after being shot by officers during a confrontation Friday.
“This man, from everything that we can tell, appears to be a lone domestic terrorist,” Pugel said.
Monfort was in custody at the hospital, but no charges had yet been filed, a Seattle police spokeswoman told CNN. Charges could be filed as early as Monday, she said.
Police named Monfort as a suspect in the Halloween night killing of Officer Tim Brenton, who was shot while sitting in his patrol car. A student officer was injured in the attack.
Investigators also suspect Monfort in the October 22 arson of four police vehicles with homemade explosives, Pugel said.
On Friday, a tipster alerted police to the owner of a Datsun 210 who covered his car shortly after the shooting, Pugel said.
Seattle PI has a Complete Multi-media Recap Of The Entire Story
via Source.
FBI agents in the US have recovered two highly inflammatory Al Qaeda videos.
The videos have been recovered from the house of Pakistan-born Canadian, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was arrested last month along with another accused, David Coleman Headley, a Pakistan-born American national.
The new videos were recovered from the house of 48-year-old Rana, who has been living in Chicago for nearly a decade.
Produced by the media wing of Al Qaeda, one of the videos is titled “Bombing of Denmark Embassy”.
The 54-minute DVD is narrated by Abu Yahya al-Libi, an Al Qaeda spokesman who reportedly escaped from American custody in Afghanistan.
In his presentation, al-Libi explicitly calls for violent action to retaliate against Denmark for the publication of cartoons of Prophet Mohammad by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
According to an FBI affidavit, the DVD also prominently features video of a man who carried out a suicide car bombing of the Danish embassy in Islamabad June 2, 2008.
Rana and Headley, who are allegedly part of an Lashkar-e-Taiba plot, are said to have been ready to launch new terror attacks in India.
Prosecutors have said the two were planning attacks with other members of LeT on the National Defence College in Delhi, Doon School in Dehradun and Woodstock in Mussourie and some other facilities.
Investigators from two Indian intelligence agencies, the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing are in the US to assist the FBI.
They want to particularly question Headley, who had made several trips to Pakistan and was in constant touch with LeT leaders. http://www.myanmarnews.net/story/563137
Army shooter's mosque run by Muslim Mafia
Islamic center preaches violent jihad, Shariah law
The suspected Fort Hood terrorist's former mosque in Maryland is controlled by the radical Muslim Brotherhood, a Saudi-funded worldwide jihadist movement which controls many of the mosques in America.
Conventional wisdom holds that Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan "self-radicalized" without any help from the Muslim establishment before allegedly shooting 46 fellow soldiers and security guards, and murdering 13 of them at the sprawling Texas base.
Witnesses say the devout Muslim officer jumped up on a desk and shouted, "Allahu akbar!" – Allah is greatest – before opening fire and spraying more than 100 bullets inside a crowded building where troops prepared to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq.
However, WND has learned that the Maryland mosque where Hasan worshiped before his transfer to Fort Hood preaches violent jihad and a harsh Saudi-style Islamic doctrine that denies women the right to individual expression.
Imam Faizul Khan ministered to Hasan when he worshiped at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Md. Khan has been portrayed in the media as a moderate, but he sits on the national board of directors of the radical Islamic Society of North America, or ISNA.
Federal prosecutors recently named ISNA as an unindicted terrorist co-conspirator in the largest terror finance case in U.S. history. ISNA, they say, is a front group for the Muslim Brotherhood, parent of Hamas and al-Qaida.
"ISNA has a long and disgraceful record of promoting radical Islam," says Islamic scholar and author Stephen Schwartz, a practicing Sufi Muslim.
The Brotherhood, which supports violent jihad and Islamic rule, is the subject of the bestselling new book, "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America."
Khan recently was replaced as head prayer leader by Mohamed Abdullahi Sheikh Mohamed, who also knew Hasan. "He was not violent; he seemed calm," Mohamed said of the suspected terrorist. "I was shocked."
He added: "Islam is not responsible."
Mohamed studied Islam at the Muslim Brotherhood–controlled Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, world headquarters of the dangerous Brotherhood. He also holds a degree in Shariah law from the National Somali University in Mogadishu, Somalia.
The Muslim Community Center has held fundraisers for Chechen jihadists, and promotes on its website a Shariah-based financial product offered by a Muslim Brotherhood front group under federal investigation.
The mosque distributes a pamphlet on Islam that says "it is permissible to fight" in jihad "warfare." It also requires women to wear headscarves.
"When leaving the home, a Muslim woman must at least cover her hair and body in loose and unrevealing clothing, obscuring the details of her body from the public; some also choose to cover their face and hands," the mosque pamphlet advises. "Islam forbids any sex appeal."
Hasan, the American-born son of Palestinian immigrants, refused to have his picture taken with women.
His longtime mosque also forbids charging any amount of interest on a loan, calling such Western transactions a "gross violation of God's law."
The pamphlet, titled "Islam Is ...", is authored by Abu Yunus, an officer of the Saudi-based Al-Haramain Foundation, a suspected charitable front for terrorism. He recently was indicted by the Justice Department for terror financing.
Before attending Muslim Community Center, Hasan worshiped with his mother at the ultra-radical Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va. While there in 2001, he worshiped alongside some of the hijackers who attacked the Pentagon on 9/11.
He reportedly came under the spell of the mosque's imam Anwar al-Awlaki, who ministered privately to the hijackers.
Witnesses at Fort Hood say Hasan's eyes "lit up" when discussing al-Awlaki's teachings, which include graphic descriptions of carnal pleasures and rewards in paradise awaiting jihadi martyrs who fight infidels in the cause of Allah. Hasan, 39, was unmarried.
U.S. intelligence now believes the American-born al-Awlaki, who after 9/11 fled to Yemen, is one of al-Qaida's top spiritual advisers and recruiters.
The Senate, led by Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., plans to investigate how the Army missed numerous warning signs about Hasan's radical views.
"The murders of these 13 people was a terrorist act and, in fact, it was the most destructive terrorist act to be committed on American soil since 9/11," remarked Lieberman, who heads the Senate's Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115465
Noting Monday’s 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw claimed on Sunday’s Today show that East Germans were “still adjusting to the harsh economic realities” of life after communism. But a recent poll of former East bloc countries by the Pew Research Center actually discovered that the people of what was East Germany are actually the biggest enthusiasts of the shift to capitalism, with 82% approving, higher than any other ex-communist country.
Brokaw did note, however, that the current “center-right” Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, was “born and raised in East Germany,” implicitly acknowledging that her youth spent under communism obviously did not make her a fan of leftist economic policies.
The suggestion that capitalism is somehow “harsh” compared to communism echoes what many liberal journalists argued after the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago. “The transition from communism to capitalism is making more people more miserable every day,” CBS reporter Bert Quint argued in 1990
“After four decades of standing in communism’s food lines, capitalism has created a new place to wait: at the unemployment office,” NBC’s Mike Boettcher claimed later that same year. For a full run-down of how the media reacted to the fall of communism, check out the MRC’s new Special Report, “Better Off Red?”
After Brokaw related what he saw 20 years ago as an eyewitness to the Wall coming down, co-host Lester Holt asked him, “how do Germans today remember that event and the reunification that followed?”
Brokaw replied:
Well, you have to remember that there's a whole new generation of Germans who have been born since then. Those who were alive at the time — they're still finding their way, trying to find their way into a new Germany in the 21st century. Many who were raised in the East are still adjusting to the harsh economic realities, especially during this economic downturn. What was once West Germany decided to have a unified Germany -- that was a big economic burden for everyone. So I think that this is a country still in search of its identification, and as a result is looking more inward than it is outward.
A few minutes later, Brokaw stumbled as he announced the list of VIPs who will take part in the anniversary ceremony:
There'll be the leaders of the present and the past. Mikhail Gorbachev — whom I saw last night — will be here. Dmitri Medvedev, who is the new president of Russia, obviously; Harold Brown from Germany — pardon me, from Great Britain; Hillary Clinton will represent President Obama here, President Sarkozy of France; of course, Angela Merkel from Germany, the first woman to be chancellor of this country, born and raised in East Germany, now a center-right politician. So it will be an all-star line up as they take stock of where we've been, where we are now, and maybe even try to determine where we may be headed from here.
Of course, Harold Brown was Jimmy Carter's Secretary of Defense in the 1970s. Britain's Prime Minister is Gordon Brown, and he will be among the speakers in Berlin this year. Merkel invited President Obama, but he is sending Clinton instead.
—Rich Noyes is Research Director at the Media Research Center.
What happened
Since I don't know when I'll sleep (it's 4 am now) I'll write what happened (the abbreviated version.....the long one is already part of the investigation with more to come).
I'll not write about any part of the investigation that I've learned about since (as a witness I know more than I should since inevitably my JAG brothers and sisters are deeply involved in the investigation).
Don't assume that most of the current media accounts are very accurate. They're not. They'll improve with time. Only those of us who were there really know what went down. But as they collate our statements they'll get it right.
I did my SRP last week (Soldier Readiness Processing) but you're supposed to come back a week later to have them look at the smallpox vaccination site (it's this big itchy growth on your shoulder). I am probably alive because I pulled a ---------- and entered the wrong building first (the main SRP building). The Medical SRP building is off to the side. Realizing my mistake I left the main building and walked down the sidewalk to the medical SRP building.
As I'm walking up to it the gunshots start. Slow and methodical. But continuous. Two ambulatory wounded came out. Then two soldiers dragging a third who was covered in blood. Hearing the shots but not seeing the shooter, along with a couple other soldiers I stood in the street and yelled at everyone who came running that it was clear but to "RUN!" I kept motioning people fast. About 6-10 minutes later (the shooting continuous), two cops ran up, one male, one female. We pointed in the direction of the shots.
They headed that way (the medical SRP building was about 50 meters away). Then a lot more gunfire. A couple minutes later a balding man in ACU's came around the building carrying a pistol and holding it tactically. He started shooting at us and we all dived back to the cars behind us. I don't think he hit the couple other guys who were there. I did see the bullet holes later in the cars. First I went behind a tire and then looked under the body of the car. I've been trained how to respond to gunfire...but with my own weapon.
To have no weapon I don't know how to explain what that felt like. I hadn't run away and stayed because I had thought about the consequences or anything like that. I wasn't thinking anything through. Please understand, there was no intention. I was just staying there because I didn't think about running. It never occurred to me that he might shoot me. Until he started shooting in my direction and I realized I was unarmed.
Then the female cop comes around the corner. He shoots her. (According to the news accounts she got a round into him. I believe it, I just didn't see it. He didn't go down.) She goes down. He starts reloading. He's fiddling with his mags. Weirdly, he hasn't dropped the one that was in his weapon. He's holding the fresh one and the old one (you do that on the range when time is not of the essence but in combat you would just let the old mag go).
I see the male cop around the left corner of the building. I'm about 15-20 meters from the shooter.) I yell at the cop, "He's reloading, he's reloading. Shoot him! Shoot him! You have to understand, everything was quiet at this point. The cop appears to hear me and comes around the corner and shoots the shooter. He goes down. The cop kicks his weapon farther away. I sprint up to the downed female cop. Another captain (I think he was with me behind the cars) comes up as well. She's bleeding profusely out of her thigh. We take our belts off and tourniquet her just like we've been trained (I hope we did it right...we didn't have any CLS (combat lifesaver) bags with their awesome tourniquets on us, so we worked with what we had).
Meanwhile, in the most bizarre moment of the day, a photographer was standing over us taking pictures. I suppose I'll be seeing those tomorrow. Then a soldier came up and identified himself as a medic. I then realized her weapon was lying there unsecured (and on "fire"). I stood over it and when I saw a cop yelled for him to come over and secure her weapon (I would have done so but I was worried someone would mistake me for a bad guy). I then went over to the shooter. He was unconscious. A Lt Colonel was there and had secured his primary weapon for the time being. He also had a revolver.
I couldn't believe he was one of ours. I didn't want to believe it. Then I saw his name and rank and realized this wasn't just some specialist with mental issues. At this point there was a guy there from CID and I asked him if he knew he was the shooter and had him secured. He said he did.
I then went over the slaughterhouse, the medical SRP building. No human should ever have to see what that looked like. And I won't tell you. Just believe me. Please. There was nothing to be done there. Someone then said there was someone critically wounded around the corner. I ran around (while seeing this floor to ceiling window that someone had jumped through movie-style) and saw a large African-American soldier lying on his back with two or three soldiers attending. I ran up and identified two entrance wounds on the right side of his stomach, one exit wound on the left side and one head wound. He was not bleeding externally from the stomach wounds (though almost certainly internally) but was bleeding from the head wound. A soldier was using a shirt to try and stop the head bleeding.
He was conscious so I began talking to him to keep him so. He was 42, from North Carolina, he was named something Jr., his son was named something III and he had a daughter as well. His children lived with him. He was divorced. I told him the blubber on his stomach saved his life. He smiled. a young soldier in civvies showed up and identified himself as a combat medic. We debated whether to put him on the back of a pickup truck. A doctor (well, an audiologist) showed up and said you can't move him, he has a head wound. We finally sat tight.
I went back to the slaughterhouse. They weren't letting anyone in there. Not even medics. finally, after about 45 minutes had elapsed some cops showed up in tactical vests. someone said the TBI building was unsecured. They headed into there. All of a sudden a couple more shots were fired. People shouted there was a second shooter! A half hour later the SWAT showed up. there was no second shooter. that had been an impetuous cop apparently. But that confused things for a while. Meanwhile, I went back to the shooter. The female cop had been taken away. a medic was pumping plasma into the shooter. I'm not proud of this but I went up to her and said "This is the shooter, is there anyone else who needs attention? Do them first.”
She indicated everyone else living was attended to. I still hadn't seen any EMTs or ambulances. I had so much blood on me that people kept asking me if I was ok. but that was all other people's blood. Eventually (an hour and a half to two hours after the shootings) they started landing choppers. They took out the big African-American guy and the shooter. I guess the ambulatory wounded were all at the SRP building. Everyone else in my area was dead.
I suppose the emergency responders were told there were multiple shooters. I heard that was the delay with the choppers (they were all civilian helicopters). they needed a secure LZ. but other than the initial cops who did everything right, I didn’t see a lot of them for a while.
I did see many a soldier rush out to help their fellows/sisters. There was one female soldier, I don’t know her name or rank but I would recognize her anywhere, who was everywhere helping people. a couple people, mainly civilians, were hysterical, but only a couple. One civilian freaked out when I tried to comfort her when she saw my uniform. I guess she had seen the shooter up close. A lot of soldiers were rushing out to help even when we thought there was another gunman out there.
This Army is not broken no matter what the pundits say. not the Army I saw. And then they kept me for a long time to come. Oh, and perhaps the most surreal thing, at 1500 (the end of the workday on Thursdays) when the bugle sounded we all came to attention and saluted the flag. In the middle of it all. this is what I saw.
It can't have been real. but this is my small corner of what happened.
Senator Lindsey Graham, explains to us how the Fort Hood attack is certainly not about Islam, or the war. Unfortunately the words and actions of Malik Hasan clearly show us otherwise. Reality is not Graham's strong point.
Sen. Graham, do you not understand why you have lost so much support from conservatives? Your political correctness, along with the rest of the nation's, with be the death-blow to this country. Shame on you for making excused for this Islamic goon.
SIOA has posted a new item, 'Fort Hood Does Not Exist in a Bubble - An Online
Petition'
We are only several days since the horrific jihad atrocity at Ford Hood. Many
people across the country are beginning to understand that Islam is not a
religion of peace. After multiple jihad attacks, constant belligerence and
hostile public pronouncements, broken up terror cells, and now this horrific
crime at Fort Hood many are beginning to [...]
You may view the latest post at
http://sioanetwork.com/?p=486
