Friday, December 6, 2013

EVER ONE IS OUR NATION DO NOT FLY THE FLAG AT HAFLF STAFF BECAUSE OBAMA SAYS DO IT IT CANT HONOR ENY ONE BUT THIS TERRORIST SORRY HE WAS I WILL NOT HONNOR A TERRORIST LET OUR NATION SEE WE WILL NOT DO WHAT OBAMA WANTS US TO DO MANDELA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR NATION DID OBAMA FLY THE FLAG FOR MIEK ARMSTRONG OR MARGERT TACHER

Obama: Flags To Be Flown At Half-Staff In Honor Of Nelson Mandela

The Huffington Post  |  By Posted:   |  Updated: 12/06/2013 10:57 am EST
President Barack Obama ordered flags at the White House and other public and military facilities to be flown at half-staff through sunset on December 9 to honor the passing of Nelson Mandela.
The South African icon, who was the country's first black president, passed away Thursday at the age of 95 after a long battle with a lung infection.
"We've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with," Obama said of Mandela after news of his death broke. "He no longer belongs to us, he belongs to the ages ... His commitment to transfer power and reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to."
Obama continued, "We will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again."
The president signed the proclamation Thursday evening.
Read the full document below:

Rep. Trey Gowdy says White House hiding Benghazi survivors, changing their names

Rep. Trey Gowdy says White House hiding Benghazi survivors, changing their names

In an appearance on Fox News' show 'On The Record' with Greta Van Susteren, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) said the Obama Administration is hiding the survivors of the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Gowdy also told Greta that the administration is dispersing the survivors to locations around the country, and also changing their names.
Gowdy's statements came after a bombshell report on CNN from Jake Tapper. Tapper broke the news that there were “dozens” of CIA operatives on the ground in Benghazi on Sept. 11 when the consulate was attacked. Tapper also reported that the agency is going to unprecedented lengths to make sure whatever it was doing in Libya at the time of the attack remains a secret.
"Stop and think what things are most calculated to get at the truth? Talk to people with first-hand knowledge. What creates the appearance and perhaps the reality of a cover-up? Not letting us talk with people who have the most amount of information, dispersing them around the country and changing their names," Gowdy said during the interview with Greta.
Members of Congress investigating the Benghazi attack have asked the administration for permission to speak with survivors since it occurred, but have been constantly stonewalled in their attempts. Tapper's report says the CIA is forcing employees of the agency to submit to polygraph tests as often as once a month in order to make sure they are not talking to the press or members of Congress about the attack.
According to sources inside the CIA, that is unprecedented unless the agency believes the employees may be leaking information, or are involved in activities that could endanger the agency's covert operations. Employees would normally only be required to submit to polygraph testing "every three to four years."

GOP Rep. Says Clapper Must be Prosecuted for Lying to Congress

GOP Rep. Says Clapper Must be Prosecuted for Lying to Congress

Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, December 6, 2013, 11:17 AM

 
 
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the original author of the Patriot Act, called on Congress to prosecute National Intelligence Director James Clapper for lying under oath to Congress.
Director Clapper lied to Congress in March when he said the NSA does not spy on millions of Americans.

It was a lie – and a crime.
GOP Rep. Sensenbrenner says Clapper should be prosecuted.
The Hill reported:
Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr., the original author of the Patriot Act, says Director of National Intelligence James Clapper should be prosecuted for lying to Congress.
“Lying to Congress is a federal offense, and Clapper ought to be fired and prosecuted for it,” the Wisconsin Republican said in an interview with The Hill.
He said the Justice Department should prosecute Clapper for giving false testimony during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in March.
During that hearing, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked Clapper whether the National Security Agency (NSA) collects data on millions of Americans. Clapper insisted that the NSA does not — or at least does “not wittingly” — collect information on Americans in bulk.
After documents leaked by Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA collects records on virtually all U.S. phone calls, Clapper apologized for the misleading comment.
The intelligence director said he tried to give the “least untruthful” answer he could without revealing classified information.

Obama Caught In Lie About Socialist Uncle

Yesterday, Obama admitted to lying about his relationship with Onyango Obama—aka “Uncle Omar.” This after two days of keeping silent when Onyango had said during his deportation hearing on December 3—under oath—that Obama had lived with him for three weeks while attending Harvard Law School in the 1980s.
Obama had been lying about his relationship with Onyango for years, calling him the “long lost Uncle Omar” in the so-called “biography,” Dreams From My Father.” When Onyango was arrested for drunk driving in August of 2011 and became the center of a media storm, Obama vehemently stated that he had never—ever—met Uncle Omar—that he didn’t even know he was living in the United States.
But after Obama was outed in a bold-faced lie, he not only admitted to lying about it, but stated that after living with Onyango, they “saw each other once every few months” for several years.
The question is, why would Obama lie about something so inconsequential as living with his uncle and having contact with him for several years?
The answer: socialism. This was during the early 1980s, when Obama was most involved in his socialist activities and was dating Genevieve Cook, who was attending an obscure little college known for producing fervent socialist teachers—Bank Street College of Education.
And guess who was a classmate of Genevieve Cook and lived right down the street from Obama?
Socialist poster boy and domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.
No doubt Obama and Ayers reminisced about the good old days when Ayers was blowing up the Pentagon and murdering police officers.
Make no mistake: Uncle Omar knows all of Obama’s socialist secrets; he knows where all the bodies are buried, so to speak. And if Uncle Omar starts talking, get ready for him to be “Breitbarted.”
Watch Western Center for Journalism’s exclusive video to find out about Obama’s dirty little socialist secrets and what may prove to be the unmasking of Barack Obama once and for all.
"Loophole" from Obama's IRS: Protect your IRA or 401(k) with gold and silver... click here to get a NO-COST Info Guide >

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Interview with Osama Bin Laden’s Neighbor: Dead SEALs Never Left the Compound

Interview with Osama Bin Laden’s Neighbor: Dead SEALs Never Left the Compound

Obama_and_Biden_await_updates_on_bin_Laden
In a moment I am going to show you an interview that happened in the wake of the the alleged killing of Osama Bin Laden on May 2, 2011. It is not new information but these things are not reported heavily by the mainstream media, or any media for that matter, so it should be news to some of our readers.
The witness has a much different narrative of Operation Neptune Spear than we have heard in the media. You need to take this interview with a grain of salt because it could have been total propaganda. Nevertheless, we still await answers for a lot of inconsistencies and this man’s story could explain a few things if it turns out to be true.
Let’s explore one very big question, in particular, behind the operation to kill Bin Laden.
Why was no body produced?
The claim is that Bin Laden was buried at sea.
A lot of people feel that this treatment would make no sense. After all, if you have successfully killed Osama Bin Laden, wouldn’t you want to be able to prove it?
Many have used this single inconsistency to further the idea that Bin Laden had died many years earlier and that this raid never happened. That is entirely possible but this interview brings another possibility into the mix.
Muhammad Bashir in an interview with Sama TV claims to have witnessed the operation. He claims that the American helicopter exploded, before it could take off, leaving dead bodies everywhere with no survivors. He brings about an interesting question. What if Bin Laden’s body, dead or alive, was aboard that helicopter? Is it possible that the operation was really carried out but the narrative we have been given is inaccurate?
Before you totally discount this possibility, please consider that it has been admitted that one of the helicopters involved experienced problems and had to make a “soft crash landing.” It is said that none on board were seriously injured but, nonetheless, there has been an admission that we lost one bird that night. Wikipedia reports:
Since the helicopter that had made the emergency landing was damaged and unable to fly the team out, it was destroyed to safeguard its classified equipment, including an apparent stealth capability.[77] The pilot smashed “the instrument panel, the radio, and the other classified fixtures inside the cockpit,” and the SEALs “[packed] the helicopter with explosives and [blew] it up”. Since the SEAL team was reduced to one operational helicopter, one of the two Chinooks held in reserve was dispatched to carry part of the team and bin Laden’s body out of Pakistan.[35][54][56][103]
Newt Gingrich actually stated on “Meet the Press” on May 15th, 2011 that a helicopter was shot down. Was it an honest mistake or a slip of the tongue?
Does anybody — and notice, by the way, what the intelligence chief has apologized for. He’s apologized for the Americans getting bin Laden. He didn’t apologize for nine and a half years of failing to find him. He didn’t apologize for Pakistan having failed to do its duty. And who did the — who did the Pakistanis call the minute the American covert helicopter was shot down? They called the Chinese. Now, I would just suggest to you, we need to rethink carefully what do we mean by the word, ‘ally.’
Here is the interview which gives Muhammad Bashir’s account of what happened at the Abbottabad compound that night:
If you prefer to read a transcript of this interview, you can get one from Paul Craig Roberts here. The interview is very much real and did appear on Pakistani television. The accuracy of the account is anyone’s guess. Only high ranking government officials and those that were there really know what happened.
Let’s say that Muhammad Bashir is telling the truth just for the sake of exploration. Could this also have something to do with the SEAL Team 6 Chinook crash that happened just 3 months later? Could the Extortion 17 accident have been an attempt to cover up what really happened with the Bin Laden raid?
A lot of people have theorized as much, and if that helicopter really exploded at the Bin Laden compound that might give a little more credence to such a theory.
I present the interview above just for you to develop your own ideas about what may have happened. We can not overlook the multiple breaks in the story line that have been discovered. Many have alleged that the situation room photo, which appears at the very top of this article, is nothing more than a photoshopped image. Reggie Love revealed recently that Obama was not in the situation room for the duration and was actually playing spades.
Well known conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was actually on record with a prediction that something would happen to SEAL Team 6 members before the Chinook accident ever happened.
Among others, Michael Savage has asked a question that deserves an answer. Why were so many SEALs gathered together in such an archaic, “Vietnam era” helicopter?
So what do you think?
Do we trust the testimony of a Pakistani man who claims to have been a neighbor to the compound?
Was Bin Laden dead years before this raid ever happened?
The biggest question on my mind is why we have so many inaccuracies in the story line. Though I don’t know that I would bet on the word of Muhammad Bashir, I certainly would not bank on anything that comes from the Obama Administration either.
We have seen this administration lie about many things, so why would this be any different?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Obama: There Was No IRS Scandal - It Was Just Made Up By the Media


Last night during his interview with Chris Matthews, Barack Obama denied there was a so-called IRS scandal and said it was just something sensationalized by the media.
“If on the other hand, you’ve got an office in Cincinnati, an IRS office, that I think for bureaucratic reasons, is trying to sreamline a difficult law to begin with, and interpret whether a non-profit is a political organization, deserves a tax exempt agenc, ant they’ve got a list. Suddenly, everyone’s outraged… And, I’ll point out that there are some so-called progressives and perceived to be liberal commentators during that week that were just outraged at the possibility that these folks had in some way been discriminated against. And, that is what gets news.”

Obama To Allow Horrific Slaughter Of America’s Iconic Bald Eagle (VIDEO)

Obama To Allow Horrific Slaughter Of America’s Iconic Bald Eagle (VIDEO)

The Obama administration is about to approve a rule that will ensure the death of golden and bald eagles for the next 30 more years.
obama-to-allow-killing-american-eagle-socialist-marxist-communist
CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW VIDEO NOW.
Hundreds of thousands of birds die each year flying into the deadly turbine blades atop the soaring towers that compose wind click-here-to-read-the-rest-of-this-story-on-before-its-news-from-now-the-end-begins-nteb-geoffrey-griderfarms. The rule will give wind farms thirty year permits for the “non purposeful take of eagles-that is where the take is associated with but not the purpose of, the activity.’’ The take of eagles is also a euphemism for the slaughter of them. The wind farms fulfill Obama’s ambitious pursuit of developing renewable energy sources. Unfortunately, some bird species being destroyed by the turbines are not renewable. source – Breitbart

Retired Marine Col. Pete Martino: “Is Everybody Blind?” The US “Is Building a Domestic Army!”

Retired Marine Col. Pete Martino: “Is Everybody Blind?” The US “Is Building a Domestic Army!”

120206-F-FR276-004Retired Marine Col. Pete Martino voiced his concerns about the United States “building a domestic Army” during a local city council meeting in Concord, New Hampshire. Col. Marino believes that the current militarization of police forces is a real threat to Americans.
If you recall, Barack Obama suggest such a force when he ran for his first term back in 2008:
Obama stated:
“We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.”
Col. Pete Martino spoke before the council during a testimony time and addressed the recent request of a Ballistic Engineered Armed Response Counter Attack Truck (Bearcat).
Martino, who claims to have worked as a military defense coordinator said (pick up the video around the 3:09 mark):
“We don’t need this.
I’m a retired… I was a retired Colonel in the Marine Corps.
I saw a sign hanging in the back that said we want “More Mayberry, Less Fallujah.”
I spent a year in Fallujah. You know what, when I first got there, I didn’t have armored Humvees.
I spent…I traveled over 10,000 miles over there. Sometimes you had to deal with and go with what you had. That’s part of the job, for one.
And second thing was… I was a Ministry of Defense Coordinator, where my job was to man, train and equip the Iraqi Army…and I can tell you right now…Somebody had the idea to get rid of the Iraqi Army…When we rebuilt it, we did everything we could to make it as strong as possible. And I’ll tell you right now, Homeland Security would kick their butts in a week.
What’s happening here is we’re building a domestic military because it’s unlawful and unconstitutional to use American troops on American soil. So what we’re doing is building a military.
My best friend, who is a SWAT officer in Nashua (NH), came to Iraq with me to train the Iraqi police, sent me a picture of him in the media, on the streets of Watertown, MASS, wearing the exact same combat gear we had in Iraq, only was a different color.
The way we do things in the military is called “task organization.” You take a command and then you attach units to it in order to accomplish the mission. What’s happening is, Homeland Security is pre-staging gear, equipment. What they’re trying to do is use standardized vehicles, standardized equipment.
I saw a picture in the Boston Globe during the Boston Marathon bombing, where there was a State police officer…actually there were two officers, they both had identical helmets, flak jackets, weapons, everything I wore in Iraq, only it was all blue. The officer on one side had a big patch that said Massachusetts State Police…the other officer next to him…his patch said Boston Police.
What we’re doing here, and let’s not kid about it, we’re building a domestic army, and we’re shrinking the military because the government is afraid of its own citizens.
The last time more than 10 terrorists were in the same place at the same time was September 11th. And all these vehicles in the world wouldn’t have prevented it or helped anybody.
So I don’t know where we’re gonna use this many vehicles and this many troops. Concord is just one little cog in the wheel. We’re building an army over here, and I can’t believe people aren’t seeing it.
Is everybody blind?”
The crowd then erupted in applause and “thank you” could be heard coming from some. The colonel offered to field questions from those present, but none were offered.
Col. Pete Martino then left the microphone saying, “My wife always tells my kids — there’s always free cheese in the mousetrap.”
Freedom Outpost’s Joshua Cook recently reported on what is taking place in the city. An estimated 200 people came out to protest the purchase of the Bearcat.
Tim Brown is the Editor of Freedom Outpost and a regular contributor to The D.C. Clothesline.

Congress: Hillary’s Benghazi Investigation Let Top Officials Escape Blame

Congress: Hillary’s Benghazi Investigation Let Top Officials Escape Blame

A new report reveals that the State Department’s Benghazi investigation failed to hold senior officials accountable for the deaths of four Americans. Josh Rogin reports.
The State Department’s investigation into the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, was not independent and failed to hold senior State Department officials accountable for the failures that led to the deaths of four Americans, according to a new investigative report compiled by the House oversight committee.
The Administrative Review Board, chosen by then–secretary of State Hillary Clinton, unfairly placed the blame for the terrorist attack on four midlevel officials while ignoring the role of very senior officials in Clinton’s State Department for decisions about security in Benghazi, according to the new report led by chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA). Also, the structure of the ARB and the culture in Clinton’s State Department raised questions about the independence and integrity of the review, according to Issa’s committee.
“The ARB blamed systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies within two bureaus, but downplayed the importance of decisions made at senior levels of the Department. Witnesses questioned how much these decisions influenced the weaknesses that led to the inadequate security posture in Benghazi,” the report stated. “The ARB’s decision to cite certain officials as accountable for what happened in Benghazi appears to have been based on factors that had little or no connection to the security posture at U.S. diplomatic facilities in Libya.”
The Daily Beast first reported in May that the four officials removed from their jobs and placed on administrative leave as a result of the State Department’s ARB report on Benghazi had never been told what they were accused of, had never been given an opportunity to appeal their punishments, and were never officially fired. One of the officials, former deputy assistant secretary of State Ray Maxwell, had little to no role in Libya security policy and was not even alleged to have been connected to the security failures leading up to the Benghazi attack.
The Daily Beast first reported last month that the Kerry State Department decided to allow those four officials to return to work in the department, although not in their previous jobs. Although former undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering, the head of the ARB, said that responsibility should be placed at the assistant secretary level, top officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Beth Jones, were never disciplined.
Video screenshot
In January 2013, Hillary Clinton testified about Benghazi before the Senate. Watch the highlights.
“It appears increasingly likely the Department’s primary objective was to create the public appearance of accountability.”
The new report by Issa’s committee questions why Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy, who admitted to having a role in overseeing the decision to reject requests for more security in Benghazi before the attack, was never blamed or disciplined by the ARB. Moreover, Kennedy played a key role in selecting the members of the ARB and the staff that helped the ARB do its works, Issa’s report revealed.
“The haphazard decision to place the four officials cited by the ARB on paid administrative leave created the appearance that former Secretary Hillary Clinton’s decision to announce action against the individuals named in the ARB report was more of a public relations strategy than a measured response to a tragedy,” Issa’s report said. “Therefore, one year after the Benghazi attacks, no one at the State Department has been fired for their role leading up to the Benghazi attacks. It appears increasingly likely the Department’s primary objective was to create the public appearance of accountability.”
Several officials told Issa’s committee that Kennedy was deeply involved in security decisions and would have been directly involved in the decision not to approve requests for more security in Benghazi before the attacks.
“The ultimate decision maker is Undersecretary Kennedy,” testified Eric Boswell, the assistant secretary of diplomatic security, who was punished by the ARB.
“The way the undersecretary for management runs things, there is no decision that DS makes that doesn’t have his input and his imprimatur, his approval,” Maxwell testified. “There is no decision that DS doesn’t make that doesn’t have his disapproval.”
The report also questions Clinton’s personal awareness and role in the mistakes that contributed to the attacks.
“Did Secretary Clinton have views on the need to extend the Benghazi mission, both in the fall of 2011 and summer of 2012? Was she consulted on these questions and what, if any, influence did her opinion have on the Department’s decisions?” the report asks.
Issa’s investigation also found that the ARB was rushed in its investigation and completed its work in only 10 weeks, undermining claims by Clinton and President Obama that the ARB conducted a full and complete investigation into the attacks. Also, the committee identified several conflicts of interest between the ARB and the people it was investigating. Jones admitted to the committee that she had close personal and professional relationships with both Pickering and the executive director of the ARB staff, Uzra Zeya. Pickering also knew Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Liz Dibble, who had a role in Benghazi security decisions, but was not punished after the ARB report. Dibble was subsequently named deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in London.
“For some, including the Department itself, this report represented the final word on the internal failures that contributed to the tragedy in Benghazi. For others, however, the report overvalued certain facts, overlooked others, and failed to address systemic issues that have long plagued the State Department,” the report said.
Eric Nordstrom, a former regional security officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, testified to Issa’s committee that top people in Clinton’s State Department, including Kennedy, were allowed to escape any accountability for the failures that preceded the Benghazi attack. The ARB interviewed Kennedy, but not Clinton, Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns, or Deputy Secretary of State Tom Nides.
“It’s an accountability of midlevel officer review board, and the message to my colleagues is that if you are above a certain level, no matter what your decision is, no one is going to question it. And that is my concern with the ARB,” Nordstrom testified May 8.
Issa’s staff interviewed over two dozen current and former State Department officials to compile its 100-page report on the ARB. The Daily Beast viewed an embargoed copy of Issa’s report. The full report will be released Monday.
The State Department defended its handling of the four midlevel officials punished following the ARB report in an August 29 letter to Issa. The letter stated that since the ARB had not found any active breach of duty by the four officials, Kerry was not able to fire them and was therefore required to bring them back to work in the State Department.
In a statement Sunday responding to Issa’s investigation into the ARB, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Douglas Frantz defended the ARB and disputed Issa’s claim that the State Department has not been cooperating with the committee. Franz accused Issa of playing politics with the Benghazi tragedy.

“The response to the tragedy in Benghazi by the Accountability Review Board and the State Department has been thorough and transparent. In fact, it set a new standard for transparency measured by tens of thousands of pages of documents turned over to Congress, testimony in public and closed hearings, and a declassified report for the public,” said Frantz. “Twisting the facts to advance a political agenda does a disservice to those who lost their lives and those who have devoted the past year to understanding what happened and implementing security procedures to make certain it does not happen again. Attacking the ARB now is an attack on the integrity of one of America’s most respected diplomats and one of the nation’s most respected military leaders, both of whom spent their lives serving presidents of both parties.”

Franz also said that the ARB did not shield officials from questioning or blame. 

“State Department officials, including former secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, have appeared at nine congressional hearings, and the department has provided thousands of pages of material to members of Congress and their staffs. Undersecretary of State Patrick F. Kennedy has represented the department at more than 20 open and classified briefings and hearings before Congress to discuss the implementation of new security procedures worldwide,” Frantz said. “The facts show that the ARB report was prepared by people of unquestioned integrity, that the process has been transparent and open, and the lessons have been learned and are being implemented.”
Update: House Oversight Committee ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings (D-MD) sent The Daily Beast a statement criticizing Issa’s new report and defending the ARB.
“This Republican report is not an official Committee report, but rather a completely partisan staff report that the Chairman apparently did not want Committee Members to see before he leaked it to the press. Rather than focusing on the reforms recommended by the ARB, Republicans have politicized the investigation by engaging in a systematic effort to launch unsubstantiated accusations against the Pentagon, the State Department, the President, and now the ARB itself,” Cummings said.
Pickering and ARB co-chairman retired Navy Adm. Mike Mullen will testify before the committee September 19, Cummings noted.  
“Ambassador Pickering and Admiral Mullen are respected public servants who dedicated their lives to this country, and accusations that they engaged in a ‘cover-up’ at Secretary Clinton’s bidding are completely unfounded,” he said. “I look forward to hearing from them this week at a public hearing where they can finally address these accusations directly, and I hope Republicans will finally join us in an effort to ensure the full implementation of recommendations to improve security for our entire diplomatic corps serving overseas.”

Shades of Vietnam: Spike in U.S. troop deaths tied to stricter rules of engagement

Shades of Vietnam: Spike in U.S. troop deaths tied to stricter rules of engagement

**FULL FRAME VERSION OF AFDG102, WEDNESDAY AUG. 19, 2009 PHOTO** In this full frame version of AFDG102, Wednesday Aug. 19, 2009 photo, Spc. Paul Pickett, 22, of Minden, La., centers, covers Pfc. James Gordon, 20, of Texas, both of the U.S. Army's Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y.,  from the rotar wash of a landing medivac helicopter after Gordon sustained leg injuries when the armored vehicle he and six others were riding in hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak Province. It was Apache company's 48th IED in a month, 7 that were attacks, 41 diffused or destroyed, resulting in 22 soldiers injured and one soldier killed in that timeframe. (AP Photo/David Goldman) **FULL FRAME VERSION OF AFDG102, WEDNESDAY AUG. 19, 2009 PHOTO** In this full frame version of AFDG102, Wednesday Aug. 19, 2009 photo, Spc. Paul Pickett, 22, of Minden, La., centers, covers Pfc. James Gordon, 20, of Texas, both of the U.S. Army’s Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y., from the rotar wash of a landing medivac helicopter after Gordon sustained leg injuries when the armored vehicle he and six others were riding in hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan’s Wardak Province. It was Apache company’s 48th IED in a month, 7 that were attacks, 41 diffused or destroyed, resulting in 22 soldiers injured and one soldier killed in that timeframe. (AP Photo/David Goldman) The number of U.S. battlefield fatalities exceeded the rate at which troop strength surged in 2009 and 2010, prompting national security analysts to assert that coinciding stricter rules of engagement led to more deaths.
A connection between the sharp increase in American deaths and restrictive rules of engagement is difficult to confirm. More deaths surely stemmed from ramped-up counterterrorism raids and the Taliban’s response with more homemade bombs, the No. 1 killer of NATO forces in Afghanistan.


But it is clear that the rules of engagement, which restrain troops from firing in order to spare civilian casualties, cut back on airstrikes and artillery strikes — the types of support that protect troops during raids and ambushes.
“In Afghanistan, the [rules of engagement] that were put in place in 2009 and 2010 have created hesitation and confusion for our war fighters,” said Wayne Simmons, a retired U.S. intelligence officer who worked in NATO headquarters in Kabul as the rules took effect, first under Army Gen. Stanley M. McChrystal, then Army Gen. David H. Petraeus.
“It is no accident nor a coincidence that from January 2009 to August of 2010, coinciding with the Obama/McChrystal radical change of the [rules of engagement], casualties more than doubled,” Mr. Simmons said. “The carnage will certainly continue as the already fragile and ineffective [rules] have been further weakened by the Obama administration as if they were playground rules.”
Troops say the bureaucracy has cost lives: Each Taliban fighter allowed to escape is one more terrorist free to attack Americans by fighting battles or planting bombs. Troops say the bureaucracy has cost lives: Each Taliban fighter allowed to ... more >
As President Obama’s troop surge began in 2009, so did new rules of engagement demanded by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was responding to local elders angry over the deaths of civilians from NATO airstrikes and ground operations.
Mr. Karzai now is refusing to sign a status of forces agreement for U.S. troops to remain in his country after 2014, even though Mr. Obama personally pledged to him in a letter that Afghan homes would be mostly off-limits to ground forces.
Even before the president’s edict, commanders since 2009 had to insure that a Taliban fighter was carrying a weapon before they could authorize direct fire. A unit engaged in combat on the ground and requesting airstrikes must convince commanders — and lawyers — back at headquarters that no civilians would be harmed.


Warriors say this chain-of-command bureaucracy has cost lives: Each Taliban fighter allowed to escape is one more terrorist free to attack Americans by fighting battles or planting homemade bombs.
“We handcuffed our troops in combat needlessly,” said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, a fighter pilot in Vietnam. “This was very harmful to our men and has never been done in U.S. combat operations that I know of.”
In 2010, the first full year of the troop surge, 499 Americans were killed, according to the research website icasualties.org. That is about five times the annual death toll compared with 2006-2007 and three times the number in 2008 — yet U.S. troop strength roughly doubled, from 40,000 to 85,000.
In 2011, as U.S. troops peaked at 100,000, 419 Americans were killed. In 2012, as the troop count began to decrease, the death toll fell to 319, three times what it was in 2006-2007.
The battle of Ganjgal in Afghanistan’s Kunar province proved to be historic. An Army captain and a Marine earned Medals of Honor for their efforts in the 10-hour firefight.
The September 2009 battle also stands as a stark example of the effects the restrictive rules of engagement had on troops under fire, fighting for their lives.
Former Army Capt. William Swenson, who last month pinned on the Medal of Honor, repeatedly called headquarters to request airstrikes but was denied for hours, as more than 150 Taliban fighters surrounded and attacked his position.
Mr. Swenson vented his frustration in an after-action investigation.
“It’s not JAG [military attorney] responsibility to interject to say, ‘Hey, we are concerned that you’re going to hit a building,’” he said. “I can tell you that I am concerned with saving as many lives as I can, not necessarily one. Unfortunately, this is combat. I can’t be perfect, but I can do what I feel what’s right at the time.”
He added: “I am not a politician. I am just the guy on the ground asking for that ammunition to be dropped because it’s going to save lives.”
Mr. Swenson recalled other instances in which the brigade command would not authorize airstrikes on targets he identified.
“I just get the craziest thing across the radio sometimes,” he said. “Just people second-guessing.”
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Nearly 100 black-on-white attacks since June – media ignores

Nearly 100 black-on-white attacks since June – media ignores

jesse-jackson-in-hoodie-jpgDid you know that there have been nearly 100 black on white attacks since June? Probably not unless you pay attention to blogs that cover these topics as the corrupt media completely ignores these stories. The recent trend among young male black thugs seems to be the ‘knockout game.’ Black thugs randomly walk up to some white person and punch them in the face, for fun. As usual, this isn’t reported by the corrupt media because of the racial component. It’s an obvious hate crime by these thugs who think it’s ‘fun’ to beat up whitey, so the media ignores. Another thing that the media has ignored are the nearly 100 black on white attacks since middle June that have resulted in death, kidnapping, throats slit, beatings of the elderly and even sexual offense, especially against elderly white people. The Daily Kenn has composed a list of black on white attacks since the middle of June that the media has ignored, including the age of the victims. As usual, the CEOs of the racial greivance industry like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton etc never utter a word about these attacks. You’ll notice that violence against white really spikes after the George Zimmerman verdict when the media kept trying to instigate a race war:

Date Crime Victim
2013-11-08 BEATEN TO DEATH Ryan Wilson, 38
2013-11-07 MURDER, THROAT SLIT Evelyn Norell, 93
2013-11-07 KIDNAPPING, BURGLARY Thomas M. Nedich, 63
2013-11-06 HOMICIDE BY BEATING Layla Malone, 4
2013-11-04 SET AFIRE WHILE SLEEPING Luke Fleischman, 18
2013-10-30 HOME INVASION, BEATING DEATH Delor Cabral, 78
2013-10-30 HOME INVASION, STABBING Rachel Poole, 31
2013-10-29 MURDER; HOME INVASION Raymond Vasholz, 83
2013-10-28 PEPPER SPRAY ASSAULT Asst store manager
2013-10-25 HOMICIDE Amanda Stratford, 28
2013-10-24 HOMICIDE Jane Juergens, 55
2013-10-23 HOMICIDE Colleen Ritzer, 24
2013-10-18 BEATEN TO DEATH, ROBBED Lawrence E. ‘Shine’ Thornton, 87
2013-10-17 SHOT DEAD Charles Sperry, 80
2013-10-16 ROBBED AT GUNPOINT Mary Hall, 83
2013-10-15 ASSAULTED ON SCHOOL VAN Dylan Fonner, 17
2013-10-14 MOB BEAT DOWN Ronald Russo, 30, and wife
2013-10-14 SHOOTING Martha Childress, 18
2013-10-14 SHOOTING DEATH James “Jimmy” Johnson, 56
2013-10-14 SHOOTING DEATH Stephanie Terlisner, 28, unborn baby
2013-10-13 ROBBERY, ATTEMPTED MURDER Jon Dunham
2013-10-12 SHOOTING DEATH Kim Kilgore, 21
2013-10-11 BEAT DOWN, ROBBERY Kathleen Jacobs
2013-10-11 HOME INVASION, STABBING, HOMICIDE Sandra Price, 67
2013-10-10 HOMICIDE Justin Ferrari
2013-10-10 KIDNAPPING, RAPE, MURDER Jennifer Kocsis, 37
2013-10-10 SHOOTING DEATH, ROBBERY J.P. Shelley, 42
2013-10-10 BEATING Ron Gandy, 48
2013-10-10 ATM ROBBERY, PISTOL WHIPPED Unnamed man, 65
2013-10-10 BEATING DEATH Gregory Gross, 52
2013-10-10 MOB ATTACK; THEFT Unnamed woman
2013-10-09 CAR THEFT AT GUNPOINT Brad Edmonds
2013-10-08 KIDNAPPING, MURDER William Alexander Apps, 25
2013-10-07 EXECUTION Jourdan Bobbish, 17
2013-10-07 EXECUTION Jake Kudla, 18
2013-10-05 MOB ATTACK, STABBING HOMICDE Unnamed male soldier, 20
2013-10-03 ASSAULT Brendan O’Toole, 26
2013-10-02 BEAT DOWN, ROBBERY Unnamed man, 75
2013-10-01 STABBING 5 victims include 2-yr-old
2013-09-30 MURDER: SHOT & BURNED IN SUV Richard Michael “Mike” Carter
2013-09-28 ASSAULT Woman walking baby stroller
2013-09-27 MOB ATTACK Unnamed man, 64
2013-09-27 ASSAULT Matt Hogue
2013-09-27 FAMILY HOME ATTACKED Unnamed toddler shot
2013-09-25 KNOCK-OUT-GAME MURDER James Gifford, 70
2013-09-24 ASSAULT Safeway manager
2013-09-23 VIOLENT SEX OFFENSE unnamed girl, 17
(presumed white)
2013-09-21 MOB BEATING DEATH Ralph Eric Santiago, 46
2013-09-21 ASSAULT WITH BRICK Andrew Billington, 37
2013-09-20 SHOT TO DEATH Officer Rod Bradway, 41
2013-09-17 HOME INVASION, ABDUCTION Ayvani Hope Perez, 13
2013-09-16 HOMICIDE, ROBBERY Spc. Taylor Hotzoglou, 22
2013-09-16 HOMICIDE (SHOOTING) Gabriel Martinez, 13
2013-09-14 ASSAULT News anchor Brian Carey
2013-09-10 KNOCK-OUT GAME MURDER Ralph Erick Santiago, 46
2013-09-10 MOB ATTACK Michael Stinnett, 27
2013-09-09 FACE SMASHED ON BUS Name withheld
2013-09-07 ASSAULT Female store clerk
2013-09-05 MACE ATTACK, BEATING, ROBBERY Unnamed man, 82
2013-09-04 ROBBERY, MURDER Lawrence Howse, 54
2013-09-04 KNOCK-OUT, MURDER Jeffrey Babbitt, 62
2013-09-03 MURDER, BURNED ALIVE IN TRUNK Yoko Cullen, 85
2013-09-02 MOB ATTACK, ROBBERY NYPC officer
2013-08-28 MOB ATTACK Ginger Slepski
2013-08-27 RAPE Amelia Rudolf, 97
2013-08-26 BURGLARY, MURDER Fannie Gumbinger, 99
2013-08-26 ASSAULT Andy Sweeney
2013-08-26 ASSAULT tiny toddler
2013-08-25 MURDER BY MOB Richard Daughenbaugh, 40
2013-08-24 MOB BEATING unnamed couple
2013-08-22 ASSAULT, ROBBERY 4 elderly women, 70, 63, 65, 93
2013-08-22 ASSAULT unnamed victim
2013-08-22 MURDER BY MOB Delbert Belton, 88
2013-08-22 KIDNAPPING unnamed young woman
2013-08-22 HAMMER ATTACK unnamed hot-dog vendor
2013-08-21 SHOT DEAD Miguel Pilotos, 71
2013-08-21 MOB ATTACK unknown victim
2013-08-20 MURDER Christopher Lane
2013-08-16 ROBBERY/MURDER Habib Hajimirzaei
2013-08-15 GUN CRIME unnamed victim
2013-08-15 MOB ATTACK unnamed man
2013-08-12 GUN SHOT WOUND Deloy Dupuis, 64
2013-08-12 RANDOM STABBING Laralynn Stock Caldwell, 20, 3 others
2013-08-12 MURDER David Santucci
2013-08-12 MOB ATTACK John Garland Redick (77)
2013-08-10 MOB ATTACK Ray Widstrand
2013-08-06 MURDER Alyssa Oakes
2013-08-06 BEATING/ROBBERY Gideon Hackett
2013-08-05 BEATING Unnamed
2013-08-05 TORTURE, MURDER Gary Nagy
2013-08-04 CARJACKING 2 women, 1 girl
2013-08-01 STABBING Natasha Martinez
2013-07-31 ASSAULT/ROBBERY Carre Ramirez
2013-08-04 CARJACKING 2 women, 1 girl
2013-08-01 STABBING Natasha Martinez
2013-07-31 ASSAULT/ROBBERY VCarre Ramirez
2013-07-31 PURSE SNATCHED unnamed 90 year old
2013-07-31 MOB ATTACK unnamed man
2013-07-30 MOB ATTACK T.C. Maslin
22013-07-29 SCHOOL BUS ATTACK 13-yr-old boy
2013-07-29 ASSAULT cab driver
2013-07-29 ASSAULT young mother
2013-07-28 MOB ATTACK unnamed man
2013-07-28 MOB ATTACK 4 victims
2013-07-27 MOB ATTACK unnamed victim
2013-07-25 SHOOTING elderly trucker
2013-07-22 2 MOB ATTACKS Austin Grills (15)
2013-07-19 HOMICIDE Stacey Moulton
2013-07-19 HOMICIDE Terri Moulton
2013-07-19 ASSAULT Zack Finkelstein
2013-07-19 RAPE 5-yr-old girl
2013-07-15 ASSAULT Georgia [withheld]
2013-07-14 MOB ATTACK Christopher [withheld]
2013-07-14 MURDER, ROBBERY Matthew Bohannon
2013-07-14 MURDER, ROBBERY Andrew Bohannon
2013-07-14 MURDER Joseph Orlando
2013-07-14 ABDUCTION/MURDER Brenna Machus
2013-07-12 MURDER Lina Lim
2013-07-12 MURDER Khin Min
2013-07-12 MURDER Pat Mahaney
2013-07-10 SHOT Father, children
2013-07-10 ASSAULT/THEFT 3 victims
2013-07-06 ASSAULT/THEFT Unnamed mom & child
2013-07-04 ASSAULT, THEFT Joe Stapf
2013-07-02 MURDER Molly Conley
2013-07-02 MURDER Kelly L. Hunnewell
2013-07-02 KNIFE ASSAULT 2-Yr-Old
2013-07-01 MURDER Joshua Chellew
2013-07-01 ASSAULT Cassandra Struve
2013-06-30 MOB ATTACK young woman
2013-06-27 ASSAULT Hayley Aldridge
2013-06-26 HOMICIDE Amy Gibbins
2013-06-26 HOMICIDE Amy Gibbins’ 5-yr-old son
2013-06-26 MOB ATTACK Unnamed Family
2013-06-26 MOB ATTACK unnamed boy
2013-06-21 SHOOTING RAMPAGE 4 victims near Walmart
2013-06-16 MOB ATTACK unidentified victim
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BRAIN Initiative Challenges Researchers to Unlock Mysteries of Human Mind

Note: Want to learn more about the BRAIN Initiative? Watch Tom Kalil, Innovation Advisor; Dr. Francis Collins, Director of National Institutes of Health; and Dr. Arati Prabhakar, Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) discuss the new research effort in an Open for Questions session.
Today at the White House, President Obama unveiled the “BRAIN” Initiative—a bold new research effort to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.
The BRAIN Initiative — short for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies — builds on the President’s State of the Union call for historic investments in research and development to fuel the innovation, job creation, and economic growth that together create a thriving middle class.
The Initiative promises to accelerate the invention of new technologies that will help researchers produce real-time pictures of complex neural circuits and visualize the rapid-fire interactions of cells that occur at the speed of thought. Such cutting-edge capabilities, applied to both simple and complex systems, will open new doors to understanding how brain function is linked to human behavior and learning, and the mechanisms of brain disease.
President Barack Obama is introduced by Dr. Francis Collins
President Barack Obama is introduced by Dr. Francis Collins, Director, National Institutes of Health, at the BRAIN Initiative event in the East Room of the White House, April 2, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
In his remarks this morning, the President highlighted the BRAIN Initiative as one of the Administration’s “Grand Challenges” – ambitious but achievable goals that require advances in science and technology to accomplish. The President called on companies, research universities, foundations, and philanthropies to join with him in identifying and pursuing additional Grand Challenges of the 21st century—challenges that can create the jobs and industries of the future while improving lives.
In addition to fueling invaluable advances that improve lives, the pursuit of Grand Challenges can create the jobs and industries of the future.
That’s what happened when the Nation took on the Grand Challenge of the Human Genome Project. As a result of that daunting but focused endeavor, the cost of sequencing a single human genome has declined from $100 million to $7,000, opening the door to personalized medicine.
Like sequencing the human genome, President Obama’s BRAIN Initiative provides an opportunity to rally innovative capacities in every corner of the Nation and leverage the diverse skills, tools, and resources from a variety of sectors to have a lasting positive impact on lives, the economy, and our national security.
That’s why we’re so excited that critical partners from within and outside government are already stepping up to the President’s BRAIN Initiative Grand Challenge.
The BRAIN Initiative is launching with approximately $100 million in funding for research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget. 
Foundations and private research institutions are also investing in the neuroscience that will advance the BRAIN Initiative.  The Allen Institute for Brain Science, for example, will spend at least $60 million annually to support projects related to this initiative.  The Kavli Foundation plans to support BRAIN Initiative-related activities with approximately $4 million dollars per year over the next ten years.  The Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies will also dedicate research funding for projects that support the BRAIN Initiative.
This is just the beginning. We hope many more foundations, Federal agencies, philanthropists, non-profits, companies, and others will step up to the President’s call to action. 
Learn more about the BRAIN Initiative here and here.  
View the full-size infographic
Dr. Francis Collins is Director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Arati Prabhakar is Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Follow new developments relating to the BRAIN Initiative and other advances in science and technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog and @whitehouseostp on Twitter. 

Related Topics: Innovations

Obama to Unveil Initiative to Map the Human Brain

Obama to Unveil Initiative to Map the Human Brain


President Obama on Tuesday will announce a broad new research initiative, starting with $100 million in 2014, to invent and refine new technologies to understand the human brain, senior administration officials said Monday.
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Cori Bargmann of Rockefeller University will help lead a study of the brain in action.

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A senior administration scientist compared the new initiative to the Human Genome Project, in that it is directed at a problem that has seemed insoluble up to now: the recording and mapping of brain circuits in action in an effort to “show how millions of brain cells interact.”
It is different, however, in that it has, as yet, no clearly defined goals or endpoint. Coming up with those goals will be up to the scientists involved and may take more than year.
The effort will require the development of new tools not yet available to neuroscientists and, eventually, perhaps lead to progress in treating diseases like Alzheimer’s and epilepsy and traumatic brain injury. It will involve both government agencies and private institutions.
The initiative, which scientists involved in promoting the idea have been calling the Brain Activity Map project, will officially be known as Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, or Brain for short; it has been designated a grand challenge of the 21st century by the Obama administration.
Three government agencies will be involved: the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation. A working group at the N.I.H., described by the officials as a “dream team,” and led by Cori Bargmann of Rockefeller University and William Newsome of Stanford University, will be charged with coming up with a plan, a time frame, specific goals and cost estimates for future budgets.
The initiative exists as part of a vast landscape of neuroscience research supported by billions of dollars in federal money. But Dr. Newsome said that he thought a small amount of money applied in the right way could nudge neuroscience in a new direction.
“The goal here is a whole new playing field, whole new ways of thinking,” he said. “We are really out to catalyze a paradigm shift.”
Brain researchers can now insert wires in the brain of animals, or sometimes human beings, to record the electrical activity of brain cells called neurons, as they communicate with each other. But, Dr. Newsome said, they can record at most hundreds at a time.
New technology would need to be developed to record thousands or hundreds of thousands of neurons at once. And, Dr. Newsome said, new theoretical approaches, new mathematics and new computer science are all needed to deal with the amount of data that will be garnered.
As part of the initiative, the president will require a study of the ethical implications of these sorts of advances in neuroscience.
While news of the announcement has been greeted with enthusiasm by many researchers in fields as diverse as neuroscience, nanotechnology and computer science, there are skeptics.
“The underlying assumptions about ‘mapping the entire brain’ are very controversial,” said Donald Stein, a neuroscientist at Emory University in Atlanta. He said changes in brain chemistry were “not likely to be able to be imaged by the current technologies that these people are proposing.”
Emphasizing the development of technologies first, he said, is not a good approach. “I think the monies could be better spent by first figuring out what needs to be measured and then figuring out the most appropriate means to measure them.” he said. “In my mind, the technology ought to follow the concepts rather than the other way around.”
However, supporters of the initiative argued that it could have a similar impact as the Sputnik satellite had in the 1950s, when the United States started a significant nationwide effort to invest in science and technology.
“This is a different time,” said Michael Roukes, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology. “It makes sense to have a brain activity map now because the maturation of an array of nanotechnologies can be brought to bear on the problem.”
While the dollar amount committed by the Obama administration does not match the level of spending on the Human Genome Project, scientists said that whatever was spent on the brain initiative would have a significant multiplier effect. The Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif., is contributing money, said Terrence J. Sejnowski, head of the institute’s computational biology laboratory, adding that the project would have an impact at the neighboring University of California, San Diego, campus.
“One concrete example is that the chancellor has gotten excited about this and has decided that it is a great thing to invest in,” Dr. Sejnowski said. “That means hiring new faculty and creating new space.”
The project grew out of an interdisciplinary meeting of neuroscientists and nanoscientists in London in September 2011. Miyoung Chun, a molecular biologist who is vice president of scientific programs at the Kavli Foundation, had organized the conference. Her foundation, she said, supports the idea that the next big scientific discoveries will come from interdisciplinary research.
“Federal funding is scarce these days, and I realized we need inspiring projects that can awake everyone’s imagination,” she said. “It occurred to me that this is a very inspiring idea.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: April 4, 2013