Archive for October, 2011

US forces ‘massing on Afghanistan-Pakistan border’

By Dean Nelson

US forces are massing on the Pakistan border in eastern Afghanistan amid reports of an imminent drone missile offensive against fighters from the feared Haqqani Network, a Taliban faction which operates from safe havens in Pakistan’s North Waziristan Agency, Pakistan Army sources have confirmed.
US forces ‘massing on Afghanistan-Pakistan border’

The scale of the American build-up, including helicopter gunships, heavy artillery and hundreds of American and Afghan troops, caused panic in north Waziristan where tribal militias who feared they could be targeted gathered in the capital Miranshah to coordinate their response.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8834040/US-forces-massing-on-Afghanistan-Pakistan-border.html

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Could HR 822 be amended like the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986?

The fears presented in the previous post on the dangers of amendments to HR 822 are not unfounded, they are based on precedent, and the fact that the NRA seems to have ignored addressing this issue is troubling. The net result  in 1986 was that the “Firearm Owners Protection Act” created a de-facto ban on the ownership of “machine guns” from that day forward.

This was not the original intent of that legislation and yet that is the legislation that was passed into law.

I’m not a legal expert and I would love to have the NRA experts explain to us how another Firearm Owners Protection Act debacle can be avoided.

From: Wikipedia

Machine Gun Ban: The Hughes Amendment

As debate for FOPA was in its final stages in the House before moving on to the Senate, Rep. William J. Hughes (D-N.J.) proposed several amendments including House Amendment 777 to H.R. 4332 [4]that would ban a civilian from ownership or transfer rights of any fully automatic weapon which was not registered as of May 19, 1986. The amendment also held that any such weapon manufactured and registered before the May 19 cutoff date could still be legally owned and transferred by civilians.

In the morning hours of April 10, 1986, the House held recorded votes on three amendments to FOPA in Record Vote No’s 72, 73, and 74.

Recorded Vote 72 was on H.AMDT. 776, an amendment to H.AMDT 770 involving the interstate sale of handguns; while Recorded Vote 74 was on H.AMDT 770, involving primarily the easing of interstate sales and the safe passage provision.

Recorded Vote 74 was the controversial Hughes Amendment that called for the banning of machine guns. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), at the time presiding as Chairman over the proceedings, claimed that the “amendment in the nature of a substitute, as amended, was agreed to.” However, after the voice vote on the Hughes Amendment, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) ignored a plea to take a recorded vote and moved on to Recorded Vote 74 where the Hughes Amendment failed.[5][6]

The bill, H.R. 4332, as a whole passed in Record Vote No: 75 on a motion to recommit. Despite the controversial amendment, the Senate, in S.B. 49, adopted H.R. 4332 as an amendment to the final bill. The bill was subsequently passed and signed on May 19, 1986 by President Ronald Reagan to become Public Law 99-308, the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act.

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H.R. 822: Protecting Gun Owners rights or handing more control to the Federal Government?

The NRA has come out strongly in favor of H.R. 822, while the National Association for Gun Rights has taken the exact opposite view, warning that H.R. 822 is a dangerous threat to the rights of gun owners.

The National Association for Gun Rights calls the bill a “Trojan Horse”, warning that although the bill looks OK on the surface, it’s writers are naively allowing the Federal Government more control in an area that needs to remain solidly under the authority of the States.

The position of the National Association for Gun Rights is that the Constitution grants Americans the right to bear arms, we don’t need or want the Federal Government to have any more control, adding layers of bureaucracy, making it more difficult for Americans to own and carry firearms.

Dudley Brown, of the NAGR, says, “While the idea that all states should recognize a concealed weapons permit is sound public policy, the use of the anti-gun federal bureaucracy to implement it is simply foolish.”

The NAGR warns that the current bill makes it too easy for a rider or amendment to be slipped in, turning H.R. 822 from a positive-sounding measure to something that hands more power to the Federal Government – that gun owners face the serious risk politicians will pull a fast one and gun owners will lose ground that we will not be able to take back.

Dudley Brown said,

“So-called “pro-gun” Republicans even KILLED an amendment that would have allowed permit holders to defend themselves in the District of Columbia, one of the most dangerous cities in the country.

Over the past two days, amendments have been offered to require REAL ID-type government requirements on state CCW permits as well as giving Eric Holder the power to classify even more gun owners as “terrorists.”

And while these amendments may have failed in the House, Harry Reid’s Senate is sure to put the screws to gun owners.

The Senate DOES have the votes to impose a HOST of anti-gun amendments to H.R. 822 much like they have done with legislation in the past.”

http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/hostedemail/email.htm?h=7f78ca591c0132be677734e4b7c67219&CID=10092178493&ch=7DEEFFDE6801753738D7D7F4BA3F6C33

Brown also warns:

“This bill isn’t just about the right to carry for self defense — it’s a battle over the role of government and the ability to restrict our Second Amendment rights.

Many statists in Washington will co-opt H.R. 822 as part of their grab for more federal power and less individual liberty.”

That is the real danger here.

These are few of the potential threats the NAGR says could result from H.R. 822 being passed:

  • More onerous standards to acquire a permit, so that only FBI agents can pass muster (look at New York’s permit system);
  • Higher fees;
  • More training requirements;
  • A demonstration of “Need” for a permit;
  • More frequent renewal periods;
  • Federally-mandated waiting periods;
  • A national database of all permit holders, accessible by Attorney General Eric Holder;
  • An extensive, federally-created list of Criminal Safezones, where only criminals will carry and where law-abiding gun owners are vulnerable

We’d like to think that the NRA stands solidly with gun owners, that they are using their political and financial clout to protect the rights of gun owners, but there is a precedent for bills starting out to be supportive of gun rights but winding up actually legislating stricter gun control.

A classic example of this was the the bill H.R. 4332, which eventually became the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act.

“The gun rights movement lobbied Congress to pass the FOPA to prevent the abuse of regulatory power — in particular, to address claims that the ATF was repeatedly inspecting FFL holders for the apparent purpose of harassment intended to drive the FFL holders out of business (as the FFL holders would constantly be having to tend to ATF inspections instead of to customers).”

The Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 addressed the abuses noted in the 1982 Senate Judiciary Subcommittee report. Gun rights advocates pushed for it and this is what they got:

  • It reopened interstate sales of long guns on a limited basis, allowed ammunition shipments through the U.S. Postal Service (a partial repeal of the Gun Control Act),
  • ended record keeping on ammunition sales, except for armor piercing,
  • permitted travel between states supportive of Second Amendment rights even through those areas less supportive of these rights, and
  • addressed several other issues that had effectively restricted Second Amendment rights.

“However, the act also contained a provision that banned the sale of machine guns manufactured after the date of enactment to civilians, restricting sales of these weapons to the military and law enforcement.

Thus, in the ensuing years, the limited supply of these arms available to civilians has caused an enormous increase in their price, with most costing in excess of $10,000.”

So, although H.R. 4332 was intended to improve the status of gun owners, the Hughes Amendment ended up banning machine guns – which has not been reversed. In an Orwellian turn of events, the “Firearms Owners’ Protection Act” ended up preventing Americans from owning an entire class of firearms.

Rights are easy to lose and very difficult to re-gain.

 

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When there are no Sheep Dogs, the Sheep are attacked.

This is a disturbing video, hard to watch, but it illustrates an important principle.

“It shows a mentally disabled woman being mocked, spit on, then punched in the face at a Sacramento strip mall on Mack Road.

Regular customers and neighbors weren’t surprised by the video. They say this type of disrespect, and abuse, goes on all the time.

But it’s difficult to watch. A woman who appears mentally impaired is punched in the face. It all started while she stood in front of a doughnut shop where she is taunted by a group of guys who sound as if they’re spitting on her.

Then she’s shoved in the face and laughed at.

After that she snaps and chases her attackers, asking why they’re hurting her.

“Why you slapping me, huh?” she can be heard asking.

After that a man punches her in the face, knocking her to the ground, where she can be heard moaning.”

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2011/10/11/video-shows-brutal-attack-at-sacramento-strip-mall/

If you watch the news video, you’ll see one woman, after being shown footage of the punks attacking the woman, say,

“Wish I would have been there. It wouldn’t have gone down just quite like that.”
“What would you have done?”
“I’d have stepped in.”

That is the nature of a sheep dog – to step in when something unacceptable is happening in front of them.

It is the nature of a predator to go after the weak. If good people do not stay strong and intervene, bad people will attack anyone who is vulnerable.

You don’t reason with a predator, you don’t have a discussion with them about the error of their ways. You step in and stop them. This takes force and strength, not noble intentions and lofty views on the inherent goodness of humanity.

If good people do not equip themselves with what they need to counter the attacks of bad people, then those we care about and our weak, vulnerable neighbors will be at the mercy of predators.

And predators have no mercy.

Regarding the woman in the video:

“When the police got there, they spoke to her,” Sgt. Andrew Pettit of the Sacramento Police Department said. “She refused medical attention and she refused prosecution.”

Police are now actively searching for these men, and they’ll use their IT specialists to track down the source of that video.”

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NATO, Afghan forces kill 13 insurgents in operation in northern Afghanistan

From: Washington Post

KABUL, Afghanistan — NATO and Afghan forces killed 13 insurgents in an overnight operation targeting local Taliban leaders in northern Afghanistan, officials said Friday.

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Panetta assails plan for U.S. military cuts

From: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday sharpened his rhetoric against a measure that could force across-the-board cuts of nearly $1 trillion to U.S. defense spending, calling it a “goofy meat-axed approach.”

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Iran allegedly collaborated with a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to USA

“Iran allegedly collaborated with a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the USA.

This circumstance shows the danger of a porous southern border, the danger of Mexican drug cartels, and of course, the danger of the Iranian government.

Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old U.S. citizen who also holds an Iranian passport, unknowingly hired an informant from the Drug Enforcement Administration to carry out the plot, prosecutors said. Posing as a member of a Mexican drug cartel, the informant met with Arbabsiar several times in Mexico, authorities said. The price tag was $1.5 million and Arabsiar made a $100,000 down payment.

Arbabsiar was arrested Sept. 29 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.”

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/iran-attack-through-mexican-minions

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2 Iranian Special Operations Members Charged in Alleged Plot to Kill Saudi Ambassador to US

“On Tuesday, accused agents of the Iranian government were accused of being involved in a plan to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the thwarted plot would further isolate Tehran.

Two people, including a member of Iran’s special operations unit known as the Quds Force, were charged in New York federal court. Justice Department officials say they were working with a person they thought was an associate of a Mexican drug cartel to target the Saudi diplomat, Adel Al-Jubeir. But their contact was an informant for the Drug Enforcement Agency who told U.S. authorities about all their planning.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/AmbassadorPlot-Arrests/2011/10/11/id/414012?s=al&promo_code=D3C7-1

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Computer Virus Hits U.S. Drone Fleet

From: Danger Room

A computer virus has infected the cockpits of America’s Predator and Reaper drones, logging pilots’ every keystroke as they remotely fly missions over Afghanistan and other warzones.

Computer Virus Hits U.S. Drone Fleet

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10 More Dead Found in Mexican Port of Veracruz

“Mexican officials say 10 more bodies have been found in what appears to be more bloodshed in the battle between rival cartels for control of drug trafficking in the port city of Veracruz.

The discoveries raise the number of deaths since Sept. 20 to at least 75 as the relatively new Jalisco New Generation gang claims to be attacking members of the Zetas cartel.”

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/10-dead-found-mexican-port-veracruz-14697388

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‘Zeta Killers’ Kill 32 More in Mexico

(MEXICO CITY) — “A relatively new drug gang is responsible for killing at least 67 people whose bodies were found over the course of a couple of weeks in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, Mexican authorities said Friday.

Marines arrested eight members of the Jalisco New Generation drug gang Thursday, navy spokesman Jose Luis Vergara told a news conference. The suspects later led authorities to 32 bodies left in three houses in Veracruz, a port city that carries the state’s name.

Vergara said the gang is also responsible for dumping 35 bound, tortured bodies on a busy boulevard in a suburb of Veracruz on Sept. 20”.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2096508,00.html#ixzz1a9Lxb36x

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Yemen: Fallout from the al-Awlaki Airstrike

Yemen: Fallout from the al-Awlaki Airstrike is republished with permission of STRATFOR.

By Scott Stewart

U.S.-born Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an ideologue and spokesman for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al Qaeda’s franchise in Yemen, was killed in a Sept. 30 airstrike directed against a motorcade near the town of Khashef in Yemen’s al-Jawf province. The strike, which occurred at 9:55 a.m. local time, reportedly was conducted by a U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and may have also involved fixed-wing naval aircraft. Three other men were killed in the strike, one of whom was Samir Khan, the creator and editor of AQAP’s English-language magazine Inspire.

Al-Awlaki has been targeted before; in fact, he had been declared dead on at least two occasions. The first time followed a December 2009 airstrike in Shabwa province, and the second followed a May 5 airstrike, also in Shabwa. In light of confirmation from the U.S. and Yemeni governments and from statements made by al-Awlaki’s family members, it appears that he is indeed dead this time. We anticipate that AQAP soon will issue an official statement confirming the deaths of al-Awlaki and Khan. Read the rest of this entry »

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Afghanistan – The Longest War

From: CBS

Ten years ago this week, U.S. forces went to war in Afghanistan to root out the terrorists who attacked America on 9/11, and to topple the Taliban government that gave them safe haven.

That’s been done, but Taliban insurgents – using Pakistan as a base – fight on, and the top U.S. general in Afghanistan says that the U.S. troops will remain there for a “long time,” likely far beyond a planned 2014 handover of security responsiblity.

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Afghanistan, Who is the Enemy?

From: LA Times

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan— After 10 years of fighting in Afghanistan, Western forces and their Afghan allies are finding no simple answer to a seemingly straightforward question: Who, exactly, is the enemy?

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Joseph Carmichael Jr., a Carrier Hero, Dies at 96

“It was midmorning on May 11, 1945, near the Japanese island of Kyushu when the Bunker Hill, an aircraft carrier with dozens of planes and vast stores of fuel and ammunition on its flight deck, was struck by two kamikaze planes in suicide attacks within minutes of each other.

Lt. Cmdr. Joseph R. Carmichael Jr., the Bunker Hill’s chief engineer, had just finished his shift and was in his office doing paperwork. “He could definitely have stayed there and never been criticized,” said Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, the author of “Danger’s Hour: The Story of the U.S.S. Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her.” The book recounts what could have been a far more calamitous day but for the bravery of Commander Carmichael and his engineering crew.

“Instead,” Mr. Kennedy said in an interview on Wednesday, “he ran down through five decks, passing sailors who were evacuating, and made it to the engine compartment about 25 feet below sea level. This was in a ship that he knew was burning above him and could sink at any moment.”

Commander Carmichael, who would receive the Navy Cross for “extraordinary heroism” in keeping the Bunker Hill afloat that day, but who would never forget the loss of many men under his direct command, died on Monday in Manhattan after a long illness, said his wife, Jeanne. He was 96.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/us/joseph-r-carmichael-jr-hero-of-uss-bunker-hill-dies-at-96.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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