Monday, April 22, 2013
This is not, of course, the first time we’ve seen an apparent eagerness from the Obama administration to minimize or dismiss the possibility of broader ties to international terrorism after attacks or attempted attacks on U.S. interests.
“In this age of instant reporting and tweets and blogs, there's a temptation to latch on to any bit of information, sometimes to jump to conclusions,” said President Obama, in the late evening of April 19, after Dzokhar Tsarnaev was captured alive in Watertown, Mass. “But when a tragedy like this happens, with public safety at risk and the stakes so high, it's important that we do this right. That's why we have investigations. That's why we relentlessly gather the facts. That's why we have courts. And that's why we take care not to rush to judgment -- not about the motivations of these individuals; certainly not about entire groups of people.”
◼ Don’t Rule Out Anything - Stephen F. Hayes/Weekly Standard
Three days after the attempted bombing of an airplane on Christmas Day 2009, President Obama suggested that the attempted attack was the work of “an isolated extremist.” He made the claim despite the fact that the bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, told interrogators in interviews shortly after his capture that he’d worked with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Five months later, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano called the attempted bombing of Times Square by Faisal Shahzad a “one off” attack. Other administration officials downplayed the likelihood of ties to foreign jihadists. But several days later, Attorney General Eric Holder acknowledged that the Pakistani Taliban “helped facilitate” the attack. “We know that they probably helped finance it and that he was working at their direction.”
Perhaps most famously, the Obama administration downplayed involvement of al Qaeda affiliated terrorists in the attacks in Benghazi on September 11, 2012. Despite ample evidence of their involvement – including real-time reporting from U.S. officials on the ground in Benghazi, a memo September 12 from the CIA station chief in Tripoli with details of the attacks and who conducted them, and communications intercepts from those involved in the assault – administration officials for days (even weeks) suggested that the attacks came spontaneously in response to an anti-Islam video.
These initial assessments fit nicely with the administration’s broader narrative about the end of the War on Terror and the imminent demise of al Qaeda. They were also wrong.
Why, then, would U.S. intelligence officials be ruling out ties to jihadist groups – or ruling out anything, for that matter – so early?
◼ The Story Behind the Bombers - Christopher Dickey, Eli Lake, Daniel Klaidman/Daily Beast
Americans tend to forget the long list of “holy wars” over the past 20 years, from Chechnya to Somalia to Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, the hinterlands of Pakistan. But all were—and remain—potential spawning grounds for terrorists who want to put their cause in the public eye. Terrorists are usually young men who see themselves almost in chivalrous terms defending oppressed people—and not always their own. (Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s YouTube page is full of videos with references to Muslim knights of old.) They want global respect, or at least a global audience, for their acts. And where better to do that than in the United States? When better than at a public event watched by millions?
◼ Tamerlan Tsarnaev Was 5th Person Since 9-11 to Participate in Terrorist Activities Despite Being Under Federal Investigation - Gateway Pundit
◼ The “Mysterious Motive” Cover-Up on the Boston Attack Begins - Barry Rubin/PJM
Now that the two (main at least) terrorists from the Boston Marathon attack have been killed or captured we enter a new phase, the phase in which the dominant Politically Correct (but Factually Incorrect) forces try to explain away the attack.
Can this be done? Will they really try? Well, yes. True, as one of my correspondents remarked it is much easier to obfuscate far distant Benghazi than the total shutdown and horror in the middle of a major American city. Yet the spin-masters are already at work.
◼ Reminder: Boston bombers not the first refugee jihadist brothers to plot against America - Michelle Malkin
◼ Don’t Rule Out Anything - Stephen F. Hayes/Weekly Standard
Three days after the attempted bombing of an airplane on Christmas Day 2009, President Obama suggested that the attempted attack was the work of “an isolated extremist.” He made the claim despite the fact that the bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, told interrogators in interviews shortly after his capture that he’d worked with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Five months later, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano called the attempted bombing of Times Square by Faisal Shahzad a “one off” attack. Other administration officials downplayed the likelihood of ties to foreign jihadists. But several days later, Attorney General Eric Holder acknowledged that the Pakistani Taliban “helped facilitate” the attack. “We know that they probably helped finance it and that he was working at their direction.”
Perhaps most famously, the Obama administration downplayed involvement of al Qaeda affiliated terrorists in the attacks in Benghazi on September 11, 2012. Despite ample evidence of their involvement – including real-time reporting from U.S. officials on the ground in Benghazi, a memo September 12 from the CIA station chief in Tripoli with details of the attacks and who conducted them, and communications intercepts from those involved in the assault – administration officials for days (even weeks) suggested that the attacks came spontaneously in response to an anti-Islam video.
These initial assessments fit nicely with the administration’s broader narrative about the end of the War on Terror and the imminent demise of al Qaeda. They were also wrong.
Why, then, would U.S. intelligence officials be ruling out ties to jihadist groups – or ruling out anything, for that matter – so early?
◼ The Story Behind the Bombers - Christopher Dickey, Eli Lake, Daniel Klaidman/Daily Beast
Americans tend to forget the long list of “holy wars” over the past 20 years, from Chechnya to Somalia to Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, the hinterlands of Pakistan. But all were—and remain—potential spawning grounds for terrorists who want to put their cause in the public eye. Terrorists are usually young men who see themselves almost in chivalrous terms defending oppressed people—and not always their own. (Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s YouTube page is full of videos with references to Muslim knights of old.) They want global respect, or at least a global audience, for their acts. And where better to do that than in the United States? When better than at a public event watched by millions?
◼ Tamerlan Tsarnaev Was 5th Person Since 9-11 to Participate in Terrorist Activities Despite Being Under Federal Investigation - Gateway Pundit
◼ The “Mysterious Motive” Cover-Up on the Boston Attack Begins - Barry Rubin/PJM
Now that the two (main at least) terrorists from the Boston Marathon attack have been killed or captured we enter a new phase, the phase in which the dominant Politically Correct (but Factually Incorrect) forces try to explain away the attack.
Can this be done? Will they really try? Well, yes. True, as one of my correspondents remarked it is much easier to obfuscate far distant Benghazi than the total shutdown and horror in the middle of a major American city. Yet the spin-masters are already at work.
◼ Reminder: Boston bombers not the first refugee jihadist brothers to plot against America - Michelle Malkin
Feinstein: Buy a shotgun to defend yourself from terrorists
◼ Show host Chris Wallace asked Feinstein if Americans should have the right to defend their homes with a high-powered semi-automatic rifle, referring to the incident last week in Watertown, Mass., where law enforcement officials pursued two suspected terrorists on the run. - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @charlesspiering
Feinstein indicated that she didn’t find the scenario applicable as there were “police all over the place” during the hunt for the terrorist fugitive in Watertown.
“I think there are people that want to make this argument, but 12-gauge shotgun, there are many weapons, 2,000-plus weapons that are available to people for choice without an assault weapon,” Feinstein explained.
Feinstein cited the Vice President Joe Biden’s promotion of the use of a shotgun for self-defense.
Labels:
Dianne Feinstein,
Gun Control,
Terrorism
Eureka woman's hard drive containing master's thesis stolen; Reward being offered
◼ Lynch had hoped to graduate from the Humboldt State University's Environment and Community Master of Arts in Social Science program by the end of the summer, but that may now be put on hold. - Lorna Rodriguez/The Times-Standard
On the night of April 3 or early morning of April 4, Leanne Lynch's home near O and Buhne streets in Eureka was broken into.
Her jewelry -- including heirlooms from her great-grandmother -- Kodak camera, laptop and most importantly, the external hard drive and flash drives that had all of her work saved on them, were taken.
”They stole every piece of data that I have,” Lynch said. “All the projects that I've done since I started school.”
”I had extra copies -- the things that you do in case it fails,” she said. “But never did I think someone would break into my home. I never imagined this would happen.”
On the night of April 3 or early morning of April 4, Leanne Lynch's home near O and Buhne streets in Eureka was broken into.
Her jewelry -- including heirlooms from her great-grandmother -- Kodak camera, laptop and most importantly, the external hard drive and flash drives that had all of her work saved on them, were taken.
”They stole every piece of data that I have,” Lynch said. “All the projects that I've done since I started school.”
”I had extra copies -- the things that you do in case it fails,” she said. “But never did I think someone would break into my home. I never imagined this would happen.”
Labels:
Local News
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Imagine That: Mosque Tamerlan Tsarnaev Attended Gave Money to Two Terrorist Charities Which Govt. Shut Down
◼ An autumn 2007 City Journal article ("A SLAPP Against Freedom") by Judith Miller recounts the history of the mosque's attempts to silence its critics, otherwise known as SLAPPs (“strategic litigation against public participation suits, which aim not at winning in court, but at intimidating into silence a group or a publication raising issues of public concern"), and how they backfired - Tom Blumer/Newsbusters
...It's reasonable to believe that the nature of ISB's past financial involvement in funding the Holy Land Foundation and BIF, which in turn funded terrorist groups, would be something in which the bombings' victims, their families, and the public in general would be keenly interested -- especially since Tamerlan's uncle blames unidentified "mentors" for radicalizing him. Did some of these alleged radicalizers "just so happen" to be ISB members?
...It's reasonable to believe that the nature of ISB's past financial involvement in funding the Holy Land Foundation and BIF, which in turn funded terrorist groups, would be something in which the bombings' victims, their families, and the public in general would be keenly interested -- especially since Tamerlan's uncle blames unidentified "mentors" for radicalizing him. Did some of these alleged radicalizers "just so happen" to be ISB members?
Labels:
#BostonMarathon,
bombs,
Islam/Muslim,
Terrorism
Ophthalmologists walk out of Obamacare talk at national medical meeting
In past,our gov relations session was well attended-Gov minion is droning on as virtually all Drs have walked out! twitter.com/kksheld/status…
— Kris Held,MD (@kksheld) April 21, 2013
◼ Dr. Kristin Held, a San Antonio-based opthamologist, is live-tweeting the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Government Relations session. The conference is being held this weekend in San Francisco. - Twitchy
The topic of the Government Relations session is complying with and implementing Obamacare. Dr. Held doesn’t like what’s she’s hearing, and she’s not the only one. Indeed, almost all the doctors have walked out of the meeting.
@riptalkinsports Im staying to the bitter end to make comment and ask how gov plans to do all this with NO Doctors?
— Kris Held,MD (@kksheld) April 21, 2013
Labels:
Obamacare,
ObamaTAX,
Physician Shortages
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