Full-Body Scanners to Fry Travelers With Radiation

http://noworldsystem.com/2009/12/31/full-body-scanners-to-fry-travelers-with-radiation/
Virtually all passengers and airline crews who pass through airport screening checkpoints in the U.S. may soon be forced to submit to compulsory, whole-body X-ray exposure.

A path has been cleared for the government to publicly roll out dangerous full-body scanners after the failed terrorist attempt on flight 253. Neocons are quaking for the government to implement the human x-ray machines on a nationwide scale, radiating travelers with unhealthy amounts of ionic radiation all for the sake of preventing the next Mutallab from boarding another U.S. airliner.

No Rise of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Fraction in Past 160 Years, New Research Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091230184221.htm
New research finds that the airborne fraction of carbon dioxide has not increased either during the past 150 years or during the most recent five decades, contrary to some recent studies.

Most of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity does not remain in the atmosphere, but is instead absorbed by the oceans and terrestrial ecosystems.

Quick! Lets get this info over to the Council on Foreign Relations who published The Geoengineering Option: The Last Resort Against Global Warming which says, "Eliminating all the risks of climate change is impossible because carbon dioxide emissions, the chief human contribution to global warming, are unlike conventional air pollutants, which stay in the atmosphere for only hours or days. Once carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere, much of it remains for over a hundred years."

Oh and certainly goes against what this dude says....

Obama administration prepares public opinion for attack on Yemen

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/dec2009/yeme-d31.shtml
Five days after the unsuccessful attempt by a Nigerian student to set off a bomb aboard a Detroit-bound passenger jet, US military and intelligence officials are said to be preparing expanded military action against targets in Yemen, the Arab country where the student allegedly received terrorist training and was equipped with an explosive device.

A series of US media reports suggest that new US-backed military attacks inside Yemen are imminent. Citing “two senior US officials,” CNN reported: “The US and Yemen are now looking at fresh targets for a potential retaliation strike.”

John Yoo: Obama Is A Continuation Of Bush On Executive Powers

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/31/john-yoo-obama-is-a-conti_n_408441.html
In his new book, former Bush administration attorney and infamous torture memo collaborator John Yoo favorably argues that President Barack Obama is wielding executive powers in the same manner as his White House predecessor.

Trial Transcript Reveals Agent Provacatuer Hal Turner was "National Security Intelligence" and an "FBI Agent"

http://family-of-hal-turner.blogspot.com/2009/12/trial-transcript-reveals-hal-turner-was.html
Brooklyn, NY -- The trial of radio host Hal Turner lead to some startling revelations which the media has barely covered. We have obtained the official Transcript of the trial and provide some details that you may find interesting.

According to Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Amy Pickett, the third highest ranking FBI Official in New York City, Hal Turner was involved in "National Security Intelligence." According to Pickett's testimony whioch appears in a scanned image of the official Trial transcript below, Hal Turner dealt with "National Securtity Intelligence, terrorism and foreign counterintelligence" while he serveed with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).

For those who don't know the story.. Hal Turner was a FBI trained agent provocateur. “His job was basically to publish information which would cause other parties to act in a manner which would lead to their arrest,” Michael Orozco told the Associated Press.

Hal Turner specifically attempted to appeal to the patriot movement and the constitutionalists.

Turner told his blog readers to “take up arms” against Connecticut lawmakers. He also said government officials should “obey the Constitution or die.” In June he wrote that the Illinois federal appeals judges “deserve to be killed” because they issued a ruling that upheld ordinances in Chicago and suburban Oak Park banning handguns. Turner included photos of the judges and the room numbers of their chambers at the courthouse.

It should serve as a wake-up call that the FBI trained him as an agent provocateur.

eyewitness: "the FBI has changed their story AGAIN": Officials Claim Second Man Unrelated To Christmas Attack

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091230/METRO/912300417/Second-airport-arrest-unrelated-to-attack

“Federal officials did take a second person into custody at Detroit Metropolitan Airport shortly after an attempted bombing incident on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, but the passenger who got handcuffed was off a different flight, and the incident was not related, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official said today,” reports the Detroit News.

Wait, so at first the FBI denied that there even was a second man. Then yesterday officials changed the story and admitted a second man was detained after several eyewitnesses came forward and said there was. Now officials say the second arrest is unrelated to Flight 253. 

How come days later when FBI agents interviewed eyewitness Kurt Haskell, did they show him photographs of the well dressed Indian man, suggesting they knew or suspected he was connected to the incident? 

How about the FBI release the video of the airport terminal? 

Comment by Lori Haskell (eyewitness):

This is Lori Haskell. Even more disturbing info came out today on mLive. Now the FBI has changed their story AGAIN and is stating that a second man from our flight was NOT arrested, that it was actually a guy from another flight and that many flights were walking thru our area of customs. This is a total lie. The man we saw detained stood by us and exited the plane with us. Also, the area we were standing in had been emptied before we got there and nobody but us and police/customs/FBI were there. This is getting really scary for us. The FBI is very obviously covering something up for some reason. Anyway, thanks for the supportive posts.

 

Tea Party activists bitter about GOP ‘hijacking’ movement

 http://rawstory.com/2009/12/maddow-gop-lobbyist-attempt-to-hijack-tea-party-movement/
As Raw Story reported last month, the firm's apparent goal is to channel populist Tea Party discontent into Republican electoral victories in 2010 and 2012. Members of the more genuinely grassroots Tea Party Patriots have been expressing their anger over this for months, and Talking Points Memo has now obtained an email from one Patriot asking, "What would the true grassroots people think if they knew their money is being spent in this manner?"

Hummingbird bot could track crooks, explore Mars

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10422681-1.html
Researchers at Japan's Chiba University are developing a hummingbird-style flying robot that could be used to find people trapped in collapsed buildings, search for criminals, or even explore other planets.

Engineering professor Hiroshi Liu said the micro air vehicle, or MAV, is equipped with a mini motor that allows it to flap its wings up to 30 times per second--roughly in the same range as a hummingbird.

New York Bans Backpacks in Times Square During New Year Celebration

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a.8BZwVod.FI
Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- New York is banning backpacks in Times Square, Bangkok tightened security and Sydney cracked down on public drinking as police around the world geared up for millions of New Year’s Eve revelers.

The cities said the extra police presence was in the works even before the arrest this week of a 23-year-old Nigerian for trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines jet. An al-Qaeda group took responsibility for the attempt and threatened more attacks.

Keepin' the fear flowing like the salmon of capistrano...

WHO chief yet to be vaccinated against swine flu

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article
GENEVA — World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan revealed Tuesday that she has yet to be vaccinated against the swine flu virus, which has killed over 11,500 people world-wide.

"I have asked my medical service to enquire where I can go to get my vaccination," she told reporters in Geneva, pointing out that she has just returned from leave.

Are Presidents Afraid of the CIA?

By Ray McGovern
December 29, 2009
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/122909b.html

Not Just Paranoia

President Obama stands in the tradition of a dozen American presidents. Harry Truman and John Kennedy were the only ones to take on the CIA directly. 

Truman wrote that he was “disturbed by the way CIA has been diverted from its original assignment” to keep the President promptly and fully informed and had become “an operational and at times policy-making arm of the government.”

[During a 27-year career at CIA, Ray McGovern served under nine CIA directors and in all four of CIA’s main directorates, including operations. He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).]

Serco - The biggest UK company you have never heard of

Traffic lights, prisons, air traffic control and much more...

How Goldman Sachs Made Tens Of Billions Of Dollars From The Economic Collapse Of America In Four Easy Steps

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/how-goldman-sachs-made-tens-of-billions-of-dollars-from-the-economic-collapse-of-america-in-four-easy-steps

The following is how Goldman Sachs made tens of billions of dollars from the economic collapse of America in four easy steps...

Step 1: Sell mortgage-related securities that are absolute junk to trusting clients at vastly overinflated prices.
Step 2: Bet against those same mortgage-related securities and make massive bets against the U.S. housing market so that your firm will make massive profits when the U.S. economy collapses.
Step 3: Have ex-Goldman executives in key positions of power in the U.S. government so that bailout money can be funneled to entities such as AIG that Goldman has made these bets with so that they can get paid after they win their bets.
Step 4: Collect the profits - Goldman Sachs is having their "most successful year" and will end up reporting approximately $50 billion in revenue for 2009.

NYPD Closes Down Times Square in Response to Suspicious Van

Dow Jones Newswire    December 30, 2009
A New York Police Department spokesman said it was too early in the investigation to comment on the nature of a suspicious van in Times Square on Wednesday, but police had evacuated some nearby buildings as a precaution.



OK, lets recap.. in the last week have an Underwear bomber who was escorted onto the plane without a passport by a man in a suit and then was filmed on the plane, a suspected Capitol hill gunman, National Guard to the NY airports, full body scanners, expanded war plans to Yemen, and now a suspicious van in Times Square. Oh, and its all believed to be linked to Al-Qaeda. 

And what's going on with the healthcare bill?

US, Yemen gear up for flight 253 retaliatory strike

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114979&sectionid=351020206
Press TV   December 30, 2009
Washington and Sana'a are reviewing targets for a possible retaliation strike on Yemeni soil in the wake of a failed Christmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound airliner, which al-Qaeda in Yemen claims to have organized.

Two senior US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNN on Tuesday that the effort is aimed at devising options for the White House, in case President Barack Obama orders a retaliatory strike.

Bankers Get $4 Trillion Gift From Barney Frank: David Reilly

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=a48c8UpUMxKQ
Commentary by David Reilly
Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- To close out 2009, I decided to do something I bet no member of Congress has done -- actually read from cover to cover one of the pieces of sweeping legislation bouncing around Capitol Hill. 

Hunkering down by the fire, I snuggled up with H.R. 4173, the financial-reform legislation passed earlier this month by the House of Representatives. The Senate has yet to pass its own reform plan. The baby of Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, the House bill is meant to address everything from too-big-to-fail banks to asleep-at-the-switch credit-ratings companies to the protection of consumers from greedy lenders.

French court throws out Sarkozy’s carbon tax

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/court-throws-out-sarkozys-carbon-tax-20091230-ljyq.html  
PARIS: France's new carbon emission tax, due to have gone into effect tomorrow, has been ruled illegal by the country's constitutional court because it exempted too many polluters.

The Conseil Constitutionnel struck down the tax on Tuesday because the exemptions breached ''the principle of [tax] equality''.

Officials Admit Second Man Detained As More Witnesses Emerge

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/12/flight_253_passenger_tells_msn.html
The news about a person being taken into custody comes after two passengers aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 said they saw a second man being taken away in handcuffs on Christmas Day while they and others were waiting to be interviewed by FBI agents at the airport.

Kurt Haskell, a Taylor, Mich., attorney who says he was seated a few rows behind suspected terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, told MLive.com on Saturday that he saw a second man taken into custody after search dogs appeared to find something in his carry-on bag.

Daniel Huisinga of Fairview, Tenn., who was returning from an internship in Kenya for the holidays, says he also saw a man being taken away in handcuffs at the airport after a dog search. A third person, Roey Rosenblith, told The Huffington Post on Sunday that he saw a man in a suit being placed into handcuffs and escorted out, as well.

So why does the FBI say this?

Bill Carter, a spokesman with the FBI in Washington, D.C., said in an interview Tuesday that Abdulmutallab was the only person arrested or charged in relation to Friday's foiled attack.

Secret CIA Jails in Lithuania: Legacy of Nazi Collaborationism

http://en.fondsk.ru/article.php?id=2678
Nil Nikandrov
Strategic Culture Foundation
December 30, 2009

"The exact number of inmates who had been to the CIA jails in Lithuania is unknown. In most cases, eight individuals are reported to have been held in the Antaviliai torture chamber by the time it was closed in November, 2005. The truth is that chartered planes from Afghanistan came to Lithuania with certain regularity, and the number of people tortured had probably been some ten times higher."

Sen. Hatch admits GOP ’standard practice’ was to run up deficit

 http://rawstory.com/2009/12/hatch-admits-gop-standard-practice/
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow believes she has found the smoking gun proving Republicans' hypocrisy on health care and the budget deficit: an admission by Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch that, during the Bush administration, "it was standard practice not to pay for things."

Capitol Hill Briefly On Lockdown After Reports Of A Man With A Gun

 http://www.businessinsider.com/capitol-hill-briefly-on-lockdown-after-reports-of-a-man-with-a-gun-2009-12
Another incident in what's turning out to be a very jittery winter.
Capitaol Hill was briefly on lockdown this afternoon after reports of a man with a gun.

“EcoSnoop” iPhone App Designed for Ratting Out Neighbors

http://www.takepart.com/news/2009/12/29/is-your-neighbor-wasting-energy-theres-an-app-for-that
Is Your Neighbor Wasting Energy? There's an App for That.

Listen up, all you eco-warriors: Your days of griping in vain about neighborhood energy waste may be coming to an end. Finally, there's a tool that we normal folks can use to report environmentally negligent behavior. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to EcoSnoop.

The EcoSnoop app lets individuals report on wastage of water, energy, trash or toxic pollutants. You can view cases filed near you via GPS and add documentation using photos and commentary. You can create your own complaints if, for example, your grocery store is leaving the parking lot lights on during the day or your neighbor is dumping oil down the drain.

The Conservative vs Liberal Tail Chase

http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2009/12/27/the-conservative-vs-liberal-tail-chase/
Witness the Republicans vs. the Democrats; the liberals vs. the conservatives; FOX vs. MSNBC; and the independents who are lost in the melee.

The state of politics in America is little different than that which the early Americans experienced in their time. The system is so ill-defined, chaotic and confusing. The smell of corruption is behind almost every politician’s door.

We argue and squabble and blame. Politics is in its prime. Democrats and Republicans, conservatives, liberals and independents…. We’re all missing the boat. There is a big picture here. We are all the same. We are not the elites; we are the working class. We have, in essence, the same needs. Why do we argue with one another?

Corporatocracy: Follow The Money

http://18evolution.blogspot.com/2009/11/only-political-party-in-america.html
A growing number of Americans and researchers suggest that many corporations in the U.S. contribute to both Democrats and Republicans, so that no matter who wins the election, corporations can still exert their influence in Washington.  But, does this line of thought have any merit?  As they say, let's simply "follow the money".

New York Governor Orders National Guard To Airports

http://www.wicz.com/news2005/viewarticle.asp?a=12036
Travelers Advised to Allow Extra Time for Airport Security
Heightened Screening Measures Ensure Passenger Safety

Governor David A. Paterson today advised passengers traveling into or out of New York airports to allow extra time to check in and continue through security screenings prior to their flights. As these measures will add time to standard pre-flight procedures, travelers should arrive an additional hour earlier to mitigate delays.

Calls for Full-Body Screening Devices Grow After Terror Attempt

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a4fzip9qPK44
Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- A suspected terrorist’s attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner may override privacy concerns and intensify a push for full-body scanning equipment at airports.

Ron Paul Says Agenda Behind Bombing Incident Is More War, More Attacks On Liberty

Congressman Ron Paul fears that the agenda behind the Flight 253 bombing incident is to expand the war on terror into Yemen while stripping Americans of more liberties, warning that it’s time people woke up and realized that the government cannot guarantee their safety.

Watch the clip below.

Chris Hedges: One Day We’ll All Be Terrorists

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/one_day_well_all_be_terrorists_20091228/

Syed Fahad Hashmi can tell you about the dark heart of America. He knows that our First Amendment rights have become a joke, that habeas corpus no longer exists and that we torture, not only in black sites such as those at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan or at Guantánamo Bay, but also at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Lower Manhattan.

Tarpley On RT: Foiled Underwear Bomber is Intelligence Patsy

http://rt.com/Politics/2009-12-29/detroit-terror-act-fake.html#
The recent failed attack on a US passenger jet traveling from Amsterdam to Detroit was a set-up provocation controlled by US intelligence, author and journalist Webster Tarpley stated to RT.

“[The terrorist’s] father, a rich Nigerian banker, went to the US embassy in Nigeria on November 19 and said ‘my son is in Yemen in a terrorist camp, do something about this.’ Nevertheless, the son is allowed to buy a ticket in Ghana, paying cash, $2,800, for a one-way ticket,” Tarpley said.

BOMBSHELL: Evidence Indicates Staged Attack on Detroit Flight

CNN Airs Eyewitness Testimony that ‘Well-Dressed’ Indian accomplice helped Abdulmutallab board without passport and that man on plane filmed entire flight and bombing attempt.

Haskell told CNN:

“Laurie and I were sitting near the boarding gate, sitting on the floor, there weren’t any seats to sit in. And I saw two men. They caught my eye because they seemed to be an odd pair. One was what I would describe as a poor-looking black teenager around 16 or 17, and the other man, age 50-ish, wealthy looking Indian man. And I was just wondering why they were together– kinda strange. And I watched them approach what I would call the ticket agent, the final person that checks your boarding pass before you get on the plane. And I could hear the entire conversation. The only person that spoke was the Indian man, and what he said was: ‘This man needs to board the plane, but he doesn’t have a passport.’ And the ticket agent responded, ‘Well, if he doesn’t have a passport, he can’t get on the plane.’ To which the Indian man responded back, ‘He’s from Sudan. We do this all the time.’ And the ticket agent said, ‘Well, then you’ll have to go and talk to my manager.’ And she directed them down a hallway. And that was the last time I saw the Indian man, and the black man I didn’t see again until he tried to blow up our plane hours later.”

Ben Stein calls Ron Paul antisemitic on Larry King

Ron Paul appeared on Larry King Live on CNN this evening along with Ben Stein and Sheila Jackson Lee to discuss the recent thwarted terrorist attack. After Paul gives his now famous view that they “attack us because we are over there” Ben Stein calls Paul antisemitic which solicits a demand for an apology by Paul. Paul characterizes it as a “vicious attack”.

Godfrey Bloom slams global warming scam

Flight 253 passenger: Sharp-dressed man aided terror suspect onto plane without passport

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/12/flight_253_passenger_says_at_l.html
A Michigan man who was aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 says he witnessed Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab trying to board the plane in Amsterdam without a passport.

While Mutallab was poorly dressed, his friend was dressed in an expensive suit, Haskell said. He says the suited man asked ticket agents whether Mutallab could board without a passport. “The guy said, 'He's from Sudan and we do this all the time.'”

So Wait. A sharp dressed man escorted Mutallab pass TSA security without a passport. And then he was video taped the whole time on the plane. What's going on here?

Christmas underwear bomber eye witness: Man videotaped the entire flight

http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/80201152.html
An eye witness told the news talk radio station 620 WTMJ in Milwaukee that a man had videotaped the entire flight.

Her daughter said that ahead of them was a man who videotaped the entire flight, including the attempted detonation.
"He sat up and videotaped the entire thing, very calmly," said Patricia. "We do know that the FBI is looking for him intensely. Since then, we've heard nothing about it."
Wait... What?

U.S. Intelligence Found Iran Nuke Document Was Forged

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/48781
WASHINGTON, Dec 28 (IPS) - U.S. intelligence has concluded that the document published recently by the Times of London, which purportedly describes an Iranian plan to do experiments on what the newspaper described as a "neutron initiator" for an atomic weapon, is a fabrication, according to a former Central Intelligence Agency official.

Gibbs: Don’t Disagree With Obama On Response to Underwear Bomber

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091227/pl_afp/usattacksnigeriasecuritypolitics
HONOLULU, Hawaii (AFP) – The White House warned political foes Sunday not to provoke a partisan tug of war over terrorism, with President Barack Obama yet to publicly address the thwarted attack on a US airliner.

U.S. Widens Terror War to Yemen, al Qaeda Bastion

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/world/middleeast/28yemen.html?_r=2&hp
WASHINGTON — In the midst of two unfinished major wars, the United States has quietly opened a third, largely covert front against Al Qaeda in Yemen.

And what about ol' Pakistan?

Giant statue of Lenin and Mao the talk of Richmond, Canada

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Giant+statue+Lenin+talk+Richmond/2384389/story.html
VANCOUVER - A public art installation depicting Russian Communist leader Vladimir Lenin and a feminized Chairman Mao Zedong in the heart of Richmond's business district has the whole town talking.

U.S. Stocks Decline as Al-Qaeda Claims Role in Bombing Attempt

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=axQkiT4n3RIk
Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Most U.S. stocks declined, ending a five-day winning streak for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing of an airplane on Dec. 25 and the Federal Reserve announced a program for removing liquidity from the banking system.

Al-Qaeda claims failed attack on US-bound plane: US monitor

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=TX-PAR-ROX90&show_article=1
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula claimed the failed December 25 bombing of a US-bound aircraft in a statement posted on an Islamist website on Monday, US monitoring organisation SITE Intelligence said.

Al-Qaeda, one size fits all.

Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds?

UN to produce bullion coins as world currency

http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:TtY2TpKXC1QJ:www.examiner.com/x-32916-Vancouver-Humanism-Examiner
The announcement by the United Nations this week that it will license the minting of silver and gold bullion coins bearing the UN logo may be the button that launches metal prices into orbit.

Free H1N1 Flu Shots At Tulsa International Airport Today

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=11736673
TULSA, OK -- Holiday travelers passing through Tulsa International Airport are getting the chance to get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus.
The Tulsa Health Department is offering free H1N1 vaccinations at the airport until 11:30 a.m. today.

Convenient.

Top Scientists Predict Widespread Sterilization

 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/earth-environment/article6968250.ece
From virtual brains and Matrix-like thought connections to disease-making bacteria, what the next decade could bring.

Nothing much is going to happen in the next 10 years. Of course, that’s not counting the diesel-excreting bacteria, the sequencing of your entire genome for $1,000, massive banks of frozen human eggs, space tourism, the identification of dark matter, widespread sterilisation of young adults, telepathy, supercomputer models of our brains, the discovery of life’s origins, maybe the disappearance of Bangladesh and certainly the loss of 247m acres of tropical forest.

Just another decade really. Wait dude...

Can We Rescue the Republic Before the Dark Politics Take Over?

http://www.alternet.org/politics/144809

Did America slip into a semiliterate, polarized, pre-fascist state over the past decade or so, allowing greedy oligarchs and corporate elites to run the government?

Now, Michelle Obama too is sliding in the polls

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/12/michelle-obama-poll-barack-obama.html
She's on vacation now in Hawaii, so what does she care?

But as the first calendar year of the new White House regime draws to a close, First Lady Michelle Obama is experiencing the same drop in poll numbers as her husband. She's not elected, of course, and not charged at least officially with making the tough executive decisions that come out of the Oval Office.

Obama urges review of terror watch-list

http://www.ft.com/cms/

President Barack Obama on Sunday ordered an urgent review of how US authorities use terrorist watch-lists to foil attacks on US targets after a Nigerian tried to destroy a transatlantic passenger aircraft with an explosive device he smuggled on board.

Senator Lieberman calls for ‘preemptive’ attack on Yemen

http://rawstory.com/2009/12/senator-lieberman-calls-attack-yemen/

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Senator Joeseph Lieberman (I-CT), who leads the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has a vision of "tomorrow's war."
"Somebody in our government said to me in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, Iraq was yesterday’s war," Lieberman explained. "Afghanistan is today’s war. If we don’t act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow’s war. That’s the danger we face."

International Flights: In Essence, Flying Jails

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8431613.stm


Passengers on US-bound flights from Britain are facing delays and extra security measures after a man was charged with trying to blow up a plane.

Travellers are undergoing "pat-down" searches before boarding and being restricted to one item of hand luggage.

Simon Calder, The Independent’s travel editor, says further restrictions are also in place.

Guilty until proven innocent?

US orders body searches after botched airline attack

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/us-orders-body-searches-after-botched-airline-attack-20091228-lgxg.html

New security measures introduced by the US Transport Security Administration for all flights into the US include pat-down searches at the airport gate, physical inspection of all bags and requiring passengers to stay in their seats without access to any personal items or overhead lockers for the final hour before landing.

Gotta love that ol' Problem, Reaction, Solution.

Bathroom Visits Now Considered Potential Terrorism

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/us/politics/w28talk.html

Homeland Security press secretary, Sara Kuban, released a statement, sorting out what had happened on the flight.
“A passenger on today’s Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit spent an unusually long time in the aircraft lavatory,” she said in the statement. “Due to this unusual behavior, the airline notified T.S.A. and the agency directed the flight to taxi to a remote area upon landing to be met by law enforcement and D.H.S.
“The passenger in question, a Nigerian national, was removed from the flight and interviewed by the F.B.I.; indications at this time are that the individual’s behavior is due to legitimate illness, and no other suspicious behavior or materials have been found. Though this does not appear at this time to be a security incident, in an abundance of caution, the aircraft was fully screened, with negative results, and all baggage is being rescreened before the aircraft taxis to the gate.”

Photographers issue plea to end 'hostile' public searches under anti-terror laws

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/6889102/Photographers-issue-plea-to-end-hostile-public-searches-under-anti-terror-laws.html

More than 350 photographers have issued a joint plea to end the "hostile" and "humiliating" use of anti-terror laws to prevent them taking pictures in public.

The professional and amateur photographers have signed a letter, published in The Sunday Telegraph, calling on ministers and the police halt the practice of them being stopped and searched while they are taking images in public places.

877 new snowfall records set or tied in the USA in the last week

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/12/27/877-new-snowfall-records-set-or-tied-in-the-usa-in-the-last-week/

And that’s not all, for the week ending Dec 13th, there were 815 new snowfall records set. December 2009 is shaping up to be quite the snowmaker.

How China Might Buy More Gold Than America Owns

http://www.businessinsider.com/china-gold-23-12-2009

China has a long way to go before coming anywhere near America's gold reserves.

Yet apparently it's on their to-do list and a must, at least according to the country's China Gold Association.

We're Screwed! ShadowStats.com founder John Williams explains the risk of hyperinflation.

http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/article.cfm?aid=16014

Worst-case scenario? Rioting in the streets and devolution to a bartering system.

Do you believe everything the government tells you? Economist and statistician John Williams sure doesn't.

Is requiring health insurance even legal?

 http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/1959107,CST-NWS-health27.article

The health bill approved by the Senate would mandate that all Americans carry health insurance policies by 2014, with the government providing subsidies to help low- and middle-income families pay for them.

Those who don't buy insurance would face fines that rise gradually to $750 -- or a maximum of $2,250 per family.

Since when does the government have the right to mandate that you buy something, Ensign, of Nevada, said.

Judge Napolitano: One Big Monster Government

http://eclipptv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=9184

Hectic.

Lieberman: Yemen will be 'tomorrow's war' if pre-emptive action not taken

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/73651-lieberman-yemen-will-be-tomorrows-war-if-preemptive-action-not-taken

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) Sunday said that Yemen could be the ground of America's next overseas war if Washington does not take preemptive action to root out al-Qaeda interests there.

Lieberman, who helms the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said on "Fox News Sunday" that the U.S. will have to take an active approach in Yemen after multiple recent terrorist attacks on the U.S. were linked back to the Middle Eastern nation.

I forgot. What's a terrorist again?